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RS 0.402.268.1 Agreement of 15 February 2010 between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union, establishing the terms and conditions for the participation of the Swiss Confederation in the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the

Original Language Title: RS 0.402.268.1 Accord du 15 février 2010 entre la Confédération suisse et l’Union européenne, établissant les termes et conditions de la participation de la Confédération suisse au programme «Jeunesse en action» et au programme d’action dans le domaine de

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0.402.268.1

Original text

Agreement

Between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union, laying down the terms and conditions for the participation of the Swiss Confederation in the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the field of education and training. Life long (2007-2013)

Concluded on 15 February 2010

Approved by the Federal Assembly on 19 March 2010 1

Entered into force by exchange of notes on 1 Er March 2011

(State 1 Er March 2011)

The Swiss Confederation,

Hereinafter referred to as " Switzerland, on the one hand,

And

The European Union,

Hereinafter 'the Union', on the other hand,

Hereinafter referred to as "the Parties",

Whereas:

(1) the joint declaration attached to the seven agreements signed on 21 June 1999 between the European Community and Switzerland provides for the future negotiation of an agreement for the participation of Switzerland in the training and youth programmes,

(2) the 'Youth in Action' programme for the period 2007 to 2013 and the action programme in the field of lifelong learning were established by decisions n O 1719 /2006/CE 2 And n O 1720 /2006/CE 3 The European Parliament and the Council of 15 November 2006,

(3) s. 5 of decision n O 1719 /2006/EC and art. 7 of decision n O 1720 /2006/EC provides for the participation of Switzerland subject to the conclusion of a bilateral agreement with that country,

Agreed to the following provisions:

Art. 1

Switzerland participates in the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the field of lifelong learning (hereinafter referred to as 'the programmes'), in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the present Agreement and in Annexes I, II and III, which form an integral part thereof.

Art. 2

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to the territories to which the Treaties on which the Union is based are applicable, under the conditions laid down by those Treaties, and, on the other hand, to the territory of Switzerland.

Art. 3

This Agreement shall be concluded for the duration of the current programmes. Nevertheless, without prejudice to the second paragraph of this Article, if the Union decides to extend this period without making any changes to the programmes, this Agreement shall also be automatically extended accordingly, unless one of the Parties Inform the other, within 30 days of the decision to extend the programmes, that it is giving up the extension of the cooperation. During the period of the extension, Switzerland pays an annual financial contribution identical to its financial contribution for the year 2013.

This Agreement shall not be extended in the event of the termination or termination of the Agreement of 21 June 1999 between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, on the free movement of persons 1 .

The Union or Switzerland may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Party of its decision. The agreement shall cease to apply from the budget year following the notification, if it is earlier than 1 Er October. Otherwise, it shall cease to apply from 2 E Budget year following notification.

Projects and activities financed in the budget years preceding the year in which the agreement ceases to apply shall be continued until their completion under the conditions set out in this Agreement and its Annexes and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Applicable to these projects and activities. The Parties shall settle by mutual agreement the other possible consequences of the denunciation.


Art. 4

The representatives of the Commission and the representatives of the national authority designated as observers to the programme committees shall consult each other in the event of need at the request of one of them on the activities covered by this Agreement. Following these consultations, the Joint Committee established by the Agreement of 21 June 1999 between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, on the free movement of persons 1 Shall be entitled to amend the Annexes to this Agreement, as a general rule, by written procedure, if necessary, to take account of the regulations applicable to the programmes or the evolution of the absorption capacity of Switzerland. The amendments to the annexes shall enter into force on the day after the adoption of the corresponding decision of the Joint Committee. However, if the Parties agree to an amendment of the provisions of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall enter into force after the completion of their respective internal procedures.


Art. 5

This Agreement shall be ratified or concluded by the Parties in accordance with their respective internal procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of the last notification by the Parties of the completion of their respective procedures.

Pending the completion of the procedures referred to in par. 1, the Parties shall provisionally apply this Agreement for the activities financed from the general budget of the European Union of the year following its signature, and at the earliest the budget for the year 2011, subject to compliance with the conditions set out in Annex I, para. 2.

In the event that one Party notifies the other that it will not ratify or conclude the signed agreement, the provisional application shall end from the budget year following the notification. The notification terminating the provisional application shall not affect the obligations of the Parties relating to the projects and activities financed from the general budget of the European Union of the year of the notification, nor the payment by Switzerland of its Contribution for the year of the notification.

Art. 6

This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the German, French, Italian, English, Bulgarian, Danish, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian languages. Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish and Czech, each of these texts being equally authentic.

Done at Brussels, 15 February, two thousand and ten.

Annex I

Conditions and arrangements for the participation of Switzerland in the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the field of lifelong learning

Switzerland participates in the "Youth in Action" programme and the programme of action in the field of lifelong learning (hereinafter referred to as "the programmes"), except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, in the Respect for the objectives, criteria, procedures and deadlines set out in decisions n O 1719 /2006/EC and n O 1720 /2006/CE.

2. In accordance with the rules laid down in Art. 8 of decision n O 1719 /2006/EC and art. 6 of decision n O 1720 /2006/EC, and in accordance with the Commission's decisions on the respective responsibilities of the Member States, the Commission and the national agencies in the implementation of the programmes, Switzerland:

-
Takes care of the establishment or designation, and the follow-up of an appropriate structure (Swiss National Agency) to ensure the coordinated management of the implementation of programme actions at national level;
-
Assume responsibility for the proper management by the Swiss National Agency of the appropriations provided to it in respect of aid to projects; and
-
Takes appropriate measures to ensure appropriate financing, audit and financial supervision of the Swiss National Agency, which receives from the Commission a contribution to its management and implementation costs.

Switzerland shall take all other measures necessary for the proper functioning of the programmes at national level.

In order to participate in the programmes, Switzerland shall contribute annually to the general budget of the European Union in accordance with the arrangements laid down in Annex II.

4. The conditions and procedures for the presentation, evaluation and selection of applications from the eligible institutions, organisations and individuals of Switzerland are the same as those applicable to institutions, organisations and individuals Eligible for the Union.

In order to guarantee the EU dimension of the programmes, projects and activities must, in order to be eligible for financial support from the Union, include at least one partner from one of the Member States of the Union.

6. The percentage of the contribution from Switzerland referred to in par. 3 which will be allocated to actions under the rules of the programmes to be managed by the Swiss National Agency will reflect the share of these actions in the programme budget at Union level. The contribution to the costs of the Swiss National Agency for the management and implementation of programmes shall be calculated in accordance with the criteria applied to the Member States of the Union.

7. Within the framework of the existing provisions, the Member States of the Union and Switzerland shall make every effort to facilitate the free movement and stay of students, teachers, trainees, trainers, administrative staff of the Universities, young people and other eligible persons travelling between Switzerland and the Member States of the Union on account of their participation in the activities covered by this Agreement.

8. Without affecting the responsibilities of the Commission and the Court of Auditors the European Union in the monitoring and evaluation of programmes, Switzerland's participation in the programmes is continuously monitored in partnership with the Share of the Commission and Switzerland. Switzerland shall submit the necessary reports to the Commission and shall be associated with the other specific measures taken by the Union to that effect.

The Commission's decisions on the respective responsibilities of the Member States, the Commission and the national agencies in the implementation of the programmes and the common standards laid down in the Guide for National Agencies, Which shall be annexed to the contracts between the Commission and the Swiss National Agency, shall apply to relations between Switzerland, the Commission and the Swiss National Agency.

The agreements between the Commission and the Swiss National Agency or Swiss beneficiaries, as well as between the Swiss National Agency and Swiss beneficiaries, are based on the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the budget Of the European Union and its implementing rules, in particular with regard to the granting and conclusion of conventions. These provisions are applicable to Swiss participants in the same way as they apply to all participants in the programs.

Additional rules on financial control, recovery and other anti-fraud measures are specified in Annex III.

In the event of irregularity, negligence or fraud attributable to the Swiss National Agency, if the Commission is unable to recover fully the amounts owed to it by the Swiss National Agency, the Swiss authorities shall be held responsible for the funds Not recovered.

9. In all contacts with the Commission, the language used for application procedures, for contracts, for reports submitted and for other administrative aspects of the programmes, is one of the official languages of the Institutions of the Union.


State 1 Er March 2011

Annex II

Financial contribution from Switzerland to the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the field of lifelong learning

1. Youth in Action

Switzerland's financial contribution to the general budget of the European Union with a view to participating in the 'Youth in Action' programme is as follows (EUR million):

2011 Year

Year 2012

Year 2013

1.7

1.8

1.9

2. Programme of action in the field of lifelong learning

Switzerland's financial contribution to the general budget of the European Union with a view to participating in the action programme in the field of lifelong learning is as follows (in millions of euros):

2011 Year

Year 2012

Year 2013

14.2

14.9

15.6

3. Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by representatives and experts of Switzerland for their participation, as observers, in the work of the committees referred to in Art. 9 of decision n O 1719 /2006/EC and art. 10 of decision n O 1720 /2006/EC, or other meetings related to the implementation of the programmes shall be reimbursed by the Commission on the same basis and in accordance with the same procedures as for representatives and experts of the Member States of the Union.

4. After the entry into force or the entry into force of this Agreement and at the beginning of each consecutive year, the Commission shall send to Switzerland a call for funds corresponding to its contribution to each of the programmes governed by the present Agreement.

The Swiss contribution is expressed and paid in euros.

Switzerland pays its contribution before 1 Er March, if the Commission's call for funds reaches it before 1 Er February, or no later than 30 days after the call for funds if it is received after 1 Er February.

Any delay in the payment of the contribution shall give rise to the payment of interest by Switzerland on the outstanding amount due on the due date. The interest rate corresponds to the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its main refinancing operations, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union, Series C, in force on the first calendar day of the month of maturity, Plus 3.5 percentage points.


State 1 Er March 2011

Annex III

Financial control, recovery and other anti-fraud measures

I. Audits and anti-fraud measures implemented by the Union

The Commission shall communicate directly with the participants in the programmes established in Switzerland and with their subcontractors. Such persons may transmit directly to the Commission any relevant information and documentation which they are required to communicate on the basis of the instruments referred to in this Agreement and the contracts concluded pursuant to that Agreement. These.

2. In accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O Council of 25 June 2002 1 Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1995/2006 of 13 December 2006 2 And Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O Commission of 23 December 2002 3 Laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O Council Regulation 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 478/2007 of 23 April 2007 4 , as well as with the other regulatory provisions to which this Agreement refers, the grant agreements concluded with the beneficiaries of the programmes established in Switzerland provide that financial or other audits may be At any time in their premises or in those of their subcontractors by agents of the Commission or by other persons authorised by the Commission.

The accounts and operations of the Swiss National Agency may be audited by officers of the Commission or by other persons authorised by the Commission. These checks may also relate to the capacity of the framework set up by Switzerland to apply the rules of the programmes referred to in the agreement and to meet the needs of sound financial management according to the criteria of the Relevant Articles of Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1605/2002, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1995/2006 of 13 December 2006 and Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2342/2002, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 478/2007 of 23 April 2007.

3. The officers of the Commission and the other persons authorised by the Commission shall have appropriate access to the sites, works and documents, as well as to all necessary information, including in electronic format, to carry out such audits. This right of access is expressly included in contracts concluded pursuant to the instruments referred to in this Agreement. The Court of Auditors of the European Communities has the same rights as the Commission.

Audits may take place after the expiration of the programmes or this Agreement in accordance with the terms laid down in the contracts in question.

4. Within the framework of this Agreement, the Commission/OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) shall be authorised to carry out on-the-spot checks and verifications on the territory of Switzerland in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Regulation (Euratom, EC) n O 2185/96 of the Council of 11 November 1996 on on-the-spot checks and checks carried out by the Commission for the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities against fraud and other irregularities 5 .

These checks and verifications shall be prepared and conducted in close cooperation with the competent Swiss authorities designated by Switzerland, who shall be informed in good time of the object, purpose and legal basis of the checks and verifications, So as to be able to provide all the assistance required.

If the Swiss authorities concerned so wish, on-the-spot verifications and inspections may be carried out jointly with them.

In the event that the participants in the programmes object to on-the-spot checks or inspections, the Swiss authorities shall, in accordance with the national provisions, give the controllers of the Commission/OLAF all the assistance they have Need to enable them to carry out their monitoring and verification duties on the spot.

The Commission/OLAF shall, without delay, inform the Swiss authorities of any evidence indicating the existence of irregularities which would be brought to their knowledge during the on-the-spot check or verification. In any event, the Commission/OLAF is obliged to inform the aforementioned authorities of the result of these checks and checks.

II. Audits and anti-fraud measures implemented by Switzerland

1. Appropriate financial control of the implementation of the programmes shall be carried out by the competent national financial supervisory authority in Switzerland, in accordance with Art. 8 of the decisions of the Commission on the respective responsibilities of the Member States, the Commission and the national agencies in the implementation of the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme for education and training And the common standards laid down in the Guide for National Agencies annexed to the contracts between the Commission and the Swiss National Agency. All suspected and proven cases of fraud and irregularity, as well as all related measures taken by the Swiss National Agency and the national authorities shall be notified without delay to the services of the Commission. Switzerland shall ensure the satisfactory investigation and treatment of suspected and proven cases of fraud and irregularity as a result of national controls or Union controls.

Irregularity means any breach of a relevant provision of the law of the Union applicable in accordance with this Agreement or the contractual obligations arising therefrom, resulting from an act or omission of an economic operator, which has Or would have the effect of causing prejudice, by undue expenditure, to the general budget of the European Union or to budgets managed by them.

Fraud, any intentional act or omission related to:

-
The use or presentation of false, inaccurate or incomplete declarations or documents which result in the improper collection or retention of funds from the general budget of the European Union or from the budgets managed by the European Union Or on behalf of the person;
-
Non-disclosure of information in breach of a specific obligation, having the same effect;
-
The diversion of such funds for purposes other than those for which they were originally granted.

2. The Swiss authorities shall take the appropriate measures to prevent and oppose all practices of active or passive bribery at any stage of the procedures for the award of contracts or grants or during the implementation of the Work of the corresponding conventions.

"Active bribery" means any wilful act of a person who promises or grants, directly or through an intermediary, an advantage of any kind to an official, in his favour or in favour of a third party, in order for him to act or Refrain from acting in accordance with its duty or, in the performance of its duties, in breach of its official obligations, in a manner which is harmful or potentially harmful to the financial interests of the European Union.

"Passive corruption" means any deliberate act by an official who, directly or through an intermediary, solicits or receives an advantage of any kind, in his favour or in favour of a third party, or accepts the promise of such To the extent that it acts or refrains from acting in accordance with its duty or, in the performance of its duties, in breach of its official obligations, in a manner which is harmful or potentially harmful to the financial interests of the Union European.

3. The Swiss authorities and the staff responsible for the tasks of implementing the programmes shall take all necessary precautions to avoid any risk of conflict of interest and shall inform the Commission immediately if such conflict Interest or a situation that may give rise to such a conflict of interest arises.

III. Confidentiality

Information communicated or obtained under this Annex, in any form, shall be covered by professional secrecy and shall benefit from the protection afforded to similar information by Swiss law and by Relevant provisions applicable to the Union's institutions. Such information may not be communicated to persons other than those who, within the institutions of the Union, the Member States or Switzerland, are, by their functions, called upon to know or be used for any other purpose than Those of ensuring effective protection of the financial interests of the Parties.

IV. Administrative measures and sanctions

Without prejudice to the application of Swiss criminal law, administrative measures and penalties may be imposed by the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1605/2002 of the Council, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 1995/2006 of 13 December 2006, to Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2342/2002, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 478/2007 of 23 April 2007 and Regulation (EC, Euratom) n O 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 6 On the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities.

Recovery

For actions in indirect centralised management, the Swiss National Agency has the responsibility to issue requests for recovery of funds and to implement any legal action required vis-vis the beneficiaries in consultation with the Commission. In the case of an irregularity, negligence or fraud attributable to the Swiss National Agency, the Swiss authorities are responsible for the unrecovered funds.

For actions in direct centralised management by the Commission, the decisions of the Commission under this Agreement, which include a pecuniary obligation for persons other than States, shall be enforceable in Switzerland. Enforcement is governed by the rules of the civil procedure in force in Switzerland. The binding formula shall be annexed to the decision, without any further formality required than that of the verification of the authenticity of the decision by the authority designated for that purpose by the Swiss Government, which hereby gives notice thereof to the Commission. Following the completion of these formalities at the request of the Commission, the Commission may continue the enforced execution by directly entering the competent body, in accordance with national law. The legality of the Commission's decision is subject to scrutiny by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with an arbitration clause of a contract concluded within the scope of this Agreement shall be enforceable under the same conditions.

Statement by the Council on the participation of Switzerland in committees

The Council agrees that the representatives of Switzerland participate, as observers and for the points which concern them, in the meetings of the committees of the 'Youth in Action' programme and the action programme in the field of education and Lifelong learning (2007-2013). These committees meet without the presence of the representatives of Switzerland at the time of the vote.


1 OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p. 1.
2 OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1.
3 OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1.
4 OJ L 111, 28.04.2007, p. 13.
5 OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
6 OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.


State 1 Er March 2011