Vorlage

4. Each year, the Commission may use up to 181 424 EUR of the payments made by

Switzerland to finance the administrative expenditure related to staff or external staff necessary for supporting the implementation by Switzerland of Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 and this Agreement.

Article 12

Confidentiality

Information communicated or acquired in any form whatsoever pursuant to this Agreement shall be covered by professional secrecy and protected in the same way as similar information is protected by the provisions applicable to the Union institutions and by the laws of Switzerland. Such information shall not be communicated to persons other than those within the Union institutions, in the Member States or in Switzerland whose functions require them to know it, nor may it be used for purposes other than to ensure effective protection of the financial interests of the Parties.

Article 13

Designation of Responsible Authority

1. Switzerland shall notify the Commission of the formal designation at ministerial

level of the Responsible Authority responsible for the management and control of expenditure under the ISF-Borders and Visa, as soon as possible after the approval of the national programme.

2. The designation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made subject to the body

complying with the designation criteria on internal environment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring laid down in or on the basis of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.

3. The designation of a Responsible Authority shall be based on an opinion of an audit

body, which may be the Audit Authority, which assesses the Responsible Authority’s compliance with the designation criteria. That body may be the autonomous public institution responsible for monitoring, evaluating and auditing the administration. The audit body shall function independently of the Responsible Authority and shall carry out its work in accordance with internationally accepted audit standards. Switzerland may base its decision on designation on whether the management and control systems are essentially the same as those in place for the previous period and whether they have functioned effectively. If the existing audit and control results show that the designated body no longer complies with the designation criteria, Switzerland shall take the necessary measures to ensure that deficiencies in the implementation of the tasks of that body are remedied, including by ending the designation.

Article 14

Definition of financial year

For the purpose of this Agreement, the financial year referred to in Article 60(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 shall cover expenditure paid and revenue received and entered into the accounts of the Responsible Authority in the period commencing on 16 October of the year 'N-1' and ending on 15 October of year 'N'.