3.8.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L 203/41 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1727/1999 of 28 July 1999 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 on protection of the Community's forests against fire THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the 'Meaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against fire (!), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 308/97 (3, and in particular Article 4(4) thereof, (1) ~ Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 215892 provides for a financial contribution from the Community to measures to improve the protection of forests against fire; (2)  Whereas Article 4(3) of that Regulation provides that Community financing is to be granted primarily for forest-fire protection programmes submitted by the Member States; (3)  Whereas, in the interests of effectiveness and in order to simplify and rationalise procedures at national and Community level, the various measures for which Community assistance is requested should be brought together in an annual national plan for each Member State; (4)  Whereas detailed rules should be adopted on how aid applications under the national programmes should be presented and the information they must contain in order to expedite examination thereof; (5)  Whereas a system of advance payments of Community assistance should be introduced to assist Member States in the proper financial management of their national programme; (6)  Whereas applications submitted to the Commission by the Member States for the payment of advances and balances under the national programme should contain certain information to help establish the regularity of expenditure; (7)  Whereas the Commission should be informed that the measures are being implemented in accordance with the conditions and within the time limit laid down in the decision granting aid; (8)  Whereas the Member States are required to adopt the provisions necessary to ensure that effective checks are carried out on the implementation of measures under the national programme; () O] L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3. () O] L 51, 21.2.1997, p. 11. (99 Whereas Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 298895 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests (*) require the Member States to ascer- tain the effective and regular nature of the operations financed by the Community and to recover sums lost as a result of irregularities or negligence; whereas such sums represent unjustified expenditure from the Community budget and must therefore be reimbursed to the Community; (10)  Whereas, if the Commission's checks pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 reveal an irregularity, the Member State should have the opportunity to express its opinion on the-situation noted; whereas, where the irregularity is confirmed and the sums concerned represent unjustified expenditure from the Community budget, they should be reimbursed to the Community; (11)  Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1170/93 (% as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1460/98 (), should therefore be repealed; (12)  Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Forestry Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Atrticle 1 1. The programmes provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 shall' be drawn up each year at national level. National programmes shall cover all the applications for assistance submitted under the aforementioned Article 4. They shall contain the information and supporting documents indi- cated in Annex I to this Regulation and relate to the informa- tion specified in Article 2. The Member States shall forward their programmes to the Commission in duplicate, in the form indicated in Annex L 2. National programmes as referred to in paragraph 1 shall run for not more than three years from the date of notification of the Commission Decision provided for in Article 6 of Regu- lation (EEC) No 2158/92. They may not be extended. Article 2 Programmes as referred to in Article 1 shall comprise: () O] L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1. (% O] L 118, 14.5.1993, p. 23. () O] L 193, 9.7.1998, p. 20.