14.12.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 474/1

COMMISSION NOTICE

Guidelines on the closure of operational programmes adopted for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and cross-border cooperation programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) (2014-2020)

(2022/C 474/01)

This Commission notice replaces the Commission notice previously published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 417 of 14 October 2021.

Taking into account the importance of timely and efficient closure of the operational programmes approved for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (including the cooperation programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal), the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the programming period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020, including those benefiting from the REACT-EU resources, it is necessary to provide proper guidance on the closing of those programmes in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) and the legal acts of general application adopted on its basis.

These guidelines cover also the cross-border cooperation programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II). The IPA Implementing Regulation refers generally to the CPR or specifically to certain provisions thereof. These guidelines therefore also apply to IPA II cross-border cooperation programmes, unless specified otherwise.

In view of the experience of closing the 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 programming periods, the guidelines propose simplified procedures aiming to build on the best practices identified during the closure of these previous periods.

The guidelines take into account the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and 2021 and the military aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 as well as the associated impact on programme implementation.

The purpose of the guidelines is to facilitate the closure process by providing the methodological framework under which the closure exercise should take place for the financial settlement of the Union’s outstanding budgetary commitments through payment of any final balance to the Member State in respect of a programme and/or decommitment or recovery of the sums unduly paid by the Commission to the Member State.

With the system of annual examination and acceptance of accounts, a significant simplification of the closure procedure has been introduced. The final closure of the programme should therefore be based only on the documents relating to the final accounting year and the final implementation report or the last annual implementation report.

DISCLAIMER:

This is a working document prepared by the Commission services. On the basis of applicable EU law, it provides technical guidance for colleagues and bodies involved in the closure of the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. This guidance is without prejudice to the interpretation of the Court of Justice and the General Court.

Table of Contents

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

POSSIBILITY OF EARLY CLOSURE

PREPARATION FOR CLOSURE

3.1.

Amendment of programmes

3.2.

Submission/ notification and amendment of major projects

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

4.1.

Decommitment

4.2.

Clearance of the initial and annual pre-financing

4.3.

Calculation of the final balance

4.4.

Overbooking

INDICATORS AND PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK AT CLOSURE

5.1.

Reporting output indicators achievement values

5.2.

Implications of the performance framework for closure

PHASING OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OVER TWO PROGRAMMING PERIODS

NON-FUNCTIONING OPERATIONS

OPERATIONS AFFECTED BY ONGOING NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS OR SUSPENDED BY A LEGAL PROCEEDING OR BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL HAVING SUSPENSORY EFFECT

EXPENDITURE AFFECTED BY ONGOING OLAF INVESTIGATIONS, OLAF REPORTS OR AUDITS OF THE COMMISSION OR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

10.

IRREGULARITIES

10.1.

Treatment of irregularities in the final accounting year

10.2.

Amounts to be recovered and irrecoverable amounts

10.3.

Risk of irregularities leading to additional verifications by the programme authorities of expenditure already declared to the Commission

10.4.

Amounts recovered after closure

11.

SUBMISSION OF CLOSURE DOCUMENTS

11.1.

Deadline for submission of closure documents

11.2.

Modification of the closure documents after the deadline for their submission

11.3.

Availability of documents

12.

CONTENT OF CLOSURE DOCUMENTS

12.1.

Final implementation report

12.1.1.

Reporting on major projects

12.1.2.

Acceptance and deadlines

12.2.

Accounts

12.2.1.

Examination and acceptance

12.3.

Management declaration and annual summary

12.4.

Audit opinion and control report

12.4.1.

Financial instruments

12.4.2.

Reliability of data

12.4.3.

Public expenditure paid to beneficiaries

13.

PAYMENT OF THE FINAL BALANCE

14.

LEGALITY AND REGULARITY ISSUES

ANNEX I

ANNEX II

ANNEX III

ANNEX IV

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Operational programmes under the European Regional Development Fund (‘ERDF’) (2) (including the cooperation programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal) (3), the European Social Fund (‘ESF’) (4), the Cohesion Fund (5) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Funds’) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (‘EMFF’) (6) implemented in accordance with the CPR for the 2014-2020 programming period (7), as well as cross-border cooperation programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) based on Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) and implemented in accordance with the Commission IPA II Implementing Regulation (EU) No 447/2014 (9) shall be closed in accordance with the present guidelines.

Closure of such programmes entails the financial settlement of the Union’s outstanding budgetary commitments through payment of any final balance to the Member State (10) (11) in respect of a programme and/or the decommitment or recovery of the sums unduly paid by the Commission to the Member State. The closure of programmes is without prejudice to the Commission’s power to impose financial corrections under the relevant provisions of the CPR.

2. POSSIBILITY OF EARLY CLOSURE

Member States may request an early closure provided that they have carried out all the activities related to the implementation of the programme. For this purpose, an earlier accounting year than the one running from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 should be considered as the final accounting year of the programme. If the Commission accepts such a request, the Member State must submit the closure documents set out in Article 141 of the CPR (the ‘closure documents’) (12) by 15 February of the year following the accounting year considered. Early closure should follow all rules established for closure.

3. PREPARATION FOR CLOSURE

3.1. Amendment of programmes

To ensure proper implementation of programmes and timely preparation of closure, Member States should submit requests for programme amendments (13), including amendments of financing plans to transfer funds between the priority axes of the same programme under the same category of region and the same Fund, by 30 September 2023. This will permit decisions to be adopted before the final date of eligibility, 31 December 2023. Member States should notify revised financial tables to the Commission for non-substantial transfers in accordance with Article 30(5) and (6) of the CPR (14) and for the amendments related to the co-financing rate in accordance with Article 30(7) of the CPR (15) before the final date of eligibility, 31 December 2023.

Cross-border cooperation programmes under IPA II shall be amended in accordance with Article 31(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation. Programme amendments requiring a formal Commission decision should be submitted by 30 September 2023. With regard to transfers between priorities, Article 31(5A) IPA II Implementing Regulation applies. Such transfers should be notified by 31 December 2023.

Transfers of REACT-EU resources referred to in Article 92a of the CPR (16) between the ERDF and ESF, in accordance with the tenth subparagraph of Article 92b(5) of the CPR (17) can only apply to the ongoing year or to future years in the financing plan. Any requests for amendments of the financing plans affecting the resources available for programming for the years 2021 and 2022 involving a transfer between the ERDF and the ESF should be submitted by 15 November of the corresponding year, to allow for sufficient time for the decisions to be adopted before 31 December. Annual budgetary commitments for a given year cannot be modified beyond 31 December of that year.

3.2. Submission/ notification and amendment of major projects (18)

As major projects involve considerable amounts of the Funds and are therefore important for the overall performance of the programmes, Member States should submit a request or a notification for major project approval or amendment by 30 September 2023. This will permit adoption of the decisions before the final date of eligibility, 31 December 2023.

The submission and notification of major projects must follow the procedures set out in Article 102 and 103 of the CPR and the information requirements of Article 101 of the CPR, of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 (19) and of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 (20).

The requests for amendment of major projects must follow the same procedure as the one used for the initial notification or submission to the Commission (Article 102(1) or Article 102(2) of the CPR respectively). Amendments of major projects include phasing requests, amendments of major projects still to be completed in the 2014-2020 programming period and cancellation of major projects.

4. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

4.1. Decommitment

Unused commitments related to the last year of the programming period will be decommitted in the course of closure (21). The part of commitments still open on 31 December 2023 will be decommitted if any of the closure documents has not been submitted to the Commission by 15 February 2025, or 1 March 2025 if extended by the Commission (22).

In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 92b(8) of the CPR (23), the programmes to which the Member States allocate REACT-EU resources will cover the period until 31 December 2022, subject to paragraph 4 of that Article. Unused commitments related to REACT-EU resources will also be decommitted in the course of the closure of the programmes (24).

4.2. Clearance of the initial and annual pre-financing

The Commission will carry out clearance of initial pre-financing paid to Member States not later than when a programme is closed (25). This also applies to additional pre-financing paid from the REACT-EU resources (26).

Amounts paid as initial pre-financing can be cleared only with regard to declared eligible expenditure. Clearance of initial pre-financing may, however, start as soon as the programme receives through payments the maximum Funds contribution set out in the Commission decision approving the programme. In this event, the eligible expenditure included in the accounts will be used by the Commission, following calculation of the amount chargeable to the Funds and the EMFF, to clear the annual pre-financing first and the Commission will thereafter proceed with clearance of the initial pre-financing. Clearance will be done by programme, Fund and category of region, after acceptance of the accounts.

Amounts not recovered by the Commission in 2020 for the accounts submitted in 2020, will be cleared or recovered at closure (27). Such amounts will be taken into account when calculating the final balance for the programme.

4.3. Calculation of the final balance

For the final accounting year, as for any other accounting year, the Commission will reimburse 90 % of the amount claimed by the Member State by applying the co-financing rate for each priority to the eligible expenditure for the priority included in the interim payment applications, provided there are available commitments in the programme, and subject to available funding.

The Commission will determine the amount chargeable to the Funds and to the EMFF for the final accounting year in accordance with Article 139 of the CPR. Article 139(6) of the CPR establishes that, on the basis of the accepted accounts, the Commission calculates the amount chargeable to the Funds and to the EMFF for the accounting year taking into account both the amounts in the accounts and the total amount of payments made by the Commission during the accounting year.

Following the calculation of the amount chargeable to the Funds and the EMFF, the Commission will clear the annual and/or initial pre-financing. In accordance with the Article 139(7), second subparagraph, of the CPR (28), amounts recoverable but not recovered by the Commission for the accounts submitted in 2020 will be cleared or recovered at closure.

In accordance with Article 130(3) of the CPR (29), the contribution from the Funds or the EMFF through payment of the final balance must not exceed:

—

at the level of the priority per Fund and per category of region,

—	by more than 15 %, the contribution from the Funds or the EMFF for each priority per Fund and per category of region as set out in the Commission decision approving the programme;

—

at the level of the programme,

—	the eligible public expenditure declared; or

—	the contribution from each Fund and category of region to each programme as set out in the Commission decision approving the programme; whichever is the lower.

REACT-EU resources constitute external assigned revenue which, in accordance with Article 21(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 (30), shall be used to finance specific items of expenditure. REACT-EU resources are kept on specific budget lines, separate from the non-REACT-EU ERDF and ESF budget lines. Therefore, it is not possible to apply the 15 % flexibility between them, as this would imply a modification of the budgetary commitment after the year in which it was made. As a result, in the case of REACT-EU, the 15 % flexibility will only apply between the REACT-EU priorities of the same Fund within the same programme, for instance between two REACT-EU ERDF priorities.

The amount due to be paid/recovered calculated in accordance with the rules explained above will constitute the final balance for the programme.

An example of the application of the 15 % flexibility and capping of public expenditure within the calculation of the final balance for a programme is set out in Annex IV to these guidelines.

4.4. Overbooking

Overbooking is the practice of the Member States of declaring to the Commission eligible expenditure in excess of the maximum Funds contribution set out in the Commission decision approving the programme.

As payment applications are cumulative only within a given accounting year, if a priority reaches the maximum Funds contribution set out in the Commission decision approving the programme before the final accounting year, expenditure declared to the Commission in excess of this maximum Funds contribution for the priority will not be carried over to the next accounting year.

Certifying authorities may therefore decide that amounts entered in their accounting system in an accounting year are declared to the Commission in a subsequent accounting year or indeed in the final accounting year for the purposes of the closure.

Taking the above into account, and should Member States wish to have overbooked expenditure available in the final accounting year, they could refrain from declaring to the Commission overbooked expenditure in any accounting year before the final accounting year and use this expenditure considering the needs of the programme. Member States may consider declaring overbooked expenditure only in the final accounting year, except if:

—	they need to declare it in an earlier accounting year to replace irregular amounts detected (within the limits of the Funds or the EMFF contribution for the priority); or

—	they modify the financing plan of the programme to increase the Funds or the EMFF contribution for the overbooked priority in accordance with the rules applicable to the programme amendments.

If overbooked expenditure is not needed before the final accounting year, Member States would declare to the Commission such expenditure, including expenditure incurred and paid by beneficiaries during the previous accounting years, only in the final accounting year (or at an earlier stage if a Member State opts for an early closure). Overbooked expenditure declared to the Commission in the final accounting year will be considered at and after closure to replace irregular amounts (declared in any accounting year, including the final accounting year) and for the 15 % flexibility as per Article 130(3) of the CPR (31). Without prejudice to Article 145(7) of the CPR (32), the Member States may be able to replace irregular amounts, which are detected after the submission of the accounts for the final accounting year/after closure, using overbooked expenditure.

5. INDICATORS AND PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK AT CLOSURE

At closure for the EMFF, data for indicators must be transmitted in the last annual implementation report of the programme using the template tables 1, 2 and 3 set out in the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1362/2014 (33).

At closure for the ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund, data for output and result indicators must be transmitted in the final implementation report of the programme using the template tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 set out in Annex V (34) to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207. In the column ‘Observations’, Member States should explain (where necessary) the year 2023 achievement values, especially in cases where they are significantly different from the set targets (i.e. a deviation of more than 20 %). Data for the indicators selected for the performance framework must be reported in table 5 of Annex V (35) to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207.

Member States are required to include in the final implementation report the following information on indicators:

—	cumulative (annual for ESF): values for output and result indicators up to and including the year 2023. For ERDF and Cohesion Fund output indicators and for ESF outputs and result indicators, values will relate to operations that are co-financed by the programme;

—	any issues affecting the performance of the programme, including the achievement of the targets;

—

(for ERDF and Cohesion Fund) the year 2023 values for the result indicators of the programmes either taken from statistics or provided by information sources specific to the priority (such as surveys), at particular points in time. Such values must encompass the contribution of the programme and the contribution of other factors. They relate to all potential beneficiaries (the same unit of analysis as for the definition of the baseline).

Member States are recommended not to revise the targets beyond 2022, except for cases where the revision is due to changes in allocations for a given priority or phasing of certain operations. The achievement of targets will be assessed by the Commission taking into account the information provided in the final implementation report of the programme, including elements and factors that might have seriously affected the achievement of the targets set.

5.1. Reporting output indicators achievement values

Output indicator achievement values reported in the final implementation report or the last annual implementation report for the EMFF of a programme should refer to what has been delivered by the operations supported under the programme. Although the indicator achievement values should correspond to the situation at 31 December 2023, in practice, outputs delivered by the co-financed operations until the date of submission of the final implementation report or the last annual implementation report for the EMFF of the programme can be reported in these documents. Programme audit authorities should conclude on the reliability of performance data in the annual control report of the final accounting year.

For phased operations (see section 6 of these guidelines), only outputs actually delivered by the phase included in the 2014-2020 programming period can be reported in the final implementation report of the programme. Other outputs (together with the related expenditure) must be reported under the 2021-2027 programming period.

For non-functioning operations (see section 7 of these guidelines), only outputs actually delivered based on the expenditure declared under the programme should be reported in the final implementation report of the programme. In certain cases, this will mean zero output is reported. Outputs delivered by non-functioning operations will be assessed after 15 February 2027, the deadline for Member States to physically complete or fully implement such operations and ensure they contribute to the objectives of the relevant priorities.

5.2. Implications of the performance framework for closure

The Commission will assess the achievement of the target values for indicators in the performance framework based on the values reported in the final implementation report or the last annual implementation report for the EMFF of the programme.

Member States may propose a revision of targets through a programme amendment in duly justified cases, such as a significant change in the economic, environmental and labour market conditions, and when the revision is a consequence of changes in allocations for a given priority (36). The revision of the targets may be proposed by Member States through a programme amendment in case of phasing of certain operations in accordance with section 6 of these guidelines.

A serious failure to achieve the targets relating only to financial indicators, output indicators and key implementation steps may give rise to financial corrections if the conditions set out in Article 22(7) of the CPR are met (37). A serious failure is assessed in accordance with criteria set out in Article 6(3) and (4) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 215/2014 (38).

Where a programme authority decides to include non-functioning operations in a programme, the lack of outputs may adversely affect the achievement of the targets selected for the performance framework. If the non-functioning operations included in the programme result in a serious failure to achieve the targets selected for the performance framework, the undertaking by the Member State to physically complete or fully implement such operations and to ensure they contribute to the objectives of the relevant priorities by 15 February 2027, will be assimilated to a corrective action in order to achieve the targets, referred to in Article 22(7) of the CPR. This is subject to the condition that the necessary outputs are delivered, by the operations concerned, in the additional period granted by section 7 of these guidelines. A financial correction may be applied if the outputs are not delivered by 15 February 2027.

If phasing of certain operations results in a serious failure to achieve the targets selected for the performance framework, the Commission may decide to apply a financial correction under Article 22(7) of the CPR.

In accordance with Article 2 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014 (39), financial corrections will be determined on a flat rate basis having regard to the achievement/absorption coefficient, i.e., the average of final achievement rates for all output indicators and key implementation steps selected for the performance framework under a given priority divided by the final achievement rate for the financial indicator selected for the performance framework under a given priority. In accordance with Article 3(2) of the same Delegated Regulation, the flat rate correction is to be applied to the contribution from the Fund based on the expenditure declared by the Member State under the priority concerned. Under Article 3(4) of the Delegated Regulation, the level of financial correction resulting from the application of the flat rate must not be disproportionate.

In accordance with Article 92b(13)(c) of the CPR (40), the requirements on the performance reserve and the application of the performance framework do not apply to the REACT-EU resources.

6. PHASING OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OVER TWO PROGRAMMING PERIODS

This section is based on Article 118 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council (41) which provides conditions for the ‘selection of an operation consisting of the second phase of an operation selected for support and started under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013’, and Article 118a of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 which provides conditions for ‘operations subject to phased implementation that were selected for support before 29 June 2022 under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013’ and the Fund-specific Regulations (42) (43).

Operations should be physically completed or fully implemented and contributing to the objectives of the relevant priorities at the time of submission of the closure documents. However, as it is sometimes difficult to align operations’ implementation with the programming period and in order to ensure that operations are completed and contribute to the policy goals, in accordance with Article 118 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 phasing operations into the 2021-2027 programming period is possible (with the exception of financial instruments) provided that all the following conditions are met:

—	the operation was not co-financed by the Funds or the EMFF under the 2007-2013 programming period;

—	the total cost of both phases of the operation exceeds EUR 5 million;

—	the operation has two identifiable phases from a financial point of view;

—	there is a detailed and complete audit trail for the expenditure to ensure that the same expenditure is not declared twice to the Commission;

—	the second phase of the operation is eligible for co-financing from the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund or the EMFAF (44) under the 2021-2027 programming period and is compliant with all applicable rules of the 2021-2027 programming period;

—	the Member State undertakes, in the final implementation report submitted in accordance with Article 141 of the CPR, or in the context of the EMFF in the last annual implementation report, to complete the second and final phase during the 2021-2027 programming period.

Likewise, notwithstanding Article 118 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, operations that were selected for support and started before 29 June 2022 under the CPR and the Fund-specific Regulations (45) are deemed eligible for support also under Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and the corresponding Fund-specific Regulations in the 2021-2027 programming period (46) in accordance with Article 118a of this Regulation (47). Therefore both phases of these phased projects are subject to all the eligibility conditions of the 2014-2020 programming period. The 2021-2027 rules on thematic concentration of funds remain unchanged.

By way of derogation from Article 73(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the managing authority (48) may decide to grant support to such operations under Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 provided the following conditions are met:

—	the total cost of both phases of the operation exceeds EUR 1 million;

—	the operation has two phases identifiable from a financial point of view;

—	there is a detailed and complete audit trail for the expenditure to ensure that the same expenditure is not declared twice to the Commission;

—	the operation falls within actions programmed under a relevant specific objective and is attributed to a type of intervention in accordance with Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (49);

—	the Member State undertakes, in the final implementation report submitted in accordance with Article 141 of the CPR, or in the context of the EMFF in the last annual implementation report, to complete the second and final phase during the 2021-2027 programming period.

Member States should submit, with the final implementation report (or, for the EMFF, with the last annual implementation report), a list of all phased operations (in accordance with Article 118 and/or Article 118a of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060), using the template provided in Annex I to these guidelines.

In doing so, Member States undertake that the operations listed in Annex I to these guidelines will be functioning, i.e. physically completed or fully implemented and contributing to the objectives of the relevant priorities by the deadline to submit the assurance package for the final accounting year of the 2021-2027 programming period. An operation phased in this way is considered as a whole and regarded as completed only once both phases have been physically completed or fully implemented and have contributed to the objectives of the relevant priorities. Failure to complete a phased operation as planned may give rise to financial corrections for both phases of the operation.

In order to request formally the phasing of a major project, Member States should submit or notify either a major project which foresees phasing over two programming periods or a request for amendment of a major project already approved in 2014-2020 (see section 3.2 of these guidelines).

In accordance with section 11.2 of these guidelines, the list of phased operations submitted with the final implementation report (or, for the EMFF, the last annual implementation report) using the template in Annex I of these guidelines may not be modified after the deadline for the submission of the closure documents, except when the Commission requests a modification or in the cases of clerical mistakes.

7. NON-FUNCTIONING OPERATIONS

As stated above, at the time of submission of the closure documents, Member States must ensure that all operations (including the operations phased from the 2007-2013 programming period) in the programme are functioning, i.e., they have been physically completed or fully implemented and have contributed to the objectives of the relevant priorities (50).

Member States are invited to exclude from the accounts for the final accounting year expenditure incurred and paid for operations that are not physically completed or fully implemented and/or not contributing to the objectives of the relevant priorities (‘non-functioning operations’). Member States may however decide to include in the accounts for the final accounting year such expenditure provided that:

—	the total cost of each non-functioning operation exceeds EUR 1 million; and

—	the total expenditure certified to the Commission for the non-functioning operations does not exceed 20 % of the eligible total expenditure (EU and national) decided for the programme.

By including expenditure for non-functioning operations in the accounts for the final accounting year, Member States undertake to physically complete or fully implement all such non-functioning operations and ensure they contribute to the objectives of the relevant priorities not later than by 15 February 2027, and to reimburse the amounts concerned to the EU budget if such operations are non-functioning by this date.

Member States should submit, with the final implementation report (or, for the EMFF, the last annual implementation report), a list of the non-functioning operations included in the programme, using the template provided in Annex II to these guidelines. Member States should monitor the non-functioning operations and by 15 February 2027, they should provide the Commission with the necessary information on their physical completion or full implementation and their contribution to the objectives of the relevant priorities.

If the operations are non-functioning by 15 February 2027, Member States, taking into account the status of completion and implementation as well as the achievement of the overall objectives of the operations, should provide the Commission with the amounts to be corrected and justification as to how the amounts were calculated. Upon receipt of this information, the Commission will proceed with the recovery of the amounts concerned. Any irregular amounts may be replaced using overbooked expenditure (if available).

If the Commission disagrees with the calculation of the amounts to be corrected, it may decide to initiate a financial correction procedure.

In addition, the lack of physical completion or full implementation of the operations and/or their lack of contribution to the objectives of the relevant priorities by the above deadline may give rise to a financial correction for a serious failure to achieve the targets selected for the performance framework (51).

8. OPERATIONS AFFECTED BY ONGOING NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS OR SUSPENDED BY A LEGAL PROCEEDING OR BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL HAVING SUSPENSORY EFFECT

Before submitting the closure documents, Member States should decide whether or not to exclude from the accounts for the final accounting year all or part of the expenditure for any operation affected by ongoing national investigations or suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect.

Examples of ongoing national investigations include investigations carried out by national bodies different to the programme authorities (such as police investigations, judicial or criminal investigations) the outcome of which may affect the expenditure’s legality and regularity.

Suspension of an operation by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal does not extend the final date for incurring eligible expenditure set out in Article 65(2) of the CPR (52).

No expenditure may be declared for operations suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect after the submission of the final application for an interim payment for the final accounting year.

If operations affected by ongoing national investigations or suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect are not excluded from the accounts for the final accounting year, Member States should submit, with the final implementation report, a list of such operations using the template provided in Annex III to these guidelines.

Member States must inform (53) the Commission about the outcome of national investigations, legal proceedings and administrative appeals. Where irregularities are established, the Commission will proceed with recovery of the amounts concerned. Any irregular amounts may be replaced using overbooked expenditure (if available).

9. EXPENDITURE AFFECTED BY ONGOING OLAF INVESTIGATIONS, OLAF REPORTS OR AUDITS OF THE COMMISSION OR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

Before submitting the closure documents, Member States are invited to exclude from the accounts for the final accounting year expenditure affected by potential irregularities identified in ongoing OLAF investigations (if such investigations and the concerned affected expenditure are known to the Member States at that stage), OLAF reports or the Commission’s or the European Court of Auditors’ audits. If the Member State contests such findings or the concerned affected expenditure amounts and includes the affected expenditure in the accounts, the Commission will continue the contradictory procedure, which may lead to a financial correction. Without prejudice to Article 145(7) of the CPR (54), any irregular amounts may be replaced using overbooked expenditure (if available).

10. IRREGULARITIES

The accounts for any accounting year, including the final one, must include at the level of each priority and, where applicable, at the level of Fund and category of region:

—	the amounts withdrawn and recovered during the accounting year;

—	the amounts to be recovered at the end of the accounting year;

—	the recoveries effected in accordance with Article 71 of the CPR; and

—	the irrecoverable amounts (55).

The format for reporting withdrawals and recoveries, amounts to be recovered, recoveries effected in accordance with Article 71 of the CPR and irrecoverable amounts are set out in the model for the accounts established in Annex VII to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 (Appendices 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively) (56).

10.1. Treatment of irregularities in the final accounting year

Given that after the final application for an interim payment to be submitted by 31 July 2024, no subsequent payment application can be submitted to the Commission, any necessary deductions (notwithstanding the fact that they may refer to the expenditure declared in previous accounting years) must be carried out in the accounts for the final accounting year and reported in accordance with the model for the accounts, in particular Appendices 1, 2 and 8 thereto.

This does not concern amounts to be recovered, irrecoverable amounts or amounts referred to in sections 8 and 9 of these guidelines for which the Member State decided to maintain the affected expenditure in the accounts.

If pursuant to Article 137(2) of the CPR (57), the Member State decides to exclude expenditure from the accounts for the final accounting year due to an ongoing assessment of that expenditure’s legality and regularity, if such expenditure is subsequently found to be legal and regular, it cannot be re-declared because there will be no subsequent applications for interim payment in which to include it.

10.2. Amounts to be recovered and irrecoverable amounts

In the accounts for the final accounting year, Member States may report amounts to be recovered and irrecoverable amounts relating to expenditure declared not only in the previous accounting years, but also in the final accounting year (58). Member States may also report in the accounts for the final accounting year amounts that have become amounts to be recovered or irrecoverable amounts after the end of the final accounting year but before submission of the closure documents.

The Commission will exclude the amounts reported as to be recovered and irrecoverable from the calculation of the final balance (59).

The Commission will decide whether to reimburse the reported amounts from the budget of the Union, based on the outcome of the recovery process and/or of the Commission’s assessment in relation to irrecoverable amounts, in accordance with the procedure established in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/568 (60). Amounts in Appendices 3 and 5 of the accounts related to expenditure declared in the final accounting year should also be included in Appendix 1 of the accounts to allow for their possible future reimbursement by the budget of the Union, pending the outcome of such procedures or assessments.

The Member State should inform the Commission at the earliest convenience on the outcome of the pending recovery process.

If a Member State concludes that irrecoverable amounts should be charged to the budget of the Union, it should submit a request to the Commission to confirm such a conclusion following the form set out in Annex to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/568. The Commission will determine whether the irrecoverable amounts should be charged to the budget of the Union in accordance with the rules established in Article 3 of the same Regulation. This concerns irrecoverable amounts included in Appendix 5 (‘irrecoverable amounts’) of the programme accounts set out in Annex VII to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 and also amounts included in Appendix 3 (‘amounts to be recovered’) of the same Annex as amounts to be recovered which may become irrecoverable amounts after the accounts for the final accounting year have been submitted.

10.3. Risk of irregularities leading to additional verifications by the programme authorities of expenditure already declared to the Commission

If a risk of irregularities has been detected which leads to additional verifications by programme authorities of expenditure already declared to the Commission, national authorities must comply with the following deadlines:

—

for expenditure deducted from the accounts of an accounting year preceding the final accounting year in accordance with Article 137(2) of the CPR, the additional verifications must be finalised in time to enable the declaration of the expenditure at the latest in the final application for an interim payment for the final accounting year, for which the deadline for submission is 31 July 2024;

—

in case of a risk of irregularities leading to additional verifications of expenditure declared in the final accounting year, the decision about its legality and regularity and therefore the decision whether to keep this expenditure in or deduct it from the accounts for the final accounting year, should be taken at the moment of the submission of the accounts, for which the deadline for submission is 15 February 2025, or 1 March 2025, if extended by the Commission.

10.4. Amounts recovered after closure

If the Member State established irregularities after closure in relation to the expenditure included in the accounts, the amounts recovered after closure must be repaid to the budget of the Union. Any irregular amounts may be replaced using overbooked expenditure (if available).

11. SUBMISSION OF CLOSURE DOCUMENTS

11.1. Deadline for submission of closure documents

The closure documents must be submitted by 15 February 2025 (61) (except for the last annual implementation report of the EMFF which must be submitted by 31 May 2024 (62)). This deadline may be extended by the Commission to 1 March 2025, upon communication by the Member State concerned, in accordance with Article 63(7) of the Financial Regulation.

The Commission will automatically decommit the part of the commitments still open on 31 December 2023 if any of the closure documents has not been submitted to the Commission by 15 February 2025 (or 1 March 2025, if extended by the Commission) (63). In such a case, closure of the programme will be carried out on the basis of the available information.

Failure to submit any of the closure documents may be an indication of a serious deficiency in the management and control system of the programme, which puts at risk the Union contribution already paid to the programme. The Commission may decide to impose a financial correction in such cases.

11.2. Modification of the closure documents after the deadline for their submission

Member States may not modify any of the closure documents after the deadline for their submission, except when the Commission requests a modification or in case of clerical mistakes.

11.3. Availability of documents

In accordance with Article 140(1) of the CPR (64), the retention period for the availability of documents could be interrupted either in the case of legal proceedings or by a duly justified request of the Commission.

If the Member State opted to phase an operation over two programming periods (as per section 6 of these guidelines), the Commission will make a request for an interruption of the retention period for the first phase of such operation until the retention period starts for the second phase of the operation in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 140(1) of the CPR.

If the Member State opted to use the additional time granted by the Commission to physically complete or fully implement the non-functioning operation and to ensure it contributes to the objectives of the relevant priorities (as per section 7 of these guidelines), the Commission will make a request, in accordance with the fourth subparagraph of Article 140(1), for an interruption of the retention period for such operation until it is notified to the Commission as functioning, i.e. physically completed or fully implemented and have contributed to the objectives of the relevant priorities.

The interruption is justified by the fact that the overall eligibility and functioning of the whole operation (both phases) can only be verified or audited by the Commission services or the European Court of Auditors upon its completion.

12. CONTENT OF CLOSURE DOCUMENTS

12.1. Final implementation report

The final implementation report of the programmes supported by the ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund must include the information described in Article 50(2) and (5) (for the Investment for growth and jobs goal, for the European territorial cooperation goal and for IPA II programmes) (65) and Article 111(3) of the CPR (for the Investment for growth and jobs goal) (66).

The structure of the final implementation report is set out in Annex V (Investment for growth and Jobs goal) and Annex X (European Territorial Cooperation goal) to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 (67).

In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 92b(7) of the CPR (68), Member States shall report in the final implementation report on the use made of the additional initial pre-financing from the REACT-EU resources to address the migratory challenges faced as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation and the contribution of that additional initial pre-financing to the recovery of the economy.

Member States shall also report in the final implementation report on the fulfilment of the condition set out in the fourth subparagraph of Article 98(4) of the CPR (69), which requires that where a programme has a dedicated priority axis to finance operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation by making use of the flexibility provided by the first and second sub-paragraphs of Article 98(4) CPR, at least 30 % of the financial allocation of that priority axis shall be attributed to operations which have beneficiaries that are local authorities and civil society organisations operating in local communities. Where this condition is not fulfilled, reimbursement by the Commission under the priority axis concerned shall be reduced proportionately to ensure that this condition is respected when calculating the final balance to be paid to the programme.

The final implementation report should additionally include:

—	a list of all phased operations with the amount of the eligible expenditure for the first phase incurred in the 2014-2020 programming period in accordance with section 6 of these guidelines. The list should follow the template in Annex I to these guidelines;

—	a list of all non-functioning operations in accordance with section 7 of these guidelines. The list should follow the template in Annex II to these guidelines;

—	a list of all operations affected by ongoing national investigations or suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect in accordance with section 8 of these guidelines. The list should follow the template in Annex III to these guidelines.

For the programmes supported by the EMFF a final implementation report is not required. Instead, the last annual implementation report (which should include the tables in Annex I, II and III to these guidelines, where applicable) must be submitted by 31 May 2024, and include the information described in Article 50(2) of the CPR and Article 114 of the Regulation (EU) No 508/2014. The structure of such annual implementation report is set out in Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1362/2014.

12.1.1. Reporting on major projects (70)

By including a major project in the final implementation report (table 12 of Annex V to the Implementing Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/207), the Member State confirms that the major project is physically completed or fully implemented and contributes to the objectives of the relevant priorities. Major projects that are non-functioning, or which are phased, should be reported in accordance with sections 6 and 7 of these guidelines.

In the column ‘Observations’ in table 12, Member States should indicate whether the major project has been implemented in accordance with the documentation submitted or notified to the Commission under Article 102 or 103 of the CPR which formed the basis for the Commission decision approving the financial contribution to the project, in the form of the decision or tacit agreement. Member States should describe and explain any divergence in the implementation of the major project compared to what was stated in the above-mentioned documentation.

The Commission will assess compliance of the implemented major project with the documentation submitted or notified (and the Commission decision approving the financial contribution where relevant). In doing so, the Commission will take into account the reasons and consequences of any non-compliance of the implemented major project with the documentation supporting the Commission’s approval and may impose a financial correction.

12.1.2. Acceptance and deadlines

The Commission will examine the final implementation report and inform the Member State of its observations within five months of the date of its receipt (71). Where the Commission does not provide observations within this deadline, the report will be deemed to be accepted.

Member States will be given two months to respond to the Commission’s observations on a final implementation report. The Commission may extend this deadline by a further two months, upon request by a Member State. The final implementation report will be accepted if the Commission has no observations or if all the Commission’s observations have been adequately addressed.

12.2. Accounts

The accounts for the final accounting year, as for any other accounting year, must include the information described in Article 137(1) of the CPR. The structure of the accounts is set out in Annex VII to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014. They need to be prepared taking into consideration the specific requirements for the final accounting year (see in particular section 10 above).

12.2.1. Examination and acceptance

The examination and acceptance of the accounts for the final accounting year follows the same rules as established for the examination and acceptance of accounts for any other accounting year.

The Commission will apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the accounts for the final accounting year and inform the Member State by 31 May 2025 as to whether it accepts that the accounts are complete, accurate and true (72).

12.3. Management declaration and annual summary

The structure of the management declaration for the final accounting year, as for any other accounting year, is set out in Annex VI to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 (73).

12.4. Audit opinion and control report

The structure of the audit opinion for the final accounting year, as for any other accounting year, is set out in Annex VIII to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 (74).

The structure of the control report for the final accounting year, as for any other accounting year, is set out in Annex IX to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 (75).

Where a common management and control system applies to more than one programme, the Member State can opt to provide the required information in a single control report covering all the programmes concerned.

The control report for the final accounting year should also include:

—	information on open findings stemming from the audits carried out by the Commission services or the European Court of Auditors, which should be provided in section 8 ‘Other information’ of the control report;

—	assurance on the legality and regularity of expenditure under financial instruments (Articles 41 and 42 of the CPR);

—	assurance on the reliability of the data relating to indicators;

—	assurance that the amount of public expenditure paid to beneficiaries is at least equal to the contribution from the Funds and the EMFF paid by the Commission to the Member State (Article 129 of the CPR (76)).

12.4.1. Financial instruments (77)

For financial instruments, programme audit authorities should obtain assurance that the final amounts declared at closure are eligible. This information should be provided in section 9 ‘Overall level of assurance’ of the control report and, if relevant, in other sections of the report (in particular, sections 4 ‘System audits’ and 5 ‘Audits of operations’).

For financial instruments subject to phased applications for interim payments (advance payments tranches) (78), the eligibility of expenditure related to the last tranche, as well as up to 15 % of the amounts included in previous tranches, might not be covered by previous audits of operations. Programme audit authorities should obtain assurance on the legality and regularity of this expenditure before submission of the accounts for the final accounting year. However, it is not necessary for the final recipient to have completed the implementation of an investment supported by the financial instrument by the submission of the closure documents. Programme audit authorities should report how they have obtained this assurance and confirm to the Commission the eligibility of the total expenditure of the financial instruments in accordance with Article 42 of the CPR in the control report for the final accounting year.

For financial instruments at closure, it is recommended that the programme audit authority covers the remaining population of eligible expenditure not covered previously during audits of operations. It is not necessary that all financial instruments are audited at closure, but no financial instrument should be excluded from random selection. Furthermore, programme audit authorities may decide to group the selected financial instruments for the purpose of their audits, given that the results obtained will be applicable to all the financial instruments within the group.

Programme audit authorities should carry out an audit of a statistical sample of investments and management costs and fees and may treat such expenditure as an additional sampling period in order to use the results of audits carried out previously (79).

12.4.2. Reliability of data

Programme audit authorities should conclude on the reliability of data relating to indicators, in the control report of the final accounting year, including a conclusion on the assessment on key requirement 6 ‘Reliable system for collecting, recording and storing data for monitoring, evaluation, financial management, verification and audit purposes, including links with electronic data exchange systems with beneficiaries’ set out in table 1 of Annex IV to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014 (80). This assessment of key requirement 6 should include confirmation that the aggregated data reported to the Commission is correct.

12.4.3. Public expenditure paid to beneficiaries

The certifying authority should ensure that, in its calculations for the final accounts, the compliance with Article 129 of the CPR is respected. The national audit authority should include this aspect in its audit of the accounts for the final accounting year and report about the assurance obtained in chapter 6 of the final control report.

13. PAYMENT OF THE FINAL BALANCE

The final balance will be paid no later than three months after the date of acceptance of the accounts for the final accounting year or one month after the date of acceptance of the final implementation report, whichever date is later (81).

This is without prejudice to the Commission’s power to interrupt the deadline for payment of the final balance or suspend such payment.

14. LEGALITY AND REGULARITY ISSUES

Issues related to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions concerning expenditure in the accepted accounts can be raised by the Commission after payment of the final balance and closure of the programme.

Closure of the programme is without prejudice to the Commission’s right to impose financial corrections in accordance with Articles 85, 144 and 145 of the CPR (82), and additionally in the case of EMFF, Article 105 of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014.

(1) Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320) (‘CPR’).

(2) Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and on specific provisions concerning the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 289).

(3) Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial cooperation goal (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 259).

(4) Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 470).

(5) Regulation (EU) No 1300/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 281).

(6) Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1).

(7) In accordance with the Article 92b(8), second subparagraph, of the CPR, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 December 2020 amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards additional resources and implementing arrangements to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and for preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU) (OJ L 437, 28.12.2020, p. 30), the programmes to which the Member States allocate REACT-EU resources will cover the period until 31 December 2022, subject to paragraph 4 of that Article.

(8) 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) (‘IPA II Regulation’).

(9) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 447/2014 of 2 May 2014 on the specific rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) (OJ L 132, 3.5.2014, p. 32) (‘IPA II Implementing Regulation’).

(10) For cooperation programmes supported by the ERDF under the European territorial cooperation goal and for cross-border cooperation programmes supported by the IPA II, ‘Member State’ as mentioned in the present guidelines should be understood as the Member State hosting the managing authority.

(11) In accordance with Article 138(1) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ C 384I, 12.11.2019, p. 1), (‘the Withdrawal Agreement’), in respect of the implementation of the Union programmes and activities committed under the MFF 2014-2020 or previous financial perspectives, applicable Union law, including the rules on financial corrections and on clearance of accounts, will continue to apply to the United Kingdom after 31 December 2020 until the closure of those Union programmes and activities, unless technical measures have been adopted by Joint Committee in accordance with Article 138(5) of the Withdrawal Agreement. However, it should be noted that the provisions of these guidelines relating to REACT-EU resources do not apply to the United Kingdom, as per the fifth subparagraph of Article 154 of the CPR, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(12) Article 141 CPR applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(13) Article 30(1) of the CPR.

(14) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of 30 March 2020 and FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(15) As amended by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(16) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(17) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(18) Major projects are not relevant to the programmes supported by the EMFF. ETC and IPA II programmes have not supported major projects.

(19) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/207 of 20 January 2015 laying down detailed rules implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the models for the progress report, submission of the information on a major project, the joint action plan, the implementation reports for the Investment for growth and jobs goal, the management declaration, the audit strategy, the audit opinion and the annual control report and the methodology for carrying out the cost-benefit analysis and pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the model for the implementation reports for the European territorial cooperation goal (OJ L 38, 13.2.2015, p. 1).

(20) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1011/2014 of 22 September 2014 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the models for submission of certain information to the Commission and the detailed rules concerning the exchanges of information between beneficiaries and managing authorities, certifying authorities, audit authorities and intermediate bodies (OJ L 286, 30.9.2014, p. 1).

(21) Article 86(2) of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(4) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(22) Article 86(4) and 136(2) of the CPR; apply to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(4) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(23) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(24) Fifth subparagraph of Article 92b(5) of the CPR, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(25) Article 82 of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(2) IPA II Regulation.

(26) Third subparagraph of Article 92b(7) of the CPR, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(27) Article 139(7) of the CPR, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of 30 March 2020; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Regulation.

(28) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of 30 March 2020.

(29) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of 23 April 2020 and FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(2) IPA II Regulation.

(30) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1) (‘the Financial Regulation’).

(31) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of 23 April 2020 and FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(32) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(33) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1362/2014 of 18 December 2014 laying down rules on a simplified procedure for the approval of certain amendments to operational programmes financed under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and rules concerning the format and presentation of the annual reports on the implementation of those programmes (OJ L 365, 19.12.2014, p. 124).

(34) Tables 1 and 2 of Annex X to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015/207 for ETC and IPA II (by virtue of Article 42(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation).

(35) Table 3 of Annex X to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015/207 for ETC and IPA II.

(36) Point 5 of Annex II to the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 34(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation and Article 8(2), 1st subparagraph, point (b)(v) ETC.

(37) Articles 22(7) and 144(4) of the CPR; the latter applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(38) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 215/2014 of 7 March 2014 laying down rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with regard to methodologies for climate change support, the determination of milestones and targets in the performance framework and the nomenclature of categories of intervention for the European Structural and Investment Funds (OJ L 69, 8.3.2014, p. 65). Article 6 Regulation (EU) 215/2014 applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 34(1) of IPA II Implementing Regulation and Article 8(2), 1st subparagraph, point (b)(v) ETC.

(39) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014 of 3 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 138, 13.5.2014, p. 5). Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EU) 480/2014 apply to IPA II by virtue of Article 34(1) of IPA II Implementing Regulation and Article 8(2), 1st subparagraph, point (b)(v) ETC.

(40) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

(41) Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159), as amended by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(42) Regulations referred to in footnotes 2 to 6.

(43) Not applicable to cross-border cooperation programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).

(44) Under the 2021-2027 programming period, the title of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is changed to the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).

(45) Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) No 1300/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No 2014/508 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(46) Article 118a of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, introduced by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(47) As amended by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(48) Monitoring Committee in the case of ETC [and IPA II].

(49) As amended by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039.

(50) An operation, which fulfilled the requirement of Article 71 of the CPR but is no longer functioning at the time of the closure of the programme, should not be considered as a non-functioning operation.

(51) Article 22(7) of the CPR.

(52) Article 43(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation sets a final date for the eligibility of expenditure paid for IPA II cross-border cooperation programmes at 31 December 2023.

(53) Without prejudice to the irregularity reporting obligations in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1970 of 8 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with specific provisions on the reporting of irregularities concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 293, 10.11.2015, p. 1). Regulation (EU) 2015/1970, based on Article 122(2) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(54) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(55) Article 137(1)(b) of the CPR.

(56) Annex VII, based on Article 137(3) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(57) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(58) In order to allow Member States to avail of the possibility under the CPR to declare amounts to be recovered as irrecoverable at closure or after closure for the amounts to be recovered relating to the final accounting year of the programming period.

(59) This will result in a lower amount to be paid or cleared in cases of positive final balance or a higher amount to be recovered in cases for which the final balance is a recovery.

(60) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/568 of 29 January 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the conditions and procedures to determine whether amounts which are irrecoverable shall be reimbursed by Member States concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 97, 13.4.2016, p. 1). Regulation (EU) 2016/568, based on Article 122(2) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(61) Articles 138 and 141(1) of the CPR and Article 63(5) of the Financial Regulation. The CPR provisions apply to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(62) Article 114(1) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1).

(63) Article 136(2) of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(4) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(64) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(65) Apply to IPA II by virtue of Article 42 IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(66) Article 14 ETC, also applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 42(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(67) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 42(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(68) As amended by Regulation (EU) 2022/613 of 12 April 2022.

(69) As amended by FAST CARE Regulation (EU) 2022/2039. Article 98 only applies to the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

(70) Major projects are not relevant to the programmes supported by the EMFF. ETC and IPA II programmes have not supported major projects.

(71) Article 50(7) of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 42(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation, referring in turn to Article 50 CPR.

(72) Article 139 of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(73) Annex VI, based on Article 125(4) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 37(1) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(74) Annex VIII, based on Article 127(5) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 37(3) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(75) Annex IX, based on Article 127(5) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 37(3) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(76) Applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(2) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(77) Not relevant for ETC programmes and not applicable to cross-border cooperation programmes under IPA II.

(78) Article 41 of the CPR.

(79) With regard to financial instruments set up under points (a) and (c) of Article 38(1) of the CPR and for financial instruments set up under point (b) of the same Article implemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB) or other international financial institution, management costs and fees charged by EIB/European Investment Fund (EIF) or by other international financial institution are audited by the external auditors of the EIB/EIF. Furthermore, any management costs and fees charged by the financial intermediaries selected at national level by EIF for loans and equity instruments are checked by the external auditors of EIB/EIF.

(80) Annex IX, based on Article 144(6) CPR, applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(81) Article 141(2) of the CPR; applies to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(5) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

(82) The three provisions apply to IPA II by virtue of Article 46(6) IPA II Implementing Regulation.

ANNEX I

LIST OF ALL OPERATIONS PHASED FROM 2014-2020 INTO 2021-2027

(to be attached to the final implementation report (1))

PROGRAMME TITLE

CCI NUMBER

PRIORITY/FUND/CATEGORY OF REGION	OPERATION REFERENCE	OPERATION TITLE	DATE [AND NUMBER] OF TACIT AGREEMENT/APPROVAL BY COMMISSION (IF MAJOR PROJECT)	PHASED OPERATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 118	PHASED OPERATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 118a	TOTAL COST OF THE OPERATION (in EUR)		TOTAL CERTIFIED EXPENDITURE FOR THE FIRST PHASE (in EUR)	PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION FOR THE FIRST PHASE (in EUR)	PLANNED/ FINAL COMPLETION DATE OF THE SECOND PHASE (YEAR, QUARTER)	2021-2027 PROGRAMME UNDER WHICH THE OPERATION WILL BE/WAS COMPLETED (2)
PRIORITY/FUND/CATEGORY OF REGION	OPERATION REFERENCE	OPERATION TITLE		PHASED OPERATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 118	PHASED OPERATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 118a	Total (for both phases, final or estimated)	For the second phase (final or estimated)	TOTAL CERTIFIED EXPENDITURE FOR THE FIRST PHASE (in EUR)	PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION FOR THE FIRST PHASE (in EUR)

(1) For the EMFF, to be attached to the last annual implementation report.

(2) The name of the programme for the 2021-2027 programming period under which the second phase of the operation will be/was completed.

ANNEX II

LIST OF NON-FUNCTIONING OPERATIONS

(to be attached to the final implementation report (1))

PROGRAMME TITLE

CCI NUMBER

PRIORITY/FUND/CATEGORY OF REGION	OPERATION REFERENCE	OPERATION TITLE	NAME OF THE BENEFICIARY/ RECIPIENT	TOTAL COST OF THE OPERATION (in EUR)	TOTAL CERTIFIED EXPENDITURE (in EUR)	PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION (in EUR)

(1) For the EMFF, to be attached to the last annual implementation report.

ANNEX III

LIST OF OPERATIONS AFFECTED BY ONGOING NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS/ SUSPENDED BY A LEGAL PROCEEDING OR BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL HAVING SUSPENSORY EFFECT

(to be attached to the final implementation report (*1))

PROGRAMME TITLE

CCI NUMBER

PRIORITY/FUND/ CATEGORY OF REGION	OPERATION REFERENCE	OPERATION TITLE	NAME OF THE BENEFICIARY/ RECIPIENT	TOTAL CERTIFIED EXPENDITURE AFFECTED (in EUR)	PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION AFFECTED (in EUR)	OPERATIONS AFFECTED BY ONGOING NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS*	OPERATIONS SUSPENDED BY A LEGAL PROCEEDING OR BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL HAVING SUSPENSORY EFFECT*

(*1) For the EMFF, to be attached to the last annual implementation report. Put an X in the appropriate column.

ANNEX IV

EXAMPLE OF THE APPLICATION OF THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE CAPPING OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURE WITHIN THE CALCULATION OF THE FINAL BALANCE FOR A MONO-FUND PROGRAMME

14.12.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 474/31

Council conclusions on the fight against impunity regarding crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

(2022/C 474/08)

I. Introduction

Immediately after the start of the armed attack, on 24 February 2022, the European Council condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, which is a gross violation of international law and of the principles of the UN Charter and is causing massive loss of life and injury to civilians.

On 1 and 2 March 2022, 39 States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (‘Rome Statute’), including all Member States of the European Union, made a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), asking the ICC Prosecutor to investigate the situation in Ukraine. On 2 March 2022, the ICC Prosecutor announced that he had proceeded to open an investigation into the situation in Ukraine on the basis of the referrals received. Subsequently, four other States Parties referred the situation in Ukraine to the ICC, bringing the total number of States Parties having done so to 43.

In its conclusions of 24 and 25 March 2022, the European Council stated that ‘Russia is directing attacks against the civilian population and is targeting civilian objects, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools and shelters. These war crimes must stop immediately. Those responsible, and their accomplices, will be held to account in accordance with international law’.

In its conclusions of 30 and 31 May 2022, the European Council urged Russia to stop its indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure immediately. It stated that ‘the atrocities being committed by Russian forces and the suffering and destruction being inflicted are unspeakable’. The European Council also stated that it commends all those helping to gather evidence and to investigate war crimes and the other most serious crimes, and that it supports the intensive work of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in this respect. It also welcomed the work being carried out by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General with financial and capacity-building support from the European Union and its Member States. It welcomed the establishment of a Joint Investigation Team coordinated by Eurojust, whose role has been reinforced, and the ongoing operational support provided by Europol.

In its conclusions of 23 and 24 June 2022, the European Council underlined that ‘Russia, Belarus and all those responsible for war crimes and the other most serious crimes will be held to account for their actions, in accordance with international law’.

In its conclusions of 20 and 21 October 2022, the European Council stated: ‘War crimes committed against Ukrainians, of which there is growing evidence, and the continuous destruction of civilian infrastructure are a gross violation of international law. The European Union reiterates its firm commitment to holding Russia, and all perpetrators and accomplices, to account, and its strong support for the investigations by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The European Council acknowledges Ukraine’s efforts to secure accountability, including for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. It invites the High Representative and the Commission to explore options so that full accountability can be ensured.’

Further, in its conclusions of 20 and 21 October 2022, the European Council invited the Commission to present options in line with EU and international law aimed at using frozen assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction. The European Council recalled in this context its conclusions of 30 and 31 May 2022. The reconstruction of Ukraine would also benefit victims of crimes committed in Ukraine.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (‘Rome Statute’) recalls that ‘the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level and by enhancing international cooperation’.

In accordance with international law, (1) the primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting those responsible for core international crimes, as referred to in Article 5 of the Rome Statute, lies with the States.

Council Decision 2011/168/CFSP (2) recalled that the serious crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court are of concern to the international community as a whole and to the Union and its Member States in particular, and confirmed the determination to put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators of those crimes by taking initiatives or measures to ensure the implementation of the principle of complementarity at national level and by enhancing international cooperation to ensure their effective prosecution.

The European Union and its Member States should take all the necessary measures, as a matter of urgency, to ensure that those who commit core international crimes in Ukraine are investigated, prosecuted and held responsible in court.

The European Council has already welcomed the decision by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation. The competent authorities of various Member States have also started investigations into core international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.

In order to ensure successful investigations and prosecutions of core international crimes, enhanced cooperation and coordination between all competent authorities at international and national levels are necessary, notably to collect, store and secure evidence that may subsequently be relied on in court.

Eurojust and Europol are crucial actors in the area of freedom, security and justice. Both Agencies have expertise and experience to support investigations and prosecutions of cross-border crimes, including core international crimes and related criminal offences, and are prepared, within their respective mandates, to contribute to the effective exchange of the evidence collected. Eurojust and Europol coordinate their respective roles and activities in support of investigations on core international crimes.

Regulation (EU) 2022/838 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 as regards the preservation, analysis and storage at Eurojust of evidence relating to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and related criminal offences was adopted on 30 May 2022 (3).

A Joint Investigation Team was established on 25 March 2022, with the assistance of Eurojust, with the aim of coordinating the investigations into all crimes committed by Russia during the war against Ukraine. The Joint Investigation Team seeks to enhance judicial cooperation among the competent authorities involved in the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes at national and international level. The Joint Investigation Team initially comprised Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish judicial authorities, and was later joined by judicial authorities from Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania. On 25 April 2022, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court also announced its involvement in the JIT as a participant.

In order to facilitate the analysis of information relating to possible evidence on core international crimes, Europol has set up the dedicated Analytical Project on Core International Crimes.

Due attention should also be paid to the situation of the victims of core international crimes. Justice should be delivered to them.

The European Network of Contact Points for the Investigation and Prosecution of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes (‘Genocide Network’) has important expertise in the area of core international crimes. It is of great assistance in facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge, experience and best practices amongst national practitioners (4).

On 21 September 2022, Eurojust, the Genocide Network and the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC published guidelines for civil society organisations entitled ‘Documenting international crimes and human rights violations for criminal accountability purposes’.

On the ground in Ukraine, the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) provides support to the Ukrainian authorities. The mandate of EUAM Ukraine was amended on 13 April 2022 (5) to provide support to Ukrainian authorities involved in the investigation and prosecution of international crimes through strategic advice and training. The Mission cooperates closely with the International Criminal Court in this field and takes part in the activities of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group.

In view of the above, the Council has adopted the following conclusions:

II. The Council calls on the Member States:

to adopt the necessary legislative measures in order to:

i)	fully implement the definition of core international crimes and modes of liability enshrined in the Rome Statute;

ii)	allow the exercise of universal jurisdiction or other forms of domestic jurisdiction over core international crimes committed abroad; and

iii)

enable close judicial cooperation with the International Criminal Court and, to the extent permitted by national law, with other investigative or accountability mechanisms, such as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine established by the UN Human Rights Council, including, where appropriate, within the framework of a joint investigation team.

b)	to support the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office in order to enhance Ukraine’s capabilities to investigate and prosecute core international crimes in line with international standards.

c)	to consider participating actively in the rotation model coordinated by the International Criminal Court.

to strengthen judicial cooperation between Member States, and with Ukraine, other third countries as well as the International Criminal Court, in order to ensure the successful investigation and prosecution of core international crimes, including by supporting the international initiative for the negotiation of a multilateral treaty for mutual legal assistance and extradition in domestic prosecution of atrocity crimes.

to facilitate the use of joint investigation teams between the competent authorities of the Member States and other stakeholders, such as the International Criminal Court, in order to enhance judicial cooperation in individual cases and the successful investigation and prosecution of core international crimes at national and international level.

f)	to cooperate with the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group and to facilitate, where relevant, close coordination between the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group and the Joint Investigation Team established between Ukraine and some Member States.

to strengthen cooperation with EU stakeholders such as Eurojust, Europol, the European Judicial Network, the Genocide Network, EUAM Ukraine, and the Network of National Experts on Joint Investigation Teams (‘JITs Network’), in order to enhance the successful investigation and prosecution of core international crimes.

h)	to further strengthen EUAM Ukraine capacities by seconding national experts with relevant expertise.

to continue to provide adequate legal, operational and financial support for the creation and proper functioning of specialised units dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes at national level within authorities competent in matters of law enforcement, prosecution, mutual legal assistance and collection of victims’ testimonies, as well as, where relevant, within immigration services.

to inform national judicial authorities investigating core international crimes about the competences given to Eurojust by Regulation (EU) 2022/838, and emphasise the assistance that can be provided by both Eurojust, in cooperation with the Genocide Network, and Europol in order to quickly and efficiently cross-check information and detect potential links between cases investigated in different Member States.

to streamline the collection and sharing of information between relevant authorities and stakeholders that come into contact with war crime victims, building upon the expertise developed, in particular, by the Exclusion Network of the European Union Agency for Asylum, the Genocide Network and the EU Victims’ Rights Platform.

l)	to dedicate adequate resources to capacity-building and training activities for national authorities involved in identifying the victims and witnesses of core international crimes.

m)	to engage with civil society organisations, including through the EU Victims’ Rights Platform, specifically to enhance information-sharing and outreach efforts towards victims and affected communities.

n)	to promote, where appropriate, the cooperation with civil society organisations in the collection of evidence of core international crimes and facilitate, to the extent permitted by national law, the admissibility of such evidence in court.

o)	to raise awareness among the Ukrainian refugee community of the possibility of giving testimony in Member States regarding the core international crimes they may have been victims and/or witnesses of, while considering their vulnerable position and need for support.

p)	to strengthen the participation, information, support to and protection of victims of core international crimes in criminal proceedings, as provided for by Directive 2012/29/EU on victims’ rights, including by exchanging experiences and best practices in relation to victims’ support and protection.

III. The Council calls on the Commission:

to continue cooperating closely with the Presidency of the Council, the European External Action Service, the General Secretariat of the Council and the International Criminal Court in order to ensure coordination of the activities of the Union and, where possible, of the Member States in support of accountability efforts led by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

b)	to continue its work within the Victims’ Rights Platform to raise awareness about the need of ensuring the provision of support and protection to victims of core international crimes, in accordance with their specific needs and in line with the Victims’ Rights Directive.

to support specialised training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, judicial authorities and other relevant authorities, building upon the work and expertise of existing entities such as the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), EUAM Ukraine and existing training programmes developed by the Genocide Network.

d)	to enhance the financial, logistical, technical and substantive support available to Member States in their efforts to efficiently investigate and collect evidence of core international crimes, including by increasing the funding to joint investigation teams.

e)	to promote the exchange of best practices, knowledge and expertise through the Genocide Network, including by exchange programmes and study visits of practitioners, and allocate adequate resources for that purpose.

f)	to continue supporting national and international investigative and evidence-gathering mechanisms, specifically with respect to battlefield evidence.

IV. The Council calls on Eurojust:

a)	to continue taking the necessary measures in order to swiftly implement Regulation (EU) 2022/838, with a view to preserving, analysing and storing evidence of the core international crimes mentioned in that Regulation in a central storage facility.

b)	to continue to provide material and guidance on how to collect and transmit evidence of core international crimes.

c)	to further enhance, where possible, the cooperation with third countries, with a view to facilitating the collection and exchange of evidence of relevant core international crimes, in accordance with the applicable legal framework.

V. The Council calls on Eurojust and Europol:

to further enhance the cooperation between these two Agencies, based on their complementary roles and operational capabilities in supporting core international crime investigations, and in accordance with their respective mandates while aiming to avoid a duplication of efforts, so as to be able to provide even better assistance to Member States in the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes.

b)	to inform the Council on the state of play and future steps in their cooperation as regards the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes.

VI. The Council calls on the Genocide Network:

a)	to continue developing its expertise in the area of core international crimes.

b)	to continue facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge, experience and best practices amongst national practitioners, in accordance with its mandate.

VII. The Council calls on EUAM Ukraine:

a)	to continue developing its support to the Ukrainian authorities in order to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes.

b)	to further enhance the cooperation with Europol, Eurojust and CEPOL to provide training on and direct support the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes in Ukraine.

VIII. The Council calls on the relevant institutions of the European Union:

a)	to continue, and further improve, providing assistance to Ukraine in an efficient manner.

b)	to continue to provide support to the Member States in their efforts to collect evidence of core international crimes efficiently, while exploring potential synergies and avoiding duplication.

c)	to increase efforts in countering disinformation and attempts to rewrite history.

IX. The Council calls on Ukraine:

to accede to the Rome Statute.

(1) See the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948; the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the three Additional Protocols; The Hague Convention of 1954 and its Second Additional Protocol; the International Convention for the Suppression and Punishment of Apartheid of 1976; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984; the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances of 2006.

(2) Council Decision 2011/168/CFSP of 21 March 2011 on the International Criminal Court and repealing Common Position 2003/444/CFSP (OJ L 76, 22.3.2011, p. 56).

(3) OJ L 148, 31.5.2022, p. 1.

(4) Council Decision 2002/494/JHA of 13 June 2002 setting up a European network of contact points in respect of persons responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (OJ L 167, 26.6.2002, p.1); Council Decision 2003/335/JHA of 8 May 2003 on the investigation and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (OJ L 118, 14.5.2003, p. 12).

(5) Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/638 of 13 April 2022 amending Decision 2014/486/CFSP on the European Union Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine), OJ L 117, 19.4.2022, p. 38.

14.12.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 474/38

2022 Annual update of the remuneration and pensions of the officials and other servants of the European Union and the correction coefficients applied thereto (1)

(2022/C 474/10)

1 1

Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

1.7.2022	STEPS
GRADES	1	2	3	4	5
16	20 856,62	21 733,04	22 646,29
15	18 433,77	19 208,39	20 015,53	20 572,40	20 856,62
14	16 292,34	16 976,99	17 690,38	18 182,55	18 433,77
13	14 399,73	15 004,82	15 635,33	16 070,35	16 292,34
12	12 726,95	13 261,75	13 819,04	14 203,49	14 399,73
11	11 248,49	11 721,16	12 213,70	12 553,51	12 726,95
10	9 941,81	10 359,56	10 794,90	11 095,21	11 248,49
9	8 786,88	9 156,12	9 540,89	9 806,31	9 941,81
8	7 766,14	8 092,48	8 432,53	8 667,15	8 786,88
7	6 863,97	7 152,41	7 452,95	7 660,31	7 766,14
6	6 066,59	6 321,53	6 587,16	6 770,43	6 863,97
5	5 361,87	5 587,18	5 821,96	5 983,94	6 066,59
4	4 739,00	4 938,12	5 145,63	5 288,80	5 361,87
3	4 188,45	4 364,48	4 547,89	4 674,40	4 739,00
2	3 701,91	3 857,46	4 019,56	4 131,40	4 188,45
1	3 271,87	3 409,35	3 552,61	3 651,48	3 701,91

Table of the amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function group AST/SC referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

1.7.2022	STEPS
GRADES	1	2	3	4	5
6	5 319,31	5 542,85	5 775,76	5 936,43	6 018,46
5	4 701,38	4 898,94	5 105,53	5 246,82	5 319,31
4	4 155,24	4 329,84	4 511,80	4 637,32	4 701,38
3	3 672,53	3 826,85	3 987,69	4 098,60	4 155,24
2	3 245,90	3 382,31	3 524,45	3 622,49	3 672,53
1	2 868,84	2 989,40	3 115,02	3 201,66	3 245,90

Table of the correction coefficients applicable to the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union referred to in Article 64 of the Staff Regulations containing:

—	Correction coefficients applicable from 1 July 2022 to the remuneration of officials and other servants referred to in Article 64 of the Staff Regulations (indicated in column 2 of the following table);

—	Correction coefficients applicable from 1 January 2023 under Article 17(3) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations to transfers by officials and other servants (indicated in column 3 of the following table);

—

Correction coefficients applicable from 1 July 2022 to pensions under Article 20(1) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations (indicated in column 4 of the following table);

	Remuneration	Transfer	Pension
Country / Place	1.7.2022	1.1.2023	1.7.2022
Bulgaria	65,0	60,9
Czechia	95,5	82,8
Denmark	134,7	136,5	136,5
Germany	100,6	100,6	100,6
Karlsruhe	95,6
Münich	112,2
Estonia	94,1	98,1
Ireland	136,3	129,0	129,0
Greece	89,4	84,8
Spain	97,4	93,4
France	116,8	107,7	107,7
Croatia	80,0	69,9
Italy	94,7	94,1
Varese	92,0
Cyprus	82,6	82,9
Latvia	85,9	80,9
Lithuania	87,4	76,6
Hungary	69,6	58,8
Malta	92,1	94,7
Netherlands	109,8	110,7	110,7
Austria	108,8	110,6	110,6
Poland	71,7	62,0
Portugal	95,5	89,7
Romania	70,1	59,1
Slovenia	87,1	83,6
Slovakia	81,3	80,9
Finland	117,3	118,9	118,9
Sweden	124,9	114,3	114,3
United Kingdom			125,4

4.1.

Amount of the parental leave allowance referred to in the second paragraph of Article 42a of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 1 123,91.

4.2.

Amount of the parental leave allowance referred to in the third paragraph of Article 42a of the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 1 498,55.

5.1.

Basic amount of the household allowance referred to in Article 1(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 210,20.

5.2.

Amount of the dependent child allowance referred to in Article 2(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 459,32.

5.3.

Amount of the education allowance referred to in Article 3(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 311,65.

5.4.

Amount of the education allowance referred to in Article 3(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 112,21.

5.5.

Minimum amount of the expatriation allowance referred to in Article 69 of the Staff Regulations and in the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Annex VII thereto, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 623,01.

5.6.

Amount of the expatriation allowance referred to in Article 134 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022 - EUR 447,87.

6.1.

Amount of the kilometric allowance referred to in Article 7(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

EUR 0 for every km from	0 to 200 km
EUR 0,2317 for every km from	201 to 1 000 km
EUR 0,3863 for every km from	1 001 to 2 000 km
EUR 0,2317 for every km from	2 001 to 3 000 km
EUR 0,0771 for every km from	3 001 to 4 000 km
EUR 0,0372 for every km from	4 001 to 10 000 km
EUR 0 for every km over	10 000 km

6.2.

Amount of the flat-rate supplement to the kilometric allowance referred to in Article 7(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 115,86 if the geographical distance between the places referred to in paragraph 1 is between 600 km and 1 200 km,

—	EUR 231,72 if the geographical distance between the places referred to in paragraph 1 is greater than 1 200 km.

7.1.

Amount of the kilometric allowance referred to in Article 8(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 January 2023:

EUR 0 for every km from	0 to 200 km
EUR 0,4672 for every km from	201 to 1 000 km
EUR 0,7787 for every km from	1 001 to 2 000 km
EUR 0,4672 for every km from	2 001 to 3 000 km
EUR 0,1556 for every km from	3 001 to 4 000 km
EUR 0,0751 for every km from	4 001 to 10 000 km
EUR 0 for every km over	10 000 km

7.2.

Amount of the flat-rate supplement to the kilometric allowance referred to in Article 8(2) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 January 2023:

—	EUR 233,58 if the geographical distance between the place of employment and the place of origin is between 600 km and 1 200 km,

—	EUR 467,12 if the geographical distance between the place of employment and the place of origin is greater than 1 200 km.

Amount of the daily subsistence allowance referred to in Article 10(1) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 48,28 for an official who is entitled to the household allowance;

—	EUR 38,94 for an official who is not entitled to the household allowance.

Amount of the lower limit for the installation allowance referred to in Article 24(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 1 374,47 for a servant who is entitled to the household allowance;

—	EUR 817,25 for a servant who is not entitled to the household allowance.

10.1.

Amount of the lower and upper limits of the unemployment allowance referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 28a(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 1 648,40 (lower limit);

—	EUR 3 296,81 (upper limit).

10.2.

Amount of the standard allowance referred to in Article 28a(7) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022

—	EUR 1 498,55.

11.

Table containing the amounts of the scale of basic salaries provided for in Article 93 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

FUNCTION GROUPS	1.7.2022	STEPS
FUNCTIONS	GRADES	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
IV	18	7 189,80	7 339,32	7 491,93	7 647,74	7 806,79	7 969,13	8 134,84
	17	6 354,54	6 486,67	6 621,57	6 759,28	6 899,84	7 043,32	7 189,80
	16	5 616,29	5 733,08	5 852,31	5 974,01	6 098,26	6 225,09	6 354,54
	15	4 963,81	5 067,04	5 172,43	5 279,99	5 389,80	5 501,87	5 616,29
	14	4 387,16	4 478,39	4 571,53	4 666,59	4 763,67	4 862,69	4 963,81
	13	3 877,47	3 958,12	4 040,42	4 124,46	4 210,22	4 297,78	4 387,16
III	12	4 963,75	5 066,96	5 172,35	5 279,89	5 389,68	5 501,76	5 616,17
	11	4 387,13	4 478,34	4 571,47	4 666,52	4 763,57	4 862,63	4 963,75
	10	3 877,46	3 958,09	4 040,40	4 124,43	4 210,19	4 297,75	4 387,13
	9	3 427,03	3 498,29	3 571,04	3 645,32	3 721,12	3 798,48	3 877,46
	8	3 028,92	3 091,91	3 156,21	3 221,83	3 288,84	3 357,23	3 427,03
II	7	3 426,95	3 498,24	3 570,98	3 645,25	3 721,10	3 798,48	3 877,47
	6	3 028,79	3 091,76	3 156,08	3 221,72	3 288,72	3 357,13	3 426,95
	5	2 676,85	2 732,52	2 789,36	2 847,38	2 906,59	2 967,06	3 028,79
	4	2 365,82	2 415,03	2 465,27	2 516,55	2 568,88	2 622,31	2 676,85
I	3	2 914,51	2 974,99	3 036,75	3 099,76	3 164,08	3 229,76	3 296,81
	2	2 576,55	2 630,02	2 684,61	2 740,32	2 797,20	2 855,26	2 914,51
	1	2 277,79	2 325,07	2 373,31	2 422,56	2 472,85	2 524,17	2 576,55

12.

Amount of the lower limit for the installation allowance referred to in Article 94 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 1 033,84 for a servant who is entitled to the household allowance;

—	EUR 612,96 for a servant who is not entitled to the household allowance.

13.1.

Amount of the lower and upper limits of the unemployment allowance referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 96(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 1 236,30 (the lower limit);

—	EUR 2 472,57 (the upper limit).

13.2

Amount of the standard allowance referred to in Article 96(7) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants applicable from 1 July 2022 shall be EUR 1 123,91

13.3

Amount of the lower and the upper limits for the unemployment allowance referred to in Article 136 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

—	EUR 1 087,66 (lower limit);

—	EUR 2 559,24 (upper limit).

14.

Amount of the allowances for shift work laid down in the first subparagraph of Article 1(1) of Council Regulation (ECSC, EEC, Euratom) No 300/76 (2):

—	EUR 471,12;

—	EUR 711,08;

—	EUR 777,48;

—	EUR 1 059,95.

15.

Coefficient, applicable from 1 July 2022 to the to the amounts referred to in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 260/68 (3) - 6,8007.

16 .

Table of the amounts provided for in Article 8(2) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations, applicable from 1 July 2022:

1.7.2022	STEPS
GRADES	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
16	20 856,62	21 733,04	22 646,29
15	18 433,77	19 208,39	20 015,53	20 572,40	20 856,62	21 733,04
14	16 292,34	16 976,99	17 690,38	18 182,55	18 433,77	19 208,39	20 015,53	20 856,62
13	14 399,73	15 004,82	15 635,33	16 070,35	16 292,34
12	12 726,95	13 261,75	13 819,04	14 203,49	14 399,73	15 004,82	15 635,33	16 292,34
11	11 248,49	11 721,16	12 213,70	12 553,51	12 726,95	13 261,75	13 819,04	14 399,73
10	9 941,81	10 359,56	10 794,90	11 095,21	11 248,49	11 721,16	12 213,70	12 726,95
9	8 786,88	9 156,12	9 540,89	9 806,31	9 941,81
8	7 766,14	8 092,48	8 432,53	8 667,15	8 786,88	9 156,12	9 540,89	9 941,81
7	6 863,97	7 152,41	7 452,95	7 660,31	7 766,14	8 092,48	8 432,53	8 786,88
6	6 066,59	6 321,53	6 587,16	6 770,43	6 863,97	7 152,41	7 452,95	7 766,14
5	5 361,87	5 587,18	5 821,96	5 983,94	6 066,59	6 321,53	6 587,16	6 863,97
4	4 739,00	4 938,12	5 145,63	5 288,80	5 361,87	5 587,18	5 821,96	6 066,59
3	4 188,45	4 364,48	4 547,89	4 674,40	4 739,00	4 938,12	5 145,63	5 361,87
2	3 701,91	3 857,46	4 019,56	4 131,40	4 188,45	4 364,48	4 547,89	4 739,00
1	3 271,87	3 409,35	3 552,61	3 651,48	3 701,91

17.

Amount, applicable from 1 July 2022, of the fixed allowance mentioned in the former Article 4a of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, in force before 1 May 2004, which is used for the application of Article 18(1) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations:

—	EUR 162,53 per month for officials in Grade C4 or C5;

—	EUR 249,19 per month for officials in Grade C1, C2 or C3.

18.

Table containing the amounts of the scale of basic salaries provided for in Article 133 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, applicable from 1 July 2022:

Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Full-time basic salary	2 071,92	2 413,79	2 617,04	2 837,43	3 076,35	3 335,44	3 616,32
Grade	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Full-time basic salary	3 920,88	4 251,04	4 609,01	4 997,14	5 417,97	5 874,21	6 368,88
Grade	15	16	17	18	19
Full-time basic salary	6 905,20	7 486,70	8 117,17	8 800,70	9 541,84

19.

For staff members assigned in Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Italy (Varese), Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden during the reference period, all references to 1 July 2022 in points 1 to 18 above should be read as referring to 16 May 2022 in line with Article 8(2)(a) of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations.

20.

For staff members assigned in Czechia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal during the reference period, all references to 1 July 2022 in points 1 to 18 above should be read as referring to 1 May 2022 in line with Article 8(2)(b) of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations.

21.

For pensioners residing in Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden during the reference period, all references to 1 July 2022 in points 1 to 18 above should be read as referring to 16 May 2022 in line with Article 8(2)(a) of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations.

22.

For pensioners residing in Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia during the reference period, all references to 1 July 2022 in points 1 to 18 above should be read as referring to 1 May 2022 in line with Article 8(2)(b) of Annex XI to the Staff Regulations.

(1) Eurostat Report of 28 October 2022 on the 2022 annual update of remuneration and pensions of EU officials in accordance with Articles 64 and 65 and Annexes XI to the Staff Regulations, applicable to officials and other servants of the European Union, adjusting with effect from 1 July 2022 the remuneration of active staff and the pensions of retired staff, and updating with effect from 1 July 2022 the correction coefficients applied to the remuneration of active staff serving in Intra-EU and Extra-EU duty stations, to the pensions of retired staff according to their country of residence, and for pension transfers (Ares(2022)7485371).

(2) Council Regulation (ECSC, EEC, Euratom) No 300/76 of 9 February 1976 determining the categories of officials entitled to allowances for shiftwork, and the rates and conditions thereof (OJ L 38, 13.2.1976, p. 1). Regulation as supplemented by Regulation (Euratom, ECSC, EEC) No 1307/87 (OJ L 124, 13.5.1987, p. 6).

(3) Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 260/68 of the Council of 29 February 1968 laying down the conditions and procedure for applying the tax for the benefit of the European Communities (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 8).

14.12.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 474/44

Annual update of the weightings (‘correction coefficients’) applicable to the remuneration of officials, temporary staff and contract staff of the European Union serving in third countries (1)

(2022/C 474/11)

Country	Economic parity July 2022	Exchange rate July 2022 (*1)	Weighting July 2022 (*2)
Afghanistan (*3)
Albania	68,08	119,410	57,0
Algerias	93,80	153,500	61,1
Angola	872,8	452,977	192,7
Argentina	112,9	130,663	86,4
Armenia	510,7	430,540	118,6
Australia	1,634	1,52560	107,1
Azerbaijan	1,825	1,78789	102,1
Bangladesh	83,59	97,7555	85,5
Barbados	2,603	2,10791	123,5
Belarus	2,179	3,58200	60,8
Benin	635,1	655,957	96,8
Bolivia	5,907	7,26725	81,3
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,167	1,95583	59,7
Botswana	9,312	12,8866	72,3
Brazil	5,159	5,51630	93,5
Burkina Faso	595,4	655,957	90,8
Burundi	2 118	2 142,91	98,8
Cambodia	4 098	4 298,50	95,3
Cameroon	585,5	655,957	89,3
Canada	1,455	1,35130	107,7
Cape Verde	75,85	110,265	68,8
Central African Republic	669,4	655,957	102,0
Chad	617,1	655,957	94,1
Chile	654,6	958,614	68,3
China	6,157	7,03820	87,5
Colombia	3 082	4 343,38	71,0
Congo	714,7	655,957	109,0
Costa Rica	586,1	725,326	80,8
Cuba (*1)	1,261	1,05170	119,9
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2934	2 119,50	138,4
Djibouti	214,2	187,203	114,4
Dominican Republic	46,43	57,6144	80,6
Ecuador (*1)	0,938	1,05170	89,2
Egypt	14,8	19,7916	74,8
El Salvador (*1)	0,8715	1,05170	82,9
Eritrea	17,49	15,7755	110,9
eSwatini	11,10	16,9295	65,6
Ethiopia	42,10	55,5546	75,8
Fiji	1,677	2,32883	72,0
Gabon	696,1	655,957	106,1
Gambia	56,43	58,0200	97,3
Georgia	2,571	3,09540	83,1
Ghana	7,019	7,61620	92,2
Greenland	8,598	7,43920	115,6
Guatemala	8,420	8,16098	103,2
Guinea	11 607	9 076,32	127,9
Guinea-Bissau	460,7	655,957	70,2
Guyana	212,6	220,180	96,6
Haiti	117,5	119,499	98,3
Honduras	23,26	25,6586	90,7
Hong Kong	9,922	8,25320	120,2
Iceland	187,9	139,900	134,3
India	82,22	83,0370	99,0
Indonesia	11 466	15 612,6	73,4
Iran	100 442	44 171,4	227,4
Iraq (*3)
Israel	4,208	3,63440	115,8
Ivory Coast	572,1	655,957	87,2
Jamaica	178,9	159,461	112,2
Japan	133,1	143,530	92,7
Jordan	0,7095	0,74566	95,2
Kazakhstan	384,4	496,940	77,4
Kenya	125,6	123,735	101,5
Kosovo	0,5623	1	56,2
Kuwait	0,2979	0,32214	92,5
Kyrgyzstan	74,41	83,6105	89,0
Laos	9 551	15 763,8	60,6
Lebanon (*3)
Lesotho	10,80	16,9295	63,8
Liberia	225,4	160,478	140,5
Libya (*3)
Madagascar	3 700	4 254,16	87,0
Malawi	746,6	1 079,01	69,2
Malaysia	3,843	4,62720	83,1
Mali	607,6	655,957	92,6
Mauritania	31,62	37,8648	83,5
Mauritius	36,31	47,3136	76,7
Mexico	14,34	21,1375	67,8
Moldova	16,13	20,2534	79,6
Mongolia	2 362	3 293,69	71,7
Montenegro	0,6066	1	60,7
Morocco	8,507	10,6027	80,2
Mozambique	75,60	67,5700	111,9
Myanmar	1 428	1 945,65	73,4
Namibia	13,14	16,9295	77,6
Nepal	95,19	132,330	71,9
New Caledonia	115,7	119,332	97,0
New Zealand	1,441	1,68710	85,4
Nicaragua	34,03	37,7087	90,2
Niger	501,8	655,957	76,5
Nigeria	397,3	441,345	90,0
North Macedonia	30,81	61,6950	49,9
Norway	13,26	10,3065	128,7
Pakistan	149,1	218,700	68,2
Panama (*1)	1,156	1,05170	109,9
Papua New Guinea	3,847	3,70317	103,9
Paraguay	5007	7 213,66	69,4
Peru	3,684	3,97963	92,6
Philippines	50,98	57,7730	88,2
Qatar	4,379	3,82819	114,4
Russia	84,07	53,8580	156,1
Rwanda	950,9	1 081,71	87,9
São Tomé and Príncipe	24,37	24,5000	99,5
Saudi Arabia	3,863	3,94388	97,9
Senegal	552,3	655,957	84,2
Serbia	73,76	117,429	62,8
Sierra Leone	13 593	13 833,2	98,3
Singapore	1,711	1,46070	117,1
Somalia (*3)
South Africa	11,25	16,9295	66,5
South Korea	1 229	1 364,02	90,1
South-Sudan	256,3	521,049	49,2
Sri Lanka	230,4	382,425	60,2
Sudan (*3)
Switzerland (Bern)	1,343	1,00050	134,2
Switzerland (Geneva)	1,343	1,00050	134,2
Syria (*3)
Taiwan	26,41	31,1691	84,7
Tajikistan	8,512	11,1115	76,6
Tanzania	2 494	2 431,71	102,6
Thailand	26,64	36,9250	72,1
Timor Leste (*1)	0,8645	1,05170	82,2
Togo	627,6	655,957	95,7
Trinidad and Tobago	7,319	7,26330	100,8
Tunisia	2,405	3,22400	74,6
Türkiye	7,340	17,4998	41,9
Turkmenistan	5,079	3,68095	138,0
Uganda	2 956	3 984,18	74,2
Ukraine	26,62	30,7674	86,5
United Arab Emirates	3,625	3,86200	93,9
United Kingdom	0,9421	0,86461	109,0
United States (New York)	1,195	1,05170	113,6
United States (San Francisco)	1,099	1,05170	104,5
United States (Washington)	1,099	1,05170	104,5
Uruguay	40,14	41,5190	96,7
Uzbekistan	8 342	11 383,1	73,3
Venezuela (*3)
Vietnam	18 459	24 441,5	75,5
West Bank — Gaza Strip	4,208	3,63440	115,8
Yemen (*3)
Zambia	16,72	18,0940	92,4
Zimbabwe (*3)

Further information on the methodology is available on the Eurostat website (‘Statistics Database’ > ‘Economy and finance’ > ‘Prices’ > ‘Correction coefficients’)

(*1) 1 EURO = x units of local currency (USD for Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Timor-Leste)

(*2) Brussels and Luxembourg = 100

(*3) Not available because of local instability or unreliable data

		ISSN 1977-091X
Official Journal of the European Union		C 474

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 65 14 December 2022

Contents		page
	II Information
	INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	European Commission
2022/C 474/01	Commission Notice – Guidelines on the closure of operational programmes adopted for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and cross-border cooperation programmes under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) (2014-2020)	1
2022/C 474/02	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10349 – AMAZON / MGM) ( 1 )	25
2022/C 474/03	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10800 – AHLSELL / SANISTAL) ( 1 )	26
2022/C 474/04	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10897 – PREDICA / VAUBAN / TELEFONICA / BLUEVIA) ( 1 )	27
2022/C 474/05	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10943 – ENEL / CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS / GRIDSPERTISE) ( 1 )	28
2022/C 474/06	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10955 – KIRK / LFI / ATP / FERROSAN MEDICAL DEVICES) ( 1 )	29
2022/C 474/07	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10931 – OPENTEXT / MICRO FOCUS) ( 1 )	30

	V Announcements
	PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY
	European Commission
2022/C 474/14	Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10903 – CIRCLE K / SCHIBSTED / ELTON MOBILITY) – Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	53
	OTHER ACTS
	European Commission
2022/C 474/15	Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs	55

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,0545
JPY	Japanese yen	144,85
DKK	Danish krone	7,4391
GBP	Pound sterling	0,85753
SEK	Swedish krona	10,8965
CHF	Swiss franc	0,9869
ISK	Iceland króna	151,10
NOK	Norwegian krone	10,4679
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	24,287
HUF	Hungarian forint	409,65
PLN	Polish zloty	4,6938
RON	Romanian leu	4,9298
TRY	Turkish lira	19,6649
AUD	Australian dollar	1,5553
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4341
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,2033
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6464
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,4288
KRW	South Korean won	1 378,75
ZAR	South African rand	18,6855
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,3637
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,5495
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	16 521,81
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,6704
PHP	Philippine peso	58,852
RUB	Russian rouble
THB	Thai baht	36,707
BRL	Brazilian real	5,5784
MXN	Mexican peso	20,9435
INR	Indian rupee	87,2965

Country	Economic Parity February 2022	Exchange rate February 2022 (*)	Weighting February 2022 (**)
Central African Republic	693,0	655,957	105,6
Algeria	96,76	158,249	61,1
Sri Lanka	168,9	228,258	74,0
Türkiye	5,970	15,1424	39,4
Haiti	112,9	113,097	99,8
Moldova	15,54	20,2731	76,7
South-Sudan	239,0	482,766	49,5

	IV Notices
	NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	Council
2022/C 474/08	Council conclusions on the fight against impunity regarding crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine	31
	European Commission
2022/C 474/09	Euro exchange rates – 13 December 2022	37
2022/C 474/10	2022 Annual update of the remuneration and pensions of the officials and other servants of the European Union and the correction coefficients applied thereto	38
2022/C 474/11	Annual update of the weightings (correction coefficients) applicable to the remuneration of officials, temporary staff and contract staff of the European Union serving in third countries	44
2022/C 474/12	Interim update of the weightings (correction coefficients) applicable to the remuneration of officials, temporary staff and contract staff of the European Union serving in third countries	49
	Court of Auditors
2022/C 474/13	Special report 27/2022:EU support to cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries – Valuable support, but implementation started very late and problems with coordination need to be addressed	52

Country	Economic Parity March 2022	Exchange rate March 2022 (*)	Weighting March 2022 (**)
Rwanda	862,0	1 149,90	75,0
Mozambique	71,95	72,4150	99,4
Mali	584,6	655,957	89,1
Colombia	2 861	4 404,80	65,0

Country	Economic Parity April 2022	Exchange rate April 2022 (*)	Weighting April 2022 (**)
Brazil	4,802	5,28080	90,9
Sierra Leone	12 756	13 195,4	96,7
Ethiopia	40,84	56,6299	72,1
Burundi	2 116	2 211,60	95,7
Ghana	6,321	7,81335	80,9
Sri Lanka	182,1	324,247	56,2
Türkiye	6,384	16,3296	39,1
Russia	82,85	96,0085	86,3
Cuba	1,190	1,11260	107,0
El Salvador	0,8273	1,11260	74,4
South-Sudan	264,7	477,775	55,4
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,166	1,95583	59,6
Myanmar	1 403	1 975,98	71,0

Country	Economic Parity May 2022	Exchange rate May 2022 (*)	Weighting May 2022 (**)
Uganda	2 892	3 800,80	76,1
Rwanda	912,2	1 086,62	83,9
Botswana	8,948	12,8535	69,6
Ghana	6,667	7,58150	87,9
Trinidad and Tobago	7,246	7,47185	97,0
Sri Lanka	200,5	359,779	55,7
Türkiye	6,718	15,5362	43,2
Argentina	106,7	120,420	88,6
Guinea	11 126	9 354,39	118,9
Jamaica	172,1	165,329	104,1
Panama	1,146	1,04850	109,3
Paraguay	4 890	7 168,07	68,2
South-Sudan	282,8	450,738	62,7

Country	Economic Parity June 2022	Exchange rate June 2022 (*)	Weighting June 2022 (**)
Tanzania	2 495	2 463,43	101,3
Eswatini	10,98	16,6480	66,0
Kenya	125,2	123,869	101,1
Guyana	209,0	223,085	93,7
Pakistan	148,5	213,970	69,4
Sri Lanka	222,2	384,892	57,7
India	82,10	83,4750	98,4
Mauritania	31,29	38,2667	81,8
Colombia	3 032	4 294,66	70,6
Cuba	1,252	1,07640	116,3
Iran	98 909	45 208,8	218,8


	(1) Text with EEA relevance.