Article 9
Selection of actions for financial assistance
The actions submitted shall be evaluated by the Commission. When selecting actions for financial assistance under the Programme, the Commission shall take account of the following:
(a)
the objectives referred to in Article 1;
(b)
the conditions set out in the appropriate column of the Annex;
(c)
the contribution of the actions to reducing road congestion;
(d)
the relative environmental merits of the actions and the relative merits of the actions in terms of reduction of external costs, including their contribution to reducing negative environmental effects caused by short sea shipping, rail and inland waterway transport. Specific attention shall be paid to actions going beyond legally binding environmental requirements;
(e)
the overall sustainability of the actions.
The Commission shall, after having informed the committee referred to in Article 10, adopt the decision to grant financial assistance.
The Commission shall inform the beneficiaries of its decision.