Implementing decision 2012/156 - 2012/156/EU: Council Implementing Decision of 13 March 2012 suspending commitments from the Cohesion Fund for Hungary with effect from 1 January 2013 - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 78/19

Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) calls for the Union to develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in order to promote its overall harmonious development.

In accordance with Article 175 TFEU, Member States are to conduct their economic policies and coordinate them in such a way as to attain the objectives set out in Article 174 TFEU. The formulation and implementation of the Union’s policies and actions and the implementation of the internal market also have to take into account the objectives set out in Article 174 TFEU and contribute to their achievement.

Article 121(3) TFEU calls upon the Council to monitor economic developments in each of the Member States and in the Union in order to ensure closer coordination of economic policies and sustained convergence of the economic performances of Member States and to ensure consistency of economic policies with the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union.

In accordance with Article 126 TFEU, Member States are to avoid excessive government deficits.

In accordance with Article 177 TFEU, the European Parliament and the Council are to define the tasks, priority objectives and the organisation of the Cohesion Fund which provides a financial contribution to projects in the fields of environment and trans-European networks in the area of transport infrastructure.

In the Protocol (No 28) on economic, social and territorial cohesion, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the TFEU, the Member States agreed that the Cohesion Fund will provide Union financial contributions to projects in the fields of environment and trans-European networks in Member States with a per capita GNP of less than 90 % of the Union average which have a programme leading to the fulfilment of the conditions of economic convergence as set out in Article 126 TFEU.

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 sets out conditions applicable to Cohesion Fund assistance and makes access to financial assistance from the Cohesion Fund conditional on the avoidance of an excessive government deficit as set out in Article 126 TFEU (2). Under Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006 the Council may decide, on a proposal from the Commission, to suspend either the totality or part of the commitments from the Cohesion Fund for a beneficiary Member State if: (i) the Council has decided in accordance with Article 126(6) TFEU (3) that excessive government deficit exists in the Member State concerned; and (ii) the Council has established in accordance with Article 126(8) TFEU (4) that the Member State concerned has not taken effective action in response to a Council recommendation under Article 126(7) TFEU (5) to correct the excessive government deficit by the established deadline. Such suspension of commitments should be effective from 1 January of the year following the decision to suspend.

On 5 July 2004, by Decision 2004/918/EC (6) the Council decided in accordance with Article 104(6) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) that an...