L 297/6 Official Journal of the European Union 22.9.2004 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(!) and in particular Article 15 thereof, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Having regard to the opinion of the Council, Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors, Whereas: 1 *) e Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laid down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes, which the Commission was charged with setting up. These executive agencies (hereinafter the agencies) will have legal personality and their own operating (i.e. administrative) budget, the implementation of which is governed by this standard financial regulation pursuant to Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003. However, when the Commission delegates responsibility to the agency for the budget implementation of operational appropriations relating to Community programmes, these appropriations will remain entered in the general budget and be governed by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (%) (hereinafter the general Financial Regulation). In accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, the operating budget of the executive agencies covers their administrative expenditure for the financial year. In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, it is necessary to adopt a standard financial regulation which the agencies must apply when implementing their administrative appropriations, with a content which is as close as possible to the general Financial Regulation. If the standard financial regulation does not L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1. L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. expressly lay down rules, the provisions of the general Financial Regulation apply along with Commission Regu- lation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (3). The fundamental principles of budgetary law (unity, universality, specification and annuality), and the prin- ciples of budget accuracy, equilibrium, unit of account, sound financial management and transparency should be reaffirmed. As far as their staff are concerned, agencies will have to distinguish between temporary posts, which will be covered by an establishment plan submitted for approval to the budgetary authority, and appropriations allowing the remuneration of other categories of staff, recruited on renewable contracts. As far as the financial actors are concerned, it is necessary to define the powers and responsibilities of the agency’s accounting officer and authorising officer, who must be officials subject to the Staff Regulations of the Officials of the European Communities, and the conditions under which the authorising officer will be able to delegate his powers of budget implementation. The authorising officer should be given a significant degree of management autonomy. He must be given complete freedom for transfers, subject to an obligation to inform the steering committee, which must be able to oppose such transfers within a time limit of one month. In accordance with Article 20(2) of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, the function of internal auditor is to be performed in the executive agencies by the internal auditor of the Commission. The Commission’s internal auditor should therefore perform the same tasks in respect of the executive agencies as those which the general Financial Regulation entrusts to him in respect of the Commission’s departments. Moreover, an internal auditing service must be able to advise the agency’s authorising officer on dealing with risks, as is the case for the authorising officers within the Commission. () O] L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1.