COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION

of 4 July 2012

concerning a financial contribution by the Union to certain Member States to support voluntary surveillance studies on honeybee colony losses

(notified under document C(2012) 4396)

(Only the Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish and Swedish texts are authentic)

(2012/362/EU)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Decision 2009/470/EC of 25 May 2009 on expenditure in the veterinary field(1), and in particular Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on honeybee health(2) gives an overview of the Commission’s actions already undertaken and ongoing as regards honeybee health in the EU. The main subject issue of the Communication is the increased mortality of bees observed worldwide.

(2) In 2009 the EFSA project ‘Bee mortality and bee surveillance in Europe’ concluded that the surveillance systems in the EU are, in general, weak and that there is a lack of data at Member States level and a lack of comparable data at EU level.

(3) In order to improve the availability of data on bee mortality it is appropriate to assist and support certain surveillance studies in Member States on honeybee losses.

(4) Commission Implementing Decision 2011/881/EU of 21 December 2011 concerning the adoption of a financing decision to support voluntary surveillance studies on honeybee colony losses(3) set aside EUR 3 750 000 as contribution of the European Union for the implementation of the surveillance studies on honeybee colony losses.

(5) The EU reference laboratory (EURL) for bee health presented the document ‘Basis for a pilot surveillance project on honey bee colony losses’ (available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/bee_health_en.htm) providing guidance to Member States to elaborate their surveillance studies.

(6) Member States were invited to send to the Commission their programmes for surveillance studies based on the technical document of the EURL for bee health. Twenty Member States have sent their proposals for the surveillance studies. These proposals have been technically and financially evaluated to assess their conformity with the technical document ‘Basis for a pilot surveillance project on honey bee colony losses’.

(7) Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom have drawn up surveillance study programmes on honeybee colony losses in line with the technical document ‘Basis for a pilot surveillance project on honey bee colony losses’ and have requested EU financial support.

(8) A financial contribution should be granted as from 1 April 2012 to the voluntary surveillance study programmes on honeybee colony losses implemented by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

(9) Under Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of 21 June 2005 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(4), veterinary measures are to be financed under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund. For financial control purposes, Articles 9, 36 and 37 of that Regulation are to apply.

(10) The payment of the financial contribution should be subject to the condition that the surveillance study programmes planned have actually been carried out and that the authorities supply all the necessary information to the Commission and to the EU reference laboratory for bee health.

(11) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. The Union shall grant Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom financial assistance for their surveillance study programmes on honeybee colony losses.

2. The financial contribution by the Union:

(a) shall be at the rate of 70 % of the eligible costs to be incurred by each Member State referred to in paragraph 1 for the surveillance study programmes on honeybee colony losses and specified in Annex I for the period from 1 April 2012 to 30 June 2013;

(b) shall not exceed the following:

EUR 62 876 for Belgium;

EUR 192 688 for Denmark;

EUR 294 230 for Germany;

EUR 66 637 for Estonia;

EUR 109 931 for Greece;

EUR 205 050 for Spain;

EUR 529 615 for France;

EUR 521 590 for Italy;

EUR 147 375 for Latvia;

10.

EUR 92 123 for Lithuania;

11.

EUR 98 893 for Hungary;

12.

EUR 254 108 for Poland;

13.

EUR 28 020 for Portugal;

14.

EUR 183 337 for Slovakia;

15.

EUR 213 986 for Finland;

16.

EUR 39 862 for Sweden;

17.

EUR 267 482 for the United Kingdom.

Article 2

1. The maximum overall contribution authorised by this Decision for the costs incurred for the programmes referred to in Article 1 is set at EUR 3 307 803 to be financed from the general budget of the European Union.

2. Expenditure relating to staff costs for performing laboratory tests, sampling, monitoring, consumables and overheads dedicated to the surveillance studies shall be eligible in accordance with the rules set out in Annex III.

3. The Union’s financial assistance shall be paid following presentation and approval of the reports and supporting documents referred to Article 3(2) and (3).

Article 3

1. The programmes shall be carried out in accordance with the technical document ‘Basis for a pilot surveillance project on honey bee colony losses’ (available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/bee_health_en.htm) and in accordance with the surveillance study programmes on honeybee colony losses presented by the Member States.

2. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom shall submit to the Commission:

— no later than 1 March 2013 an intermediate technical report on the first visit provided for in the surveillance study programme, and

— no later than 31 October 2013 a final technical report on the second and third visits provided for in the surveillance study programme,

— the technical report should be in conformity to a model to be established by the Commission in cooperation with the EU reference laboratory for bee health.

3. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom shall submit to the Commission:

— no later than 31 December 2013 a paper version and an electronic version of their financial report drawn up in accordance with Annex II. The supporting documents, evidencing all the expenditure referred to in the application for reimbursement, shall be sent to the Commission on request.

4. The outcome of the studies shall be made available to the Commission and the EU reference laboratory for bee health.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Done at Brussels, 4 July 2012.

For the Commission

John DALLI

Member of the Commission

(1)

OJ L 155, 18.6.2009, p. 30

(2) COM(2010) 714 final.

(3)

OJ L 343, 23.12.2011, p. 119

(4)

OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 1

ANNEX I

Member State	Number of apiaries	Number of visits per apiary foreseen in the surveillance study	Total direct costs (Laboratory tests + visits for sampling and monitoring)	Overheads (7 %)	Total cost	EU contribution (70 %)
BE	150	3	83 946	5 876	89 822	62 876
DK	194	3	257 260	18 008	275 268	192 688
DE	220	3	392 831	27 498	420 329	294 230
EE	196	3	88 968	6 228	95 196	66 637
EL	200	3	146 770	10 274	157 044	109 931
ES	200	3	273 765	19 164	292 929	205 050
FR	396	3	707 096	49 497	756 593	529 615
IT	390	3	696 382	48 747	745 129	521 590
LV	193	3	196 762	13 773	210 535	147 375
LT	193	3	122 994	8 610	131 604	92 123
HU	196	3	132 034	9 242	141 276	98 893
PL	190	3	339 263	23 749	363 012	254 108
PT	145	3	37 410	2 619	40 029	28 020
SK	198	3	244 776	17 134	261 910	183 337
FI	160	3	285 695	19 999	305 694	213 986
SE	150	3	53 220	3 725	56 945	39 862
UK	200	3	357 119	24 998	382 117	267 482
Total			4 416 293	309 141	4 725 433	3 307 803

ANNEX II

MODEL FOR A FINANCIAL REPORT ON VOLUNTARY SURVEILLANCE STUDIES ON HONEYBEE COLONY LOSSES

Total expenditure for the project (real costs, VAT excl.)
Member State:		Number of apiaries visited:

Laboratory costs
Staff category	Number of working days	Daily rate	Total
…
…

Consumables (description)	Quantity	Unit cost	Total
…
…

Sampling and monitoring costs (apiary visits)
Staff category	Number of working days	Daily rate	Total
…
…

Consumables (description)	Quantity	Unit cost	Total
…
…

Certification by the beneficiary

We certify that:

— the expenditure listed above was incurred in the performance of tasks described in the technical document ‘Basis for a pilot surveillance project on honey bee colony losses’(1) and directly related to the implementation of the surveillance study programme for which financial support was granted according to Commission Implementing Decision 2012/362/EU,

— the expenditure was actually incurred, accurately accounted for and eligible under the provisions of Implementing Decision 2012/362/EU,

— all supporting documents relating to the expenditure are available for auditing,

— no other Union contribution was requested for the projects listed in this Decision.

Date:

Name and signature of the financial officer responsible:

(1) Available at http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/bee_health_en.htm

ANNEX III

ELIGIBILITY RULES

1. Laboratory costs

— Staff costs shall be limited to actual attributable labour costs (remuneration, wages, social charges and retirement costs) accrued in implementation of the study and performing laboratory tests. To this end monthly timesheets have to be maintained.

— Daily rate will be calculated on a 220 working days/year.

— Reimbursement of consumables shall be based on actual costs incurred by Member States to perform the tests at the laboratory.

— Test kits, reagents and all consumables shall only be reimbursed if used specifically in the performance of the following tests:

— varroa count (washing),

— detection and characterisation of deformed wing virus (DWV), the acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), the small hive beetle (

Aethina tumida

) and the tropilaelaps mite),

— clinical observation (including symptom observation foulbrood, nosema, viruses) microsporidian parasite (

Nosema

spp.) spore counts, cultures, microscopic examination and biochemical tests to identify the causal agent European foulbrood (

Melissococcus plutonius

) and American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae),

— American foulbrood — confirmation of the identity of the causal agent American foulbrood and European foulbrood via polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

2. Sampling and monitoring costs

— Costs for sampling and monitoring can only be claimed it they are directly linked to visits of apiaries.

— Staff costs shall be limited to actual attributable labour costs (remuneration, wages, social charges and retirement costs) accrued in implementation of the study. To this end monthly timesheets have to be maintained.

— Daily rate will be calculated on a 220 working days/year.

— Reimbursement of consumables shall be based on actual costs incurred by Member States and shall only be reimbursed if used specifically during visits to the apiaries.

3. Overheads

A flat rate contribution of 7 % calculated on the basis of all direct eligible costs may be claimed.

4. The expenditure submitted by the Member States for a financial contribution by the Union shall be expressed in euro and shall exclude value added tax (VAT) and all other taxes.