1.   All revenue and expenditure shall be booked to a budget line in the budget of the PPP body.

2.   No expenditure may be committed or authorised in excess of the appropriations authorised by the budget of the PPP body.

3.   An appropriation may be entered in the budget of the PPP body only if it is for an item of expenditure considered necessary.

4.   Interests generated by pre-financing payments made from the budget of the PPP body shall not be due to the PPP body.

1.   The appropriations entered in the budget of the PPP body shall be authorised for a financial year which shall run from 1 January to 31 December.

2.   Commitment appropriations shall cover the total cost of the legal commitments entered into during the financial year.

3.   Payment appropriations shall cover payments made to honour the legal commitments entered into in the financial year or preceding financial years.

4.   For administrative appropriations, expenditure shall not exceed the revenue expected for the year as referred in Article 3(a)(i).

5.   Given the needs of the PPP body, the unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years. These appropriations must be used first.

6.   Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not prevent budget commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year being broken down over several years into annual instalments where the constituent act so provides or where they relate to administrative expenditure.

1.   The appropriations entered in the budget may be committed with effect from 1 January, once the budget of the PPP body has been definitively adopted.

2.   As of 15 October of the financial year, routine administrative expenditure may be committed in advance against the appropriations provided for the following financial year, provided that such expenditure has been approved in the last budget of the PPP body duly adopted, and only up to a maximum of one quarter of the total corresponding appropriations decided upon by the governing board for the current financial year.

1.   Revenue and payment appropriations shall be in balance.

2.   Commitment appropriations shall not exceed the relevant annual Union contribution as set out in the annual transfer of funds agreement with the Commission, plus annual contributions from other members than the Union, any other revenue referred to in Article 3 and the amount of the unused appropriations referred to in Article 6(5).

3.   The PPP body shall not raise loans within the framework of the budget of the PPP body.

4.   If the budget result is positive, it shall be entered in the budget of the following financial year as revenue.

If the budget result is negative, it shall be entered in the budget for the following financial year as payment appropriations.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 2, total revenue shall cover total payment appropriations. All revenue and expenditure shall be entered in full without any adjustment against each other, subject to any specific provision in the financial rules of the PPP body on cases where certain deductions may be made from payment requests, which shall then be passed for payment of the net amount.

2.   Revenue earmarked for a specific purpose, such as income from foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests, shall be used to finance specific items of expenditure.

3.   The director may accept any donation made to the PPP body, such as income from foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests.

Acceptance of donations which may involve a significant financial charge shall be subject to the prior authorisation of the governing board, which shall take a decision within two months of the date on which the request is submitted to it. If the governing board fails to take a decision within that period, the donation shall be deemed to be accepted.

The amount above which the financial charge involved is considered significant shall be set by a decision of the governing board.

1.   Appropriations shall be earmarked for specific purposes at least by title and chapter.

2.   The director may transfer appropriations:

3.   Beyond the limits referred to in paragraph 2, the director may propose transfers of appropriations from one title to another to the governing board. The governing board shall have three weeks to oppose the proposed transfers. After that time limit the proposed transfers shall be deemed to be adopted.

4.   The director shall inform the governing board as soon as possible of all transfers carried out under paragraph 2.

1.   Appropriations shall be used in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, and thus be implemented respecting the following principles:

2.   In line with the principle of sound financial management, the use of appropriations shall focus on performance and for that purpose:

3.   Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound objectives referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be set for all sectors of activity covered by the budget of the PPP body and relevant, accepted, credible, easy and robust indicators shall be defined where relevant. Information on the indicators shall be provided annually by the director to the governing board, at the latest when submitting the documents accompanying the draft budget of the PPP body.

4.   Unless the constituent act provides for evaluations to be conducted by the Commission, the PPP body, in order to improve decision-making, shall undertake evaluations, including retrospective evaluations, which shall be proportionate to the objectives and expenditure. Evaluation results shall be sent to the governing board.

5.   Retrospective evaluations shall assess the performance of the activity, including aspects such as effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value. Retrospective evaluations shall be based on the information generated by the monitoring arrangements and indicators established for the action concerned. They shall be undertaken at least once every multiannual financial framework and where possible in sufficient time for the findings to be taken into account in ex-ante evaluations or impact assessments which support the preparation of related programmes and activities.

1.   Pursuant to the principle of sound financial management, the budget of the PPP body shall be implemented in compliance with effective and efficient internal control.

2.   For the purposes of the implementation of the budget of the PPP body, internal control shall be applied at all levels of management and shall be designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving the following objectives:

3.   Effective and efficient internal control shall be based on best international practices and on the Internal Control Framework laid down by the Commission for its own departments, and shall include, in particular, the elements laid down in Article 36(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

1.   The budget of the PPP body shall be established and implemented and the accounts presented in accordance with the principle of transparency.

2.   The budget of the PPP body including the establishment plan and any amending budgets, as adopted, including any adaptations as provided in Article 17(1), shall be published on the internet site of the PPP body within four weeks of their adoption and shall be transmitted to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

3.   The PPP body shall make available on its website no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the funds were legally committed, information on the recipients of funds financed from the budget of the PPP body, including the experts contracted pursuant to Article 44 of this Regulation, in accordance with Article 38 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, and following a standard presentation, subject to any specific procedure laid down in the basic act of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

The published information shall be easily accessible, transparent and comprehensive. The information shall be made available with due observance of the requirements of confidentiality and security, in particular the protection of personal data laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10).

1.   The PPP body shall send to the Commission and to the other members no later than 31 January of the year preceding that in which the budget of the PPP body is to be implemented an estimate of its revenue and expenditure and the general guidelines underlying that estimate, together with a draft of the annual work programme referred to in Article 33(4). It shall be adopted by the Governing Board in accordance with the procedure provided for in the constituent act of the PPP body.

2.   The estimate of revenue and expenditure of the PPP body shall include:

1.   The budget of the PPP body and the staff establishment plan, including the number of permanent and temporary posts by function group and by grade and complemented with the number of contract staff and of seconded national experts expressed in full-time equivalents, shall be adopted by the governing board in accordance with the constituent act of the PPP body. Detailed provisions may be laid down in the financial rules of the PPP body. Any amendment to the budget of the PPP body, including the establishment plan, shall be the subject of an amending budget of the PPP body adopted by the same procedure as the initial budget of the PPP body. The budget of the PPP body and, where appropriate, the amending budgets of the PPP body shall be adapted in order to take into account the amount of the Union contribution as laid down in the budget of the Union. The annual budget for a particular year shall be adopted by the end of the previous year.

2.   The budget of the PPP body shall consist of a statement of revenue and a statement of expenditure.

3.   The budget of the PPP body shall show:

4.   The establishment plan shall show next to the number of posts authorised for the financial year, the number authorised for the preceding year and the number of posts actually filled. The same information shall be shown for temporary posts, as well as for contract staff and seconded national experts.

1.   The duties of authorising officer and accounting officer shall be segregated and mutually exclusive.

2.   Each PP body shall provide each financial actor with the resources required to perform his or her duties and a charter describing in detail his or her tasks, rights and obligations.

1.   The director shall perform the duties of authorising officer. The director shall implement the revenue and expenditure of the budget of the PPP body in accordance with the financial rules of the PPP body and the principle of sound financial management, including through ensuring reporting on performance, under his or her own responsibility and within the limits of the appropriations authorised. The director shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of legality, regularity and equal treatment of recipients of Union funds.

Without prejudice to the responsibilities of the authorising officer as regards prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities, the PPP body shall participate in fraud prevention activities of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

2.   The director may delegate the powers of budget implementation to staff of the PPP body covered by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (11) (‘Staff Regulations’), where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the financial rules of the PPP body. Those so empowered may act only within the limits of the powers expressly conferred upon them.

1.   The budget of the PPP body shall be implemented by the director in the departments placed under his or her authority.

2.   In order to facilitate the implementation of their appropriations, PPP bodies may conclude service-level agreements as referred to in Article 59 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

3.   Technical expertise tasks and administrative, preparatory or ancillary tasks not involving the exercise of public authority or the use of discretionary powers of judgement may be entrusted by contract to external private-sector entities, where this proves to be indispensable.

4.   The director shall put in place the organisational structure and the internal control systems suited to the performance of duties of the director, in accordance with the minimum standards or principles adopted by the governing board, on the basis of the Internal Control Framework laid down by the Commission for its own departments and having due regard to the risks associated with the management environment and the nature of the actions financed. The establishment of such structure and systems shall be supported by a risk analysis which takes into account their cost-effectiveness and performance considerations.

The director may establish within his or her departments an expertise and advice function designed to help him or her control the risks involved in his or her activities.

5.   The director shall set up paper-based or electronic systems for the keeping of original supporting documents relating to budget implementation. Such documents shall be kept for at least five years from the date of the decision on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the financial year to which the documents relate. Personal data contained in the supporting documents shall where possible be deleted when those data are not necessary for control and audit purposes. Article 88 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply to the conservation of data.

1.   In order to prevent errors and irregularities before the authorisation of operations and to mitigate risks of non-achievement of objectives, each operation shall be subject at least to an ex-ante control relating to the operational and financial aspects of the operation, on the basis of a multiannual control strategy which takes risk into account.

The extent in terms of frequency and intensity of the ex-ante controls shall be determined by the authorising officer responsible taking into account the results of prior controls as well as risk-based and cost-effectiveness considerations, on the basis of his/her own risk analysis, In case of doubt, the authorising officer responsible for validating the relevant operations shall, as part of the ex-ante control, request complementary information or perform an on-the-spot control in order to obtain reasonable assurance.

For a given operation, the verification shall be carried out by staff other than those who initiated the operation. The staff who carry out the verification shall not be subordinate to the members of staff who initiated the operation.

2.   Ex ante controls shall comprise the initiation and the verification of an operation.

Initiation and verification of an operation shall be separate functions.

3.   Initiation of an operation shall be understood as all the operations which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget of the PPP body by the authorising officer responsible.

4.   Ex ante controls shall verify the coherence among supporting documents requested and any other information available.

The purpose of the ex ante controls shall be to ascertain that:

For the purpose of controls, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer responsible to constitute a single operation.

1.   The authorising officer may put in place ex post controls to detect and correct errors and irregularities or operations after they have been authorised. Such controls may be organised on a sample basis according to risk and shall take account of the results of prior controls as well as cost-effectiveness and performance considerations.

The ex post controls may be carried out on the basis of documents and, where appropriate, on the spot.

2.   The ex post controls shall be carried out by staff other than that responsible for the ex ante controls. The staff responsible for the ex post controls shall not be subordinate to the members of the staff responsible for the ex ante controls.

Authorising officers responsible and staff responsible for budget implementation shall have the necessary professional skills.

1.   The authorising officer shall report annually to the governing board on the performance of his or her duties for year N-1 in the form of a consolidated annual activity report containing:

2.   The consolidated annual activity report shall indicate the results of the operations by reference to the objectives set and performance considerations, the risks associated with the operations, the use made of the resources provided and the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control systems, including an overall assessment of the costs and benefits of controls.

The consolidated annual report shall be submitted to the governing board for assessment.

3.   No later than 1 July each year, the governing board shall send the consolidated annual activity report together with its assessment of it to the Court of Auditors, the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.

4.   Additional reporting requirements may be laid down in the constituent act in duly justified cases, in particular when it is required by the nature of the field in which the PPP body operates.

5.   Once assessed by the governing board, the annual activity report shall be published on the website of the PPP body.

1.   If a member of staff involved in the financial management and control of transactions considers that a decision he or she is required by his or her superior to apply or to agree to is irregular or contrary to the principles of sound financial management or the professional rules which that member of staff is required to observe, he or she shall inform the director who shall, if the information is given in writing, reply in writing. If the director fails to take action within a reasonable time given the circumstances of the case and in any event within a month or if he or she confirms the initial decision or instruction and the member of staff believes that such confirmation does not constitute a reasonable response to his or her concern, the member of staff shall inform the relevant panel referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and the governing board in writing.

2.   In the event of any illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the Union, of the PPP body or of its members, a member of staff or other servant, including national experts seconded to the PPP body, shall inform their immediate superior, the director or the governing board of the PPP body or, as far as the interests of the Union or of the PPP body are concerned, the OLAF or the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) directly. Contracts with external auditors carrying out audits of the financial management of the PPP body shall provide for an obligation of the external auditor to inform the director or, if the latter may be involved, the governing board of any suspected illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the Union, of the PPP body or of its members.

1.   The governing board shall appoint an accounting officer covered by the Staff Regulations, where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, who shall be totally independent in the performance of his or her duties. The accounting officer shall be responsible in the PPP body for:

With respect to the tasks referred to in point (d) of the first subparagraph, the accounting officer shall be empowered to verify at any time compliance with the validation criteria.

2.   Two or more PPP bodies may appoint the same accounting officer.

PPP bodies may also agree with the Commission that the accounting officer of the Commission shall also act as accounting officer of the PPP body.

They may also entrust the accounting officer of the Commission with part of the tasks of the accounting officer of the PPP body taking into account cost-benefit considerations.

In the cases referred to in this paragraph, they shall make necessary arrangements in order to avoid any conflict of interests.

3.   The accounting officer shall obtain from the authorising officer all the information necessary for the production of accounts which give a true and fair view of the PPP body's financial situation and of budgetary implementation. The authorising officer shall guarantee the reliability of that information.

4.   Before the adoption of the accounts by the director, the accounting officer shall sign them off, thereby certifying that he or she has a reasonable assurance that the accounts present a true and fair view of the financial situation of the PPP body.

For the purpose of the first subparagraph, the accounting officer shall verify that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 47 and that all revenue and expenditure is entered in the accounts.

The accounting officer shall be empowered to check the information received as well as to carry out any further checks he or she deems necessary in order to sign off the accounts.

The accounting officer shall make reservations, if necessary, explaining exactly the nature and scope of such reservations.

Subject to paragraph 5, only the accounting officer shall be empowered to manage cash and cash equivalents. The accounting officer shall be responsible for their safekeeping.

5.   The accounting officer may, in the performance of his or her duties, delegate certain tasks to staff members subject to the Staff Regulations, where those apply to the staff of the PPP body, where this is indispensable for the performance of his or her duties in accordance with the financial rules of the PPP body.

6.   Without prejudice to any disciplinary action, the accounting officer may at any time be suspended temporarily or definitively from his or her duties by the governing board. In such a case, the governing board shall appoint an interim accounting officer.

1.   Articles 18 to 27 are without prejudice to any liability under criminal law which the financial actors may incur as provided for in the applicable national law and in the provisions in force concerning the protection of the Union's financial interests and the fight against corruption involving Union officials or officials of Member States.

2.   Each authorising officer and accounting officer shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of compensation as laid down in the Staff Regulations. In the event of illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the PPP body or of its members, the matter shall be submitted to the authorities and bodies designated by the applicable legislation, in particular to the OLAF.

3.   Any member of the staff may be required to compensate, in whole or in part, any damage suffered by the PPP body as a result of a serious misconduct on his or her part in the course of or in connection with the performance of his or her duties. The appointing authority shall take a reasoned decision after completing the formalities laid down by the applicable legislation with regard to disciplinary matters.

1.   Financial actors within the meaning of this Chapter and other persons, including the members of the governing board, involved in budget implementation and management, including acts preparatory thereto, audit or control, shall not take any action which may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the PPP body. They shall also take appropriate measures to prevent a conflict of interests from arising in the functions under their responsibility and to address situations which may objectively be perceived as a conflict of interests, taking into account the specific nature of the PPP body as set out in its constituent act.

Where there is a risk of a conflict of interests, the person in question shall refer the matter to the competent authority. The competent authority shall confirm in writing whether a conflict of interests is found to exist. In that case, the competent authority shall ensure that the person concerned ceases all activities in the matter. The competent authority shall take any further appropriate action.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, a conflict of interests exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a financial actor or other person, as referred to in paragraph 1, is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or indirect personal interest

3.   The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the director. If the member of staff is the director, the competent authority shall be the governing board. In case of a conflict of interest involving a member of the governing board, the competent authority shall be the governing board, exclusive of the member concerned.

4.   The PPP body shall adopt rules on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests and shall publish annually on its website the declaration of interests of the governing board members.

1.   The PPP body shall have an internal audit function which shall be performed in compliance with the relevant international standards.

2.   The internal audit function shall be performed by the Commission's internal auditor. The internal auditor may be neither authorising officer nor accounting officer.

3.   The internal auditor shall advise the PPP body on dealing with risks, by issuing independent opinions on the quality of management and control systems and by issuing recommendations for improving the conditions of implementation of operations and promoting sound financial management.

The internal auditor shall be responsible in particular for:

4.   The internal auditor shall perform his or her duties in relation to all the PPP body's activities and departments. The internal auditor shall enjoy full and unlimited access to all information required to perform his or her duties, if necessary on the spot access, including in the Member States and in third countries.

5.   The internal auditor shall take note of the consolidated annual activity report of the authorising officer referred to in Article 23 and of any other pieces of information identified.

6.   The internal auditor shall report to the governing board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations. The PPP body shall ensure that action is taken with regard to recommendations resulting from audits.

7.   The internal auditor shall also report in any of the following cases:

The governing board and the director shall ensure the regular monitoring of the implementation of audit recommendations. The governing board shall examine the information referred to in Article 23 and whether the recommendations have been fully and timely implemented.

Each PPP body shall consider whether the recommendations made in the reports of its internal auditor are suitable for an exchange of best practices with other PPP bodies.

8.   The PPP body shall make available the contact details of the internal auditor to any natural or legal person involved in expenditure operations, for the purposes of confidentially contacting the internal auditor.

9.   The reports and findings of the internal auditor shall be accessible to the public only after validation by the internal auditor of the action taken for their implementation.

1.   The internal auditor shall enjoy complete independence in the conduct of his or her audits. Special rules applicable to the internal auditor shall be laid down by the Commission and shall be such as to guarantee that the internal auditor is completely independent in the performance of his or her duties, and to establish the internal auditor's responsibility.

2.   The internal auditor may not be given any instructions nor be restricted in any way as regards the performance of the functions which, by virtue of his or her appointment, are assigned to him or her under the Financial Regulation.

1.   The governing board may establish with due regard to cost effectiveness and added value, an internal audit capability which shall perform its duties in compliance with the relevant international standards.

The purpose, authority and responsibility of the internal audit capability shall be provided for in the internal audit charter and shall be subject to the approval of the governing board.

The annual audit plan of an internal audit capability shall be drawn up by the Head of internal audit capability taking into consideration, inter alia, the director's assessment of risk in the PPP body.

The annual audit plan shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board.

The internal audit capability shall report to the governing board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations.

If the internal audit capability of a single PPP body is not cost-effective or is not able to meet international standards, the PPP body may decide to share an internal audit capability with other PPP bodies functioning in the same policy area.

In such cases the governing board of the concerned PPP bodies shall agree on the practical modalities of the shared internal audit capabilities.

The internal audit actors shall cooperate efficiently through exchanging information and audit reports and, where appropriate, establishing joint risk assessments and carrying out joint audits.

2.   The governing board and the director shall ensure the regular monitoring of the implementation of the internal audit capability's recommendations.

1.   Implementation of revenue shall comprise drawing up estimates of amounts receivable, establishing entitlements to be recovered and recovering undue amounts. It shall also include the possibility of waiving established entitlements, where appropriate.

2.   Amounts wrongly paid shall be recovered.

If actual recovery has not taken place by the due date stipulated in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorising officer responsible and immediately launch the procedure for effecting recovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appropriate, by offsetting and, if this is not possible, by enforced recovery.

Where the authorising officer responsible plans to waive or partially waive recovery of an established amount receivable, he or she shall ensure that the waiver is in order and is in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and proportionality. The waiver decision shall be substantiated. The waiver decision shall state that action has been taken to secure recovery and the points of law and fact on which it is based.

The accounting officer shall keep a list of amounts due to be recovered. The PPP body's entitlements shall be grouped in the list according to the date of issue of the recovery order. The accounting officer shall also indicate decisions to waive or partially waive recovery of established amounts. The list shall be added to the PPP body's report on budgetary and financial management referred to in Article 53.

3.   Any debt not repaid on the due date laid down in the debit note shall bear interest in accordance with Article 99 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

4.   Entitlements of the PPP body in respect of third parties and entitlements of third parties in respect of the PPP body shall be subject to a limitation period of five years.

1.   The PPP body shall present to its members requests for payment of all or part of their contribution under terms and at intervals set out in the constituent act or agreed with them.

2.   The funds paid to the PPP body by its members by way of a contribution shall bear interest for the benefit of the budget of the PPP body.

3.   Members shall bear the costs of their contribution to the administrative costs of the PPP body. Beneficiaries of funding provided by the PPP body, who are not member or constituent entities of the members of the PPP body, shall not contribute to such costs directly or indirectly and in any form. In particular, such beneficiaries shall not be invited or requested to contribute to the administrative costs of the PPP body when participating to projects co-financed by the PPP body.

1.   To implement expenditure, the authorising officer shall make budgetary commitments and legal commitments, shall validate expenditure and authorise payments and shall undertake the preliminary steps for the implementation of appropriations.

2.   Every item of expenditure shall be committed, validated, authorised and paid.

Validation of expenditure is the act whereby the authorising officer responsible confirms a financial operation.

Authorisation of expenditure is the act by which the authorising officer responsible, having verified that the appropriations are available, instructs the accounting officer to pay the validated expenditure.

3.   In respect of any measure which may give rise to expenditure chargeable to the budget of the PPP body, the authorising officer responsible shall make a budgetary commitment before entering into a legal commitment with third parties.

4.   The annual work programme of the PPP body shall provide the authorisation by the governing board for the operational expenditure of the PPP body on the activities it covers, provided that the elements set out in this paragraph are clearly identified.

The annual work programme shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results including performance indicators. It shall contain the following:

The PPP body shall adopt its annual work programme for a particular year by the end of the previous year. The annual work programme shall be published on the website of the PPP body.

Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme shall be adopted by the same procedure as the initial work programme, in accordance with the provisions of the constituent act.

The governing board may delegate the power to make non-substantial amendments to the work programme to the authorising officer of the PPP body.

1.   The PPP body contributions shall help achieve a Union policy objective and results specified and may take any of the following forms:

The PPP bodies' contributions under point (a) of the first subparagraph shall be established in accordance with Article 181 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, sector specific rules or a Commission decision. The PPP body contributions under points (c), (d) and (e) of the first subparagraph shall be established in accordance with Article 181 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 or sector specific rules.

2.   When determining the appropriate form of a contribution, the potential recipients' interests and accounting methods shall be taken into account to the greatest extent possible.

3.   The authorising officer responsible shall report on financing not linked to costs pursuant to points (a) and (f) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 in the consolidated annual activity report referred to in Article 23.

1.   Without prejudice to its obligations pursuant to Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Article 24(1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the PPP body shall inform the Commission without delay on cases of presumed fraud and other financial irregularities.

Moreover, it shall inform the Commission of any ongoing or completed investigations by the EPPO, the OLAF, and of any audits or controls by the Court of Auditors or the Internal Audit Service (IAS) without endangering the confidentiality of the investigations.

2.   Where the Commission's responsibility to implement the Union's budget may be affected or in cases involving a potentially serious reputational risk for the Union, the EPPO and/or OLAF shall inform the Commission without delay of any ongoing or completed investigation, without endangering its confidentiality and effectiveness.

1.   As regards procurement, Title VII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply subject to paragraphs 2 to 5 of this Article and any specific provisions of the constituent act or the basic act of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

2.   For contracts with a value between EUR 60 000 and the thresholds laid down in Article 175 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 the procedures set out in Section 2 of Chapter 1 Annex I to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 for contracts with a value not exceeding EUR 60 000 may be used.

3.   The PPP body may be associated, at its request, as contracting authority, in the award of Commission or inter institutional contracts and with the award of contracts of other Union or PPP bodies.

4.   The PPP body may conclude service-level agreements as referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 20, without having recourse to a public procurement procedure.

The PPP body may conclude a contract, without having recourse to a public procurement procedure, with its members other than the Union for the supply of goods, provision of services or performance of work that those members directly provide without having recourse to third parties.

The goods, services or work provided under the first and second subparagraph shall not be considered part of the contribution of the members to the budget of the PPP body.

5.   The PPP body may use joint procurement procedures with contracting authorities of the host Member State to cover its administrative needs or with contracting authorities of Member States, the European Free Trade Association States or Union candidate countries which participate in it as members. In such cases, Article 165 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

The PPP body may use joint procurement procedures with its private members or with contracting authorities of countries participating in Union programmes which participate in it as members. In such cases, Article 165 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1.   Article 237 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply mutatis mutandis for the selection of experts subject to any specific procedure laid down in the basic act of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

The PPP body may use the lists drawn up by the Commission or by other Union or PPP bodies.

The PPP body may, if deemed appropriate and in duly justified cases, select any individual with the appropriate skills from outside the lists.

2.   Article 238 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply mutatis mutandis to non-remunerated experts.

1.   As regards grants, Title VIII of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply subject to any specific provisions of the constituent act or of the basic act of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

2.   The PPP body shall use the relevant lump sums, unit costs or flat rate financing authorised in accordance with Article 181(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 by a decision of the Commission authorising officer responsible for the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body. In the absence of such decision, the PPP body may submit a proposal for adoption to the Commission authorising officer responsible accompanied with a detailed justification to substantiate its proposal. The proposed decision shall comply with Article 181(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. The Commission authorising officer responsible shall notify the PPP body of its decision to adopt or reject its proposal and the reasons thereof. The Commission authorising officer responsible may adopt the proposed decision with modifications to ensure compliance with Article 181(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

1.   As regards prizes, the provisions of Title IX of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall apply subject to paragraph 2 of this Article and to any specific provisions of the constituent act or of the basic act of the programme the implementation of which is entrusted to the PPP body.

2.   Contests for prizes with a unit value of EUR 1 000 000 or more may only be published if they are mentioned in the annual work programme referred to in Article 33(4) and after information on such prizes has been submitted to the Commission, which shall proceed to the information of the European Parliament and Council in accordance with Article 206(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

1.   The financial statements shall be presented in euro in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 47 of this Regulation and shall comprise:

2.   The financial statements shall present information, including information on accounting policies, in a manner that ensures it is relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable.

3.   The notes to the financial statements shall supplement and comment on the information presented in the statements referred to in paragraph 1 and shall supply all the additional information prescribed by the accounting rules referred to in Article 47 of this Regulation and the internationally accepted accounting practice where such information is relevant to the PPP body's activities. The notes shall contain at least the following information:

4.   The accounting officer shall, after the close of the financial year and up to the date of transmission of the general accounts, make any adjustments which, without involving disbursement or collection in respect of that year, are necessary for a true and fair view of those accounts.

1.   The budget implementation reports shall be presented in euro and shall be comparable year by year. They shall consist of:

2.   The structure of the budget implementation reports shall be the same as that of the budget of the PPP body itself.

3.   The budget implementation reports shall contain:

1.   The accounting officer of the PPP body shall send the provisional accounts to the accounting officer of the Commission and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following year.

The accounting officer of the PPP body shall also provide by 1 March of the following year the required accounting information for consolidation purposes to the accounting officer of the Commission, in the manner and format laid down by the latter.

2.   In accordance with Article 246(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, the Court of Auditors shall, by 1 June, make its observations on the provisional accounts of the PPP body.

3.   The accounting officer of the PPP body shall provide, by 15 June, the required accounting information to the accounting officer of the Commission, in the manner and format laid down by the Commission, with a view to drawing up the final consolidated accounts.

On receiving the Court of Auditor's observations on the provisional accounts of the PPP body, the accounting officer shall draw up the final accounts of the PPP body. The director shall send the final accounts to the governing board which shall issue an opinion on these accounts.

The director shall send the final accounts, together with the opinion of the governing board, to the accounting officer of the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament and the Council, by 1 July of the following financial year.

The accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send to the Court of Auditors, with a copy to the accounting officer of the Commission, a representation letter covering those final accounts. The representation letter shall be established at the same date at which the final accounts of the PPP body are drawn up.

The final accounts shall be accompanied by a note drawn up by the accounting officer in which the latter declares that the final accounts were prepared in accordance with this chapter and with the applicable accounting principles, rules and methods.

A link to the pages of the website where the final accounts of the PPP body are disclosed shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of the following year.

The director of the PPP body shall send to the Court of Auditors a reply to the observations made in the Court of Auditors annual report by 30 September of the following financial year at the latest. The replies of the director shall be sent to the Commission at the same time.

1.   The PPP body shall prepare a report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year. This report shall give an account, both in absolute terms and expressed as a percentage, at least, of the rate of implementation of appropriations together with summary information on the transfers of appropriations among the various budget items.

2.   The director shall send the report on budgetary and financial management to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors by 31 March of the following financial year.

1.   An independent external auditor shall verify that the annual accounts of the PPP body properly present the income, expenditure and financial position of the PPP body prior to the possible consolidation in the final accounts of the Commission.

Unless otherwise provided for in the constituent act, the Court of Auditors shall prepare a specific annual report on the PPP body in line with the requirements of Article 287(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In preparing that report, the Court of Auditors shall consider the audit work performed by the independent external auditor referred to in the first subparagraph and the action taken in response to the external auditor's findings.

2.   The PPP body shall send to the Court of Auditors the budget of the PPP body, as finally adopted. It shall inform the Court of Auditors, as soon as possible, of all decisions and acts adopted pursuant to Articles 6, 8 and 12.

3.   The scrutiny carried out by the Court of Auditors shall be governed by Articles 254 to 259 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

1.   The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council, shall, before 15 May of year N+2 except where otherwise provided in the constituent act, give a discharge to the director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N. The director shall inform the governing board of the observations of the European Parliament contained in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision.

2.   If the time limit laid down in paragraph 1 cannot be met, the European Parliament or the Council shall inform the director of the reasons for the postponement.

3.   If the European Parliament postpones the decision giving a discharge, the director, in cooperation with the governing board, shall make every effort to take measures as soon as possible to remove or facilitate removal of the obstacles to that decision.

1.   The discharge decision shall cover the accounts of all the revenue and expenditure of the PPP body, the budget result and the assets and liabilities of the PPP body shown in the financial statement.

2.   With a view to granting the discharge, the European Parliament shall, after the Council has done so, examine the accounts and financial statements of the PPP body. It shall also examine the annual report drawn up by the Court of Auditors, together with the replies of the director of the PPP body, any relevant special reports by the Court of Auditors in respect of the financial year concerned and the Court of Auditors' statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.

3.   The director shall submit to the European Parliament, at its request, in the same manner as provided for in Article 261(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 any information required for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year concerned.

1.   The director shall take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision and on the comments accompanying the recommendation for discharge adopted by the Council.

2.   At the request of the European Parliament or the Council, the director shall report on the measures taken in the light of the observations and comments referred to paragraph 1. The director shall send a copy thereof to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

1.   The PPP body shall grant Commission staff and other persons authorised by the Commission, as well as the Court of Auditors, access to its sites and premises and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct their audits.

2.   OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 (12) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 2, each PPP body referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 shall adopt new financial rules within nine months of the date on which the PPP body falls within the scope of Article 71 of that Regulation.

2.   Each PPP body referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 which has already adopted its financial rules in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 shall revise them to ensure compliance with this Regulation. The revised financial rules shall enter into force at the latest by 1 September 2019.

1.   Delegated Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 110/2014 is repealed with effect from the date of entry into force of this Regulation. However, Articles 20 and 31(4) of that Regulation shall continue to apply until 31 December 2019.

2.   References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex.