Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, we are requesting documents which contain the following information:

(1) A list of all projects that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In particular, we would like to receive a breakdown of the following information:
• AMIF National and Specific objectives
• Project number
• Project name
• Beneficiary name
• The total value of the project, including the EU and the national contribution

(2) A list of all procurement procedures that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In particular, we would like to receive a breakdown of the following information:
• AMIF National and Specific objectives
• Project number
• Contract name
• Contracting authority
• Contractor
• The total value of the contract, including the EU and the national contribution.

We would prefer that the information be shared in excel file format or similar.
In relation to our request, we would like to note for the European Commission that the data we are requesting to you have been fully disclosed by some Member States, such as Spain or Italy, and that the objective of this request is to obtain a full set of the data held by the European Commission in line with the transparency obligations set out by the EU Reg. No. 514/2014.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or clarification you might have.

Our postal address is Calle Cava de San Miguel 8, 4 centro, 28005, Madrid, Spain.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

EC ARES NOREPLY,

[1]Ares(2018)6449968 - RE: access to documents request - AMIF Projects
Greece

Sent by ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Ms/Mr,

Thank you for your request for information. You have sent your request to
the Migration and Home Affairs service dealing with requests for access to
documents.

Please note that your request will be treated as a request for information
and has been transferred to the relevant department which will give you an
answer within 15 working days, in accordance with the code of good
administrative conduct.

For eventual future requests for information concerning Migration and Home
Affairs, please use the form available on our website:
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/who...

Best regards,

European Commission
DG Migration and Home Affairs
Access to Documents Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire <[FOI #6192 email]>
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2018 4:44 PM
To: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS <[DG HOME request email]>
Subject: access to documents request - AMIF Projects Greece

Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in
Regulation 1049/2001, we are requesting documents which contain the
following information:

(1)     A list of all projects that have been (co)financed by AMIF  under
the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and
2017. In particular, we would like to receive a breakdown of the following
information:
•       AMIF National and Specific objectives
•       Project number
•       Project name
•       Beneficiary name
•       The total value of the project, including the EU and the national
contribution

(2)     A list of all procurement procedures that have been (co)financed
by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014,
2015, 2016 and 2017. In particular, we would like to receive a breakdown
of the following information:
•       AMIF National and Specific objectives
•       Project number
•       Contract name
•       Contracting authority
•       Contractor
•       The total value of the contract, including the EU and the national
contribution.

We would prefer that the information be shared in excel file format or
similar.
In relation to our request, we would like to note for the European
Commission that the data we are requesting to you have been fully
disclosed by some Member States, such as Spain or Italy, and that the
objective of this request is to obtain a full set of the data held by the
European Commission in line with the transparency obligations set out by
the EU Reg. No. 514/2014.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or clarification you
might have.

Our postal address is Calle Cava de San Miguel 8, 4 centro, 28005, Madrid,
Spain.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU
and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the
AsktheEU.org website.

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #6192 email]

If [DG HOME request email] is the wrong address for information
requests to Migration and Home Affairs, please tell the AsktheEU.org team
on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Migration and Home Affairs will be
published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our
dedicated page for EU public officials at
[3]https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/doc...
2. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/who...
3. https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

cacher les sections citées

Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

Thank you for your message.

We would like to express our concern that what was clearly stated as a request for access to documents -- making a specific reference to the fact that we are exercising our fundamental right of access to documents as protected by the EU treaties -- will be treated as an access to information request, and to ask that you revert it to the status of an access to document application under Regulation 1049/2001.

We note that in your message, you did not state the reasons for your decision to treat this as an access to information request. It should not be necessary for requesters who have asked for documents to have to justify the existence of those documents, nevertheless, we will hereby explain why we believe that that you do hold documents that would satisfy this request.

First, according to the relevant regulation, No 514/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down general provisions on the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), it is clearly stated in Article 44 on 'Clearance of accounts and financial corrections / Request for payment of the annual balance', that: "1. By 15 February of the year following the financial year, each Member State shall submit to the Commission the documents and information required under Article 59(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. The documents submitted shall serve as the request for payment of the annual balance. The deadline of 15 February may be exceptionally extended by the Commission to 1 March at the latest upon communication from the Member State concerned. Member States may, at the appropriate level, publish that information."
Please see also this link: https://ec.europa.eu/sfc/en/2014/quickgu...
Upon studying this, it looks at though each Member State has to submit a list of projects.
Please note that Regulation 1049/2001 applies to information recorded in any format ("any content whatever its medium"), so data contained inside electronic system also falls within the definition of documents for the purposes of the regulation.

Second, we have received such lists relating to other countries, which increases our confidence that such lists exist.

Hence we would be grateful if you could reply at your soonest convenience to confirm that this will be treated as an access to documents request and that you will respect the original timeframe (you acknowledged receipt of the request on 14 December 2019, even though you have yet to issue a reference number). Hence a reply should be provided within a maximum of 15 working days from the date of receipt of the request.

We remain at your disposal should you have any questions or clarifications.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

EC ARES NOREPLY,

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping

[4]Ares(2018)6627480 - FW: Reply for access to information request - AMIF
National Programme Projects Greece

Sent by ve_home.e.2 (HOME) <[email address]>. All
responses have to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.e.2 (HOME) <[email address]>. Toutes
les réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Madams,

We refer to your e-mail dated 13 December 2018 in which you make a request
for access to information in relation to projects financed under the AMIF
national programme of Greece for the return objective during 2014-2017.

As regards your first question: 1) List of all projects that have been
(co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the
years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The Responsible Authorities who are the entities responsible for managing
the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund in each of the Member States
publish on their websites the lists of projects approved, the
beneficiaries and the amounts granted.

The link to the relevant webpage of the Greek Responsible Authority for
the AMIF and ISF national programmes where you can find the information
requested is: [5]https://www.amifisf.gr/katalogos-draseon/

As regards your second question: 2) A list of all procurement procedures
that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in
Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

We would like to inform you that the Commission does not hold any such
list. In line with the principle of shared management, Member States are
responsible for the implementation of the projects financed under the AMIF
national programme. Consequently, I would like to invite you to contact
the Responsible Authority for AMIF national programme in Greece:

Ministry of Economy and Development

Special Department of Coordination and Management of AMIF and ISF National
Programmes

23-25 Lekka str., 105 62 Athens, Greece

Tel. ++30 210 3256533, 3256530

[6]www.amifsif.gr

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

HOME E2 Secretariat

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Helen Darbishire [[7]mailto:[FOI #6192 email]]

Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2018 4:44 PM

To: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS

Subject: access to documents request - AMIF Projects Greece

 

Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

 

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in
Regulation 1049/2001, we are requesting documents which contain the
following information:

 

(1)          A list of all projects that have been (co)financed by AMIF 
under the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016
and 2017. In particular, we would like to receive a breakdown of the
following information:

•             AMIF National and Specific objectives

•             Project number

•             Project name

•             Beneficiary name

•             The total value of the project, including the EU and the
national contribution

 

(2)          A list of all procurement procedures that have been
(co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the
years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In particular, we would like to receive a
breakdown of the following information:

•             AMIF National and Specific objectives

•             Project number

•             Contract name

•             Contracting authority

•             Contractor

•             The total value of the contract, including the EU and the
national contribution.

 

We would prefer that the information be shared in excel file format or
similar.

In relation to our request, we would like to note for the European
Commission that the data we are requesting to you have been fully
disclosed by some Member States, such as Spain or Italy, and that the
objective of this request is to obtain a full set of the data held by the
European Commission in line with the transparency obligations set out by
the EU Reg. No. 514/2014.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or clarification you
might have.

 

Our postal address is Calle Cava de San Miguel 8, 4 centro, 28005, Madrid,
Spain.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Yours faithfully,

Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU
and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the
AsktheEU.org website.

 

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #6192 email]

 

If [9][DG HOME request email] is the wrong address for
information requests to Migration and Home Affairs, please tell the
AsktheEU.org team on email [10][email address]

 

This message and all replies from Migration and Home Affairs will be
published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our
dedicated page for EU public officials at
[11]https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D49934.9DB1EEA0
2. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
3. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
4. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/doc...
5. https://www.amifisf.gr/katalogos-draseon/
6. http://www.amifsif.gr/
7. mailto:[FOI #6192 email]
8. mailto:[FOI #6192 email]
9. mailto:[DG HOME request email]
10. mailto:[AsktheEU.org contact email]
11. https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

cacher les sections citées

Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

Thank you for your message and the link that corresponds to the first part of our request for access to documents.

As to the second part of our request, you say that you do not hold any relevant documents. We are hereby submitting a confirmatory application, as set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001, by which we ask you to reconsider the response to our initial request, and to do so taking into account the considerations which we set out below, which have led us to the conclusion that you should documents that fall under the scope of our requst.

According to the AMIF Regulation No. 516/2014: “The budget allocated to national programmes referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation shall be implemented under shared management in accordance with point (b) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.”
Also according to Regulation No. 966/2012, which was replaced by Regulation No. 2018/1046: “1. The Commission shall implement the budget in any of the following ways:
(a) directly (‘direct management’) as set out in Articles 125 to 153, by its departments, including its staff in the Union delegations under the authority of their respective Head of delegation, in accordance with Article 60(2), or through executive agencies as referred to in Article 69;
(b) under shared management with Member States (‘shared management’) as set out in Articles 63 and 125 to 129.”

Under Article 63 of this same Regulation No. 2018/1046 (which replaces Article 59 of Regulation No. 966/2012), which explains the principle of shared management with Member States, the second point asserts: “2. When executing tasks relating to budget implementation, Member States shall take all the necessary measures, including legislative, regulatory and administrative measures, to protect the financial interests of the Union, namely by:
(a) ensuring that actions financed from the budget are implemented correctly and effectively and in accordance with the applicable sector-specific rules;
(b) designating bodies responsible for the management and control of Union funds in accordance with paragraph 3, and supervising such bodies;
(c) preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities and fraud;
(d) cooperating, in accordance with this Regulation and sector-specific rules, with the Commission, OLAF, the Court of Auditors and, for those Member States participating in enhanced cooperation pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (39), with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).”
And the third point sets out that:
“3. In accordance with the criteria and procedures laid down in sector-specific rules, Member States shall, at the appropriate level, designate bodies to be responsible for the management and control of Union funds. Such bodies may also carry out tasks not related to the management of Union funds and may entrust certain of their tasks to other bodies.”

And the fifth point establishes that:
“5. Bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 3 shall, by 15 February of the following financial year, provide the Commission with:
(a) their accounts on the expenditure that was incurred, during the relevant reference period as defined in sector-specific rules, in the execution of their tasks and that was presented to the Commission for reimbursement;
(b) an annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls carried out, including an analysis of the nature and extent of errors and weaknesses identified in systems, as well as corrective action taken or planned.”

Finally, the eight point states that:
“8. In order to ensure that Union funds are used in accordance with the applicable rules, the Commission shall:
(a) apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the accounts of the designated bodies, ensuring that the accounts are complete, accurate and true;
(b) exclude from Union financing expenditure for which disbursements have been made in breach of applicable law;
(c) interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments where provided for in sector-specific rules.”
It is thus clear that each Member State has to designate a “responsible body” in charge of the supervision of the correct use of the fund and that this same authority has to provide “the accounts on the expenditures that was incurred” and an “annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls carried out” on 15 February of each year.

Therefore, based on the aforementioned Regulations and in accordance with the reply you sent us on the 21 December 2018, we are now requesting the accounts on the expenditures and the annual summaries for Greece for the years 2015-2016-2017-2018 that this “responsible authority” in Greece is required to provide to the European Commission. Also, we would like to know which one of the three possible actions as explained above (Article 63.8) the Commission took with regard to Greece in each of these years.
We would also like to remind you that, under AMIF Regulation No.516/2014, “The Commission shall remain responsible for the implementation of the Union budget in accordance with Article 317 TFEU and shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the operations carried out by entities other than Member States.”

Based on this analysis of the legal requirements for collecting, reporting, evaluating and auditing documents related to the Hence, we expect the Commission to have in its possession documents which fall within the scope of our initial request, in which we asked for the list of all procurement procedures that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. We do not see how the principle of shared management would result in the Commission not holding this information.

We do however, recognise that the information might be contained in multiple documents (understanding that by documents we mean documents in a classical format, but also excel sheets and information contained in databases, as per the definitions in Regulation 1049/2001), all of which would therefore fall under the scope of our request. Hence we are open to discussing with you precisely which documents you hold and which would best satisfy what we are seeking to obtain through our request for documents.

We remain at your disposal should you have any questions or clarifications as detailed in Article 6 of Regulation No.1049/2001.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

EC ARES NOREPLY,

[1]Ares(2019)416885 - RE: Internal review of access to documents request -
AMIF Projects Greece

Sent by ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Please note that we treated your request as request for information.
Considering the development of the file, we now register it as an access
to documents request, under reference Gestdem 2019/0433.

We send this information to the Secretariat General (SG) which will deal
with your confirmatory request.

Best regards,

European Commission
DG Migration and Home Affairs
Access to Documents Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire <[FOI #6192 email]>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2019 11:18 PM
To: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS <[DG HOME request email]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - AMIF Projects
Greece

Dear Migration and Home Affairs,

Thank you for your message and the link that corresponds to the first part
of our request for access to documents.

As to the second part of our request, you say that you do not hold any
relevant documents. We are hereby submitting a confirmatory application,
as set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001, by which we ask you to
reconsider the response to our initial request, and to do so taking into
account the considerations which we set out below, which have led us to
the conclusion that you should documents that fall under the scope of our
requst.

According to the AMIF Regulation No. 516/2014: “The budget allocated to
national programmes referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation shall be
implemented under shared management in accordance with point (b) of
Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.”
Also according to Regulation No. 966/2012, which was replaced by
Regulation No. 2018/1046: “1. The Commission shall implement the budget in
any of the following ways:
(a)     directly (‘direct management’) as set out in Articles 125 to 153,
by its departments, including its staff in the Union delegations under the
authority of their respective Head of delegation, in accordance with
Article 60(2), or through executive agencies as referred to in Article 69;
(b)     under shared management with Member States (‘shared management’)
as set out in Articles 63 and 125 to 129.”

Under Article 63 of this same Regulation No. 2018/1046 (which replaces
Article 59 of Regulation No. 966/2012), which explains the principle of
shared management with Member States, the second point asserts: “2. When
executing tasks relating to budget implementation, Member States shall
take all the necessary measures, including legislative, regulatory and
administrative measures, to protect the financial interests of the Union,
namely by:
(a)     ensuring that actions financed from the budget are implemented
correctly and effectively and in accordance with the applicable
sector-specific rules;
(b)     designating bodies responsible for the management and control of
Union funds in accordance with paragraph 3, and supervising such bodies;
(c)     preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities and fraud;
(d)     cooperating, in accordance with this Regulation and
sector-specific rules, with the Commission, OLAF, the Court of Auditors
and, for those Member States participating in enhanced cooperation
pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (39), with the European
Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).”
And the third point sets out that:
“3. In accordance with the criteria and procedures laid down in
sector-specific rules, Member States shall, at the appropriate level,
designate bodies to be responsible for the management and control of Union
funds. Such bodies may also carry out tasks not related to the management
of Union funds and may entrust certain of their tasks to other bodies.”

And the fifth point establishes that:
“5. Bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 3 shall, by 15 February of the
following financial year, provide the Commission with:
(a)     their accounts on the expenditure that was incurred, during the
relevant reference period as defined in sector-specific rules, in the
execution of their tasks and that was presented to the Commission for
reimbursement;
(b)     an annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls
carried out, including an analysis of the nature and extent of errors and
weaknesses identified in systems, as well as corrective action taken or
planned.”

Finally, the eight point states that:
“8.   In order to ensure that Union funds are used in accordance with the
applicable rules, the Commission shall:
(a)     apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the
accounts of the designated bodies, ensuring that the accounts are
complete, accurate and true;
(b)     exclude from Union financing expenditure for which disbursements
have been made in breach of applicable law;
(c)     interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments where provided for
in sector-specific rules.”
It is thus clear that each Member State has to designate a “responsible
body” in charge of the supervision of the correct use of the fund and that
this same authority has to provide “the accounts on the expenditures that
was incurred” and an “annual summary of the final audit reports and of
controls carried out” on 15 February of each year.

Therefore, based on the aforementioned Regulations and in accordance with
the reply you sent us on the 21 December 2018, we are now requesting the
accounts on the expenditures and the annual summaries for Greece for the
years 2015-2016-2017-2018 that this “responsible authority” in Greece is
required to provide to the European Commission. Also, we would like to
know which one of the three possible actions as explained above (Article
63.8) the Commission took with regard to Greece in each of these years.
We would also like to remind you that, under AMIF Regulation No.516/2014,
“The Commission shall remain responsible for the implementation of the
Union budget in accordance with Article 317 TFEU and shall inform the
European Parliament and the Council of the operations carried out by
entities other than Member States.”

Based on this analysis of the legal requirements for collecting,
reporting, evaluating and auditing documents related to the Hence, we
expect the Commission to have in its possession documents which fall
within the scope of our initial request, in which we asked for the list of
all procurement procedures that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the
objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
We do not see how the principle of shared management would result in the
Commission not holding this information.

We do however, recognise that the information might be contained in
multiple documents (understanding that by documents we mean documents in a
classical format, but also excel sheets and information contained in
databases, as per the definitions in Regulation 1049/2001), all of which
would therefore fall under the scope of our request. Hence we are open to
discussing with you precisely which documents you hold and which would
best satisfy what we are seeking to obtain through our request for
documents.

We remain at your disposal should you have any questions or clarifications
as detailed in Article 6 of Regulation No.1049/2001.

Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #6192 email]

This message and all replies from Migration and Home Affairs will be
published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our
dedicated page for EU public officials at
[2]https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/doc...
2. https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

cacher les sections citées

Migration et affaires intérieures

1 Attachment

Dear Helen Darbishire,
Thank you for your email dated 21 January 2019, by which you request,
pursuant to Regulation No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents, a review of the position
taken by DG HOME in reply to your initial application GESTDEM 2019/0433.
We hereby acknowledge receipt of your confirmatory application for access
to documents which was registered on 24/01/2019 (Ares(2019)420717).
Your application will be handled within 15 working days (14/02/2019). In
case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be informed in due
course.
Please be informed that the answer to your confirmatory application is a
formal Commission decision that will be notified to you by express
delivery. We kindly offer you the possibility to provide us a contact
phone number (by email to [email address]), so that the external
delivery service can contact you in case of absence.
Please note that the Commission will not use your phone number for any
other purpose than for informing the delivery service.
 
Best regards,
 
Gitte Louise Olsen
Access to documents team
 
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Unit C1 – Transparency, Document Management &
Access to Document
Office address CHAR 03/021
+32 2 995 63 26
[1][email address]
 
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire <[FOI #6192 email]>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2019 11:18 PM
To: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS <[DG HOME request email]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - AMIF Projects
Greece
 
Dear Migration and Home Affairs,
 
Thank you for your message and the link that corresponds to the first part
of our request for access to documents.
 
As to the second part of our request, you say that you do not hold any
relevant documents. We are hereby submitting a confirmatory application,
as set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001, by which we ask you to
reconsider the response to our initial request, and to do so taking into
account the considerations which we set out below, which have led us to
the conclusion that you should documents that fall under the scope of our
requst.
 
According to the AMIF Regulation No. 516/2014: “The budget allocated to
national programmes referred to in Article 19 of this Regulation shall be
implemented under shared management in accordance with point (b) of
Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.”
Also according to Regulation No. 966/2012, which was replaced by
Regulation No. 2018/1046: “1. The Commission shall implement the budget in
any of the following ways:
(a)     directly (‘direct management’) as set out in Articles 125 to 153,
by its departments, including its staff in the Union delegations under the
authority of their respective Head of delegation, in accordance with
Article 60(2), or through executive agencies as referred to in Article 69;
(b)     under shared management with Member States (‘shared management’)
as set out in Articles 63 and 125 to 129.”
 
Under Article 63 of this same Regulation No. 2018/1046 (which replaces
Article 59 of Regulation No. 966/2012), which explains the principle of
shared management with Member States, the second point asserts: “2. When
executing tasks relating to budget implementation, Member States shall
take all the necessary measures, including legislative, regulatory and
administrative measures, to protect the financial interests of the Union,
namely by:
(a)     ensuring that actions financed from the budget are implemented
correctly and effectively and in accordance with the applicable
sector-specific rules;
(b)     designating bodies responsible for the management and control of
Union funds in accordance with paragraph 3, and supervising such bodies;
(c)     preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities and fraud;
(d)     cooperating, in accordance with this Regulation and
sector-specific rules, with the Commission, OLAF, the Court of Auditors
and, for those Member States participating in enhanced cooperation
pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (39), with the European
Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).”
And the third point sets out that:
“3. In accordance with the criteria and procedures laid down in
sector-specific rules, Member States shall, at the appropriate level,
designate bodies to be responsible for the management and control of Union
funds. Such bodies may also carry out tasks not related to the management
of Union funds and may entrust certain of their tasks to other bodies.”
 
And the fifth point establishes that:
“5. Bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 3 shall, by 15 February of the
following financial year, provide the Commission with:
(a)     their accounts on the expenditure that was incurred, during the
relevant reference period as defined in sector-specific rules, in the
execution of their tasks and that was presented to the Commission for
reimbursement;
(b)     an annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls
carried out, including an analysis of the nature and extent of errors and
weaknesses identified in systems, as well as corrective action taken or
planned.”
 
Finally, the eight point states that:
“8.   In order to ensure that Union funds are used in accordance with the
applicable rules, the Commission shall:
(a)     apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the
accounts of the designated bodies, ensuring that the accounts are
complete, accurate and true;
(b)     exclude from Union financing expenditure for which disbursements
have been made in breach of applicable law;
(c)     interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments where provided for
in sector-specific rules.”
It is thus clear that each Member State has to designate a “responsible
body” in charge of the supervision of the correct use of the fund and that
this same authority has to provide “the accounts on the expenditures that
was incurred” and an “annual summary of the final audit reports and of
controls carried out” on 15 February of each year.
 
Therefore, based on the aforementioned Regulations and in accordance with
the reply you sent us on the 21 December 2018, we are now requesting the
accounts on the expenditures and the annual summaries for Greece for the
years 2015-2016-2017-2018 that this “responsible authority” in Greece is
required to provide to the European Commission. Also, we would like to
know which one of the three possible actions as explained above (Article
63.8) the Commission took with regard to Greece in each of these years.
We would also like to remind you that, under AMIF Regulation No.516/2014,
“The Commission shall remain responsible for the implementation of the
Union budget in accordance with Article 317 TFEU and shall inform the
European Parliament and the Council of the operations carried out by
entities other than Member States.”
 
Based on this analysis of the legal requirements for collecting,
reporting, evaluating and auditing documents related to the Hence, we
expect the Commission to have in its possession documents which fall
within the scope of our initial request, in which we asked for the list of
all procurement procedures that have been (co)financed by AMIF under the
objective of return in Greece during the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
We do not see how the principle of shared management would result in the
Commission not holding this information.
 
We do however, recognise that the information might be contained in
multiple documents (understanding that by documents we mean documents in a
classical format, but also excel sheets and information contained in
databases, as per the definitions in Regulation 1049/2001), all of which
would therefore fall under the scope of our request. Hence we are open to
discussing with you precisely which documents you hold and which would
best satisfy what we are seeking to obtain through our request for
documents.
 
We remain at your disposal should you have any questions or clarifications
as detailed in Article 6 of Regulation No.1049/2001.
 
Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire & Estela Casajuana
 
 
 
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FOI #6192 email]
 
This message and all replies from Migration and Home Affairs will be
published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our
dedicated page for EU public officials at
[3]https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers
 
 
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cacher les sections citées

EC ARES NOREPLY,

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

[5]Ares(2019)891566 - Your confirmatory application for access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – GESTDEM 2019/0433

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[email address]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[email address]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Ms Darbishire,

 

I refer to your email of 21 January 2019, registered on 24 January 2019,
through which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with
Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents ('Regulation
1049/2001').

 

Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. Unfortunately,
we have not yet been able to gather all the elements we need to carry out
a full analysis of your request in order to take a final decision and,
therefore, we are not in a position to reply to your confirmatory request
within the prescribed time limit expiring 14 February 2019.

 

Consequently, we have to extend the deadline for handling it by another 15
working days in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation 1049/2001. The
new deadline expires on 7 March 2019.

 

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[6]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

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5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/doc...

Migration et affaires intérieures

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Darbishire,
Dear Ms Casajuana,
Please find attached a copy of the confirmatory decision taken on your
request for access to documents registered under Gestdem number 2019/0433,
adopted on 27/02/2019.
Please note that the Secretariat-General of the European Commission will
proceed with the formal notification of the decision in the coming days.
This copy is solely sent for your information and is not the formal
notification of the confirmatory decision.
 
Best regards,
 
Gitte Louise Olsen
Access to documents team
 
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Unit C1 – Transparency, Document Management &
Access to Documents
Office address CHAR 03/021
+32 2 995 63 26
[1][email address]
 
 
 
 

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