1.   This Regulation lays down rules for the application of Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1370/2013 as regards Union aid for the supply and distribution of fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetable products and fresh products of the banana sector (‘school fruit and vegetables’) and of milk and milk products (‘school milk’) to children in educational establishments, for accompanying educational measures and for certain related costs in the framework of the scheme referred to under Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 (‘the school scheme’).

2.   For the purposes of the school scheme, ‘school year’ means a period running from 1 August until 31 July of the following year.

1.   A Member State's strategy as referred to in Article 23(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 shall include the following elements:

2.   Member States shall make available to the Commission upon request the following information, if not included in the strategy:

3.   The Commission shall publish the Member States' strategies.

1.   Member States shall determine the form, content and frequency of aid applications in accordance with their strategy and the rules laid down in paragraphs 2 to 6.

2.   Aid applications relating to the supply and distribution of products shall include at least the following information:

3.   Aid applications relating to the supply and distribution of products and to accompanying educational measures may cover periods from 2 weeks to the entire school year.

4.   Aid applications shall be submitted within 3 months of the end of the period they cover or, in case of aid applications relating to monitoring, evaluation and publicity, of the date of delivery of the material or service.

5.   If the time limit referred to in paragraph 4 is exceeded by less than 60 calendar days, the aid shall be paid but reduced as follows:

Once the time limit is exceeded by more than 60 calendar days, the aid shall be further reduced by 1 % per each additional day, calculated over the remaining balance.

6.   The amounts claimed in the aid applications shall be supported by documentary evidence showing the price of the products, material or services delivered together with a receipt or proof of payment or equivalent. Member States shall specify the documents that shall be submitted in support of aid applications.

In the case of aid applications relating to accompanying educational measures; monitoring, evaluation and publicity, the documentary evidence shall also contain the financial breakdown by activity and details of the related costs.

1.   Aid relating to the supply and distribution of products shall only be paid:

2.   Aid relating to the accompanying educational measures, monitoring, evaluation and publicity shall only be paid upon delivery of the material or services concerned and upon submission of the related documentary evidence as required by the competent authority or, if the Member State authorises the use of standard scales of unit costs, flat-rate financing and/or lump sums, on presentation of alternative proof that the material or services have been delivered and paid for.

3.   Aid shall be paid by the competent authority within 3 months of the date of submission of the aid application unless administrative inquiries have been initiated.

4.   Any aid concerning school year 2017/2018 shall not be paid by the competent authority prior to the beginning of this school year.

1.   Transfers between indicative allocations, according to Article 23a(4)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, shall be made in the request for Union aid referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation.

2.   Transfers between definitive allocations, according to Article 23a(4)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, where no transfers between indicative allocations have been made, may be made in the request for Union aid referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation.

Member States shall notify to the Commission the amount of any such transfers by the 31 January of the school year in which they are made.

1.   On the basis of the amounts of Union aid requested pursuant to Article 3 of this Regulation, the Commission shall reallocate unrequested indicative allocations or unrequested parts thereof in accordance with Article 5(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013.

No additional amount shall be granted to a Member State for the group of products from which the Member State concerned has made a transfer to the other product group according to Article 6(1).

If a Member State does not submit a request pursuant to Article 3, the indicative allocations of this Member State shall be regarded as unrequested.

2.   The Commission may redistribute any unrequested definitive allocations or unrequested parts thereof for the ongoing school year as notified in accordance with Article 3(b) among those Member States who have notified their willingness to use more than their definitive allocations.

No additional amount shall be granted to a Member State for the group of products from which the Member State concerned has made a transfer to the other product group according to Article 6(2).

This redistribution shall be made within the allocation for school fruit and vegetables or for school milk, based on the indicative allocations of the requesting Member States. If applicable, amounts not requested by Member States within the same allocation may be distributed to Member States who requested additional amounts for the other allocation.

3.   The amount of definitive allocation that may be reallocated to another Member State pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be based on the level of use of the definitive allocation of Union aid in the previous school year for school fruit and vegetables and for school milk respectively by that Member State. Taking into account the declarations of expenditure sent to the Commission by 31 December prior to the aid application in accordance with Article 10 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 (11), the amount of the definitive allocation shall be calculated as follows:

The calculation described in the first subparagraph shall not apply for the calculation of the definitive allocations for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school years, as well as for Member States newly applying the school scheme or one of its components during the first 2 years of implementation.

1.   Monitoring as referred to in Article 9 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 shall draw upon the data originating from management and control obligations, including those set out in Articles 4 and 5 of this Regulation.

Member States shall notify the Commission of the results of the monitoring exercise by 31 January following the end of the school year concerned.

2.   For each 6-year period covered by the strategy drawn up according to Article 23(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Member States shall submit to the Commission an evaluation report containing the results of the evaluation provided for in Article 9 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 of the implementation period covering the first 5 school years by 1 March in the year following the end of that period.

The first evaluation report shall be submitted on or before 1 March 2023.

3.   The Commission shall publish the results of the Member States' annual monitoring exercise and the evaluation reports.

1.   Member States shall take all necessary measures to comply with this Regulation. Those measures shall include systematic administrative checking of all aid applications under the school scheme.

2.   Member States shall define the supporting documents relating to the supply and distribution of products which must be submitted with the aid application in accordance with Article 5. Member States shall conduct checks on all aid applications, including a representative sample of the supporting documents submitted with the aid application.

3.   Administrative checks conducted with respect to aid applied for relating to monitoring, evaluation, publicity and accompanying educational measures shall include verifying the delivery of the material and services and the veracity of the claimed expenditure.

4.   In case of aid applied for relating to the supply and distribution of products and accompanying educational measures, the administrative checks shall be supplemented by on-the-spot checks in accordance with Article 10.

1.   In case of aid relating to the supply and distribution of products, on-the-spot checks shall in particular include verification of:

2.   On-the-spot checks shall be carried out during the school year period running from 1 August to 31 July to which they relate (period N) and/or during the following 8 months (period N+1).

On-the-spot checks may take place during the implementation of the accompanying educational measures.

Each on-the-spot check shall be considered completed once the corresponding control report, as referred to in paragraph 6, is issued.

3.   The total number of on-the-spot checks shall cover at least 5 % of the aid claimed at national level and at least 5 % of all aid applicants dealing with the supply and distribution of products and with accompanying educational measures in respect of each school year.

When the number of aid applicants in a Member State is less than 100, on-the-spot checks shall be carried out on the premises of not less than five applicants.

When the number of aid applicants in a Member State is less than five, on-the-spot checks shall be carried out on the premises of all the applicants.

Where the applicant, not being an educational establishment, applies for aid relating to the supply and distribution of products, the on-the-spot check carried out on the premises of that applicant shall be supplemented by on-the-spot checks on the premises of at least two educational establishments or at least 1 % of the educational establishments recorded by the applicant in accordance with Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, whichever is the greater.

Where the applicant applies for aid relating to accompanying educational measures, on-the-spot checks on the premises of the applicant may be replaced, based on a risk analysis, by on-the-spot checks at the places where accompanying measures are carried out. Based on a risk analysis, Member States shall fix the level of such on-the-spot checks.

4.   On the basis of a risk analysis, the competent authority shall select those applicants to be subjected to on-the-spot checks.

For that purpose, the competent authority shall take particular account of:

5.   Provided that the purpose of the checks is not jeopardised, advance notice, strictly limited to the minimum time period necessary, may be given.

6.   The competent control authority shall draw up a control report on each on-the-spot check. The report shall describe precisely the different items controlled.

The control report shall be divided into the following parts:

All control reports shall be completed no later than 8 months after the end of the school year.

7.   Member States shall notify the Commission of the on-the-spot checks carried out and the related findings by 31 October of the calendar year subsequent to the concerned school year.

1.   Where Member States decide not to make use of the poster referred to in Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, they shall clearly explain in their strategy how they will inform the public about the Union's financial contribution to the school scheme.

2.   Means of communication and publicity measures referred to in Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, as well as educational materials and tools to be used within the accompanying educational measures, shall exhibit the European flag and mention the ‘School scheme’ and unless the size of the materials and tools exclude this, the financial contribution of the Union.

3.   References to the financial contribution of the Union shall receive at least the same visibility as contributions from other private or public entities supporting a Member State's school scheme.

4.   Member States may continue to use existing stocks of posters and other publicity tools produced in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2016/248 and (EC) No 657/2008.

1.   The notifications from the Member States to the Commission shall be made by electronic means using the technical specifications for the transfer of data made available by the Commission.

2.   The form and content of those notifications shall be defined on the basis of models made available by the Commission to the Member States, after informing the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets.