Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/3185 of 16 December 2024 amending Decision (CFSP) 2021/509 establishing a European Peace Facility

‘3 In cases where a Member State has abstained in a vote and made a formal declaration in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 31(1) TEU regarding an assistance measure which allows for the supply of military equipment, or platforms, designed to deliver lethal force, that Member State shall not contribute to the costs of that assistance measure. Instead, that Member State shall make an additional contribution to other assistance measures that do not involve the supply of such equipment or platforms. In such a case, the reference amount of the assistance measure from which the Member State has abstained shall remain unchanged as a result of such abstention.’

‘1 The financing of any operation or assistance measure under the Facility shall require the prior adoption of a basic legal act in the form of a decision by the Council establishing the operation under Articles 42(4) and 43(2) TEU or the assistance measure under Article 28 TEU. By way of exception, a basic legal act shall not be required for the financing of common costs during the preparatory phase of an operation, of expenditure necessary to wind up an operation or of the common costs of exercises, as referred to in Article 44(1), Article 44(3) and Article 45, respectively, of this Decision. Additionally, a basic legal act shall not be required when the Council has authorised the funding of preparatory measures for an assistance measure or when the PSC has approved urgent activities pending a decision on an assistance measure, in accordance with Article 57(2) and Article 58, respectively, of this Decision.’

‘2 In the framework of the strategic priorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the PSC shall provide strategic orientation for operations and assistance measures to be funded under the Facility with a view to preserving peace, preventing conflicts and strengthening international security, on the basis of prior discussions in other relevant Council preparatory bodies, including in formats with relevant experts, unless the PSC decides otherwise. To this end, the PSC shall hold a debate twice a year, on the basis of an indicative strategic orientation proposed by the High Representative, with the strategic orientation for year n + 1 to be provided by 31 May of year n. The indicative strategic orientation, informed by views expressed by Member States, shall include a brief justification of the reference amount envisaged for each assistance measure in view of its intended objectives, and an indicative timeline of the expected discussions within the Council. It shall be submitted to the PSC 30 days before the meeting in which the PSC is called to provide the strategic orientation. As regards assistance measures, the PSC shall align with the objectives and principles set out in Article 56 and shall take due account of the reports provided by the High Representative in accordance with Article 63.

3 A risk and safeguards methodology for assistance measures to be funded under the Facility shall be established by the Council and reviewed regularly by the PSC. The European External Action Service (EEAS) shall monitor and evaluate the implementation of the arrangements made by the High Representative with the beneficiary in accordance with Article 62.’

1 The Facility shall be managed, under the authority and direction of the Facility Committee referred to in Article 11, by: (a) an administrator for operations; (b) the operation commander of each operation, in relation to the operation which he or she commands and to any assistance measure, or part thereof, which the operation may implement, as provided in Article 60; (c) an administrator for assistance measures; and (d) an accounting officer for operations and an accounting officer for assistance measures.

2 The Facility shall make use of the institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union to the greatest possible extent. It shall resort primarily to existing administrative structures and staff of the Union institutions, bodies and agencies, and to staff seconded by Member States, upon a request from the respective administrator.

3 The Secretary-General of the Council shall provide the administrator for operations and the accounting officer for operations together with the staff and administrative resources needed for them to carry out their functions.

4 The High Representative shall be responsible for ensuring the implementation of Council decisions establishing assistance measures in accordance with Article 27(1) TEU and for the planning and monitoring of the overall financial ceiling and the annual ceilings of the Facility, without prejudice to paragraph 5.

5 For the purpose of the financial implementation of assistance measures, with the exception of assistance measures or any part thereof which are implemented by an operation, the High Representative shall be assisted by the administrator for assistance measures and the accounting officer for assistance measures. The High Representative shall exercise this responsibility with the support of the Commission department referred to in Article 9(6) of Council Decision 2010/427/EU and other Commission services as required.

Subject to approval by the Committee, commitment appropriations corresponding to the amount of decommitments made as a result of total or partial non-implementation of an operation or assistance measure may be made available again to the benefit of budget titles for operations or assistance measures respectively.’

In addition to the contributions payable by Member States contributing to an operation or assistance measure in accordance with Article 26(5), the Facility may receive the following: (a) “additional contributions”, meaning the additional amounts that are payable by a Member State that abstained from the adoption of an assistance measure and does not contribute to that measure, and that are redirected to other assistance measures, in accordance with Article 26(7), Article 27 and Article 73(10); (b) “advance contributions”, meaning contributions paid in advance by Member States on a voluntary basis, in addition to the payments made following a call for contributions, in accordance with Article 29(15); (c) “voluntary financial contributions”, meaning amounts that may be received in accordance with Article 30.’

1 The administrators, in coordination with the EEAS and taking into account the consolidated financial planning for the Facility, shall present by 31 May of the year n: (a) a forecast of the amounts and an indicative schedule for the calls for contributions for the year n; (b) a forecast for the ceiling for payments for the year n + 1 to take into account ongoing and future or expanding operations and assistance measures, including an indicative distribution between envisaged payments necessary for assistance measures which allow the supply of military equipment, or platforms, designed to deliver lethal force and assistance measures which do not allow such support; (c) an indicative estimate for the annual amount of the contributions for the year n + 2, n + 3 and n + 4 in line with estimated needs;

2 The Committee shall decide on the ceiling for payments for year n + 1 by 30 June of year n.

3 The administrators shall present to the Committee, by 15 October of the year n: (a) a forecast for the amounts and an indicative schedule for the calls for contributions for the year n + 1; (b) a revised indicative estimate based on the best available information for the annual amounts of contributions for the years n + 2, n + 3 and n + 4.’

1 The Facility shall have a minimum deposit system to provide early financing for Union rapid response operations, urgent activities as referred to in Article 58 and, subject to the prior authorisation by the Committee, for individual assistance measures, where sufficient funds are not available and the ordinary procedure for collecting contributions would not allow for those needs to be met in good time. The minimum deposits shall be managed by each administrator respectively.

2 The amount of the minimum deposits shall be decided, and revised as necessary, by the Committee, following proposals by the administrator.

3 For the purpose of early financing of the minimum deposits, the Member States shall either: (a) pay contributions to the Facility in advance, with the amount of the contributions reflecting the respective share of GNI of that Member State in the total GNI aggregate of the Member States at the time when the advance contribution is paid to the Facility. That share shall be recalculated to its final value when the rapid response operation to which they contribute is launched, and when individual assistance measures are approved by the Council or the urgent activities referred to in Article 58 are approved by the PSC; or (b) pay their contributions within 15 days following dispatch of the call, at the level of the reference amount of the rapid response operation or of the authorised cost of the urgent activities or individual assistance measure when the Council decides to launch a rapid response operation to which they contribute, when the PSC approves urgent activities as referred to in Article 58, or when the Committee authorises its use for individual assistance measures pursuant to paragraph 1, and it is necessary to resort to the minimum deposit, unless the Council decides otherwise. In the case of delay, Article 31(1), shall apply.’

1 Every three months, each administrator, with the support of the responsible accounting officer and operation commanders, shall present to the Committee a report on the implementation of revenue and expenditure falling under his or her responsibility since the beginning of the financial year, a cash-flow report, a report on the correspondent minimum deposit and a report on additional contributions due by Member States based on the record referred to in Article 27(4).

2 Twice a year, the EEAS, in cooperation with both administrators, shall present to the Committee a report on the consumption of the overall ceiling referred to in Article 2(1) and of the corresponding annual ceiling.’

1 On a proposal from the administrator for operations and after informing the Committee, the Secretary-General of the Council shall appoint an internal auditor, and at least one deputy internal auditor, for operations. On a proposal from the administrator for assistance measures and after informing the Committee, the High Representative shall appoint an internal auditor for assistance measures.

2 Internal auditors shall be appointed for a period of four years, renewable up to a total period not exceeding eight years. Internal auditors must possess the necessary professional qualifications and adhere to the internationally accepted internal auditing standards. The internal auditors may not be an authorising officer or an accounting officer, and they may not take part in the preparation of financial statements related to the Facility.

3 Each internal auditor shall carry out audit and consulting engagements as appropriate and shall advise the responsible administrator on risk management, by issuing independent opinions on the quality of management and control systems and by making recommendations to promote sound financial management based on the results of their audit work. The internal auditors shall be responsible in particular for assessing the suitability and effectiveness of internal management systems, as well as evaluating the performance of the relevant departments in implementing policies and reaching objectives by reference to associated risks. They shall also assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control systems applicable to the Facility.

4 The internal auditor for operations shall report on the results of his or her audits to the responsible administrator. Operation commanders shall be informed by the responsible internal auditor of his or her findings and recommendations. The administrator for operations shall ensure that, for matters pertaining to his or her responsibilities, the necessary actions are taken to implement the recommendations resulting from the internal audits, including by issuing the necessary instructions to operation commanders.

5 The internal auditor for assistance measures shall report on the results of his or her audits to the administrator and/or to the EEAS on matters pertaining to their respective responsibilities. The administrator for assistance measures shall inform the implementing actors about the internal auditor’s findings and recommendations, as appropriate. The administrator and the EEAS shall ensure that, for matters pertaining to their respective responsibilities, the necessary actions are taken to implement the recommendations resulting from the internal audits.

6 The internal auditor shall submit a report each year to the Committee on the internal audit work done, indicating the number and type of internal audits carried out, observations and recommendations made, and the status of implementation of the recommendations issued in previous years. The Committee shall oversee the internal auditor’s work and the proper follow-up of internal audit recommendations by the relevant departments.

7 The proceedings and reports of the internal auditors shall be made available to the College of Auditors established pursuant to Article 42, together with all supporting documents relating thereto.’

1 A College of Auditors shall be established. The revenue and expenditure arising from the implementation of this Decision pursuant to Article 1(2), as well as the annual accounts of operations and assistance measures, shall be audited by the College of Auditors.

2 The Committee, upon a proposal from the College of Auditors, shall determine the number of auditors required and agree on the procedures to select, appoint and replace, as necessary, members of the College of Auditors for a period of up to four years, renewable once, from candidates proposed by the Member States. The Committee may extend a member’s mandate by up to six months. The candidates must be members of the highest national audit body of a Member State, or recommended by that body, and offer adequate guarantees of security and independence.

3 The Committee may appoint assistants to members of the College of Auditors on a request by the College of Auditors. The Committee, upon a proposal from the College of Auditors, shall agree on the procedures to select, appoint and replace, as necessary, the assistants. The assistants must offer adequate guarantees of security and independence. Upon request from the College of Auditors, the Committee may approve recourse by the College of Auditors to qualified external support for the external auditing of the Facility.

4 The College of Auditors shall check during the financial year as well as ex post, through on-the-spot controls and supporting documents, that expenditure financed or prefinanced through the Facility is implemented in compliance with this Decision and the rules adopted pursuant to Article 11(6), as well as relevant Union and national law. In carrying out those controls, the College of Auditors shall evaluate compliance with the principles of sound financial management, namely the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and whether internal controls are adequate, and shall oversee the administration and management of the Facility, including by conducting performance audits.

5 The members of the College of Auditors and their assistants shall continue to be paid by their audit body of origin; the Facility shall bear their mission expenses in accordance with rules to be adopted by the Committee, as well as the cost of qualified external support.

6 During their term in office, the members of the College of Auditors and their assistants shall: (a) neither request nor receive instructions other than from the Committee; within its audit mandate the College of Auditors and its members shall be completely independent and solely responsible for the conduct of their external audit; (b) report on their task only to the Committee.

7 Each year, the College of Auditors shall elect its Chair from amongst its members or extend the current Chair’s term of office. The College of Auditors shall adopt the rules applicable to audits carried out by its members in accordance with the highest international standards. It shall approve the audit reports drawn up by its members before their transmission to the administrators and to the Committee.

8 The administrators or persons appointed by either of the administrators may at any time carry out audits of the expenditure financed through the Facility. Furthermore, the Committee, on the basis of a proposal by either of the administrators or by a Member State, may at any time appoint additional external auditors on an ad hoc basis, whose tasks and conditions of service it shall determine.’

1 Where the urgency of the situation so requires, pending a decision on an assistance measure, the PSC may approve the start of activities to be funded under the Facility, taking into account the risk and safeguards methodology established pursuant to Article 9(3). Such urgent activities, their estimated cost and the relevant implementing actor, as appropriate, may be identified in the concept note outlining a possible assistance measure or in the proposal for establishing an assistance measure pursuant to Article 57 and Article 59(1) respectively.

2 Urgent activities shall not include any provision of equipment referred to in Article 5(3).

3 By way of derogation from Article 17(6), the approval by the PSC of urgent activities shall entitle the administrator for assistance measures to commit and pay expenses for such activities up to the cost authorised.’

The High Representative shall provide the PSC with a report on the implementation of assistance measures twice a year or when the PSC so requests. Those reports shall cover the political, operational and financial aspects of the assistance measure. They shall include the main equipment delivered, an evaluation of its impact and the management and use of assets, as well as updates on the conflict sensitivity and context analysis and the risk and impact assessment. The EEAS and the administrators shall periodically present more detailed information on the implementation of assistance measures, including, inter alia, on the activities performed related to arrangements for monitoring and evaluation, controls and safeguards, in the Committee and relevant Council bodies. The presentations shall aim at covering developments in the implementation of the assistance measures on a yearly basis.’

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.