(1)

The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‘A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans’ (2) adopted under Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provides for an action plan to, inter alia, enhance cooperation in education, youth, and sport, including work to protect the Western Balkans cultural heritage, to fight the illicit traffic in cultural goods, and promote its cultural and creative industries, including cooperation in culture, audiovisual policies.

(2)

By Commission Implementing Decision 2013/776/EU (4) the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (‘the Agency’) was entrusted with the management of the Creative Europe programme. Providing funding to enable participation in the same type of actions as those under programmes already being managed by the Agency is an effective and efficient way to reach the groups targeted by the international cooperation instruments. Such actions continue to be funded by international cooperation instruments, however the implementation modalities are the same as in the programmes managed by the Agency.

(3)

The Agency has demonstrated an effective approach to managing Union programmes. Over several years it has built up competence, skills and capacity in the management of the programmes delegated to it.

(4)

The Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council: ‘Towards an EU Strategy For International Cultural Relations’ (5) highlighted the role of people-to-people contacts as part of the EU public and cultural diplomacy and explicitly referred to the programmes managed by EACEA.

(5)

The cost-benefit analyses carried out in accordance with Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 highlighted both the quantitative savings and qualitative advantages of delegating to the Agency the management of funding which is intended to enable participation in such actions. In addition, this delegation has no financial impact on the administrative budget of the Agency.

(6)

The activities being carried out by the Agency are in line with its current mandate and mission. They represent a continuation of its existing activities by simply widening calls to enable participation of beneficiaries targeted by the international cooperation instruments. Conversely, an in-house arrangement would be disruptive as the activities envisaged for delegation have never been managed internally by the parent directorates-general, which lack the capacity to manage them in-house.

(7)

Therefore, the responsibility for implementing funding from the international cooperation instruments to enable participation in the same actions as those under its already entrusted programmes should be conferred on the Agency and Implementing Decision 2013/776/EU should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)

In the first subparagraph of Article 3(1), point (e) specifies that the Agency is entrusted with ‘projects in the field of higher education’ under the external cooperation instruments. In order to be consistent with enabling the Agency to manage participation of the international cooperation instruments in education, training, youth and sport and support to the culture and audiovisual sectors, this text should be amended.

(9)

The measures provided for by this Implementing Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Executive Agencies,

1.

In recital 10, indent:

to be replaced by the following:

2.

In the first subparagraph of Article 3(1), point (e) to be replaced by the following:

(*)  Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing an Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) (OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 11)."

(**)  Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument (OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 27)."

(***)  Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a financial instrument for development cooperation for the period 2014-2020 (OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 44)."

(****)  Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a Partnership Instrument for cooperation with third countries (OJ L 77, 15.3.2014, p. 77)."

(*****)  Council Regulation (EU) 2015/322 of 2 March 2015 on the implementation of the 11th European Development Fund (OJ L 58, 3.3.2015, p. 1).’."