belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation 16 JUIN 2016. - An Act to amend the Act of March 19, 2013 on Belgian Development Cooperation (1)
PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The House of Representatives adopted and sanctioned the following:
Article 1
er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 74 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. In section 2 of the Act of 19 March 2013 on Belgian Development Cooperation, amended by the Act of 9 January 2014, the 4th is replaced by the following:
"4° "the organization of civil society": the non-state and non-profit entity in which people organize themselves to pursue common goals or ideals;".
Art. 3. In section 2 of the same law, the 6° /1 to 6° /5, inserted by the law of 9 January 2014, are replaced by the following:
"6° /1 "institutional actor": the organization that is founded by a public power or controlled or managed directly or indirectly by it;
6° /2 "the federation": the organization that represents the whole or part of the accredited organizations and plays the interface between the administration and those accredited organizations;
6° /3 "the cupola": the organisation of civil society whose members are other civil society organisations active in the field of development cooperation;
6° /4 "accredited organization": the organization that has the right to apply for a grant under non-governmental cooperation;
6° /5 "the common strategic framework" (CSC): the set of strategic choices that are made jointly by accredited organizations in a country or on a theme, from a common context analysis;".
Art. 4. In section 2 of the Act, 6° /7 and 6° /9, inserted by the law of 9 January 2014, are repealed.
Art. 5. In section 2 of the Act, the 8th is replaced by the following:
"8° "intervention de coopération au développement" : l'action, parrainée ou cofinancée par la Coopération belge au Développement, qui doit aider à la réalisation d'un ou plusieurs objectifs de la Coopération belge au Développement;".
Art. 6. In section 2 of the Act, the 9° is replaced by the following:
"9° "integrated policy": the general policy whose purpose is to improve the impact and quality of the Belgian Development Cooperation through the strengthening of synergies, coordination and complementarities between government cooperation, multilateral cooperation, non-governmental cooperation, and humanitarian assistance, including interventions in support of the local private sector;".
Art. 7. In section 2 of the Act, 9° /1 and 9° /2, inserted by the law of 9 January 2014, are repealed.
Art. 8. In article 2, 23°, of the same law, inserted by the law of 9 January 2014, the words "the general direction of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance of" are replaced by the word "the".
Art. 9. In section 13 of the Act, paragraph 1
er is replaced by the following:
§ 1
er. An integrated policy is promoted among all actors of the Belgian Development Cooperation.
Each development cooperation intervention is based on an analysis of opportunities arising from other development cooperation interventions in the same country.
In partner countries or in Belgium, moments of dialogue are held regularly with all the actors of the Belgian Development Cooperation who are active in it.".
Art. 10. Section 26 of the Act, replaced by the Act of 9 January 2014, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 26. § 1
er. Only an accredited organization may apply for a subsidy under section 27.
To obtain one of the accreditations referred to in paragraphs 2 to 5, the organization meets the following general conditions:
1st have a relevant experience of at least five years in one or more objectives of the Belgian Development Cooperation referred to in Chapter 2, and in particular in strengthening local civil society or decentralized authorities through partnership in developing countries, or in education for development in Belgium;
2° have double accounting;
3° maintain an analytical accounting;
4° having appointed an auditor of accounts among the members of the Institute of Directors of Business;
5° have an efficient system of control of the organization whose quality is reviewed periodically, in accordance with the conditions and terms determined by the King.
§ 2. To be accredited in the category of civil society organizations, the organization meets the following specific conditions:
1° be incorporated in the form of a non-profit association or an international non-profit association in accordance with the law of 27 June 1921;
2° having as the main social object one or more objectives of the Belgian Development Cooperation referred to in Chapter 2;
3° to have an annual turnover, subsidies from the Belgian State in charge of the budget of the Belgian Development Cooperation not included, at least equal to the amount determined by the King;
4° have sufficient human resources according to the conditions determined by the King;
5° have a societal seating in Belgium, based on indicators, in accordance with the terms determined by the King;
6° be autonomous, in accordance with the terms determined by the King.
§ 3. To be accredited in the category of institutional actors, the organization meets the following specific conditions:
1° having been founded by a federal, community, regional, provincial or communal public authority or being controlled or managed directly or indirectly by it;
2° having for mission one or more objectives of the Belgian Development Cooperation referred to in Chapter 2;
3° have sufficient human resources according to the conditions determined by the King.
§ 4. To be accredited as a federation, the organization meets the following specific conditions:
1° be incorporated as a non-profit association in accordance with the Act of 27 June 1921;
2° formally represent at least 75% of organizations accredited under one of the categories referred to in paragraphs 2 or 3 and which fall under its linguistic regime;
3° agree to represent any accredited organization within its category and language regime that applies to it;
4° grant to each organization referred to in 2° an equal right to vote for decisions relating to its formal representation.
The condition referred to in paragraph 1
er, 1°, is not an application for accredited organizations seeking additional accreditation as a federation.
§ 5. To be accredited as a dome, the organization meets the following specific conditions:
1° be incorporated in the form of a non-profit association or an international non-profit association in accordance with the law of 27 June 1921;
2° having as members more than 50% of organizations accredited as a civil society organization under its linguistic regime;
3° grant the right to vote to all members of the General Assembly.
§ 6. A single organization may not simultaneously obtain accreditation in the category of civil society organizations and institutional actors.
There is at most a federation accredited by a category of actor referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3, and by language regime.
There is a maximum of a couple of civil society organizations accredited by language regime.
§ 7. Accreditation is granted by the Minister for a period of ten years.
Accreditation is withdrawn when:
1° the organization no longer meets a general condition referred to in paragraph 1
er or specific in paragraphs 2 to 5;
2° the organization no longer complies with all its administrative and financial obligations under the grant of its activities by the Belgian Development Cooperation;
3° fraud is found in the head of the organization;
4° for five consecutive years, the organisation did not benefit from subsidies from the Belgian state in charge of the budget of the Belgian Development Cooperation.
The withdrawal of accreditation entails the immediate cessation of the liquidation of subsidies and the full termination of the commitments of the Belgian State with respect to the organization.
The King determines the modalities for granting and withdrawing accreditation. ".
Art. 11. Section 27 of the Act, replaced by the Act of 9 January 2014, is replaced by the following:
"Art. 27. § 1
er. Organizations accredited under Article 26, § 2 or § 3 establish CSCs by country or by transnational theme. The CSC serves as a reference for the development of the programs of these organizations, including the identification and implementation of synergies and complementarities between them; it is the basis on which lessons are learned and shared, and on which a strategic dialogue is conducted with the administration and other actors of the Belgian Development Cooperation.
The King shall determine by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers the maximum number of CSCs and the conditions of their geographical or thematic coverage.
The King determines the contents of the CSC, its duration and its updating procedures, and the approval procedure.
The CSC is the general framework for the programmes referred to in paragraph 2 in a country or a transnational theme. For this purpose, the King shall determine the following:
1° the minimum share of the basic allocations of the general budget for the financing of these programmes, which contributes to the strategic choices of approved CSCs;
2° the minimum budget share of each program that contributes to approved CSC strategic choices.
The King determines the conditions, terms and procedures for the subsidy of organizations accredited under section 26 for the formulation and monitoring of CSCs.
§ 2. The organization accredited under Article 26, § 2 or § 3 may, alone or with other accredited organizations of the same category, introduce applications for a grant from a program.
The federation accredited under Article 26, § 4, may introduce a consolidated application of subsidy that compiles individual programmes of organizations accredited under Article 26, § 2 or § 3.
To be eligible for funding, a program meets the following conditions:
1° be consistent with the strategic plan established by the applicant(s) in accordance with the terms determined by the King;
2° indicate, by result or group of results, how it contributes to the achievement of one or more CSCs referred to in paragraph 1
er;
3° to present a results-oriented approach that makes possible the annual monitoring of CSC-specific objectives and the evaluation of results;
4° respect the quality criteria determined by the King;
5° not exceeding the maximum period determined by the King;
6° to present a specific budget for the duration of the program, including all the material, financial and human resources necessary to achieve the intended results;
7° to submit a budget at least equal to the amount fixed by the King;
8° concentrate its budget in one or more CSCs in accordance with paragraph 1
er4, 2°.
Programs introduced through the consolidated application for a federation's subsidy under paragraph 2 shall not meet the eligibility requirement set out in paragraph 3, 7°.
Each grant application specifies the accredited organization(s) under section 26, § 2 or § 3, which will be (will) beneficiary(s).
The King determines the terms and procedure for subsidizing the programs.
§ 3. The institutional actor accredited under Article 26, § 3, may apply, alone or with other institutional actors, for a grant in respect of:
1° training or scholarships for nationals from developing countries;
2° of scientific research activities to support the Belgian Development Cooperation policy.
The King shall determine the conditions, terms and procedure for subsidizing activities referred to in paragraph 1
er1° and 2°.
§ 4. The King determines the tasks of an accredited federation or dome that may be subsidized with respect to:
1° strengthening the professionalization of accredited organizations and improving the quality of their interventions;
2° coordination of networks of actors of development cooperation and promotion of complementarities and synergies;
3° coordination of the positions of their members in consultation with the public authorities;
4° coordination and processing of a consolidated application for grants from several accredited civil society organizations or several accredited institutional actors.
The King determines the conditions, terms and procedure for subsidizing these tasks. ".
Art. 12. In Article 29, § 4, paragraph 1
er, 1°, of the same law, inserted by the law of 9 January 2014, the word "NGO" is replaced by the words "non-governmental organizations (NGOs)".
Art. 13. In article 30, § 1, of the same law, replaced by the law of 9 January 2014, the following amendments are made:
1° paragraph 2 is repealed;
2° paragraph 3, 6°, is replaced by the following:
"6° having a duration of twenty-four to sixty months;".
Art. 14. Section 36 of the Act is supplemented by paragraph 2, which reads as follows:
"It may be suspended from the liquidation of any subsidy paid by the Belgian State in charge of the budget of the Belgian Development Cooperation in accordance with Article 124 of the Act of 22 May 2003 concerning the organization of the budget and accounting of the Federal State."
Art. 15. § 1
er. The application for accreditation as NGOs, dome or federation or the application for status as a partner of non-governmental cooperation introduced in accordance with Article 37/2, § 4, paragraph 1
er, of the Act of March 19, 2013 on Belgian Development Cooperation, inserted by the Act of January 9, 2014, is deemed to constitute an application for accreditation referred to in section 26 of the Act.
The organization that obtained an approval or status following an application filed in accordance with Article 37/2, § 4, paragraph 1
erthe same law may apply for the transfer of such approval or status to an accreditation referred to in section 26 of the Act.
The organization shall communicate to the administration the class(s) referred to in section 26, §§ 2 to 5, of the same law to which (if any) relates the application referred to in paragraph 1
er or the transfer request referred to in paragraph 2 within two months of the coming into force of this Act. It shall transmit to it any additional information within the same time limit.
The organization that may fall within several categories of accreditation and does not communicate its choice is considered ex officio as an organization of civil society.
§ 2. Organizations that have filed an application under paragraph 1
er and who wish to receive a grant under section 27 of the Act of March 19, 2013, referred to above, may apply for this purpose in 2016, in accordance with the deadlines established by the King, before the accreditation requested takes effect.
Art. 16. The organization that solicits accreditation under the organization of civil society or federation or has filed an application deemed to constitute such an application and that does not meet the requirements of Article 26, § 1 as of December 31, 2016.
er, paragraph 2, 3° or 4°, of the Act of 19 March 2013 referred to above may establish proof of compliance until 30 June 2018.
Art. 17. Accreditations referred to in section 26 of the Act of 19 March 2013 referred to above shall take effect as soon as 1
er January 2017.
Art. 18. The Royal Decree of 10 April 2014 establishing lists of partner countries of non-governmental cooperation actors is repealed on 31 December 2016.
Art. 19. This Act comes into force on the day of its publication in the Belgian Monitor.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 16 June 2016.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecommunications and Post Office,
A. DE CROO
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
K. GEENS
____
Note
(1) House of Representatives
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Documents: 54 1818
Full report : 9 June 2016
