PURPOSE : to extend the Pericles programme until 31.12.2006 and to make some amendments to the programme.

LEGISLATIVE ACT : Council Decision 2006/75/EC amending and extending Decision 2001/923/EC establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘Pericles’ programme)

CONTENT : t he Council adopted this decision amending and extending the "Pericles" programme until the end of 2006. Pericles has been running since 2002 and was designed to support and supplement the measures undertaken by the member states and in existing programmes to protect the euro against counterfeiting. Such measures include information exchange (seminars, workshops, meetings and conferences), placements and exchanges of staff, as well as technical, scientific and operational back-up.

The decision is aimed at enhancing efficiency of the programme by:

increasing the maximum proportion of Community financing to 80% (instead of 70%); providing flexibility in the number of projects that one member state may present, and providing financial support for cooperation in cross-border operations, with the involvement of Europol.

A budget of EUR 1 million is allocated for implementation during 2006.

The Council considers that Pericles has a multi-annual nature and that it should be extended to 2011. To this effect, it invites the Commission to present a proposal for extending the programme for the period starting from 2007 as soon as an agreement on the future financial framework 2007-2013 has been reached.

It should be noted that there is a parallel decision (Council Decision 2006/76/EC) aiming to extend the benefits of this programme to Member States who are not part of the euro zone (please see CNS/2005/0030.)

DATE OF EFFECT: 08/02/2006.

DATE OF APPLICATION : from 01/01/2006.

Decision 2006/75
OJ L 036 08.02.2006, p. 0040-0041

SP(2005)4593

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Augustín DÍAZ de MERA GARCÍA CONSUEGRA (EPP-ED, ES) and made a few amendments to the proposal. (Please see the summary of 26/09/2005.).

T6-0372/2005
OJ C 233 28.09.2006, p. 0015-0084 E

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Augustín DÍAZ de MERA GARCÍA CONSUEGRA (EPP-ED, ES) and made a few amendments to the proposal. (Please see the summary of 26/09/2005.).

T6-0372/2005

A6-0274/2005

A6-0274/2005

The committee adopted the report by Augustín DÍAZ de MERA GARCÍA CONSUEGRA (EPP-ED, ES) broadly approving the proposal under the consultation procedure, subject to a number of amendments:

- the programme should be extended up until December 2013, rather than December 2011 as proposed by the Commission, so that it can be adapted to take account of the financial perspective for 2007-2013, thereby enabling the future requirements of Member States that adopt the euro as their single currency to be addressed;

- the budget should therefore be increased to take account of this extension of the programme from 6 to 8 years. MEPs also called for a further 10% increase to take account of the expansion of the geographical area of the programme to include those countries which will shortly accede to the Customs Union and the countries bordering the EU. The committee therefore proposed that the budget should be EUR 8.8 million (i.e. EUR 1.1 million per year) for the period from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2013;

- financing decisions must be subject to financial control by the Commission and to audits by the Court of Auditors;

- cofinancing should be 70% rather than 80% as originally proposed, but this could be increased to 90% in exceptional circumstances;

- the suitability of projects should be cross-checked against the relevant policy priorities and work already being carried out or planned;

- to improve scrutiny and transparency, a Pericles advisory committee should be set up and an annual progress report on the programme should be sent to Parliament and Council. Moreover, assessments should be made at mid-term and on completion of the programme.

PE362.711

This opinion from the European Central Bank (ECB) deals with both the proposal for a Council decision amending and extending Council Decision of 17 December 2001 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘Pericles’ programme) and a proposal for a Council decision extending to the non-participating Member States the application of Council Decision amending and extending Council Decision of 17 December 2001 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (Please see CNS/2005/0030).

The ECB would like to state that it strongly welcomes and fully supports initiatives the aim of which is to protect the euro against counterfeiting through training, exchange and assistance programmes for selected target groups. With regard to the proposal, it makes the following observations:

- concerning the substance of the proposal, the ECB emphasises the importance of ensuring that the length of the extension of the ‘Pericles’ programme is linked to the timing of the introduction of the euro in the new Member States. Since the target dates for the introduction of the euro in most of the new Member States range from 2008 to 2010, the proposed extension of the ‘Pericles’ programme until 31 December 2011 takes account of increased future needs in terms of training, information exchanges and assistance. The proposed extension of the ‘Pericles’ programme is also to be welcomed as it is likely to coincide with, and consequently take into account, the issuance of the second series of euro banknotes, to take place towards the end of the decade;

- by the same token, the increase in the Community's contribution in co-financing information exchanges and external measures, and the adoption of a flexible approach regarding limitations on the number of projects Member States are entitled to present for financing, are two further positive steps towards providing assistance where it is most needed;

- proper coordination of the ‘Pericles’ programme with existing Community or EU programmes, as well as with Europol and ECB projects, is essential, as indicated in Article 5 of Decision 2001/923/EC. It is to that effect that the proposal makes administrative support for cross-border investigations eligible for financing only if such support is not available from other European institutions. The proposal provides for a prior assessment by Europol of the financing of the administrative support. Given that the financing of administrative support might also relate to cross-border investigations concerning counterfeit euro banknotes, the Council could also consider involving the ECB in the assessment. The ECB observes that it would be beneficial that initiatives to be funded under the ‘Pericles’ programme be examined jointly by the Commission, the ECB and Europol, and that the decision to be taken require the assent of these three bodies, within the framework of the Steering Group already established with the aim of developing a common strategy against counterfeiting of the euro;

- the ECB notes that the proposal only provides for a limited amendment of follow-up and evaluation procedures. Taking into account the extension of the ‘Pericles’ programme for a further six years, the ECB recommends including a more ambitious, open and transparent evaluation procedure in Article 1(8) and 1(9) of the proposal. The ECB should be fully involved in evaluation of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the ‘Pericles’ programme so that it will be able to provide a well-qualified opinion to the Council in relation to any future extensions of the programme.

CON/2005/0022
OJ C 161 01.07.2005, p. 0011-0012

PURPOSE : to extend the Pericles programme until 31.12.2011 and to make some amendments to the programme.

PROPOSED ACT : Council Decision.

CONTENT : In line with Article 13 of the Council Decision establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘Pericles’ programme) and based on the Pericles evaluation report of 30 November 2004, it is proposed that the Council Decision be extended and amended.

The proposed period is for extension is six years and the reference amount unchanged at one million euro per year.

The need for extension is based on the following factors:

-the need to cover new entries in the euro area. Current prospects are that some of the recent entrants to the EU would join the euro area in the year 2010. The programme should last at least a year after the last wave of euro entry;

- the need to have a stable framework for training/information exchange and technical assistance. Member States normally have a national training programme designed for the ground-level staff, which is completed by a European level training, under Pericles. The need to efficiently manage both levels requires a sufficiently long medium-term European framework.

Adaptations proposed:

-it is proposed to modify Articles 10 and 11 by replacing the reference to 70% with 80%.Practice has shown that Member States encounter organisational difficulties in coping with the national contribution of 30%, particularly the ones with more limited financing possibilities. This has meant that a number of actions that were considered to be useful were not carried out or were carried out as a Commission initiative;

-the introduction of flexibility in the limitation of one country-one seminar-type project (Article 12). The provision that Member States may present no more than one seminar-type project a year has introduced an asymmetry in the implementation of the programme, to the extent that the training and cooperation needs and the equivalent possibilities vary among countries. Typically, larger countries, due to the need to train larger number of staff, devote ampler financial and other means for training and conferences including under Pericles. This has meant, under the current Pericles programme, that countries wishing to carry out more than one project per year have had to artificially group the actions in one project, which complicated the assessment and the implementation of the action. The alleviation of that restriction means that, in the event more than one project is submitted

by one country, then coordination would need to be ensured by the competent national authority in that Member State.

-the option of financing administrative expenditure related to cross-border investigations (Article 3(3)). The current Pericles programme does not explicitly provide for financing of administrative support related to cross-border investigations. This financing refers to practices necessary for police investigations (information rewards etc) or actions such as hiring cars, renting of equipment, travel and subsistence of police or other agents etc. Until now, it has been of modest amounts (below 50 000 euro) and is currently provided by the ECB concerning counterfeit euro banknotes.

It is therefore proposed to add the possibility of co-financing, subject to prior assessment by Europol, administrative support to cross-border investigations, when not covered by financing from other European institutions. Financing under that heading should give priority to actions outside the euro area and not exceed EUR 100 000 annually.

It should be noted that there is a parallel proposal for a decision aiming to extend the benefits of this programme to Member States who are not part of the euro zone (please see CNS20050030.)

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS : Please see the parallel proposal mentioned above.

Budget lines : 24 02 02 Pericles

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: From 1 January 2006 until 31 December 2011

Total commitment and payment appropriations: EUR 6 million over the duration of the programme.

Human resources not included in the financial reference amount : total EUR 1,782 million

Other administrative costs not included in the reference amount : EUR 0,540 million

Detail of resources :

-Action 1(subsidies to Member States for seminars, exchanges of personnel and studies) : EUR 4,8 million over 6 years;

-Action 2 (costs borne by the Commission for seminars etc): EUR 1,2 million EUR over 6 ans.

COM(2005)0127
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE : to extend the Pericles programme until 31.12.2011 and to make some amendments to the programme.

PROPOSED ACT : Council Decision.

CONTENT : In line with Article 13 of the Council Decision establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the ‘Pericles’ programme) and based on the Pericles evaluation report of 30 November 2004, it is proposed that the Council Decision be extended and amended.

The proposed period is for extension is six years and the reference amount unchanged at one million euro per year.

The need for extension is based on the following factors:

-the need to cover new entries in the euro area. Current prospects are that some of the recent entrants to the EU would join the euro area in the year 2010. The programme should last at least a year after the last wave of euro entry;

- the need to have a stable framework for training/information exchange and technical assistance. Member States normally have a national training programme designed for the ground-level staff, which is completed by a European level training, under Pericles. The need to efficiently manage both levels requires a sufficiently long medium-term European framework.

Adaptations proposed:

-it is proposed to modify Articles 10 and 11 by replacing the reference to 70% with 80%.Practice has shown that Member States encounter organisational difficulties in coping with the national contribution of 30%, particularly the ones with more limited financing possibilities. This has meant that a number of actions that were considered to be useful were not carried out or were carried out as a Commission initiative;

-the introduction of flexibility in the limitation of one country-one seminar-type project (Article 12). The provision that Member States may present no more than one seminar-type project a year has introduced an asymmetry in the implementation of the programme, to the extent that the training and cooperation needs and the equivalent possibilities vary among countries. Typically, larger countries, due to the need to train larger number of staff, devote ampler financial and other means for training and conferences including under Pericles. This has meant, under the current Pericles programme, that countries wishing to carry out more than one project per year have had to artificially group the actions in one project, which complicated the assessment and the implementation of the action. The alleviation of that restriction means that, in the event more than one project is submitted

by one country, then coordination would need to be ensured by the competent national authority in that Member State.

-the option of financing administrative expenditure related to cross-border investigations (Article 3(3)). The current Pericles programme does not explicitly provide for financing of administrative support related to cross-border investigations. This financing refers to practices necessary for police investigations (information rewards etc) or actions such as hiring cars, renting of equipment, travel and subsistence of police or other agents etc. Until now, it has been of modest amounts (below 50 000 euro) and is currently provided by the ECB concerning counterfeit euro banknotes.

It is therefore proposed to add the possibility of co-financing, subject to prior assessment by Europol, administrative support to cross-border investigations, when not covered by financing from other European institutions. Financing under that heading should give priority to actions outside the euro area and not exceed EUR 100 000 annually.

It should be noted that there is a parallel proposal for a decision aiming to extend the benefits of this programme to Member States who are not part of the euro zone (please see CNS20050030.)

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS : Please see the parallel proposal mentioned above.

Budget lines : 24 02 02 Pericles

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: From 1 January 2006 until 31 December 2011

Total commitment and payment appropriations: EUR 6 million over the duration of the programme.

Human resources not included in the financial reference amount : total EUR 1,782 million

Other administrative costs not included in the reference amount : EUR 0,540 million

Detail of resources :

-Action 1(subsidies to Member States for seminars, exchanges of personnel and studies) : EUR 4,8 million over 6 years;

-Action 2 (costs borne by the Commission for seminars etc): EUR 1,2 million EUR over 6 ans.

COM(2005)0127
EUR-Lex