
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2017/39 of 3 November 2016 on rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to Union aid for the supply of fruit and vegetables, bananas and milk in educational establishments 

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007, and in particular Articles 25 and 223(3) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008, and in particular Articles 62(2)(a) to (d) and 64(7)(a) thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 of 16 December 2013 determining measures on fixing certain aids and refunds related to the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, and in particular Article 5(5) thereof,
Whereas:

(1) Section I of Chapter II of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides for two aid schemes intended to improve the distribution of agricultural products to children in educational establishments. The first scheme concerns the supply of fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables and banana products (school fruit and vegetables scheme) and the second concerns the supply of milk and milk products (school milk scheme). Those two schemes are replaced by one single scheme introduced by Regulation (EU) 2016/791 of the European Parliament and of the Council with effect from the 2017/2018 school year. This single scheme provides for a new common framework for the Union aid for the supply of fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetable products, fresh products of the banana sector (‘school fruit and vegetables’) and for the supply of milk and milk products (‘school milk’) to children in educational establishments (the ‘school scheme’). Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/791 also empowers the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the school scheme in accordance with the new framework, certain rules are to be adopted by means of such acts. Those acts should replace Commission Delegated Regulations (EU) No 1047/2014 and (EU) 2016/247, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/248 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 657/2008. Those acts are repealed by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40.

(2) In accordance with Article 23(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Member States wishing to participate in the school scheme should draw up a strategy for its implementation. In order to be able to evaluate the implementation of the school scheme, the elements of the strategy should be defined. To limit the administrative burden, it is appropriate to distinguish those elements that should be included in the strategy from those that should be made available to the Commission upon request, namely in case of audits, if not included in the strategy.

(3) In the interest of sound administration and budget management, Member States implementing the school scheme should submit a request for Union aid on an annual basis. In addition, the content of such request should be defined.

(4) The content and frequency of applications for aid submitted by aid applicants should be determined as well as the rules concerning the submission of those applications. In addition, the evidence required to support the applications for aid should be specified. Penalties to be applied by the competent authority in case of late submission of applications for aid should also be laid down.

(5) The conditions for payment of the aid should be further clarified to take account of the distinction between aid for the supply and distribution of products and aid for carrying out accompanying educational measures, monitoring, evaluation and publicity. The content of the documentary evidence required in support of each application for the payment of the aid should also be specified.

(6) The deadlines for transfers between the financial allocations for school fruit and vegetables and for school milk, and the submission, format and content of transfer notifications to the Commission should be defined.

(7) In order to maximise the full potential of available funds, the Commission should adopt the measures to reallocate unrequested Union aid between the Member States participating in the school scheme that have notified their willingness to use more than their available allocation, according to Article 5(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013. The conditions for those transfers of funds between Member States should be defined.

(8) In order to assess the effectiveness of the school scheme and to help Member States to further improve their national and regional strategies, Member States should notify the Commission of the results and findings of their monitoring and evaluation of the scheme. For the sake of clarity, it is appropriate to fix a date for the notification of the results of the annual monitoring exercise and of the evaluation report to the Commission. The Commission should publish those documents.

(9) To protect the financial interests of the Union, effective control measures should be adopted to combat irregularities and fraud. These control measures should involve systematic administrative checking of all aid applications supplemented by on-the-spot checks. The scope, content, timing and reporting of those control measures should be specified so as to ensure an equitable and uniform approach between Member States, taking account of their different implementation of the school scheme.

(10) Amounts unduly paid should be recovered in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014.

(11) In accordance with Article 23(10) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the public should be made sufficiently aware of the Union's financial contribution to the school scheme. Further to the provision on the poster provided for in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, it is appropriate to lay down rules on publicising the school scheme and on the use of the Union emblem.

(12) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Scope and definition
Article 1 

1. This Regulation lays down rules for the application of Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1370/2013 as regards ... aid for the supply and distribution of fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetable products and fresh products of the banana sector (‘school fruit and vegetables’) and of milk and milk products (‘school milk’) to children in educational establishments, for accompanying educational measures and for certain related costs in the framework of the scheme referred to under Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 (‘the school scheme’).
2. For the purposes of the school scheme, ‘school year’ means a period running from 1 August until 31 July of the following year.
(3. In this Regulation—
(a) ‘relevant authority’ means:
(i) in relation to England, the Secretary of State;
(ii) in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;
(iii) in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;
(iv) in relation to Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;
(b) ‘school scheme aid’ means aid granted under Article 23(1) of Regulation 1308/2013.
School scheme strategies
Article 2 

1. A relevant authority's strategy as referred to in Article 23(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 shall include the following elements:
(a) the administrative level at which the school scheme will be implemented;
(b) the needs to be addressed through implementation of the school scheme and their ranking in terms of priorities;
(c) the results expected to be achieved through implementation of the school scheme and the indicators to measure their achievement;
(d) the initial situation in relation to which progress in achieving the results will be measured, based on available data;
(e) the estimated budget for the main elements of the school scheme with regard to the school fruit and vegetables and the school milk, as well as the budget for elements concerning the entire school scheme;
(f) the target group;
(g) the list of products, by product groups listed in Article 23(3), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, that will be supplied under the school scheme;
(h) if products are not made available free of charge under the school scheme, the arrangements put in place to ensure that the amount of school scheme aid is duly reflected in the price of those products;
(i) if standard scales of unit costs, flat-rate financing and/or lump sums are authorised, the fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method used for their establishment; if a cost-based system is used, the arrangements to assess the reasonableness of the costs submitted by aid applicants;
(j) the objectives and the content of the accompanying educational measures;
(k) the procedures for involving relevant authorities and stakeholders;
(l) the procedures for selecting the suppliers of products, materials and services under the school scheme;
(m) the arrangements put in place for publicising the provision of school scheme aid.
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Member States' request for Union aid
Article 3 
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Aid application submitted by aid applicants
Article 4 

1. The relevant authority shall determine the form, content and frequency of aid applications in accordance with their strategy and the rules laid down in paragraphs 2 to 6.
2. Aid applications relating to the supply and distribution of products shall include at least the following information:
(a) the quantities of products distributed by groups of products as referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;
(b) the identification of the applicant and the name and address or a unique identification number of the educational establishment or educational authority to which those quantities were distributed;
(c) the number of children in the school register at the beginning of the school year in the educational establishment(s) due to receive the products covered by the school scheme during the period covered by the aid application.
3. Aid applications relating to the supply and distribution of products and to accompanying educational measures may cover periods from 2 weeks to the entire school year.
4. Aid applications shall be submitted within 3 months of the end of the period they cover or, in case of aid applications relating to monitoring, evaluation and publicity, of the date of delivery of the material or service.
5. If the time limit referred to in paragraph 4 is exceeded by less than 60 calendar days, the aid shall be paid but reduced as follows:
(a) by 5 % if the time limit is exceeded by 1 to 30 calendar days;
(b) by 10 % if the time limit is exceeded by 31 to 60 calendar days.Once the time limit is exceeded by more than 60 calendar days, the aid shall be further reduced by 1 % per each additional day, calculated over the remaining balance.
6. The amounts claimed in the aid applications shall be supported by documentary evidence held available for the relevant authority showing the price of the products, material or services delivered together with a receipt or proof of payment or equivalent. ...In the case of aid applications relating to accompanying educational measures; monitoring, evaluation and publicity, the documentary evidence shall also contain the financial breakdown by activity and details of the related costs.
Payment of the aid
Article 5 

1. Aid relating to the supply and distribution of products shall only be paid:
(a) on presentation of a receipt for the quantities actually supplied and/or distributed; or
(b) if the relevant authority authorises the use of standard scales of unit costs, flat-rate financing and/or lump sums, on presentation of alternative proof that the quantities have been supplied and/or distributed for the purposes of the school scheme and paid for.
2. Aid relating to the accompanying educational measures, monitoring, evaluation and publicity shall only be paid upon delivery of the material or services concerned and upon submission of the related documentary evidence as required by the relevant authority or, if the relevant authority authorises the use of standard scales of unit costs, flat-rate financing and/or lump sums, on presentation of alternative proof that the material or services have been delivered and paid for.
3. Aid shall be paid by the relevant authority within 3 months of the date of submission of the aid application unless administrative inquiries have been initiated.
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Transfers between allocations
Article 6 
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Reallocation of Union aid
Article 7 
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Monitoring and evaluation
            
Article 8 

1. Monitoring as referred to in Article 9 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 shall draw upon the data originating from management and control obligations, including those set out in Articles 4 and 5 of this Regulation.Member States shall submit their annual monitoring report referred to in Article 9(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 to the Commission by 31 January of the calendar year following the end of the school year concerned.Member States shall submit their annual control report on the on-the-spot checks carried out and the related findings referred to in Article 9(4) of that Regulation to the Commission by 31 October of the calendar year following the end of the school year concerned.
2. The evaluation report or, if a Member State implements the school scheme at regional level, the corresponding number of evaluation reports referred to in Article 9(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 shall concern the implementation of the school scheme in the first 5 school years of each period covered by the strategy drawn up at national or regional level pursuant to Article 23(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.Member States shall submit their evaluation report or reports to the Commission by 1 March of the calendar year following the end of those 5 school years. The first evaluation reports shall be submitted by 1 March 2023.The minimum requirements for the format and content of the evaluation report or reports are set out in the Annex to this Regulation. Member States shall ensure that the report or reports submitted to the Commission do not include any personal data.
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Administrative checks
Article 9 

1. The relevant authority shall take all necessary measures to comply with this Regulation. Those measures shall include systematic administrative checking of all aid applications under the school scheme.
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3. Administrative checks conducted with respect to aid applied for relating to monitoring, evaluation, publicity and accompanying educational measures shall include verifying the delivery of the material and services and the veracity of the claimed expenditure.
4. In case of aid applied for relating to the supply and distribution of products and accompanying educational measures, the administrative checks shall be supplemented by on-the-spot checks in accordance with Article 10.
On-the-spot checks
Article 10 

1. In case of aid relating to the supply and distribution of products, on-the-spot checks shall in particular include verification of:
(a) the records referred to in Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, including financial documents such as purchase and sales invoices, delivery notes, bank extracts, and their recording in the accountancy;
(b) the use of the products in accordance with this Regulation.
2. On-the-spot checks shall be carried out during the school year to which they relate (period N) and/or during the following 9 months (period N+1).On-the-spot checks may take place during the implementation of the accompanying educational measures.Each on-the-spot check shall be considered completed once the corresponding control report, as referred to in paragraph 6, is issued.
3. The relevant authorities must jointly ensure that on-the-spot checks in the United Kingdom cover at least 5% of the aid claimed in the United Kingdom and at least 5 % of all aid applicants dealing with the supply and distribution of products and with accompanying educational measures in respect of each school year.When the number of aid applicants in the United Kingdom is less than 100, the relevant authorities must jointly ensure that on-the-spot checks are carried out on the premises of not less than five of these applicants.When the number of aid applicants in the United Kingdom is less than five, the relevant authorities must jointly ensure that on-the-spot checks are carried out on the premises of all the applicants.Where the applicant, not being an educational establishment, applies for aid relating to the supply and distribution of products, the on-the-spot check carried out on the premises of that applicant shall be supplemented by on-the-spot checks on the premises of at least two educational establishments or at least 1 % of the educational establishments recorded by the applicant in accordance with Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, whichever is the greater.Where the applicant applies for aid relating to accompanying educational measures, on-the-spot checks on the premises of the applicant may be replaced, based on a risk analysis, by on-the-spot checks at the places where accompanying measures are carried out. Based on a risk analysis, the relevant authority shall fix the level of such on-the-spot checks.
4. On the basis of a risk analysis, the relevant authority shall select those applicants to be subjected to on-the-spot checks.For that purpose, the relevant authority shall take particular account of:
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(b) the recurrent nature of errors and the findings of checks carried out in past years;
(c) the amount of aid involved;
(d) the type of applicants;
(e) the type of accompanying educational measure, if any.
5. Provided that the purpose of the checks is not jeopardised, advance notice, strictly limited to the minimum time period necessary, may be given.
6. The relevant authority shall draw up a control report on each on-the-spot check. The report shall describe precisely the different items controlled.The control report shall be divided into the following parts:
(a) a general part containing, in particular, the following information:
((i)) the period covered, the aid application(s) checked, the quantities of products for which the aid was applied for in case of applications relating to the supply and distribution of products, the participating educational establishments, an estimate based on the available data of the number of children for which aid was paid and the financial amount involved;
((ii)) the responsible persons present;
(b) a part describing separately the checks carried out and containing, in particular, the following information:
((i)) the documents checked;
((ii)) the nature and extent of checks carried out;
((iii)) remarks and findings.All control reports shall be completed no later than 9 months after the end of the school year.
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Recovery of undue payments
Article 11 
For recovery of unduly paid amounts, Article 7 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Publicity
Article 12 

1. Where the relevant authority decides not to make use of the poster referred to in Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, they shall clearly explain in their strategy how they will inform the public about the relevant authority's financial contribution to the school scheme.
2. Means of communication and publicity measures referred to in Article 12 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40, as well as educational materials and tools to be used within the accompanying educational measures, shall ... mention the ‘School scheme’ and unless the size of the materials and tools exclude this, the financial contribution of the relevant authority.
3. References to the financial contribution of the relevant authority shall receive at least the same visibility as contributions from other private or public entities supporting a ... school scheme.
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Notifications
Article 13 
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Entry into force and application
Article 14 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply to aid for the 2017/2018 school year and subsequent school years.
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ANNEX
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FORMAT AND CONTENT OF THE EVALUATION REPORTS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 8(2)
1. Executive summary 


— Evaluation findings
— Conclusions and recommendations

2. Introduction 


— Purpose and scope of the evaluation report
— Short description of the evaluation process

3. Methodology 


— Evaluation design and methods used
— Evaluation questions, judgement criteria, indicators
— Sources of data and techniques for data collection
— Any limitations and solutions found

4. Assessment of the functioning of the school scheme 


— Intervention logic or links between the identified needs, the objectives set in the strategy and the activities carried out
— Main patterns or trends in participating schools/children
— Supply/distribution of school fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products, and priority for fresh fruit and vegetables and for drinking milk
— Accompanying educational measures
— Communication and information actions
— Main arrangements and provisions for implementation
— Involvement of the health/nutrition authorities, other public authorities and private stakeholders associated to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the scheme

5. Answers to the common evaluation questions 
 5.1. To what extent has the school scheme increased the overall consumption of fruit, vegetables and milk and milk products by children, in line with national recommendations for a healthy diet of the intended age group? 

Indicators:


— Change in direct and indirect consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables by children (quantity and/or frequency)
— Change in direct and indirect consumption of drinking milk by children (quantity and/or frequency)
— Change in the percentage of children meeting the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables
— Change in the percentage of children meeting the recommendations by the national authorities for health and nutrition on the daily intake of drinking milk, and other milk products without added sugar, flavouring, fruit, nuts or cocoa and in line with the nationally recommended fat and sodium levels for the intended age group
 5.2. To what extent has the school scheme educated children about healthy eating habits? 

Indicators:


— Change in children’s consumption attitude towards fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products, in line with national recommendations for a healthy diet of the intended age group
— Change in children’s knowledge of the health benefits of the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, drinking milk and milk products without added sugar, flavouring, fruit, nuts or cocoa and in line with the nationally recommended fat and sodium levels for the intended age group

6. Conclusions and recommendations 


— Effectiveness of the scheme
— Lessons learnt
— Recommendations for improvements

7. Annexes 

Technical details of the evaluation including questionnaires, references and sources.
