Conditions for approval of aid applicants

1. Aid applicants shall be approved by the competent authority of the Member State in which the educational establishment to which the products are supplied and/or distributed is located. Approval shall be subject to the following written commitments made by the applicants:

to ensure the products financed by the Union under the school scheme are made available for consumption by the children in educational establishment or establishments in respect of which they will apply for aid;

to use the aid allocated for accompanying educational measures, monitoring, evaluation, and publicity measures, in accordance with the objectives of the school scheme and, where accompanying educational measures concern health and nutrition topics, in accordance with national health advice and dietary recommendations for the age group concerned;

to reimburse any aid unduly paid for the quantities concerned, if it has been found that the products have not been distributed to the children or are not eligible for Union aid;

to reimburse any aid unduly paid for accompanying educational measures, monitoring, evaluation, and publicity measures, if it has been found that those measures or activities have not been properly carried out;

to make supporting documents available to the competent authority on request;

to permit the competent authority to conduct any necessary checks, in particular the scrutiny of records and physical inspection;

to keep a record of the names and addresses of the educational establishments or educational authorities in receipt of their products and a record of the quantities of the specific products sold or supplied, where the applicant is not an educational establishment.

Competent authorities may specify any additional written commitments to be undertaken by applicants.

Where applications for aid concern activities subject to public procurement procedures, Member States may consider approval as granted where the commitments set out in the first and second subparagraphs are included in the conditions for participating in the public procurement procedures.

2. In the case of applicants for aid relating to the supply and/or distribution of products only, paragraph 1, points (b) and (d) shall not apply.

3. In the case of applicants for aid relating to accompanying educational measures only, paragraph 1, points (a), (c) and (g) shall not apply.

4. In the case of applicants for aid relating to monitoring, evaluation and publicity measures only, paragraph 1, points (a), (c) and (g) shall not apply.

5. Member States may consider the approvals granted under the school fruit and vegetables scheme according to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/247 and/or under the school milk scheme according to Regulation (EC) No 657/2008 valid if the criteria and the conditions are not changed.’.

COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/245 of 13 December 2021 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 as regards the accompanying educational measures and the selection and approval of aid applicants