2003/0039(COD)

Political parties at European level: statute and financing

Procedure completed

General
Activities
Documents
History

2003/0039(COD) Political parties at European level: statute and financing

Role	Committee	Rapporteur
Lead	AFCO	LEINEN Jo (PSE)
Opinion	BUDG	MULDER Jan (ELDR)
Opinion	CONT	KUHNE Helmut (PSE)
Opinion	JURI	DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H. (ELDR)

Legal Basis EC Treaty (after Amsterdam) EC 191

Subjects

8.40.01.02 President, members, mandates, political groups

Links

Activites

2004/03/29 Implementing legislative act
- 32004D0612(01) summary
  
  PURPOSE: The establishment of procedures governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The implementation of Regulation 2004/2003. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. CONTENT: The rules laid out in this Decision create the procedures governing the political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The rules are as follows: - The European Parliament will publish annual calls for proposals with a view to awarding grants to fund political parties at European level - Any political party wishing to receive a grant from the general budget of the EU must submit a written application prior to the 15 November. - The Bureau will be responsible for assessing funding applications. Before the 15 February, the Bureau must draw up a list of beneficiaries and the amounts of the grants awarded. The President shall inform applicants of the action taken on their applications. - A grant awarded to a political party must be the subject of a written agreement between the European Parliament and the beneficiary. - Grants will be paid in the form of pre-financing in two instalments. The first must not be more than 50% of the maximum amount of the grant, to be paid within 15 days following the signing of the agreement. The second brings the total pre-financing to no more than 80% of the maximum amount of the grants and is to be paid to the beneficiary upon request. The balance should be paid once the period of eligibility for Community funding has come to an end and will be based on the expenditure actually incurred by the beneficiary. If the total amount exceeds the figure of the final grant, then the European Parliament will recover the sums unduly paid. - At least six months before the end of the financial year, the beneficiary must submit a final report, a financial statement, a comprehensive summary of revenue and expenditure and a report on an external audit of the accounts carried out by an independent body or expert. If not satisfied, the Bureau may reject both the final report and the financial statement and call for a fresh report. - In terms of determining the final grant, the Bureau will determine the amount of the final grant to be awarded based on the documentation received and outlined above. - Under no circumstances may the total amount paid by Parliament exceed the maximum amount of the grants laid down in the grant award agreement or 75% of the eligible expenditure actually incurred. The grant shall be limited to the amount needed to balance revenue and eligible expenditure in the operating budget of the beneficiary. - On a proposal from the Secretary General, the Bureau can suspend payments and reduce the grant and under certain conditions it may decide to terminate the grant award agreement. - In cases where amounts have been unduly paid to the beneficiary then there are procedures allowing the money to be recovered. - Checks and audit provisions have been put in place. These provisions include, inter alia, that all relevant documentation is kept for a period of five years. - The Bureau has the authority, on a proposal from the Secretary General, to grant political parties technical assistance. - Details of all the grants awarded by Parliament during a given financial year will be published on the internet. Details include the name and address of the beneficiary, the purpose for which the grant was awarded, the amount awarded and the proportion of the beneficiary's total operating budget covered by the funding. - Provisions for a right of appeal have been put in place as well as transitional rules for the financial year 2004. - Lastly, a report on the implementation of the rules must be submitted by the Secretary General before the 30 September 2005. The report should, if necessary, include any proposed changed that may need to be made. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13 June 2004.
- OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025
2004/03/29 Implementing legislative act
- 32004D0612(01) summary
  
  PURPOSE: The establishment of procedures governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The implementation of Regulation 2004/2003. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. CONTENT: The rules laid out in this Decision create the procedures governing the political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The rules are as follows: - The European Parliament will publish annual calls for proposals with a view to awarding grants to fund political parties at European level - Any political party wishing to receive a grant from the general budget of the EU must submit a written application prior to the 15 November. - The Bureau will be responsible for assessing funding applications. Before the 15 February, the Bureau must draw up a list of beneficiaries and the amounts of the grants awarded. The President shall inform applicants of the action taken on their applications. - A grant awarded to a political party must be the subject of a written agreement between the European Parliament and the beneficiary. - Grants will be paid in the form of pre-financing in two instalments. The first must not be more than 50% of the maximum amount of the grant, to be paid within 15 days following the signing of the agreement. The second brings the total pre-financing to no more than 80% of the maximum amount of the grants and is to be paid to the beneficiary upon request. The balance should be paid once the period of eligibility for Community funding has come to an end and will be based on the expenditure actually incurred by the beneficiary. If the total amount exceeds the figure of the final grant, then the European Parliament will recover the sums unduly paid. - At least six months before the end of the financial year, the beneficiary must submit a final report, a financial statement, a comprehensive summary of revenue and expenditure and a report on an external audit of the accounts carried out by an independent body or expert. If not satisfied, the Bureau may reject both the final report and the financial statement and call for a fresh report. - In terms of determining the final grant, the Bureau will determine the amount of the final grant to be awarded based on the documentation received and outlined above. - Under no circumstances may the total amount paid by Parliament exceed the maximum amount of the grants laid down in the grant award agreement or 75% of the eligible expenditure actually incurred. The grant shall be limited to the amount needed to balance revenue and eligible expenditure in the operating budget of the beneficiary. - On a proposal from the Secretary General, the Bureau can suspend payments and reduce the grant and under certain conditions it may decide to terminate the grant award agreement. - In cases where amounts have been unduly paid to the beneficiary then there are procedures allowing the money to be recovered. - Checks and audit provisions have been put in place. These provisions include, inter alia, that all relevant documentation is kept for a period of five years. - The Bureau has the authority, on a proposal from the Secretary General, to grant political parties technical assistance. - Details of all the grants awarded by Parliament during a given financial year will be published on the internet. Details include the name and address of the beneficiary, the purpose for which the grant was awarded, the amount awarded and the proportion of the beneficiary's total operating budget covered by the funding. - Provisions for a right of appeal have been put in place as well as transitional rules for the financial year 2004. - Lastly, a report on the implementation of the rules must be submitted by the Secretary General before the 30 September 2005. The report should, if necessary, include any proposed changed that may need to be made. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13 June 2004.
- OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025
- DG Secretariat General,
2003/11/15 Final act published in Official Journal
- Regulation 2003/2004
- OJ L 297 15.11.2003, p. 0001-0004
2003/11/04 Final act signed
2003/11/04 End of procedure in Parliament
2003/09/29 Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
#X019
2003/09/29 Council Meeting
2003/06/19 Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
- T5-0289/2003 summary
  
  The European Parliament adopted a resolution, which was based on the report by Jo LEINEN (PES, Germany) but differed in some respects by the report adopted by the committee. The main amendments to the Commission's proposal were as follows: - "European political party" is changed to "political party at European level"; - Such a party must meet the following conditions: 1) It must have legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located; 2) It must be represented, in at least one quarter of the Member States, by Members of the European Parliament, in the national parliaments or regional parliaments or regional assemblies, or must have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least three per cent of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent European elections; 3) It must observe, in particular in its programme and through its actions, the principles on which the EU is founded: the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law; 4) It must have participated in elections to the European Parliament or expressed its intention to do so. - In order to receive funding, a political party at European level must file an application with the European Parliament each year. The latter will take a decision within three months. The first application has to be filed with a number of specified documents. If the relevant conditions are no longer met, the party will be excluded from financing under the Regulation. - The party must declare its sources of finance by providing a list specifying donors and donations exceeding EUR 500 (the Commission proposed that all donations above EUR 100 should be declared.) - The party may not accept donations from any undertaking over which the public authorities directly or indirectly may exert a dominant influence by dint of ownership, a financial holding or the rules by which it is governed. This clause replaces the Commission proposal to ban donations from bodies in which the State holds over 50% of the capital. - Donations exceeding EUR 12000 are also banned (this figure replaces the Commission's proposal of EUR 5000) - Dues from political parties which are members of a political party at European level are admissible so long as they do not exceed 40% of that party's annual budget. - The European Parliament will publish details of the technical support given to each political party at European level in an annual report. - Financing under this Regulation will apply from the opening of the first session following the 2004 European Parliament elections.
2003/06/18 Debate in Parliament
#2519
2003/06/16 Council Meeting
2003/05/20 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
- A5-0170/2003
- AFCO LEINEN Jo PSE
- BUDG MULDER Jan ELDR
- CONT KUHNE Helmut PSE
- JURI DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H. ELDR
2003/04/15 Committee draft report
- PE323.576
2003/03/10 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
- AFCO LEINEN Jo PSE
- BUDG MULDER Jan ELDR
- CONT KUHNE Helmut PSE
- JURI DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H. ELDR
2003/02/19 Legislative proposal
- COM(2003)0077 summary
  
  PURPOSE : to establish a framework for the European political parties and their financing from the Community budget. CONTENT : Article 191 of the Treaty recognises the important role that European political parties can play in developing political debate at the European level, thereby enhancing the quality of democracy and improving the functioning of the institutions of the Union. It also recognises that in order to perform the role that the Treaty wishes to assign to them, it will be necessary that they should be at least partially financed from the Community budget. The main points of the proposal are as follows: 1) The Commission considers that it would be inappropriate to establish intrusive or over prescriptive political requirements for the registration of European political parties, but considers it essential to lay down minimum standards of democratic conduct for such parties. Accordingly, the proposal states that to be that to be registered by the European Parliament a party must: - have participated or declared their intention to participate in elections to the European Parliament; - have clearly defined bodies responsible for financial management; - ensure that the statute and activities of the European political party respect the basic purposes of the Union with regard to freedom, democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. 2) The proposal establishes a procedure for verification of respect for the basic values of the EU. The European Parliament can deregister a party which no longer satisfies the conditions for registration. 3) To ensure transparency, the Statutes must be published. 4) The registration procedure represents a first, necessary but not sufficient step to obtain financing. A party must first register its statute and then meet the specific additional conditions set out in the proposal before it can obtain financing. Registered parties would make application for funding to the Parliament which would decide within two months. 5) Community financing is given to parties that are reasonably representative, either in the European Parliament or in a number of Member States. A European political party: - must have elected members in the European Parliament or national or regional Parliaments in at least one third of the Member States, or -it must have obtained at least five percent of the votes at the most recent European elections in at least one third of the Member States of the Community. The parties must also commit themselves not to accept certain kinds of donations defined in the proposal. Parties would then be eligible for financing from the Union budget. This financing is not intended to replace the autonomous financing of the European parties, which must represent at least 25% of the budget of each party. 6) Each party would receive a flat-rate basic grant plus a second component based on the number of elected representatives in the European Parliament. The two components would account for 15% and 85% of the appropriations respectively. 7) European political parties must publish their accounts and declare their sources of finance (excluding donations not exceeding Ç 100) from whatever source. Standard reporting, accounting and audit procedures are laid down in accordance withthe Financial Regulation. 8) There is provision for an external and independent auditing of the accounts of the parties. 9) This proposal will be financed by specific administrative expenditure of the Parliament (section I of the budget), in accordance with the provision for an article entitled "Contribution to European Political Parties" made by the Budgetary Authority in the Parliament's budget for 2002 and 2003.
- DG Secretariat General,

Documents

Legislative proposal published: COM(2003)0077
Committee draft report: PE323.576
Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0170/2003
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0289/2003
: Regulation 2003/2004
: OJ L 297 15.11.2003, p. 0001-0004
Implementing legislative act: 32004D0612(01)
Implementing legislative act: OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025
Implementing legislative act: 32004D0612(01)
Implementing legislative act: OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

2012-02-09

activities	added	date 2003-02-19 docs url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2003&nu_doc=0077 text PURPOSE : to establish a framework for the European political parties and their financing from the Community budget. CONTENT : Article 191 of the Treaty recognises the important role that European political parties can play in developing political debate at the European level, thereby enhancing the quality of democracy and improving the functioning of the institutions of the Union. It also recognises that in order to perform the role that the Treaty wishes to assign to them, it will be necessary that they should be at least partially financed from the Community budget. The main points of the proposal are as follows: 1) The Commission considers that it would be inappropriate to establish intrusive or over prescriptive political requirements for the registration of European political parties, but considers it essential to lay down minimum standards of democratic conduct for such parties. Accordingly, the proposal states that to be that to be registered by the European Parliament a party must: - have participated or declared their intention to participate in elections to the European Parliament; - have clearly defined bodies responsible for financial management; - ensure that the statute and activities of the European political party respect the basic purposes of the Union with regard to freedom, democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. 2) The proposal establishes a procedure for verification of respect for the basic values of the EU. The European Parliament can deregister a party which no longer satisfies the conditions for registration. 3) To ensure transparency, the Statutes must be published. 4) The registration procedure represents a first, necessary but not sufficient step to obtain financing. A party must first register its statute and then meet the specific additional conditions set out in the proposal before it can obtain financing. Registered parties would make application for funding to the Parliament which would decide within two months. 5) Community financing is given to parties that are reasonably representative, either in the European Parliament or in a number of Member States. A European political party: - must have elected members in the European Parliament or national or regional Parliaments in at least one third of the Member States, or -it must have obtained at least five percent of the votes at the most recent European elections in at least one third of the Member States of the Community. The parties must also commit themselves not to accept certain kinds of donations defined in the proposal. Parties would then be eligible for financing from the Union budget. This financing is not intended to replace the autonomous financing of the European parties, which must represent at least 25% of the budget of each party. 6) Each party would receive a flat-rate basic grant plus a second component based on the number of elected representatives in the European Parliament. The two components would account for 15% and 85% of the appropriations respectively. 7) European political parties must publish their accounts and declare their sources of finance (excluding donations not exceeding Ç 100) from whatever source. Standard reporting, accounting and audit procedures are laid down in accordance withthe Financial Regulation. 8) There is provision for an external and independent auditing of the accounts of the parties. 9) This proposal will be financed by specific administrative expenditure of the Parliament (section I of the budget), in accordance with the provision for an article entitled "Contribution to European Political Parties" made by the Budgetary Authority in the Parliament's budget for 2002 and 2003. celexid CELEX:52003PC0077:EN type Legislative proposal published title COM(2003)0077 body EC commission DG Secretariat General type Legislative proposal date 2003-03-10 body EP type Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees body EP responsible True committee AFCO date 2003-02-17 committee_full Constitutional Affairs rapporteur group PSE name LEINEN Jo body EP responsible False committee BUDG date 2003-03-25 committee_full Budgets rapporteur group ELDR name MULDER Jan body EP responsible False committee CONT date 2003-03-18 committee_full Budgetary Control rapporteur group PSE name KUHNE Helmut body EP responsible False committee JURI date 2003-03-18 committee_full Legal Affairs and Internal Market rapporteur group ELDR name DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H. date 2003-04-15 docs type Committee draft report title PE323.576 body EP type Committee draft report body EP committees body EP responsible True committee AFCO date 2003-02-17 committee_full Constitutional Affairs rapporteur group PSE name LEINEN Jo body EP responsible False committee BUDG date 2003-03-25 committee_full Budgets rapporteur group ELDR name MULDER Jan body EP responsible False committee CONT date 2003-03-18 committee_full Budgetary Control rapporteur group PSE name KUHNE Helmut body EP responsible False committee JURI date 2003-03-18 committee_full Legal Affairs and Internal Market rapporteur group ELDR name DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H. docs url http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A5-2003-0170&language=EN type Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title A5-0170/2003 text The committee adopted the report by Jo LEINEN (PES, D) amending the Commission proposal under the 1st reading of the codecision procedure. To avoid creating false expectations, MEPs decided that the regulation should simply lay down the rules on funding and not establish a statute as such for European parties. It was felt, following criticism by the Court of Auditors in 2000, that the issue of financing must be dealt with as a matter of urgency. The committee also amended the definition of "European political party" as laid down in the regulation, specifying that it meant "an association of citizens, or federation of political parties from Member States, recognised by or established in accordance with the legal order of at least one Member State and contributing at European level to forming and expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union while being represented in, or seeking to be represented in, the European Parliament". On the most controversial issue, namely, who should be responsible for managing the funding available (EUR 8.4 million per year), MEPs disagreed with the Commission's proposal that these funds should be regarded as special expenditure of Parliament and should therefore be placed under Parliament's responsibility. Instead, they wanted the Commission to take on this task. The Commission had proposed that, to qualify for funding, a European political party must be represented in the European Parliament or in legislative assemblies at national or regional level in at least one third of the Member States, or must have received at least 5% of the votes cast at the most recent European elections in at least one third of the Member States. However, MEPs wanted to set thresholds of one quarter of the Member States in these cases. Moreover, they did not believe that separate, preliminary registration with Parliament, as proposed by the Commission, was needed. In other amendments, the committee said that a European political party which receives funding must specify donors and donations exceeding EUR 1 000 (rather than EUR 100 as proposed by the Commission). It also raised to EUR 15 000 per year the threshold beyond which donations from individuals or organisations should not be accepted (the Commission had proposed a threshold of EUR 5 000). MEPs also proposed that European political parties should be allowed to charge membership fees. Although the proposal stipulated that funds provided to European political parties from the EU budget must not be used for direct financing of national or regional political parties, the committee wanted to allow two exceptions: the funding of European Parliament election campaigns and "party activity at any level that is directly associated with the politics of the European Union". Lastly, to enable existing European parties to adapt to the new rules, MEPs called for the regulation to apply as of the start of Parliament's next term of office rather than three months after it has been published in the Official Journal, as the Commission had proposed. date 2003-05-20 type Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading date 2003-06-16 body CSL type Council Meeting council General Affairs meeting_id 2519 date 2003-06-18 body EP type Debate in Parliament date 2003-06-19 docs url http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P5-TA-2003-0289 text The European Parliament adopted a resolution, which was based on the report by Jo LEINEN (PES, Germany) but differed in some respects by the report adopted by the committee. The main amendments to the Commission's proposal were as follows: - "European political party" is changed to "political party at European level"; - Such a party must meet the following conditions: 1) It must have legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located; 2) It must be represented, in at least one quarter of the Member States, by Members of the European Parliament, in the national parliaments or regional parliaments or regional assemblies, or must have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least three per cent of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent European elections; 3) It must observe, in particular in its programme and through its actions, the principles on which the EU is founded: the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law; 4) It must have participated in elections to the European Parliament or expressed its intention to do so. - In order to receive funding, a political party at European level must file an application with the European Parliament each year. The latter will take a decision within three months. The first application has to be filed with a number of specified documents. If the relevant conditions are no longer met, the party will be excluded from financing under the Regulation. - The party must declare its sources of finance by providing a list specifying donors and donations exceeding EUR 500 (the Commission proposed that all donations above EUR 100 should be declared.) - The party may not accept donations from any undertaking over which the public authorities directly or indirectly may exert a dominant influence by dint of ownership, a financial holding or the rules by which it is governed. This clause replaces the Commission proposal to ban donations from bodies in which the State holds over 50% of the capital. - Donations exceeding EUR 12000 are also banned (this figure replaces the Commission's proposal of EUR 5000) - Dues from political parties which are members of a political party at European level are admissible so long as they do not exceed 40% of that party's annual budget. - The European Parliament will publish details of the technical support given to each political party at European level in an annual report. - Financing under this Regulation will apply from the opening of the first session following the 2004 European Parliament elections. type Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title T5-0289/2003 body EP type Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading date 2003-09-29 body type Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading date 2003-09-29 body CSL type Council Meeting council General Affairs meeting_id X019 date 2003-11-04 body type Final act signed date 2003-11-04 body EP type End of procedure in Parliament date 2003-11-15 text PURPOSE : to establish a framework for the European political parties and their financing from the Community budget. LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation 2004/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. CONTENT : this Regulation establishes rules on the regulations governing political parties at European level and rules regarding their funding. This Regulation stipulates that for the purposes of this Regulation: 1) "political party" means an association of citizens: - which pursues political objectives, and - which is either recognised by, or established in accordance with, the legal order of at least one Member State; 2) "alliance of political parties" means structured cooperation between at least two political parties; 3) "political party at European level" means a political party or an alliance of political parties which satisfies specific conditions. A political party at European level shall satisfy the following conditions: a) it must have legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located; b) it must be represented, in at least one quarter of Member States, by Members of the European Parliament or in the national Parliaments or regional Parliaments or in the regional assemblies, or it must have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least 3% of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent European Parliament elections; c) it must observe, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the principles on which the European Union is founded, namely the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law; d) it must have participated in elections to the European Parliament, or have expressed the intention to do so. In order to receive funding from the general budget of the European Union, a political party at European level shall file an application with the European Parliament each year. The European Parliament shall adopt a decision within three months and authorise and manage the corresponding appropriations. The first application shall be accompanied by the following documents: documents proving that the applicant satisfies specific conditions; a political programme setting out the objectives of the political party at European level; a statute defining in particular the bodies responsible for political and financial management as well as the bodies or natural persons holding, in each of the Member States concerned, the power of legal representation, in particular for the purposes of the acquisition or disposal of movable and immovable property and of being a party to legal proceedings. The Regulation states that a political party at European level shall: a) publish its revenue and expenditure and a statement of its assets and liabilities annually; b) declare its sources of funding by providing a list specifying the donors and the donations received from each donor, with theexception of donations not exceeding EUR 500; c) not accept: - anonymous donations, - donations from the budgets of political groups in the European Parliament, - donations from any undertaking over which the public authorities may exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of their ownership of it, their financial participation therein, or the rules which govern it, - donations exceeding EUR 12000 per year and per donor from any natural or legal person other than the undertakings referred to in the third indent and without prejudice to the second subparagraph. Contributions from political parties which are members of a political party at European level shall be admissible. They may not exceed 40 % of that party's annual budget. The funding of political parties at European level from the general budget of the European Union or from any other source may not be used for the direct or indirect funding of other political parties, and in particular national political parties, which shall continue to be governed by national rules. Appropriations for funding political parties at European level shall be determined under the annual budgetary procedure and shall be implemented in accordance with the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. The valuation of movable and immovable property and its depreciation shall be carried out in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 2909/2000 of 29 December 2000 on the accounting management of the European Communities' non-financial fixed assets. Control of funding granted under this Regulation shall be exercised in accordance with the Financial Regulation and the implementing rules thereto. Control shall also be exercised on the basis of annual certification by an external and independent audit. This certification shall be transmitted, within six months of the end of the financial year concerned, to the European Parliament. Further to application of this Regulation, any funds improperly received by political parties at European level from the general budget of the European Union shall be refunded to that budget. Any document or information required by the Court of Auditors in order to carry out its task shall be supplied to it at its request by the political parties at European level receiving funding granted under this Regulation. Where expenditure is committed by political parties at European level jointly with national political parties and other organisations, evidence of the expenditure incurred by the political parties at European level shall be made available to the Court of Auditors. Funding of political parties at European level in their capacity as bodies pursuing an objective of general European interest shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 113 of the Financial Regulation relating to the decreasing of the funding. Available appropriations shall be distributed annually as follows among the political parties at European level which have obtained a positive decision on their application for funding : 15 % shall be distributed in equal shares and 85 % shall be distributed among those which have elected members in the EuropeanParliament, in proportion to the number of elected members. For the application of these provisions, a Member of the European Parliament may be a member of only one political party at European level. Funding charged to the general budget of the European Union shall not exceed 75 % of the budget of a political party at European level. The burden of proof shall rest with the relevant political party at European level. The European Parliament shall publish a report not later than 15 February 2006 on the application of this Regulation and the activities funded. The report shall indicate, where appropriate, possible amendments to be made to the funding system. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 15 February 2004. type Final act published in Official Journal docs url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32003R2004 title Regulation 2003/2004 url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:297:SOM:EN:HTML title OJ L 297 15.11.2003, p. 0001-0004 date 2004-03-29 docs url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&model=guicheti&numdoc=32004D0612(01) text PURPOSE: The establishment of procedures governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The implementation of Regulation 2004/2003. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. CONTENT: The rules laid out in this Decision create the procedures governing the political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The rules are as follows: - The European Parliament will publish annual calls for proposals with a view to awarding grants to fund political parties at European level - Any political party wishing to receive a grant from the general budget of the EU must submit a written application prior to the 15 November. - The Bureau will be responsible for assessing funding applications. Before the 15 February, the Bureau must draw up a list of beneficiaries and the amounts of the grants awarded. The President shall inform applicants of the action taken on their applications. - A grant awarded to a political party must be the subject of a written agreement between the European Parliament and the beneficiary. - Grants will be paid in the form of pre-financing in two instalments. The first must not be more than 50% of the maximum amount of the grant, to be paid within 15 days following the signing of the agreement. The second brings the total pre-financing to no more than 80% of the maximum amount of the grants and is to be paid to the beneficiary upon request. The balance should be paid once the period of eligibility for Community funding has come to an end and will be based on the expenditure actually incurred by the beneficiary. If the total amount exceeds the figure of the final grant, then the European Parliament will recover the sums unduly paid. - At least six months before the end of the financial year, the beneficiary must submit a final report, a financial statement, a comprehensive summary of revenue and expenditure and a report on an external audit of the accounts carried out by an independent body or expert. If not satisfied, the Bureau may reject both the final report and the financial statement and call for a fresh report. - In terms of determining the final grant, the Bureau will determine the amount of the final grant to be awarded based on the documentation received and outlined above. - Under no circumstances may the total amount paid by Parliament exceed the maximum amount of the grants laid down in the grant award agreement or 75% of the eligible expenditure actually incurred. The grant shall be limited to the amount needed to balance revenue and eligible expenditure in the operating budget of the beneficiary. - On a proposal from the Secretary General, the Bureau can suspend payments and reduce the grant and under certain conditions it may decide to terminate the grant award agreement. - In cases where amounts have been unduly paid to the beneficiary then there are procedures allowing the money to be recovered. - Checks and audit provisions have been put in place. These provisions include, inter alia, that all relevant documentation is kept for a period of five years. - The Bureau has the authority, on a proposal from the Secretary General, to grant political parties technical assistance. - Details of all the grants awarded by Parliament during a given financial year will be published on the internet. Details include the name and address of the beneficiary, the purpose for which the grant was awarded, the amount awarded and the proportion of the beneficiary's total operating budget covered by the funding. - Provisions for a right of appeal have been put in place as well as transitional rules for the financial year 2004. - Lastly, a report on the implementation of the rules must be submitted by the Secretary General before the 30 September 2005. The report should, if necessary, include any proposed changed that may need to be made. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13 June 2004. title 32004D0612(01) type Implementing legislative act celexid CELEX:32004D0612(01):EN url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2004:155:SOM:EN:HTML type Implementing legislative act title OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025 body CSL type Implementing legislative act date 2004-03-29 docs url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&model=guicheti&numdoc=32004D0612(01) text PURPOSE: The establishment of procedures governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The implementation of Regulation 2004/2003. LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. CONTENT: The rules laid out in this Decision create the procedures governing the political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. The rules are as follows: - The European Parliament will publish annual calls for proposals with a view to awarding grants to fund political parties at European level - Any political party wishing to receive a grant from the general budget of the EU must submit a written application prior to the 15 November. - The Bureau will be responsible for assessing funding applications. Before the 15 February, the Bureau must draw up a list of beneficiaries and the amounts of the grants awarded. The President shall inform applicants of the action taken on their applications. - A grant awarded to a political party must be the subject of a written agreement between the European Parliament and the beneficiary. - Grants will be paid in the form of pre-financing in two instalments. The first must not be more than 50% of the maximum amount of the grant, to be paid within 15 days following the signing of the agreement. The second brings the total pre-financing to no more than 80% of the maximum amount of the grants and is to be paid to the beneficiary upon request. The balance should be paid once the period of eligibility for Community funding has come to an end and will be based on the expenditure actually incurred by the beneficiary. If the total amount exceeds the figure of the final grant, then the European Parliament will recover the sums unduly paid. - At least six months before the end of the financial year, the beneficiary must submit a final report, a financial statement, a comprehensive summary of revenue and expenditure and a report on an external audit of the accounts carried out by an independent body or expert. If not satisfied, the Bureau may reject both the final report and the financial statement and call for a fresh report. - In terms of determining the final grant, the Bureau will determine the amount of the final grant to be awarded based on the documentation received and outlined above. - Under no circumstances may the total amount paid by Parliament exceed the maximum amount of the grants laid down in the grant award agreement or 75% of the eligible expenditure actually incurred. The grant shall be limited to the amount needed to balance revenue and eligible expenditure in the operating budget of the beneficiary. - On a proposal from the Secretary General, the Bureau can suspend payments and reduce the grant and under certain conditions it may decide to terminate the grant award agreement. - In cases where amounts have been unduly paid to the beneficiary then there are procedures allowing the money to be recovered. - Checks and audit provisions have been put in place. These provisions include, inter alia, that all relevant documentation is kept for a period of five years. - The Bureau has the authority, on a proposal from the Secretary General, to grant political parties technical assistance. - Details of all the grants awarded by Parliament during a given financial year will be published on the internet. Details include the name and address of the beneficiary, the purpose for which the grant was awarded, the amount awarded and the proportion of the beneficiary's total operating budget covered by the funding. - Provisions for a right of appeal have been put in place as well as transitional rules for the financial year 2004. - Lastly, a report on the implementation of the rules must be submitted by the Secretary General before the 30 September 2005. The report should, if necessary, include any proposed changed that may need to be made. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13 June 2004. title 32004D0612(01) type Implementing legislative act celexid CELEX:32004D0612(01):EN url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2004:155:SOM:EN:HTML type Implementing legislative act title OJ C 155 12.06.2004, p. 0001-0025 body EC commission DG Secretariat General type Implementing legislative act
committees	added	body EP responsible True committee AFCO date 2003-02-17 committee_full Constitutional Affairs rapporteur group PSE name LEINEN Jo body EP responsible False committee BUDG date 2003-03-25 committee_full Budgets rapporteur group ELDR name MULDER Jan body EP responsible False committee CONT date 2003-03-18 committee_full Budgetary Control rapporteur group PSE name KUHNE Helmut body EP responsible False committee JURI date 2003-03-18 committee_full Legal Affairs and Internal Market rapporteur group ELDR name DE CLERCQ Willy C.E.H.
links	added	European Commission url http://ec.europa.eu/prelex/liste_resultats.cfm?CL=en&ReqId=0&DocType=COD&DocYear=2003&DocNum=0039 title PreLex
other	added	body EC dg Secretariat General
procedure	added	reference 2003/0039(COD) title Political parties at European level: statute and financing legal_basis EC Treaty (after Amsterdam) EC 191 stage_reached Procedure completed instrument Regulation subtype Legislation type COD - Ordinary legislative procedure (ex-codecision) final url http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32003R2004 title Regulation 2003/2004 subject 8.40.01.02 President, members, mandates, political groups

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