Commission Regulation (EC) No 846/2009 of 1 September 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006 setting out rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund

‘3 Where on-the-spot verifications pursuant to point (b) of the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 are carried out on a sample basis for an operational programme, the managing authority, or the relevant controllers in the case of European territorial cooperation objective programmes, shall keep records describing and justifying the sampling method and identifying the operations or transactions selected for verification. The managing authority, or the relevant controllers in the case of European territorial cooperation objective programmes, shall determine the size of the sample in order to achieve reasonable assurance as to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, having regard to the level of risk identified by the managing authority, or the relevant controllers as appropriate, for the type of beneficiaries and operations concerned. The managing authorities or the relevant controllers shall review the sampling method each year.

4 The managing authority, or the relevant controllers in the case of European territorial cooperation objective programmes, shall establish written standards and procedures for the verifications carried out pursuant to paragraph 2 and shall keep records for each verification, stating the work performed, the date and the results of the verification, and the measures taken in respect of irregularities detected.’

‘3 In the accounting records maintained in accordance with Article 61(f) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, any amount related to an irregularity reported to the Commission under Article 28 of this Regulation shall be identified by the reference number attributed to that irregularity or by any other adequate method.’

‘2a For each amount referred to in point (d) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 the certifying authority shall indicate whether it requests the Community share to be borne by the general budget of the European Union. If, within one year from the date of the submission of the statement, the Commission does not request information for the purposes of Article 70(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, inform the Member State in writing about its intention to open an enquiry in respect of that amount or request that the Member State continue the recovery procedure, the Community share shall be borne by the general budget of the European Union. The time limit of one year shall not apply in cases of suspected or established fraud.

2b For the purposes of the statement provided for in paragraph 2, Member States which have not adopted the euro as their currency by the date when the statement is submitted shall convert amounts in national currency into euro using the exchange rate referred to in Article 81(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. Where the amounts relate to expenditure registered in the accounts of the certifying authority during more than one month, the exchange rate in the month during which expenditure was last registered may be used.’

‘3 Where some of the information referred to in paragraph 1, and in particular information concerning the practices employed in committing the irregularity and the manner in which it was discovered, is not available or needs to be rectified, Member States shall as far as possible supply the missing or correct information when forwarding subsequent quarterly reports of irregularities to the Commission.’

1 In addition to the information referred to in Article 28(1), Member States shall provide the Commission within two months following the end of each quarter, with reference to any previous report made pursuant to that Article, with details concerning the initiation, conclusion or abandonment of any procedures for imposing administrative or criminal penalties related to the reported irregularities as well as of the outcome of such procedures. With regard to irregularities for which penalties have been imposed, Member States shall also indicate the following: (a) whether the penalties are of an administrative or a criminal nature; (b) whether the penalties result from a breach of Community or national law; (c) the provisions in which the penalties are laid down; (d) whether fraud was established.

2 At the written request of the Commission, the Member State shall provide information in relation to a specific irregularity or group of irregularities.’

1 In determining areas referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006, Member States shall take into consideration at least one of the following criteria: (a) a high level of poverty and exclusion; (b) a high level of long-term unemployment; (c) precarious demographic trends; (d) a low level of education, significant skills deficiencies and high dropout rates from school; (e) a high level of criminality and delinquency; (f) a particularly rundown environment; (g) a low level of economic activity; (h) a high number of immigrants, ethnic and minority groups, or refugees; (i) a comparatively low level of housing value; (j) a low level of energy performance in buildings.

2 Only the following interventions shall be eligible pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006: (a) renovation of the common parts of multi-family residential buildings; (b) delivery of modern social housing of good quality through renovation and change of use of existing buildings owned by public authorities or non-profit operators.’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Points (1) and (2) of Article 1 shall apply from 16 January 2007.