Ref. Ares(2023)2247650 - 28/03/2023
EUROPEAN INNOVATION COUNCIL AND SMEs
EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EISMEA)
Innovation Ecosystems, SMP/Entrepreneurship and Consumers
Head of Department
Brussels
EISMEA.I.03/AL
TO THE ECC-NET HOSTS DESIGNATED BY THE EU MEMBER STATES/EEA COUNTRIES
FOR 2024-2025
Subject: Invitation to submit proposals for action grants to the designated
bodies to host the European Consumer Centres
References: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA (ECC-Net 2024-2025)
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-01 - Topic 1 – Actions in scope of core
ECC activities in the respective participating Member States
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-02 - Topic 2 – EU Dimension Actions
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are pleased to invite you to submit proposals for action grants in your capacity as
designated body/ies to host the European Consumer Centre(s).
This invitation to submit proposals will be managed by the European Innovation Council
and SMEs Executive Agency (hereinafter referred to as "EISMEA"), which acts under
delegated powers of the European Commission.
These action grants are linked to the programme specific objectives mentioned under
Article 3(2)(d)(i) and Article 9(5) of the Single Market Programme Regulation (EU) No
2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council1.
As stated in point 2.3 of Annex III to the Commission Implementing Decision C (2023)
11192, EISMEA will provide financial support in the form of grants to the bodies
1
Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing a
Single Market Programme for the period 2021-2027, (OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 1)
2
Annex III of the Commission Implementing Decision C (2023) 1119 final of 22/02/2023 on the financing
of the Programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-
sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European Statistics and the adoption of
the work programme for 2023-2024.
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), B-1049 Brussels, BELGIUM
designated by the Member States/EEA countries, under their responsibility to host the
ECC.
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic
Submission System at the link that will be provided to you in the invitation email. Paper
submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals must be in conformity with all the terms and conditions set out in the Invitation
text as well as in its annexes.
Your attention is drawn to the fact that each ECC host can submit only one proposal
under topic 1 and can be part of several proposals under topic 2.
Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the
forms provided in annex to this letter.
All proposals must be submitted via the online submission system no later than 1st
August 2023 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels).
We thank you again for accepting our invitation to submit your proposal in due form and
time.
Yours faithfully,
Birgit WEIDEL
(e-signed)
Enclosures: - Invitation to submit proposals
- Application form – Part A and B
- Annex I – Detailed budget table
- Annex V – ECC-Net indicators 2024-2025
- Annex VI – ECC-Net Vademecum
- SMP MGA — Multi and Mono V1.0
- Funding & Tenders Online Manual
c.c.: M.-P. Benassi, S. Darmanin, M. Taxer (DG JUST E.3), G. Capuano,
G. Krsikapa, P. Gilles-Zmeltova, M. Mulligan, G. Iliopoulos, A.
Lantieri, (EISMEA I.03.2)
2
Electronically signed on 28/03/2023 21:10 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
Ref. Ares(2023)2247650 - 28/03/2023
Single Market Programme
(SMP Consumers)
Invitation to submit a proposal
for action grants to the designated bodies to host the
European Consumer Centres
ECC-Net 2024-2025
(SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA)
Version 1.0
29 March 2023
Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
HISTORY OF CHANGES
Publication
Version Change Page
Date
1.0 29.03.2023 Initial version
2
Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
EUROPEAN INNOVATION COUNCIL AND SMEs
EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EISMEA)
EISMEA.I – Innovation ecosystems, SMP/Entrepreneurship and Consumers
EISMEA.I.03 –SMP/Internal Market and Consumers
INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 5
1. Background ............................................................................................................................... 6
2. Objectives — Themes and priorities — Activities that can be funded — Expected impact ..................... 6
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-01 - Topic 1 – Actions in scope of core ECC activities in the
respective participating Member States .................................................................................. 6
Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 6
Themes, priorities and activities that can be funded (scope)........................................................... 6
Expected impact ....................................................................................................................... 7
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-02 - Topic 2 – EU Dimension Actions ..................................................... 8
Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 8
Themes, priorities and activities that can be funded (scope)........................................................... 8
Expected impact ....................................................................................................................... 9
3. Available budget ........................................................................................................................ 9
4. Timetable and deadlines ............................................................................................................. 9
5. Admissibility and documents ....................................................................................................... 9
6. Eligibility ..................................................................................................................................10
Eligible participants (eligible countries) .......................................................................................11
Consortium composition ...........................................................................................................12
Eligible activities ......................................................................................................................12
Geographic location (target countries) ........................................................................................12
Duration .................................................................................................................................12
7. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion ...........................................................................12
Financial capacity ....................................................................................................................12
Operational capacity - general ...................................................................................................13
Operational capacity - Topic 1 ...................................................................................................13
Operational capacity - Topic 2 ...................................................................................................14
Exclusion ................................................................................................................................14
8. Evaluation and award procedure .................................................................................................15
9. Award criteria ...........................................................................................................................17
10. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements .....................................................................18
Starting date and project duration .............................................................................................18
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Milestones and deliverables .......................................................................................................18
Form of grant and maximum grant amount .................................................................................19
Funding rate – topic 1 ..............................................................................................................19
Funding rate – topic 2 ..............................................................................................................19
Budget categories and cost eligibility rules ..................................................................................19
Reporting and payment arrangements ........................................................................................21
Prefinancing guarantees ...........................................................................................................21
Certificates .............................................................................................................................22
Liability regime for recoveries ...................................................................................................22
Provisions concerning the project implementation ........................................................................22
Other specificities ....................................................................................................................22
Non-compliance and breach of contract ......................................................................................22
11. How to submit an application ....................................................................................................22
12. Help ......................................................................................................................................23
Contact ..................................................................................................................................24
13. Important ..............................................................................................................................25
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
0. Introduction
This is an invitation to submit proposals for EU action grants under the Consumer
strand of the Single Market Programme (SMP Consumers).
The regulatory framework for this EU Funding Programme is set out in:
Regulation 2018/1046 (EU Financial Regulation)
the basic act (SMP Regulation 2021/6901).
The invitation is launched in accordance with the SMP 2023-2024 Work Programme2
and will be managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive
Agency (EISMEA) (‘Agency’).
It concerns the direct award to the bodies designated by the Member States and the
EEA countries, under their responsibility to host the European Consumer Centres for
activities related to the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net).
The call covers the following two topics:
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-01 — Topic 1 – Actions in scope of core ECC
activities in the respective participating Member States
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-02 — Topic 2 – EU Dimension Actions
Each entity (i.e. designated body hosting a European Consumer Centre) can
submit one proposal under topic 1 and be part of several proposals under
topic 2. When the same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was
successful in both topic 1 and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this
entity must ensure sufficient operational capacity to carry out all projects,
including where applicable in accordance with the ‘optimum allocation of
resources approach’ described under section 8.
We invite you to read the call documentation carefully, and in particular this Call
Document, the Model Grant Agreement, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online
Manual and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.
These documents provide clarifications and answers to questions you may have when
preparing your application:
the Call Document outlines the:
background, objectives, scope, activities that can be funded and the
expected results (sections 1 and 2)
timetable and available budget (sections 3 and 4)
admissibility and eligibility conditions (including mandatory documents;
sections 5 and 6)
1
Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing
a programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-
sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics (Single Market
Programme) (OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 1).
2
Annex III of the Commission Implementing Decision C(2023)1119 final of 22/02/2023 on the financing
of the Programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-
sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European Statistics and the adoption
of the work programme for 2023-2024.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
criteria for financial and operational capacity and exclusion (section 7)
evaluation and award procedure (section 8)
award criteria (section 9)
legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements (section 10)
how to submit an application (section 11)
the Online Manual outlines the:
procedures to register and submit proposals online via the EU Funding
& Tenders Portal (‘Portal’)
recommendations for the preparation of the application
the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement contains:
detailed annotations on all the provisions in the Grant Agreement you
will have to sign in order to obtain the grant (including cost eligibility,
payment schedule, accessory obligations, etc).
You are also encouraged to visit the https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-results;programCode=SMP
to consult the list of projects funded previously.
1. Background
This invitation implements the Single Market Programme (SMP Consumers) and more
specifically action 2.3 of the SMP 2023-2024 Work Programme for "Action grants to
the designated bodies to host the European Consumer Centres".
The European Consumer Centres (ECCs) are currently active in the Member States as
well as in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. Their network (ECC-Net) provides
information on EU consumer rights and assistance to consumers to exercise their
rights in cross border purchases and obtain access to appropriate dispute resolution
schemes.
2. Objectives — Themes and priorities — Activities that can be funded —
Expected impact
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-01 - Topic 1 – Actions in scope of core ECC
activities in the respective participating Member States
Objectives
The objective of the action is to support the designated bodies hosting the European
Consumer Centres to better enforcement of consumer rights by enabling consumers
to exercise their rights in a cross border context. The grants shall cover the activities
of one ECC per participating country in 2024 and 2025.
Themes, priorities and activities that can be funded (scope)
1. ECC action grants shall focus on assisting consumers with asserting their rights
in cross-border purchases in the Single Market and in particular cover all the
following activities:
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
awareness raising and promotional activities on consumer rights and
safety, through their national website and social media channels and
online or physical events (e.g. conferences, workshops),
direct provision of information, dissemination of best practices and lessons
learnt among the network,
assisting consumers with a query, complaint or a dispute against traders,
promoting, providing consumers with information on alternative dispute
resolution (ADR) and assisting them by referring or transferring them to
competent ADR entities in cross-border claims and other redress
mechanisms, including providing relevant data for representative actions,
collaboration with traders (associations or professional bodies),
enforcement authorities and other bodies,
collecting and analysing information on consumer cases for statistical and
policy-making purposes at national and EU levels,
developing efficient collaboration within the network by being active in the
focus groups and joint projects,
promotion of equal quality services, partnership with bodies with similar
activities in third countries, on the basis of reciprocal arrangements.
2. Grants for priority actions shall cover all the actions described in point 1 above
and must be executed by beneficiaries from EU Member States with a GDP per
capita in the lower range within the Union distribution of GDP per capita. These
countries are: BG, EL, HR, HU, LT, LV, PL, PT, RO, SK.
More specifically, the activities described in point 1 above shall comply with the 6
Objectives defined in the ECC-Net Vademecum (Annex VI to this Invitation to submit
a proposal). Proposals should explain in detail in Part B of the application form how
these Objectives can be reached with the proposed resources. In this regard, when
the same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was successful in both topic
1 and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this entity shall ensure sufficient
operational capacity to carry out all projects, including where applicable in accordance
with the ‘optimum allocation of resources approach’ described under section 8.
The ECC-Net Vademecum objectives include one or more common indicators, which
will help to draw a report on the activities of ECCs. The Annex V to Part B of the
application form provides a template with the specified indicators to be completed and
submitted together with the application form.
Expected impact
The ECC network is expected to keep abreast with new EU consumer legislation to be
in a best position to assist EU consumers that reach out to them to better understand
their rights and be in a position to defend themselves. Being the first point of call for
EU consumers in distress, the network shall provide updated data on the market
trends and malpractices by traders. The ECC network actions should be designed in a
way to address the needs of EU consumers highlighted in the new Consumer Agenda3
in line with the Commission’s priorities, notably the sustainable and digital transitions.
The target indicators for 2024 and 2025 as defined in the Annex V to Part B of the
application form, constitute guidance to evaluate the expected impact.
3
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: New Consumer Agenda
Strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery COM/2020/696 final.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA-02 - Topic 2 – EU Dimension Actions
Objectives
Grants for actions with EU dimension shall cover actions which go beyond the
activities of a European Consumer Centre covered under topic 1, and which aim to
benefit the whole network in order to strengthen its overall impact. Such additional
actions can cover projects/activities developed under the Network’s focus groups or
indicated as policy objectives by the European Commission.
Themes, priorities and activities that can be funded (scope)
Such EU Dimension actions can indicatively cover:
supporting the network’s IT system and the classification of cases,
EU level coordination and strategy development,
EU level and fully coordinated communication activities,
a knowledge base and datasets for the network including the production of
statistics for evidence-based policy-making or better visibility of the
network,
a common legal advice centre,
the maintenance/upgrade of the common website,
assisting other Centres in dealing with requests coming from third
countries partners notably candidate countries to the EU or other countries
to improve the EU consumer experience in e-commerce or tourism,
alerting consumers on scams/fraud through the network website,
designing specific projects related to consumer issues in digital markets,
energy crisis, inflation, lootboxes/online gaming among children, impact of
social networks or influencers on consumers, EP elections targeting young
consumers,
EU level and fully coordinated consumer feedback and satisfaction
monitoring, including the use of AI tools where relevant (e.g. chatbot) and
creating a common webform.
ECCs that would like to submit an application for the same or a similar type of EU
dimension activity already granted under the previous calls must provide solid
grounds on the widespread use of the action by the Network and its measurable
impact upon the operational needs and/or strategic goals of the Network. An
outcome-focused and evidence-based appraisal of the EU dimension activity should
demonstrate the extent to which it has achieved its aims, identify its strengths and
weaknesses, and, where appropriate, make concrete proposals to improve it.
To increase the added value of the EU dimension activities, where possible, they
should:
a) be based on specific areas of mutually supportive competency (e.g. strategy,
communication, data management, consumer feedback);
b) have mechanisms to ensure they are accountable and transparent to the
Network (e.g. they are steered by a working group, incorporate mechanisms
for feedback from the Network); and
c) be structured flexibly and encompass self-appraisal mechanisms (including
collecting feedback from the users, where feasible) to ensure they remain
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
responsive and impactful in respect of the Network’s operational and strategic
needs.
Proposals should explain in detail in Part B of the application form how the above
elements can be achieved with the proposed resources. In this regard, when the
same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was successful in both topic 1
and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this entity shall ensure sufficient
operational capacity to carry out all projects, including where applicable in accordance
with the ‘optimum allocation of resources approach’ described under section 8.
Expected impact
Grants for actions with EU dimension go beyond the regular activities of a European
Consumer Centre, they aim to benefit the whole network in order to strengthen its
overall impact.
3. Available budget
The available budget is EUR 16.000.000 for activities in 2024 and 2025. This
available budget might be increased by maximum 20%.
Indicatively, the total EU contribution for ECC-Net grants under topic 1 is EUR
7.500.000 in budget year 2023 and EUR 7.500.000 in budget year 2024, and the total
EU contribution for ECC-Net grants under topic 2 is EUR 500.000 in budget year 2023
and EUR 500.000 in budget year 2024.
Budgetary credits for the activities of ECCs in 2025 will only become available in
2024.
We reserve the right not to award all available funds or to redistribute them between
the call priorities, depending on the proposals received and the results of the
evaluation.
4. Timetable and deadlines
Timetable and deadlines (indicative)
Call opening: 29 March 2023
Deadline for submission: 01 August 2023 – 17:00:00 CET
(Brussels)
Evaluation: August-September 2023
Information on evaluation results: September-October 2023
GA signature: October–December 2023
5. Admissibility and documents
Proposals must be submitted before the call deadline (see timetable section 4).
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal
Electronic Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter). Paper
submissions are NOT possible.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using
the forms provided inside the Submission System ( NOT the documents available
on the Topic page — they are only for information).
Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all
required annexes and supporting documents:
Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the
participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the
summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to
be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then
assembled and re-uploaded)
mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):
Annex I to Part B: detailed budget table (template available in the
Submission System)
Annex II to Part B (free format):
For topic 1: CVs of core project team (a director, an experienced
lawyer and a communication officer), ideally in Europass format,
For topic 2: CV of the coordinator of consortium leader, ideally in
Europass format,
For both topics: task descriptions in relation to the action of the
other project staff members
Annex V to Part B: ECC-Net indicators for 2024-2025 (only applicable to
topic 1).
Please note that the amounts entered into the summarised budget table (filled in
directly online) must correspond to the amounts calculated in the detailed budget
table. In case of discrepancies, the amounts in the online summarised budget table
will prevail.
At proposal submission, you will have to confirm that you have the mandate to act
for all applicants. Moreover, you will have to confirm that the information in the
application is correct and complete and that the participants comply with the
conditions for receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational
capacity, exclusion, etc.). Before signing the grant, each beneficiary and affiliated
entity will have to confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour (DoH).
Proposals without full support will be rejected.
Your application must be readable, accessible and printable.
Proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider
any additional pages.
You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation,
financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc.).
For more information about the submission process (including IT aspects), consult
the Online Manual.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
6. Eligibility
Eligible participants (eligible countries)
According to Article 9 (5) of SMP Regulation (EU) 2021/690 and in line with point 2.3
of Annex 3 to the Commission Implementing Decision C(2023) 1199 final of
22.02.2023 and Article 195 (1)(d) of the Financial Regulation, the grant may be
directly awarded to bodies designated by each Member State and each third country
which is member of the EEA, as eligible for actions that support consumer protection
by implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i) of the SMP
Regulation and that are related to the ECC Network. The entity must be (a) a non-
profit-making body; or (b) a public body.
The identity of the applicant (and compliance with general eligibility conditions) will be
verified through the documents provided in the Participant Register during legal entity
validation (copy of the resolution, decision or other official document establishing the
entity, designation letter/ decision etc.).
Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before
submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation
Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload
documents showing legal status and origin.
Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners,
subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc. (see section 13).
Specific cases
Exceptional funding — Entities from other countries (not listed above) are
exceptionally eligible, if the granting authority considers their participation essential
for the implementation of the action.
Natural persons — Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-
employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal
personality separate from that of the natural person).
International organisations — International organisations are not eligible. The rules on
eligible countries do not apply to them.
Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under
their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives
have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees
for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal
persons4.
EU bodies — EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint
Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate
as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’5. Please note that
if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either
as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).
Countries currently negotiating association agreements — Beneficiaries from countries
with ongoing negotiations (see list above) may participate in the call and can sign
4
See Article 197(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
5
For the definitions, see Articles 187(2) and 197(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
grants if the negotiations are concluded before grant signature (with retroactive
effect, if provided in the agreement).
EU restrictive measures — Special rules apply for certain entities (e.g. entities subject
to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union
(TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) 6 and entities
covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/057). Such entities are not eligible
to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated
partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and
Financial Capacity Assessment.
Consortium composition
Proposals by a single applicant as well as by a consortium are allowed. Affiliated
entities and other participants are allowed, if needed. All the members of the
consortium, including the affiliated entities, must comply with the eligibility criteria.
Eligible activities
Eligible activities are the ones set out in section 2 above.
Projects should take into account the results of projects supported by other EU
funding programmes. The complementarities must be described in the project
proposals (Part B of the Application Form), if applicable.
Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment,
social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc.).
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Geographic location (target countries)
Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries (see above).
Duration
The maximum duration of the action is 24 months (extensions are possible, only if
duly justified and through an amendment).
7. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
Financial capacity
Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement
the projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects
must have sufficient capacity to implement all these projects.
The financial capacity check will be carried out on the basis of the documents you will
be requested to upload in the Participant Register during grant preparation (e.g. profit
and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an
6
Please note that the EU Official Journal contains the official list and, in case of conflict, its content
prevails over that of the EU Sanctions Map.
7
Commission guidelines No 2013/C 205/05 on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the
territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the
EU from 2014 onwards (OJEU C 205 of 19.07.2013, pp. 9-11).
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
approved external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year,
etc.). The analysis will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into
account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in
previous years.
The check will normally be done for all beneficiaries, except:
public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including
local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations
if the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000.
If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities.
If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:
further information
an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility
for all beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities (see below,
section 10)
prefinancing paid in instalments
(one or more) prefinancing guarantees (see below, section 10)
or
propose no prefinancing
request that you are replaced or, if needed, reject the entire proposal.
For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and
Financial Capacity Assessment.
Operational capacity – for both topics
Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully
implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in
projects of comparable size and nature).
This capacity will be assessed together with the ‘Quality’ award criterion on the basis
of capacity of the ECC team to perform the activities to be co-funded.
All the project (ECC) team shall have a good working knowledge of the English
language.
Applicants will have to show their capacity via the following information:
general profiles (qualifications and experiences) of the staff responsible for
managing and implementing the project provided in the application form (Part
B) and in Annex II to Part B
description of the consortium participants
Additional supporting documents may be requested, if needed to confirm the
operational capacity of any applicant.
If the evaluation of the award criterion is positive, the applicants are considered to
have sufficient operational capacity.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Operational capacity - Topic 1
The ECC team under topic 1 should be composed of at least a full time employed
director, an experienced lawyer and a communication officer (“core ECC team”).
As general rules:
only in exceptional cases part time staff will be accepted for the core ECC team
(e.g. due to the size of the centre)
when the same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was successful
in both topic 1 and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this entity shall
ensure sufficient operational capacity to carry out both projects, including
where applicable in accordance with the ‘optimum allocation of resources
approach’ described under section 8 which can result in core ECC team staff
member being part time under topic 1.
Any such exceptional situation must be duly clarified and justified in the
application form (Part B) inter alia under section 2.2 Consortium set-up and 2.3
Project teams, staff and experts.
The minimum core ECC team composition, as described below, should be ensured
over the two years of project implementation.
1. A director shall have overall responsibility for the efficient running of the
centre and for its administration, finances and policy. He/she shall be provided
with the powers and instruments necessary to carry out these responsibilities.
2. An experienced lawyer shall have a university degree in law and either
experience or in-depth knowledge of EU and national legislation affecting
consumers.
3. A communication officer shall have experience in promotional activities,
communication and PR activities.
Operational capacity - Topic 2
The composition of the ECC team under topic 2 (EU Dimension Activity “EUDA” team)
should be composed of at least one coordinator for the consortium leader. This
coordinator shall have overall responsibility for the efficient running of the project, its
administration and finances.
When the same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was successful in
both topic 1 and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this entity shall ensure
sufficient operational capacity to carry out both projects, including where applicable in
accordance with the ‘optimum allocation of resources approach’ described under
section 8.
Exclusion
Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following
exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding can NOT participate8:
bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with
creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including
procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)
in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons with
unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)
8
See Articles 136 and 141 of EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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guilty of grave professional misconduct9 (including if done by persons having
powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or
persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)
committed fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money
laundering, terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child
labour or human trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of
representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who
are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)
shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under an EU
procurement contract, grant agreement, prize, expert contract, or similar
(including if done by persons having powers of representation,
decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for
the award/implementation of the grant)
guilty of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Regulation No
2988/95 (including if done by persons having powers of representation,
decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for
the award/implementation of the grant)
created under a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social
or other legal obligations in the country of origin or created another entity with
this purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation,
decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for
the award/implementation of the grant).
Applicants will also be refused if it turns out that10:
during the award procedure they misrepresented information required as a
condition for participating or failed to supply that information
they were previously involved in the preparation of the call and this entails a
distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise (conflict of
interest).
8. Evaluation and award procedure
The proposals will have to follow the standard submission and evaluation
procedure (one-stage submission + one-step evaluation).
An evaluation committee will assess all applications. Proposals will first be checked
for formal requirements (admissibility, and eligibility, see sections 5 and 6). Proposals
found admissible and eligible will be evaluated against the operational capacity and
award criteria (see sections 7 and 9) and then ranked according to their scores.
Proposals under topic 1 will be ranked together, and proposals under topic 2
will be ranked together.
For proposals under the same topic with the same score, a priority order will be
determined according to the following approach:
Successively for every group of ex aequo proposals, starting with the highest
scored group, and continuing in descending order:
9
Professional misconduct includes: violation of ethical standards of the profession, wrongful conduct
with impact on professional credibility, false declarations/misrepresentation of information,
participation in a cartel or other agreement distorting competition, violation of IPR, attempting to
influence decision-making processes or obtain confidential information from public authorities to gain
advantage.
10
See Article 141 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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1) Projects focusing on a theme that is not otherwise covered by higher ranked
projects will be considered to have the highest priority.
2) The ex aequo proposals within the same topic will be prioritised according to
the scores they have been awarded for the award criterion ‘Relevance’. When
these scores are equal, priority will be based on their scores for the criterion
‘Impact’. When these scores are equal, priority will be based on their scores
for the criterion ‘Quality’.
3) If this does not allow to determine the priority, a further prioritisation can be
done by considering the overall project portfolio and the creation of positive
synergies between projects across the topics, or other factors related to the
objectives of the call. These factors will be documented in the panel report.
Once the ranking under the two topics has been determined:
1) the budget will be used first to fund projects under topic 1, and then under
topic 2.
2) After that, the remainder of the available call budget will be used to fund
projects in order to ensure a balanced spread of the geographical and thematic
coverage and while respecting to the maximum possible extent the order of
merit based on the evaluation of the award criteria.
All proposals will be informed about the evaluation result (evaluation result letter).
Successful proposals will be invited for grant preparation; the other ones will be put
on the reserve list or rejected.
No commitment for funding — Invitation to grant preparation does NOT constitute
a formal commitment for funding. We will still need to make various legal checks
before grant award: legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc.
Grant preparation will involve a dialogue in order to fine-tune technical or financial
aspects of the project and may require extra information from your side. It may also
include adjustments to the proposal to address recommendations of the evaluation
committee or other concerns. Compliance will be a pre-condition for signing the grant.
In particular, when the same entity is involved in proposals whose evaluation was
successful in both topic 1 and 2, during grant agreement preparation, this entity shall
ensure sufficient operational capacity to carry out all projects. More specifically, in the
case of involvement of core ECC team staff (see above under section Operational
capacity - Topic 1) as EUDA team staff (see above under section Operational capacity
– Topic 2), the following ‘optimum allocation of resources approach’ across the
different projects would apply during Grant Agreement Preparation:
1. the implementation of the project under topic 1 is a priority over any topic 2
project
2. in this regard,
a. Under topic 1
i. Each core ECC team staff can be accepted as part-time under
topic 1 down to a minimum of 85%.
ii. Only in exceptional cases can this 85% minimum be further
reduced. Applicants would have to duly justify how this resource
allocation would ensure successful implementation of the topic
1.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
b. Under topic 2
i. Any core ECC team staff can be involved as EUDA team staff up
to a maximum of 15% over all topic 2 projects in which that
staff is involved;
ii. Any director who is a core ECC team staff can be involved as
EUDA ECC team staff up to a maximum of 10% where that ECC
is the consortium leader of the topic 2 project, and up to 5%
otherwise. This is bearing in mind the 15% maximum applicable
to the director as specified under point b.i. above.
iii. Only in exceptional cases can these maximums be further
increased. Applicants would have to duly justify how this
resource allocation would ensure successful implementation of
the topic 1 and is necessary for topic 2.
NB: as specified in the Model Grant Agreement (inter alia Article 6.2), the EU Funding
& Tenders Portal Online Manual and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant
Agreement, “to avoid double-funding of personnel cost, the actual number of day-
equivalents declared across EU and Euratom grants can NOT be higher than 215 per
calendar year”.
If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint
(following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please
note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are
considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from
opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also
be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character
limitations.
9. Award criteria
The award criteria for this call are as follows:
Relevance: clarity and consistency of project, objectives and planning; extent
to which they match the themes and priorities and objectives of the call;
contribution to the EU strategic and legislative context; European/trans-
national dimension; impact/interest for a number of countries (EU or eligible
non-EU countries); possibility to use the results in other countries; potential to
develop mutual trust/cross-border cooperation (30 points)
Quality:
Project design and implementation: technical quality; logical links
between the identified problems, needs and solutions proposed (logical
frame concept); methodology for implementing the project (concept
and methodology, management, procedures, timetable, risks and risk
management, monitoring and evaluation); feasibility of the project
within the proposed time frame; cost effectiveness
(sufficient/appropriate budget for proper implementation; best value for
money) (40 points)
Project team and cooperation arrangements: quality of the
consortium and project teams; appropriate procedures and problem-
solving mechanisms for cooperating within the project teams and
consortium (20 points)
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Impact: ambition and expected long-term impact of results on target
groups/general public; appropriate dissemination strategy for ensuring
sustainability and long-term impact; sustainability of results after EU funding
ends (10 points).
Award criteria Minimum Maximum
pass score score
Relevance 18 30
Quality — Project design and implementation 24 40
Quality — Project team and cooperation arrangements 12 20
Impact 6 10
Overall (pass) scores 60 100
Maximum points: 100 points.
Individual thresholds per criterion: 18/30, 24/40, 12/20 and 6/10 points.
Overall threshold: 60 points.
Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold will be
considered for funding — within the limits of the available call budget. Other
proposals will be rejected.
10. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
If you pass evaluation, your project will be invited for grant preparation, where you
will be asked to prepare the Grant Agreement together with the EU Project Officer.
This Grant Agreement will set the framework for your grant and its terms and
conditions, in particular concerning deliverables, reporting and payments.
The Model Grant Agreement that will be used (and all other relevant templates and
guidance documents) can be found on Portal Reference Documents.
Starting date and project duration
The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data
Sheet, point 1). Normally the starting date will be after grant signature. Retroactive
application can be granted exceptionally for duly justified reasons — but never earlier
than the proposal submission date.
Project duration: 24 months (1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025).
Milestones and deliverables
The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the Portal
Grant Management System and will be reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.
The following deliverables will be mandatory for all projects under topic 1:
Activity report – describing the project implementation after each year;
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Publication programme – inter alia listing any dissemination, events and
trainings, and communication activities during the project implementation,
after each year;
Consumer satisfaction survey results, after each year.
The following deliverables will be mandatory for all projects under topic 2:
Report on EU dimension activity – inter alia describing the project and
evaluating its implementation, results, impact and sustainability.
Form of grant and maximum grant amount
The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs,
etc.) will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 5).
The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
The grant will be a budget-based mixed actual cost grant (actual costs, with unit cost
and flat-rate elements). This means that it will reimburse ONLY certain types of costs
(eligible costs) and costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the
budgeted costs). For unit costs and flat-rates, you can charge the amounts calculated
as explained in the Grant Agreement (see art 6 and Annex 2 and 2a).
Funding rate – topic 1
The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement (up to
52% of eligible costs). You can apply for a higher project funding rate for the
following types of projects:
up to 67% of eligible costs for ‘priority actions’, which are executed by
beneficiaries from EU Member States with a GDP per capita in lower range
within the Union distribution of GDP per capita. These countries are: BG,
EL, HR, HU, LT, LV, PL, PT, RO, SK (see section 2 above).
Funding rate – topic 2
The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement (up to
95% of eligible costs).
Grants may NOT produce a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs).
For-profit organisations must declare their revenues and, if there is a profit, we will
deduct it from the final grant amount (see art 22.3).
Moreover, please be aware that the final grant amount may be reduced in case of
non-compliance with the Grant Agreement (e.g. improper implementation, breach of
obligations, etc.).
Budget categories and cost eligibility rules
The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data
Sheet, point 3, art 6 and Annex 2).
Budget categories for this call:
A. Personnel costs
- A.1 Employees, A.2 Natural persons under direct contract, A.3 Seconded
persons
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
- A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries
B. Subcontracting costs
D Other costs: not applicable
C. Purchase costs
C.1 Travel and subsistence
C.2 Equipment
C.3 Other goods, works and services
E. Indirect costs: not specific costs directly linked to the implementation of the
action. They must represent a fair apportionment of the overall overheads and
comply with the eligibility conditions. Overheads are all the structural and
support costs of an administrative, technical and logistical nature which are
cross-cutting for the operation of the beneficiary entity's various activities and
cannot therefore be booked in full to the action for which the grant is awarded
because this grant is only one part of those activities.11
Specific cost eligibility conditions for this call:
personnel costs:
12
SME owner/natural person unit cost : No
13
travel and subsistence unit cost : Yes
car travel: allowed
equipment costs: depreciation
other cost categories:
costs for financial support to third parties: not allowed
indirect cost flat-rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except
volunteers costs and exempted specific cost categories, if any)
VAT: non-deductible VAT is eligible (but please note that since 2013 VAT paid
by beneficiaries that are public bodies acting as public authority is NOT
eligible)
other:
in-kind contributions for free are allowed, but cost-neutral, i.e. they cannot
be declared as cost
project websites: communication costs for presenting the project on the
participants’ websites or social media accounts are eligible; costs for
separate project websites are not eligible
11
Overheads comprise costs connected with infrastructures and the general operation of the organisation
such as: hiring or depreciation of buildings and plant, water/gas/electricity, maintenance, insurance,
supplies and petty office equipment, communication and connection costs, postage, costs connected
with horizontal services (administrative and financial management, human resources, training,
documentation, IT, etc.). Please note that indirect costs can never be covered for the same
grant by both real costs reimbursement and a flat rate, in order to prevent any double
funding of the same costs.
12
Commission Decision of 20 October 2020 authorising the use of unit costs for the personnel costs of
the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises and beneficiaries that are natural persons not
receiving a salary for the work carried out by themselves under an action or work programme
(C(2020)7715).
13
Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation
and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial
framework (C(2021)35).
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
other ineligible costs: No
Reporting and payment arrangements
The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data
Sheet, point 4 and art 21 and 22).
After grant signature, you will normally receive a prefinancing to start working on
the project (first year of implementation) of 35% of the maximum grant amount;
exceptionally less or no prefinancing). The prefinancing will be paid 30 days from
entry into force/10 days before starting date/financial guarantee (if required) –
whichever is the latest.
There will be one additional prefinancing payment for the second year of project
implementation of 50% of the maximum grant amount linked to a prefinancing
report - to be submitted within 60 days after the end of the reporting period. The
reporting period linked to the additional prefinancing covers the first 12 months of the
project implementation ending on 31 December 2024. The additional prefinancing will
be paid within 60 days from receiving additional prefinancing report/financial
guarantee (if required) – whichever is the latest.
The sum of the amount of the pre-financing is limited to 90% of the maximum grant
amount as set out in the grant agreement.
Payment of the balance: At the end of the project, we will calculate your final grant
amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, we will
ask you (your coordinator) to pay back the difference (recovery).
All payments will be made to the coordinator.
Please be aware that payments will be automatically lowered if one of your
consortium members has outstanding debts towards the EU (granting authority or
other EU bodies). Such debts will be offset by us — in line with the conditions set out
in the Grant Agreement (see art 22).
Please also note that you are responsible for keeping records on all the work done
and the costs declared.
Prefinancing guarantees
If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data
Sheet, point 4). The amount will be set during grant preparation and it will normally
be equal or lower than the prefinancing for your grant.
The guarantee should be in euro and issued by an approved bank/financial institution
established in an EU Member State. If you are established in a non-EU country and
would like to provide a guarantee from a bank/financial institution in your country,
please contact us (this may be exceptionally accepted, if it offers equivalent security).
Amounts blocked in bank accounts will NOT be accepted as financial guarantees.
Prefinancing guarantees are formally NOT linked to individual consortium members,
which means that you are free to organise how to provide the guarantee amount (by
one or several beneficiaries, for the overall amount or several guarantees for partial
amounts, by the beneficiary concerned or by another beneficiary, etc). It is however
important that the requested amount is covered and that the guarantee(s) are sent to
us in time to make the prefinancing (scanned copy via Portal AND original by post).
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If agreed with us, the bank guarantee may be replaced by a guarantee from a third
party.
The guarantee will be released at the end of the grant, in accordance with the
conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement.
Certificates
Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, you
may be requested to submit different certificates. The types, schedules and
thresholds for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4
and art 24).
Liability regime for recoveries
The liability regime for recoveries will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet
point 4.4 and art 22).
For beneficiaries, it is one of the following:
limited joint and several liability with individual ceilings — each beneficiary up
to their maximum grant amount
unconditional joint and several liability — each beneficiary up to the maximum
grant amount for the action
or
individual financial responsibility — each beneficiary only for their own debts.
In addition, the granting authority may require joint and several liability of affiliated
entities (with their beneficiary).
Provisions concerning the project implementation
IPR rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 16 and Annex 5):
rights of use on results: Yes
access rights to ensure continuity and interoperability obligations: Yes
Communication, dissemination and visibility of funding: see Model Grant Agreement
(art 17 and Annex 5):
communication and dissemination plan: No
additional communication and dissemination activities: Yes
Specific rules for carrying out the action: see Model Grant Agreement (art 18 and
Annex 5): n/a
Other specificities
n/a
Non-compliance and breach of contract
The Grant Agreement (chapter 5) provides for the measures we may take in case of
breach of contract (and other non-compliance issues).
For more information, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.
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11. How to submit an application
All proposals must be submitted directly online via the Funding & Tenders Portal
Electronic Submission System. Paper applications are NOT accepted.
Submission is a 2-step process:
a) create a user account and register your organisation
To use the Submission System (the only way to apply), all participants need to create
an EU Login user account.
Once you have an EULogin account, you can register your organisation in the
Participant Register. When your registration is finalised, you will receive a 9-digit
participant identification code (PIC).
b) submit the proposal
Access the Electronic Submission System via the Topic page in the Search Funding &
Tenders section (or, for calls sent by invitation to submit a proposal, through the link
provided in the invitation letter).
Submit your proposal in 3 parts, as follows:
Part A includes administrative information about the applicant organisations
(future coordinator, beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners)
and the summarised budget for the proposal. Fill it in directly online
Part B (description of the action) covers the technical content of the proposal.
Download the mandatory word template from the Submission System, fill it in
and upload it as a PDF file
Annexes (see section 5). Upload them as PDF file (single or multiple
depending on the slots). Excel upload is sometimes possible, depending on the
file type.
The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section 5); excess pages will be
disregarded.
Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Submission System
otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible.
The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (see section 4). After this
deadline, the system is closed and proposals can no longer be submitted.
Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date
and time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means
your proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the
Submission System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk
webform, explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if
possible, screenshots to show what happened).
Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual. The Online
Manual also contains the links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Portal
Electronic Exchange System.
12. Help
As far as possible, please try to find the answers you need yourself, in this and
the other documentation (we have limited resources for handling direct enquiries):
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Online Manual
Portal FAQ (for general questions).
Please also consult the Topic page regularly, since we will use it to publish call
updates. (For invitations, we will contact you directly in case of a call update).
Contact
For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT
Helpdesk.
Non-IT related questions should be sent not later than 24 JULY 2023, at 17:00:00
(CET) to the following email address:
[email protected].
Please indicate clearly the reference of the call and topic to which your question
relates (see cover page).
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
13. Important
IMPORTANT
Don’t wait until the end — Complete your application sufficiently in advance of
the deadline to avoid any last minute technical problems. Problems due to last
minute submissions (e.g. congestion, etc) will be entirely at your risk. Call
deadlines can NOT be extended.
Consult the Portal Topic page regularly. We will use it to publish updates and
additional information on the call (call and topic updates).
Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Exchange System — By submitting the
application, all participants accept to use the electronic exchange system in
accordance with the Portal Terms & Conditions.
Registration — Before submitting the application, all beneficiaries, affiliated
entities and associated partners must be registered in the Participant Register. The
participant identification code (PIC) (one per participant) is mandatory for the
Application Form.
Consortium roles — When setting up your consortium, you should think of
organisations that help you reach objectives and solve problems.
The roles should be attributed according to the level of participation in the project.
Main participants should participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities; other
entities can participate as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving
in-kind contributions. Associated partners and third parties giving in-kind
contributions should bear their own costs (they will not become formal recipients of
EU funding). Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must
be performed by third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities).
Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the
application.
Coordinator — In multi-beneficiary grants, the beneficiaries participate as
consortium (group of beneficiaries). They will have to choose a coordinator, who
will take care of the project management and coordination and will represent the
consortium towards the granting authority. In mono-beneficiary grants, the single
beneficiary will automatically be coordinator.
Affiliated entities — Applicants may participate with affiliated entities (i.e. entities
linked to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and
obligations as the beneficiaries, but do not sign the grant and therefore do not
become beneficiaries themselves). They will get a part of the grant money and
must therefore comply with all the call conditions and be validated (just like
beneficiaries); but they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for
consortium composition (if any).
Associated partners — Applicants may participate with associated partners (i.e.
partner organisations which participate in the action but without the right to get
grant money). They participate without funding and therefore do not need to be
validated.
Consortium agreement — For practical and legal reasons it is recommended to
set up internal arrangements that allow you to deal with exceptional or unforeseen
circumstances (in all cases, even if not mandatory under the Grant Agreement).
The consortium agreement also gives you the possibility to redistribute the grant
money according to your own consortium-internal principles and parameters (for
instance, one beneficiary can reattribute its grant money to another beneficiary).
The consortium agreement thus allows you to customise the EU grant to the needs
inside your consortium and can also help to protect you in case of disputes.
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Balanced project budget — Grant applications must ensure a balanced project
budget and sufficient other resources to implement the project successfully (e.g.
own contributions, income generated by the action, financial contributions from
third parties, etc). You may be requested to lower your estimated costs, if they are
ineligible (including excessive).
No-profit rule — Grants may NOT give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU
grant over costs). This will be checked by us at the end of the project.
No double funding — There is a strict prohibition of double funding from the EU
budget (except under EU Synergies actions). Outside such Synergies actions, any
given action may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget and cost items may
under NO circumstances declared to two different EU actions.
Completed/ongoing projects — Proposals for projects that have already been
completed will be rejected; proposals for projects that have already started will be
assessed on a case-by-case basis (in this case, no costs can be reimbursed for
activities that took place before the project starting date/proposal submission).
Combination with EU operating grants — Combination with EU operating grants
is possible, if the project remains outside the operating grant work programme and
you make sure that cost items are clearly separated in your accounting and NOT
declared twice (see AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, art 6.2.E).
Multiple proposals — Applicants may submit more than one proposal for different
projects under the same call (and be awarded a funding for them).
Organisations may participate in several proposals.
BUT: if there are several proposals for very similar projects, only one application
will be accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw one of
them (or it will be rejected).
Resubmission — Proposals may be changed and re-submitted until the deadline
for submission.
Rejection — By submitting the application, all applicants accept the call conditions
set out in this this Call Document (and the documents it refers to). Proposals that
do not comply with all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to
applicants: All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one of them doesn’t, they
must be replaced or the entire proposal will be rejected.
Cancellation — There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of
the call. In this case, you will be informed via a call or topic update. Please note
that cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.
Language — You can submit your proposal in any official EU language (project
abstract/summary should however always be in English). For reasons of efficiency,
we strongly advise you to use English for the entire application. If you need the call
documentation in another official EU language, please submit a request within 10
days after call publication (for the contact information, see section 12).
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Invitation to submit proposals: SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA — ECC-Net 2024-2025
Transparency — In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation,
information about EU grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website.
This includes:
o beneficiary names
o beneficiary addresses
o the purpose for which the grant was awarded
o the maximum amount awarded.
The publication can exceptionally be waived (on reasoned and duly substantiated
request), if there is a risk that the disclosure could jeopardise your rights and
freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or harm your commercial
interests.
Data protection — The submission of a proposal under this call involves the
collection, use and processing of personal data. This data will be processed in
accordance with the applicable legal framework. It will be processed solely for the
purpose of evaluating your proposal, subsequent management of your grant and, if
needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication. Details are
explained in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.
Electronically signed on 28/03/2023 21:10 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
27
Single Market Programme (SMP
Consumers)
Application Form
Administrative Forms (Part A)
Technical Description (Part B)
(SMP CONS Standard)
Version 2.0
01 June 2022
Disclaimer
This document is aimed at informing applicants for EU funding. It serves only as an example. The actual
web forms and templates are provided in the Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System (and may
contain certain differences). The applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be
prepared and submitted online via the Portal.
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
IMPORTANT NOTICE
What is the Application Form?
The Application Form is the template for EU grants applications; it must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders
Portal before the call deadline.
The Form consists of 2 parts:.
• Part A contains structured administrative information
• Part B is a narrative technical description of the project.
Part A is generated by the IT system. It is based on the information which you enter into the Portal Submission System
screens.
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Part B needs to be uploaded as PDF (+ annexes) in the Submission System. The templates to use are available there.
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How to prepare and submit it?
The Application Form must be prepared by the consortium and submitted by a representative. Once submitted, you will
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receive a confirmation.
Character and page limits:
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• page limit normally 70 pages (unless otherwise provided in the Call document)
• supporting documents can be provided as an annex and do not count towards the page limit
•
•
minimum font size — Arial 9 points
page size: A4
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• margins (top, bottom, left and right): at least 15 mm (not including headers & footers).
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Please abide by the formatting rules. They are NOT a target! Keep your text as concise as possible. Do not use
hyperlinks to show information that is an essential part of your application.
If you attempt to upload an application that exceeds the specified limit, you will receive an automatic warning asking
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you to shorten and re-upload your application. For applications that are not shortened, the excess pages will be made
invisible and thus disregarded by the evaluators.
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Please do NOT delete any instructions in the document. The overall page limit has been raised to ensure
equal treatment of all applicants.
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This document is tagged. Be careful not to delete the tags; they are needed for the processing.
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
ADMINISTRATIVE FORMS (PART A)
Part A of the Application Form must be filled out directly in the Portal Submission System screens.
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Application forms
Call:
()
Topic:
Type of Action:
()
Proposal number:
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Proposal acronym:
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Type of Model Grant Agreement:
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Table of contents
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Section Title Action
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1 General information
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2 Participants
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3 Budget
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4 Other questions
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How to fill in the forms
The forms must be filled in for each proposal using the templates available in the submission system. Some data fields in the forms are
pre-filled based on the steps in the submission wizard.
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
1 - General information
Field(s) marked * are mandatory to fill.
Topic Type of Action
Call Type of Model Grant Agreement
Structured
Proposal Reference
Acronym
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Proposal title Max 200 characters (with spaces). Must be understandable for non-specialists in your field.
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Note that for technical reasons, the following characters are not accepted in the Proposal Title and will be removed: < > " &
Duration in
Estimated duration of the project in full months.
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months
Fixed keyword 1 Add
Free keywords
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Enter any words you think give extra detail of the scope of your proposal (max 200 characters with spaces).
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Abstract
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Remaining characters 2000
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
Has this proposal (or a very similar one) been submitted in the past 2 years in response to a call for
proposals under any EU programme, including the current call? Yes No
Please give the proposal reference or contract number.
Previously submitted proposals should be with either 6 or 9 digits. Remove
A specific grant agreement (SGA) implements a concrete action/work programme under a valid framework partnership agreement
(FPA).
The reference or the contract number of the linked FPA is needed for the assessment of the SGA proposal. xxxxxx(xxx)
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
Declarations
Field(s) marked * are mandatory to fill.
1) We declare to have the explicit consent of all applicants on their participation and on the content of this proposal. *
2) We confirm that the information contained in this proposal is correct and complete and that none of the project
activities have started before the proposal was submitted (unless explicitly authorised in the call conditions).
3) We declare:
- to be fully compliant with the eligibility criteria set out in the call
- not to be subject to any exclusion grounds under the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046
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- to have the financial and operational capacity to carry out the proposed project.
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4) We acknowledge that all communication will be made through the Funding & Tenders Portal
electronic exchange system and that access and use of this system is subject to the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms
and Conditions.
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5) We have read, understood and accepted the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms & Conditions and
Privacy Statement that set out the conditions of use of the Portal and the scope, purposes, retention periods, etc. for
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the processing of personal data of all data subjects whose data we communicate for the purpose of the application,
evaluation, award and subsequent management of our grant, prizes and contracts (including financial transactions and
audits).
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The coordinator is only responsible for the information relating to their own organisation. Each applicant remains responsible for the information declared for
their organisation. If the proposal is retained for EU funding, they will all be required to sign a declaration of honour.
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False statements or incorrect information may lead to administrative sanctions under the EU Financial Regulation.
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
2 - Participants
List of participating organisations
# Participating Organisation Legal Name Country Action
1
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
Short name
Organisation data
PIC Legal name
Short name:
Address
Street
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Town
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Postcode
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Country
Webpage
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Specific Legal Statuses
Legal person .......................................................... unknown
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Public body ............................................................ unknown
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Non-profit ............................................................... unknown
International organisation ................................ unknown
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Secondary or Higher education establishment ...... unknown
Research organisation ........................................ unknown
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SME Data
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Based on the below details from the Participant Registry the organisation is unknown (small- and medium-sized enterprise) for the call.
SME self-declared status...................................... unknown
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SME self-assessment ............................................ unknown
SME validation sme .............................................. unknown
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
Short name
Departments carrying out the proposed work
Department 1
Department name Name of the department/institute carrying out the work. not applicable
Same as proposing organisation's address
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Street Please enter street name and number.
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Town Please enter the name of the town.
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Postcode Area code.
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Country Please select a country
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
Short name
Main contact person
The name and e-mail of contact persons are read-only in the administrative form, only additional details can be edited here. To give access rights and
basic contact details of contact persons, please go back to step - Manage your related parties of the submission wizard and save the changes.
Title Gender Woman Man Non Binary
First name Last name
E-Mail
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Position in org. Please indicate the position of the person.
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Department Name of the department/institute carrying out the work. Same as
organisation name
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Same as proposing organisation's address
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Street Please enter street name and number.
Town Please enter the name of the town.
co Post code Area code.
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Country Please select a country
Website Please enter website
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Phone +xxx xxxxxxxxx Phone 2 +xxx xxxxxxxxx
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
3 - Budget ?
No. Name of Country Role Personnel Personnel Subcontra Purchase Purchase Purchase Indirect Total Estimated Ineligible Total Maximum Requested Max grant Income In kind Financial Own Total
beneficiary costs - costs – cting costs - costs - costs - costs/ eligible eligible costs/ estimated EU EU amount/ generated contributi contributi resources/ estimated
without volunteers costs/ Travel and Equipmen Other costs/ contributi project contributi contributi by the ons/ ons/ project
volunteers / subsistenc t/ goods, EUR ons/ EUR costs and on to on to EUR project/ EUR income/
/ EUR e/ works and EUR contributi eligible eligible EUR EUR
EUR EUR services/ EUR ons/ costs/ costs/ EUR EUR
EUR EUR
EUR EUR EUR EUR
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1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00
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Total
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Application forms
Proposal ID
Acronym
4 - Other questions
Essential information to be provided for proposals including clinical Trials / studies / investigations
Clinical study means, for the purpose of this document, any systematic prospective or retrospective collection and analysis of health data obtained
from individual patients or healthy persons in order to address scientific questions related to the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, monitoring or
treatment of a disease, mental illness, or physical condition. It includes but it is not limited to clinical studies as defined by Regulation 536/2014 (on
medicinal products), clinical investigation and clinical evaluation as defined by Regulation 2017/745 (on medical devices), performance study and
performance evaluation as defined by Regulation 2017/746 (on in vitro diagnostic medical devices).
Are clinical studies / trials / investigations included in the work plan of this project? Yes No
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GHG Emission
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Absolute GHG emission avoidance (in tCO2e) 0
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Result of the GHG emission avoidance calculation. Explanation is provided in application form part B question 2.1
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Relative GHG emission avoidance (as a %) 0.00
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Result of the GHG emission avoidance calculation. Explanation is provided in application form part B question 2.2
In which Member State(s) and/or associated countries will the project be implemented?
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Application forms
Validation result
Show Error The red 'Show Error' button indicates an error due to a missing or incorrect value related to the call eligibility criteria. The submission of the
proposal will be blocked unless that specific field is corrected!
Show Warning The yellow 'Show Warning' button indicates a warning due to a missing or incorrect value related to the call eligibility criteria. The submission
of the proposal will not be blocked (proposal will be submitted with the missing or incorrect value).
Section Description
The form has not yet been validated, click "Validate Form" to do so!
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION (PART B)
COVER PAGE
Part B of the Application Form must be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled
and re-uploaded as PDF in the system. Page 1 with the grey IMPORTANT NOTICE box should be deleted before
uploading.
Note: Please read carefully the conditions set out in the Call document (for open calls: published on the Portal). Pay
particular attention to the award criteria; they explain how the application will be evaluated.
PROJECT
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Project name: [project title]
Project acronym: [acronym]
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Coordinator contact: [name NAME], [organisation name]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ADMINISTRATIVE FORMS (PART A) ............................................................................................................................ 3
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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION (PART B) .......................................................................................................................... 4
COVER PAGE ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
PROJECT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 5
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1. RELEVANCE ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Background and general objectives .................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Needs analysis and specific objectives ............................................................................................................... 5
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1.3 Complementarity with other actions and innovation — European added value ................................................... 5
2. QUALITY ................................................................................................................................................................. 6
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2.1 Concept and methodology .................................................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Consortium set-up............................................................................................................................................... 6
2.3 Project teams, staff and experts .......................................................................................................................... 6
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2.4 Consortium management and decision-making................................................................................................... 7
2.5 Project management, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation strategy ................................................ 7
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2.6 Cost effectiveness and financial management .................................................................................................... 7
2.7 Risk management ............................................................................................................................................... 7
3. IMPACT ................................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Impact and ambition............................................................................................................................................ 8
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3.2 Communication, dissemination and visibility........................................................................................................ 8
3.3 Sustainability and continuation ............................................................................................................................ 8
4. WORK PLAN, WORK PACKAGES, ACTIVITIES, RESOURCES AND TIMING .................................................... 10
4.1 Work plan ......................................................................................................................................................... 10
4.2 Work packages, activities, resources and timing ............................................................................................... 10
Work Package 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Work Package … ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Subcontracting ................................................................................................................................................. 13
Timetable ......................................................................................................................................................... 14
5. OTHER .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
5.1 Ethics ................................................................................................................................................................ 16
5.2 Security............................................................................................................................................................. 16
6. DECLARATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 16
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
ANNEXES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17
#@APP-FORM-SMPCONS@#
#@PRJ-SUM-PS@# [This document is tagged. Do not delete the tags; they are needed for the processing.]
PROJECT SUMMARY
Project summary
See Abstract (Application Form Part A).
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#§PRJ-SUM-PS§# #@REL-EVA-RE@# #@PRJ-OBJ-PO@#
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1. RELEVANCE
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1.1 Background and general objectives
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Background and general objectives
Describe the background and rationale of the project.
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How is the project relevant to the scope of the call? How does the project address the general objectives of the call?
What is the project’s contribution to the priorities of the call?
Insert text
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1.2 Needs analysis and specific objectives
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Needs analysis and specific objectives
Describe how the objectives of the project are based on a sound needs analysis in line with the specific objectives of
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the call. What issue/challenge/gap does the project aim to address?
The objectives should be clear, measureable, realistic and achievable within the duration of the project. For each
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objective, define appropriate indicators for measuring achievement (including a unit of measurement, baseline value
and target value).
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Insert text
#@COM-PLE-CP@#
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1.3 Complementarity with other actions and innovation — European added value
Complementarity with other actions and innovation
Explain how the project builds on the results of past activities carried out in the field and describe its innovative
aspects. Explain how the activities are complementary to other activities carried out by other organisations.
Illustrate the European dimension of the activities: trans-national dimension of the project; impact/interest for a
number of EU countries; possibility to use the results in other countries, potential to develop mutual trust/cross-border
cooperation among EU countries, etc.
Which countries will benefit from the project (directly and indirectly)? Where will the activities take place?
Insert text
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
#§COM-PLE-CP§# #§PRJ-OBJ-PO§# #§REL-EVA-RE§# #@QUA-LIT-QL@# #@CON-MET-CM@#
2. QUALITY
2.1 Concept and methodology
Concept and methodology
Outline the approach and methodology behind the project. Explain why they are the most suitable for achieving the
project’s objectives.
Insert text
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#§CON-MET-CM§# #@CON-SOR-CS@#
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2.2 Consortium set-up
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Consortium cooperation and division of roles (if applicable)
Describe the participants (Beneficiaries, Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners, if any) and explain how they will
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work together to implement the project. How will they bring together the necessary expertise? How will they
complement each other?
In what way does each of the participants contribute to the project? Show that each has a valid role and adequate
resources to fulfil that role.
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Note: When building your consortium you should think of organisations that can help you reach objectives and solve
problems.
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Insert text
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2.3 Project teams, staff and experts
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Project teams and staff
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Describe the project teams and how they will work together to implement the project.
List the staff included in the project budget (budget category A) by function/profile (e.g. project manager, senior
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expert/advisor/researcher, junior expert/advisor/researcher, trainers/teachers, technical personnel, administrative
personnel etc. — use the same profiles as in the detailed budget table, if any) and describe briefly their tasks.
Provide CVs of all key actors (if required).
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Name and Organisation Role/tasks/professional profile and expertise
function
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Outside resources (subcontracting, seconded staff, etc)
If you do not have all skills/resources in-house, describe how you intend to get them (contributions of members,
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
partner organisations, subcontracting, etc).
If there is subcontracting, please also complete the table in section 4.
Insert text
2.4 Consortium management and decision-making
Consortium management and decision-making (if applicable)
Explain the management structures and decision-making mechanisms within the consortium. Describe how decisions
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will be taken and how regular and effective communication will be ensured. Describe methods to ensure planning and
control.
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Note: The concept (including organisational structure and decision-making mechanisms) must be adapted to the
complexity and scale of the project.
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Insert text
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#§CON-SOR-CS§# #@PRJ-MGT-PM@#
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2.5 Project management, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation strategy
Project management, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation strategy
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Describe the measures planned to ensure that the project implementation is of high quality and completed in time.
Describe the methods to ensure good quality, monitoring, planning and control.
Describe the evaluation methods and indicators (quantitative and qualitative) to monitor and verify the outreach and
coverage of the activities and results (including unit of measurement, baseline and target values). The indicators
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proposed to measure progress should be relevant, realistic and measurable.
Insert text
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#§PRJ-MGT-PM§# #@FIN-MGT-FM@#
2.6 Cost effectiveness and financial management
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Cost effectiveness and financial management
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Describe the measures adopted to ensure that the proposed results and objectives will be achieved in the most cost-
effective way.
Indicate the arrangements adopted for the financial management of the project and, in particular, how the financial
resources will be allocated and managed within the consortium.
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Do NOT compare and justify the costs of each work package, but summarize briefly why your budget is cost
effective.
Insert text
#§FIN-MGT-FM§# #@RSK-MGT-RM@#
2.7 Risk management
Critical risks and risk management strategy
Describe critical risks, uncertainties or difficulties related to the implementation of your project, and your
measures/strategy for addressing them.
Indicate for each risk (in the description) the impact and the likelihood that the risk will materialise (high, medium,
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EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
low), even after taking into account the mitigating measures.
Note: Uncertainties and unexpected events occur in all organisations, even if very well-run. The risk analysis will help
you to predict issues that could delay or hinder project activities. A good risk management strategy is essential for
good project management.
Risk No Description Work Proposed risk-mitigation measures
package No
#§RSK-MGT-RM§# #§QUA-LIT-QL§# #@IMP-ACT-IA@#
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3. IMPACT
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3.1 Impact and ambition
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Impact and ambition — Progress beyond the state-of-the-art
Define the short, medium and long-term effects of the project.
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Who are the target groups? How will the target groups benefit concretely from the project and what would change for
them?
Does the project aim to trigger change/innovation? If so, describe them and the degree of ambition (progress beyond
the status quo/state-of-the-art).
Insert text
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Impact on non-Participating countries
For ECC-Net: Please specify which country(ies) benefit from the project. Why is the project important for those
country(ies)? How does it improve the situation the country(ies)?
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Insert text
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#§IMP-ACT-IA§# #@COM-DIS-VIS-CDV@#
3.2 Communication, dissemination and visibility
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Communication, dissemination and visibility of funding
Describe the dissemination and communication activities which are planned in order to promote the activities/results
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and maximise the impact (to whom, which format, how many, etc.). Clarify how you will reach the target groups,
relevant stakeholders, policymakers and the general public and explain the choice of the dissemination channels.
Describe how the visibility of EU funding will be ensured.
Insert text
#§COM-DIS-VIS-CDV§# #@SUS-CON-SC@#
3.3 Sustainability and continuation
Sustainability, long-term impact and continuation
Describe the follow-up of the project after the EU funding ends. How will the project impact be ensured and
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EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
sustained?
What will need to be done? Which parts of the project should be continued or maintained? How will this be
achieved? Which resources will be necessary to continue the project? How will the results be used?
Are there any possible synergies/complementarities with other (EU funded) activities that can build on the project
results?
Insert text
#§SUS-CON-SC§#
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EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
#@WRK-PLA-WP@#
4. WORK PLAN, WORK PACKAGES, ACTIVITIES, RESOURCES AND TIMING
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4.1 Work plan
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Work plan
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Provide a brief description of the overall structure of the work plan (list of work packages or graphical presentation (Pert chart or similar)).
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Insert text
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4.2 Work packages, activities, resources and timing
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WORK PACKAGES
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Work packages
This section concerns a detailed description of the project activities.
Group your activities into work packages. A work package means a major sub-division of the project. For each work package, enter an objective (expected outcome) and list the activities,
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milestones and deliverables that belong to it. The grouping should be logical and guided by identifiable outputs.
Projects should normally have a minimum of 2 work packages. WP1 should cover the management and coordination activities (meetings, coordination, project monitoring and evaluation, financial
management, progress reports, etc) and all the activities which are cross-cutting and therefore difficult to assign to another specific work package (do not try splitting these activities across
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different work packages). WP2 and further WPs should be used for the other project activities. You can create as many work packages as needed by copying WP1.
For very simple projects, it is possible to use a single work package for the entire project (WP1 with the project acronym as WP name).
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Enter each activity/milestone/output/outcome/deliverable only once (under one work package).
Ensure consistence with the detailed budget table (if applicable).
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Objectives
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List the specific objectives to which the work package is linked.
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EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
Activities and division of work (WP description)
Provide a concise overview of the work (planned tasks). Be specific and give a short name and number for each task.
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Show who is participating in each task: Coordinator (COO), Beneficiaries (BEN), Affiliated Entities (AE), Associated Partners (AP), indicating in bold the task leader.
Add information on other participants’ involvement in the project e.g. subcontractors, in-kind contributions.
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Note:
In-kind contributions: In-kind contributions for free are cost-neutral, i.e. cannot be declared as cost. Please indicate the in-kind contributions that are provided in the context of the work package.
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The Coordinator remains fully responsible for the coordination tasks, even if they are delegated to someone else. Coordinator tasks cannot be subcontracted.
If there is subcontracting, please also complete the table below.
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Milestones and deliverables (outputs/outcomes)
Milestones are control points in the project that help to chart progress (e.g. completion of a key deliverable allowing the next phase of the work to begin). Use them only for major outputs in
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complex projects, otherwise leave the section empty. Please limit the number of milestones by work package.
Means of verification are how you intend to prove that a milestone has been reached. If appropriate, you can also refer to indicators.
Deliverables are project outputs which are submitted to show project progress (any format). Refer only to major outputs. Do not include minor sub-items, internal working papers, meeting minutes,
etc. Limit the number of deliverables to max 10-15 for the entire project. You may be asked to further reduce the number during grant preparation.
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For deliverables such as meetings, events, seminars, trainings, workshops, webinars, conferences, etc., enter each deliverable separately and provide the following in the 'Description' field:
invitation, agenda, signed presence list, target group, number of estimated participants, duration of the event, report of the event, training material package, presentations, evaluation report,
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feedback questionnaire.
For deliverables such as manuals, toolkits, guides, reports, leaflets, brochures, training materials etc., add in the ‘Description’ field: format (electronic or printed), language(s), approximate number
of pages and estimated number of copies of publications (if any).
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For each deliverable you will have to indicate a due month by when you commit to upload it in the Portal. The due month of the deliverable cannot be outside the duration of the work package and
must be in line with the timeline provided below. Month 1 marks the start of the project and all deadlines should be related to this starting date.
The labels used mean:
Public — fully open ( automatically posted online on the Project Results platforms)
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Sensitive — limited under the conditions of the Grant Agreement
EU classified — RESTREINT-UE/EU-RESTRICTED, CONFIDENTIEL-UE/EU-CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET-UE/EU-SECRET under Decision 2015/444. For items classified under other rules
(e.g. national or international organisation), please select the equivalent EU classification level.
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Work Package 1
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Work Package 1: [Name, e.g. Project management and coordination]
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Duration: MX - MX Lead Beneficiary: 1-Short name
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Objectives
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Activities and division of work (WP description)
Task No Task Name Description Participants In-kind Contributions
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(continuous and Subcontracting
numbering (Yes/No and which)
linked to Name Role
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WP) (COO, BEN,
AE, AP,
OTHER)
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T1.1
T1.2
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Milestones and deliverables (outputs/outcomes)
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Milestone No Milestone Name Work Package Lead Beneficiary Description Due Date Means of Verification
(continuous numbering No (month number)
not linked to WP)
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MS1 1
MS2 1
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Deliverable No Deliverable Name Work Package Lead Beneficiary Type Dissemination Due Date Description
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(continuous numbering No Level (month number) (including format and
linked to WP) language)
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D1.1 1 [R — Document, [PU — Public]
report] [DEM — [SEN — Sensitive]
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Demonstrator, [R-UE/EU-R —
pilot, prototype] EU Classified]
[DEC —Websites, [C-UE/EU-C —
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Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
patent filings, EU Classified]
videos, etc] [DATA [S-UE/EU-S —
— data sets, EU Classified]
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microdata, etc]
[DMP — Data
et
Management Plan]
[ETHICS]
[SECURITY]
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[OTHER]
D1.2 1 [R — Document, [PU — Public]
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report] [DEM — [SEN — Sensitive]
Demonstrator, [R-UE/EU-R —
pilot, prototype] EU Classified]
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[DEC —Websites, [C-UE/EU-C —
patent filings, EU Classified]
videos, etc] [DATA [S-UE/EU-S —
— data sets, EU Classified]
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microdata, etc]
[DMP — Data
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Management Plan]
[ETHICS]
[SECURITY]
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[OTHER]
Estimated budget — Resources
e,
See detailed budget table (annex 1 to Part B).
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Work Package …
a
To insert work packages, copy WP1 as many times as necessary.
Ex
Subcontracting
13
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
Subcontracting
Give details on subcontracted project tasks (if any) and explain the reasons why (as opposed to direct implementation by the Beneficiaries/Affiliated Entities).
e
Subcontracting — Subcontracting means the implementation of ‘action tasks’, i.e. specific tasks which are part of the EU grant and are described in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.
et
Note: Subcontracting concerns the outsourcing of a part of the project to a party outside the consortium. It is not simply about purchasing goods or services. We normally expect that the participants
have sufficient operational capacity to implement the project activities themselves. Subcontracting should therefore be exceptional.
Include only subcontracts that comply with the rules (i.e. best value for money and no conflict of interest; no subcontracting of coordinator tasks).
pl
Work Package No Subcontract No Subcontract Description Estimated Costs Justification Best-Value-for-Money
(continuous Name (including task number and (EUR) (why is subcontracting (how do you intend to
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numbering linked to (subcontracted BEN/AE to which it is linked) necessary?) ensure it?)
WP) action tasks)
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S1.1
S1.2
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Other issues: Insert text
tt
If subcontracting for the project goes beyond 30% of the total eligible
costs, give specific reasons.
no
Timetable e,
Timetable (projects up to 2 years)
Fill in cells in beige to show the duration of activities. Repeat lines/columns as necessary.
pl
Note: Use the project month numbers instead of calendar months. Month 1 marks always the start of the project. In the timeline you should indicate the timing of each activity per WP.
MONTHS
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ACTIVITY
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
a
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Task 1.1 - …
14
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
Task 1.2 - …
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Task …
et
Timetable (projects of more than 2 years)
pl
Fill in cells in beige to show the duration of activities. Repeat lines/columns as necessary.
Note: Use actual calendar years and quarters. In the timeline you should indicate the timing of each activity per WP. You may add additional columns if your project is longer than 6 years.
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YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6
ACTIVITY
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Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Task 1.1 - …
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Task 1.2 - …
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Task …
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#§WRK-PLA-WP§#
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15
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
#@ETH-ICS-EI@#
5. OTHER
5.1 Ethics
Ethics
Not applicable
#§ETH-ICS-EI§# #@SEC-URI-SU@#
5.2 Security
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Security
et
Not applicable
pl
#§SEC-URI-SU§# #@DEC-LAR-DL@#
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6. DECLARATIONS
Higher funding rate (if applicable) co YES/NO
Do you fulfil the conditions set out in the Call document for a higher funding rate?
to
If YES, explain and provide details.
Insert text
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Double funding
pl
Information concerning other EU grants for this project
Please note that there is a strict prohibition of double funding from the EU budget (except YES/NO
am
under EU Synergies actions).
We confirm that to our best knowledge neither the project as a whole nor any parts of it have
benefitted from any other EU grant (including EU funding managed by authorities in EU
Member States or other funding bodies, e.g. EU Regional Funds, EU Agricultural Funds, etc).
Ex
If NO, explain and provide details.
We confirm that to our best knowledge neither the project as a whole nor any parts of it are
(nor will be) submitted for any other EU grant (including EU funding managed by authorities
in EU Member States or other funding bodies, e.g. EU Regional Funds, EU Agricultural
Funds, etc). If NO, explain and provide details.
Financial support to third parties (if applicable)
Not applicable.
#§DEC-LAR-DL§#
16
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
ANNEXES
LIST OF ANNEXES
Standard
Detailed budget table (annex 1 to Part B) — mandatory
CVs (annex 2 to Part B) — mandatory, if required in the Call document
Annual activity reports (annex 3 to Part B) — mandatory, if required in the Call document
List of previous projects (annex 4 to Part B) — mandatory, if required in the Call document
Special
Other annexes (annex 5 to Part B) — mandatory, if required in the Call document
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et
pl
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to
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Ex
17
Call: [insert call identifier] — [insert call name]
EU Grants: Application form (SMP CONS): V2.0 – 01.06.2022
LIST OF PREVIOUS PROJECTS
List of previous projects
Please provide a list of your previous projects for the last 4 years.
Participant Project Reference No Period (start Role Amount Website (if any)
and Title, Funding and end date) (COO, (EUR)
programme BEN, AE,
OTHER)
[name]
e
[name]
et
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m
co
HISTORY OF CHANGES
to
PUBLICATION
VERSION CHANGE
DATE
1.0 15.04.2021 Initial version (new MFF).
2.0 01.06.2022 Consolidation, formatting and layout changes. Tags added.
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18
EC INSTRUCTIONS (DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (AG) —
PROPOSAL/GRANT PREPARATION)
General
The file is composed of 3 password-protected sheets for EU staff (EC Instructions, EC Data
and EC Format) and 5 sheets for the Consortium (1. Instructions, 2. Start, 3. Detailed table and
4. Consolidated table (participant) and 5. Consolidated table (project).
The EC sheets (EC Data) must be set-up only once for your programme/MGAs (works for all
MGAs, except operating grants - see separate template) as part of the Programme template set-
up exercise.
The Participant sheets (2. Start, 3. Detailed table and 4. Consolidated table) must be filled out
and submitted as part of the Proposal (and later during GAP):
- dowloaded, filled in, scanned and uploaded as single xlsx/PDF for the project in SEP/SyGMa
(for sheets 3 and 4: one per beneficiary/linked third party inside the single xlsx/PDF).
For security reasons, the document can NOT be uploaded as excel with macros (xlsm). Once
filled in and finalised, it must therefore be saved as xlsx/PDF copy, and this copy must be used
for the upload.
Getting started
To use the file, the Excel Macro security settings must be enabled on your computer. This is
managed and checked when opening the file, but contact your IT team if you encounter
problems.
Download the file for set-up: Before downloading close all other excel files (open excel files
may hamper the macros). Download the file from the ToolKit using EDIT WORKBOOK - EDIT IN
EXCEL - SAVE AS to save a copy on your desktop. Then close the document and re-open it.
Unblock the file: Before starting (and after each time you save), you have to unblock the file
by clicking the 'Unprotect All Sheets' button (or alternatively by pressing Ctrl Q + Password:
Detailed budget table). If it doesn't work, try several times.
EC Data sheet
Make your choices in the EC Data sheet.
When finished, click on the 'Save & Update Detailed Budget Table' button.
EC Format sheet
The EC-Format sheet is for view-only purposes. You do NOT need to do anything on it.
This sheet shows the rows that will be copied into the table for each new WP the participants will
choose (via their Start sheet).
Testing
Test your configuration several times with real numbers. You need to be sure that the table
works for your participants.
If you would like to hide the 3 EC sheets, place the cursor on sheet '1. Instructions' and press
CTRL Q and answer the question box with OK. (Normally this is not done; we normally publish
with the 3 EC sheets visible).
After this, you can save the file and it is ready for use.
EC DATA (DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (AG) — PROPOSA
Which cost categories?
1=Yes / 0=No
A. Personnel costs 1
B. Subcontracting costs 1
C1. Travel and subsistence 1
C2. Equipment 1
C3. Other goods, works and services 1
D.1. Financial support to third parties 0
D.2 [Category name] 0
D.3 [Category name] 0
D.4 [Category name] 0
D.5 [Category name] 0
D.6 [Category name] 0
E. Indirect costs 1
Which staff type?
1=Yes / 0=No
A.1 Employees (or equivalent) 1
A.2 + A.3 Natural persons under direct contract and
seconded persons
1
A.4 SME owners without salary and natural person
beneficiaries without salary
1
A.5 Volunteers 0
A.6 [Category name] 0
A.7 [Category name] 0
Which staff categories?
Drop-down menu
Select a staff category
Project managers
Senior experts/advisors/researchers
Junior experts/advisors/researchers
Trainers/teachers
Technical personnel
Administrative personnel
Other
Which type of personnel cost rate?
Drop-down menu
A.6 [Category name] Select a type of rate
Monthly
Daily
Hourly
Other
A.7 [Category name] Select a type of rate
Monthly
Daily
Hourly
Other
Which type of costs (actual, lump sum or unit)?
Travel and subsistence
C.1. Travel and subsistence
Financial support to third parties
D.1. Financial Support
Other cost categories
D.2 [Category name]
D.3 [Category name]
D.4 [Category name]
D.5 [Category name]
D.6 [Category name]
Which type of indirect cost rate?
Option 1: STANDARD 7%
Option 2: HE 25%
Option 3: AGRIP 4%
Option 4: RFCS 35%
Option 5: SMP ESS 30%
Option 6: NO INDIRECT COSTS 0%
Which type of funding rate?
Single funding rate
Multiple funding rates
Display for each category and type cost
TABLE (AG) — PROPOSAL/GRANT PREPARATION)
Index and WP
0
This is the default list for personnel categories.
ATTENTION! The categories can be changed if needed but please don't insert blank lines
between 2 categories (otherwise the drop down menu will not work)
This list contains the options for the types of rates available for the 'Other personnel costs'.
ATTENTION! You must chose the rate provided for in your MGA (usually 'daily' or 'other').
This list contains the options for the types of rates available for the 'Other personnel costs'.
ATTENTION! You must chose the rate provided for in your MGA (usually 'daily' or 'other').
Unit or Subdivided
Actual
Actual 1=Yes / 0=No
1 2
Actual Unit Actual and Unit
1
Actual Unit Lump Sum
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
A. Personnel costs
WORK PACKAGE 1
A.1 Employees (or equivalent)
Select a staff category
Select a staff category
Other
[category 1]
[category 2]
A.2 + A.3 Natural persons under direct contract and seconded persons
Select a staff category
Select a staff category
Other
[category 1]
[category 2]
Total natural persons under direc
A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries without salary
SME owners/natural person beneficiaries without salary
Total SME owners and natural pe
B. Subcontracting costs
WORK PACKAGE 1
1 [Subcontract short name]
2 [Subcontract short name]
Total subcontracting for this WP
C. Purchase costs
WORK PACKAGE 1
Total travel costs for this WP
Total accommodation costs for this WP
Total subsistence costs for this WP
Total travel for this WP
C.1. Travel and subsistence
WORK PACKAGE 1
1 [Travel short name]
Speakers
Travel costs
Accommodation costs
Subsistence costs
Personnel
Travel costs
Accommodation costs
Subsistence costs
Participants
Travel costs
Accommodation costs
Subsistence costs
Total travel costs for this travel
Total accommodation costs for this travel
Total subsistence costs for this travel
Total travel
Total travel for this WP
C.2. Equipment
WORK PACKAGE 1
C.2.1 Purchase (depreciation/full cost)
1 [Equipment short name]
2 [Equipment short name]
3 [Equipment short name]
C.2.2 Rental and leasing (rate of use/full cost)
1 [Equipment short name]
2 [Equipment short name]
3 [Equipment short name]
C.3. Other goods, works and services
WORK PACKAGE 1
Consumables
Conferences, seminars, workshops, trainings & events
Information & publications
Other expenses
1 IPR costs
2 Bank fees (pre-financing guarantee)
3 Audit fees (CFS)
4 Project evaluation
[5 short name other]
[6 short name other]
Total goods, works and services for this WP
D. Other cost categories
D.2 [Category name]
D.3 [Category name]
D.4 [Category name]
D.5 [Category name]
D.6 [Category name]
Consolidated table
0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
Total employees (or equivalent) 0,00
and seconded persons
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
monthly 0,00 0,00 0,00
ural persons under direct contract and seconded persons 0,00
es without salary
daily 0,00 0,00 0,00
E owners and natural person beneficiaries without salary 0,00
Total personnel for this WP 0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00 0,00
Costs (actual costs)
Depreciation Number of Rate of use for the Also part of other
method (e.g. months action (100% or Total work packages?
Price YES/NO and which
36 month or allocated to the less if used also for (EUR)
60 month) action other purposes) WP
Depreciation Number of Rate of use for the Also part of other
method (e.g. months action (100% or Total work packages?
Price YES/NO and which
36 month or allocated to the less if used also for (EUR)
60 month) action other purposes) WP
a b c d e =(c/b *d) * a
0,00 0 0,00 0% 0,00
0,00 0 0,00 0% 0,00
ATTENTION! Can be used only if full cost option in the
0,00 0,00
grant agreement
Total depreciation 0,00
Costs (actual costs)
Rate of use for the Also part of other
Number of months of use for action (100% or Total work packages?
Monthly rent/fee
the action less if used also for (EUR) YES/NO and which
other purposes) WP
a b c d= a*b*c
0,00 0,00 0% 0,00
0,00 0,00 0% 0,00
ATTENTION! Can be used only if full cost option in the
0,00 0,00
grant agreement
Total rental and leasing 0,00
Total equipment for this WP 0,00
Also part of other
Costs
work packages?
(actual costs)
YES/NO and which
WP
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Description of tasks/activities for which the equipment is needed
Description of tasks/activities for which the equipment is needed
Description of tasks/activities for which the equipment is needed
Description of tasks/activities for which the goods/services are needed;
types of goods services needed; how much
0,00
0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
0,00
Shown
INSTRUCTIONS (DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (AG) —
PROPOSAL/GRANT PREPARATION)
General
The file is composed of 5 sheets (Instructions, Start, Detailed table, Consolidated table
(participant) and Consolidated table (project)) which must be used to create your Detailed
budget table.
Depending on the instructions in the call document, you should submit the budget table either
as part of your proposal and/or during grant preparation:
- for proposal: download, fill in, merge, scan and upload it as a single xlsx for the project
(Funding & Tenders Portal Submission System; only sheets 3, 4, and 5 needed; for sheets 3 and
4: one per beneficiary/affiliated entity merged into single xlsx)
- for grant preparation: update original xlsm file (if needed), merge, scan and upload it as a
single PDF for the project (Portal Grant Preparation tool).
ATTENTION! For security reasons, the document can NOT be uploaded as excel with macros
The budget table is broken down by cost category and work packages. For technical reasons, the
number of work packages has to be the same in all categories. Please leave them empty, if there
are no costs.
The budgeted amounts should be based on detailed, reasonable and accurate estimates. Keep
sufficient documentation to be able to explain them if requested.
Please take care to insert only costs that are eligible under the EU grant agreement (see
eligibility article). All estimated costs must be entered in EUR.
You will be asked to fill in a similar table later on for the cost reporting before payments
(Funding & Tenders Portal Grant Management Periodic Reporting tool).
Contrary to this table, the cost reporting table should however NOT contain the estimated costs,
but the really incurred costs.
Getting started
To use the file, the Excel Macro security settings must be enabled on your computer. This is
managed and checked when opening the file, but contact your IT support if you encounter
problems.
Download the file: Before downloading close all other excel files (open excel files may hamper
the macros). Download the file from the Portal using EDIT WORKBOOK - EDIT IN EXCEL - SAVE
AS to save a copy on your desktop. Then close the document and re-open it.
Please complete the sheets in their order (Start - Detailed budget table - Consolidated table
(participant) - Consolidated table (project)).
ATTENTION! White cells mean that you are required to enter data. Blue cells are calculated
automatically.
Start sheet
Use this sheet to define the generic data (project/participant name and PIC), the work packages
(number and names) and the number of travels. This information will be automatically copied
into the other sheets.
Provide a short name, a description for the work package and confirm the number of travels
linked to it.
To add a work package, click on 'Add a new WP', enter the name and description (name in ALL
CAPITALS) and click on 'Update Detailed Budget Table'.
To delete a work package, tick the check box and click on 'Update Detailed Budget Table'.
Travels can be increased or decreased by changing the number and clicking on 'Update detailed
budget table'.
Attention! If you delete work packages or travels on the start sheet AFTER having already
started working on the other sheets:
- the work package and all costs will be automatically deleted
- the travel and all costs will be deleted (from the bottom to the top - the last travel will be
Detailed table sheet
Use this sheet to enter the budget for each cost category and work package.
New lines can be added only when column B is white. Select the cell B on the line that should
be added, and click on 'Add new line'. Lines can also be deleted again (except the first one).
Sub-totals and totals are calculated automatically.
Consolidated table (participant) sheet
This sheet shows your budget overview, per work package and cost category. It is calculated
automatically.
Consolidated table (project) sheet
This sheet shows the budget overview for the project, per beneficiary, work package and cost
category. It needs to be assembled manually by the coordinator on the basis of the detailed
budget tables/consolidated budget tables filled out by the participants.
Unprotect sheets
If case of absolute necessity, you can unprotect the sheets via the button below. Pay attention to
not delete formula or change the configuration of the file. All lines or columns are needed for the
macros. Please be aware that any changes done by you, will be under your own responsibility
START (DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (AG) — PROPOSAL/GRANT PREPARATION)
PROJECT DATA
Project number:
Project acronym:
Participant short name:
Participant PIC:
WORK PACKAGES & TRAVELS
Index Name Description Number of travels Delete
a
DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (ACTION GRANTS)
Project number: 19-12-22 23:46
Project acronym:
Participant short name:
Participant PIC:
ATTENTION: This table should be filled out one per participant (beneficiary, affiliated entity)
ATTENTION: This table may ONLY contain eligible costs (i.e. costs that comply with the eligibility rules of the grant agreement that is part of your call documents). At proposal stage and during grant preparation, it should contain estimated costs/income. Costs must be estimated in EUR.
ATTENTION! List each budgeted cost item ONLY once in this table, for the main WP.
ATTENTION! White cells mean that you are required to enter data. Blue cells are calculated automatically.
ACTION GRANT BUDGET TABLE (PER PARTICIPANT)
PROJECT COSTS
A. Personnel costs
Costs (actual or unit costs)
Time
Rate Total Also working for other work
! monthly rates allowed for budgeting because simpler to establish the approximate costs; cost reporting will have (months/other of work on
Type of rate (amount) (EUR) packages? YES/NO and which Description of project role/activities/responsibilities
to be done according to MGA (usually daily rates) the action)
(monthly/other) WP
a b c=a*b
Total personnel (all WPs) 0,00
B. Subcontracting costs
Also used for other work
Costs
packages? Description of subcontracted project tasks/activities
(actual costs)
YES/NO and which WP
Total subcontracting (all WPs) 0,00
C. Purchase costs
C.1 Travel and subsistence
Costs Description (e.g. international/not international; place of
Costs (unit cost) Also part of other work activity/destination; number of days; number of persons
(actual costs)
packages? (speakers, personnel and participants whose costs are
Amount per Total YES/NO and which WP covered); transport means; average price per person;
Number of units
unit ( EUR) subsistence costs/daily allowances)
Total travel costs (all WPs) 0,00
Total accommodation (all WPs) 0,00
Total subsistence (all WPs) 0,00
Total travel and subsistence (all WPs) 0,00
C.2 Equipment
Total equipment (all WPs) 0,00
C.3 Other goods, works and services
Total goods, works and services (all WPs) 0,00
Total purchase costs (all WPs) 0,00
D. Other cost categories(N/A)
Total other cost categories (all WPs) 0,00
E. Indirect costs
Costs
(flat-rate)
Total estimated direct costs (on which indirect cost flat-rate is based,
0,00
see GA eligibility article)
ALL WORK PACKAGES Flat-rate (%) 7% ATTENTION! Check that the rate is in line with the call conditions. Put 0% if you receive an EU Operating Grant and are not eligible to charge indirect costs”
Total indirect costs 0,00
Total indirect costs 0,00
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT 0,00
PROJECT INCOME
EU CONTRIBUTION (GRANT)
Amount
(EUR)
Total costs 0,00
Single Funding rate (%) 0% ATTENTION! Enter funding rate from the call conditions.
Maximum EU contribution 0,00
Requested EU contribution 0,00 ATTENTION❗ In order to avoid rounding issues, please request 1 cent less than the maximum EU contribution.
EU CONTRIBUTION 0,00
REVENUES AND CONTRIBUTIONS BY THIRD PARTIES
Revenues
Income generated by the action
Amount Description of the income (type of generated income and
(EUR) number of users, etc)
ALL WORK PACKAGES Estimated income generated by the action 0,00
Total income generated by the action 0,00
Revenues 0,00
In-kind contributions by third parties
In-kind contributions by third parties
Amount Description of the contribution (type of contribution,
(EUR) donor, purpose etc)
ALL WORK PACKAGES Estimated in-kind contributions by third parties 0,00
Total in-kind contributions 0,00
In-kind contributions 0,00
Financial contributions by third parties
Financial contributions by third parties
Amount Description of the contribution (type of contribution,
(EUR) donor, purpose, etc)
ALL WORK PACKAGES Estimated financial contributions by third parties 0,00
Total financial contributions 0,00
Financial contributions 0,00
TOTAL REVENUES AND CONTRIBUTIONS BY THIRD PARTIES 0,00
OWN RESOURCES
Amount
(EUR)
Own resources 0,00
OWN RESOURCES 0,00
TOTAL INCOME PARTICIPANT 0,00
DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (ACTION GRANTS)
Project number:
Project acronym:
Participant short name:
Participant PIC:
CONSOLIDATED COSTS PER WORK PACKAGE (PER PARTICIPANT)
COSTS PER WORK PACKAGE
A.1 Employees
C. Purchase costs D. Other cost categories
A.2 + A.3 Natural persons
B. Subcontracting E. Indirect costs
under direct contract and A.4 SME owners
costs
Total
seconded persons C.1 Travel and C.3 Other goods, D.1 Financial support to
C.1 Travel C.1 Accommodation C.1 Subsistence C.2 Equipment
subsistence work and services third parties
e = flat-rate * (a1 + a2 + a3 + a5 + b [+
a1 - a2 a3 b c1 c1a c1b c1c c2 c3 d1 c1] + [c1a + c1b + c1c] + c2 + c3 + d1 +
d2 + d3 + d4 + d5 + d6)
(N/A)
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
DETAILED BUDGET TABLE (ACTION GRANTS)
Project number:
Project acronym:
ATTENTION! Delete columns that do not apply for your grant.
CONSOLIDATED COSTS PER WORK PACKAGE (PROJECT)
PROJECT COSTS PER WORK PACKAGE
A.1 Employees D. Other cost
C. Purchase costs
A.2 + A.3 Natural categories
B. Subcontracting E. Indirect costs
persons under direct A.4 SME owners
costs D.1 Financial
contract and seconded C.1 Travel and C.1 C.3 Other goods,
persons subsistence
C.1 Travel
Accommodation
C.1 Subsistence C.2 Equipment
works and services
support to third Total
parties
e = flat-rate * (a1 + a2 + a3 + a5 + b
a1 - a2 a3 b c1 c1a c1b c1c c2 c3 d1 [+ c1] + [c1a + c1b + c1c] + c2 + c3 +
d1 + d2 + d3 + d4 + d5 + d6)
PARTICIPANT [name]
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Proposal Step)
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Grant Preparation Step)
PARTICIPANT [name]
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Proposal Step)
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Grant Preparation Step)
PARTICIPANT [name]
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Proposal Step)
TOTAL COSTS PARTICIPANT
0,00
(Grant Preparation Step)
Ref. Ares(2023)2247650 - 28/03/2023
EUROPEAN INNOVATION COUNCIL AND SMEs
EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EISMEA)
EISMEA.I – Innovation ecosystems, SMP/Entrepreneurship and Consumers
EISMEA.I.03 –SMP/Internal Market and Consumers
Annex V
ECC-Net 2024-2025
(SMP-CONS-2024-ECC-IBA)
ECC-NET INDICATORS FOR 2024-2025
Disclaimer:
This list of indicators is required for processing the proposals submitted by applicants.
During project implementation, the indicators are subject to change, mainly in view of IT-Tool
developments. Such changes should offer more granularity to indicators. With regard to indicators under
objective 2, they are not available on IT-Tool yet. If these indicators cannot be reported for either 2024
or 2025, a joint indicator (similar to the one required under 2022 and 2023 reporting) should be reported.
Project participants will be instructed accordingly.
Vademecum objectives and Indicators
Objective 1 Case-handling and consumer assistance
1. ECCs shall deal with consumer queries, in particular:
a) provide consumers with information about procedures, consumers’
rights and duties, available translation services;
b) provide advice on applicable EU or national law following a consumer
query and encourage and help them to contact the trader in the first place
before lodging a complaint with the ECC-Net or other appropriate body,
where applicable;
c) facilitate a dialogue between consumers and traders to promote
amicable solutions.
2. ECCs shall process consumer queries on the IT-Tool provided by the
Commission in particular:
a) handle cases efficiently and effectively in line with the Networks’ case
handling protocol and other relevant guidelines;
Description
b) register cases on the IT-tool and ensure case data entered is
comprehensive, accurate and in full respect of the GDPR;
c) provide case-handling information on request to the European
Commission.
3. ECCs shall provide mutual and reciprocal case-handling assistance.
Complaints/requests shall be introduced by the ECC where the consumer
is resident and, in accordance with the case-handling protocol, may be
shared with the ECC of the country where the trader is located.
4. Towards fostering a high quality of service to consumers, the ECC-Net
shall develop experience in handling cases by sharing knowledge via
activities such as meetings, joint projects, etc.
Indicative target Indicative target
Indicators to be achieved by to be achieved by
2024 2025
Indicator I (questions)
Number of questions received (both from
consumers directly and from another ECC for
purposes of information exchange)
Total:
Sub-indicator I.1 (consumer questions)
Number of CECC questions received from
consumers (i.e. all questions except those received
from other ECCs)
2
Sub-indicator I.2 (another ECC questions)
Number of questions received from another ECC
for the purposes of information exchange (usually
CECC asks TECC)
Indicator II (complaints)
Number of complaints received both as consumer
ECC and trader ECC
Total:
Sub-indicator II.1 (CECC complaints)
Number of complaints received as CECC
Sub-indicator II.2 (TECC complaints)
Number of complaints received as TECC
Indicator III (amicable solutions)
% of amicable solutions achieved compared to all
complaints closed in the reporting period, where
your ECC was involved, calculated on complaints
both as a consumer ECC and a trader ECC
(excluding all rejected/incomplete cases)
Sub-indicator III.1 (CECC amicable solutions)
% of amicable solutions achieved compared to all
complaints closed in the reporting period, where
your ECC was CECC (excluding all
rejected/incomplete cases)
Sub-indicator III.2 (TECC amicable solutions)
% of amicable solutions achieved compared to all
complaints closed in the reporting period, where
your ECC was TECC (excluding all
rejected/incomplete cases)
3
Objective 2 Supporting Consumer Redress and Enforcement
Description The ECCs shall:
1. Assist consumers with cases that are not suitable for a dialogue with
a trader or where the ECC intervention with a trader has not produced
an amicable resolution. This may involve:
a) providing information on possibilities and schemes for problem
solving e.g. identifying appropriate out-of-court entities (ADR),
other networks such as SOLVIT and FIN-NET or judicial
bodies (e.g. Court using the Small Claims Procedure (ESCP)1
or European order for payment (EPO)2);
b) providing consumers with information about these procedures,
their advantages, and disadvantages, including available
translation services.
c) assisting consumers in referring or transferring cases to
enforcement authorities, entities in charge of legal proceedings
like ESCP and EPO, collective redress / representative actions,
etc.
d) following-up, to the extent possible, on the outcome of these
cases and registering the information in the IT-Tool.
2. Facilitate consumers’ access to cross-border ADR by, for instance:
a) raising awareness about and promote the uptake of cross-border
ADR;
b) signposting consumers or assisting them in transferring their
case to a competent ADR entity or an ODR system;
c) helping consumers opening an ADR dispute e.g. sharing
machine translation tools, where needed;
d) providing information about national ADR procedures across
the EU/EEA.
3. Cooperate with national enforcement authorities and ADR entities,
ADR networks (e.g. FINNET, etc.), ODR systems and assist national
authorities in the promotion and development of cross-border ADR, to
the extent possible.
4. Strengthen cooperation with enforcement authorities in all possible
ways including, where appropriate by means of formal and informal
cooperation agreements.
1
Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims
Procedure.
2
Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for
payment procedure.
4
5. Provide enforcement authorities with information on systematic cross
border breaches of consumer legislation by traders (e.g. through external
alerts to the CPC network).
6. Supervise the activities of the ODR advisors in the case where the
ECC has been appointed ODR contact point, in accordance with Article
7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 on online resolution for consumer
disputes.
Indicative target Indicative target
Indicators to be achieved by to be achieved by
2024 2025
Indicator I (signposting)
Total number of CECC cases (both questions and
complaints) in which the consumer was referred to
another body but in which assistance was not
provided to the consumer by ECC within the dispute
resolution process of the other body (signposting)
Indicator II (assistance)
Total number of cases (both questions and
complaints) in which ECC provided assistance to
the consumer within the dispute resolution process
of another body.
Total:
Sub-indicator II.1 (assistance CECC)
Total number of cases (both questions and
complaints) in which ECC provided assistance to
the consumer within the dispute resolution process
of another body as CECC.
CECC cases:
Sub-indicator II.2 (assistance TECC)
Total number of cases (both questions and
complaints) in which ECC provided assistance to
the consumer within the dispute resolution process
of another body as TECC.
TECC cases:
Sub-indicator II.3 (kinds of bodies)
Number of cases (both questions and complaints)
that ECC provided assistance to within the dispute
resolution process of the following kinds of bodies:
ADR
ESCP/EPO
Court decision enforcement
5
CPC
NEB
Criminal investigation
Chargeback Procedure
Other body (not listed here)
6
Communication, general information and
Objective 3
promotion
ECCs shall:
1. Develop a communication strategy adapted to the needs of their
national consumers and the resources of their individual centre.
2. Organise advertising and promotional activities, including
participation in any EU information campaigns on consumer rights
and disseminating EU materials.
3. Organise or participate in events on consumer protection issues
both stakeholders events and multipliers (conferences, seminars,
workshops, participation at fairs etc.)
4. Keep abreast with legal and policy developments and, where
possible, issue/share contacts with the press, issuing press releases,
write articles and monitor media response3.
Description
5. Produce information materials (types of formats, main topics,
languages, way of distribution etc.) related to consumer protection
issues (e.g. sustainability) or targeting a certain group of consumers
(e.g. young or vulnerable consumers).
6. Maintain and regularly update the national ECC website.
7. Contribute to the common ECC-Net website by participating in
the editorial or optimisation team, or ad hoc collaboration, and
actively promoting this website in national ECC channels and
linking it to relevant new content.
8. Follow social media trends and develop, maintain, manage social
media profile(s), create, and share new content and engage users
accordingly.
Indicative target Indicative target
Indicators to be achieved by to be achieved by
2024 2025
Indicator I (Website)
Number of:
Unique visitors / users to the ECC's website
Total visits / sessions to the ECC’s website during
the year
3
Press activities may need to be carried out in accordance with the press policy of the host organisation,
which should be described in the grant agreement.
7
Indicator II (Social media)
Number of followers on social media and other
media channels running:
List each Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Other
(please precise and add as many rows as necessary)
Sub-indicator II.1 (Reach – own)
Number of people reached who have interacted with
the own created content posted on social media and
other media channels during the year:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Other
(please precise and add as many rows as necessary)
Sub-indicator II.2 (Reach - shared)
Number of people reached who have interacted with
the shared content posted on social media and other
media channels during the year:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Other
(please precise and add as many rows as necessary)
Indicator III (publications)
Total number of periodical publications in the year
(i.e. newsletters, regular print contributions,
podcasts, blog posts, press releases)
Total:
List each
(please precise and add as many rows as necessary)
Indicator IV (media review)
Total number of yearly national media coverage
mentioning the ECC (media review)
8
Objective 4 Active participation in Network activities
1. The ECCs shall organise and/or actively participate (physically
when required) in:
a) meetings of the Network (Cooperation Day/Presidency event,
strategy and project teams, directors etc.);
b) study visits, staff exchanges, mentoring schemes for new staff;
c) capacity building events related to consumer rights.
2. The ECCs shall:
a) be actively involved in activities within the ECC-Net
coordination groups e.g. provide timely feedback to
documents;
b) spread information or communication proposals, collaborate
in and comply with the projects’ requirements, network
groups, shared tools and strategy of the network, pull network
projects, by all centres;
c) take active part in at least 1 coordination group or project in
line with the ECC-Net Governance Charter.
Description d) Assist by providing feedback in the preparation of the network
strategy and programme plan which will be presented on a
yearly basis to EISMEA and the European Commission;
e) Provide feedback when needed by the different Focus Groups,
Joint Projects etc.
f) Participate in the yearly Network evaluation surveys
distributed by the Strategic Management Group.
g) contribute to EU dimension activities: as leader (when
relevant) or as participating/contributing party (when
applicable).
3. The number of projects should be reasonably limited and must
represent a clear EU added value.
4. EU dimension projects4 should be discussed, planned and
executed in line with the grant agreement and respect policy
guidelines (e.g. on communications) of the European
Commission, EISMEA and the respective co-financers of the
participating ECCs.
Indicated target Indicated target
Indicator to be achieved to be achieved
by 2024 by 2025
Indicator I (study visits)
Number of study visits and staff exchanges:
4
Which have been granted by EISMEA.
9
Total:
Online:
On site:
Indicator II (group participation)
Total number of network groups/projects in which the
ECC participates (e.g. Focus Groups, Strategy
Management group of the network, Joint Projects,
working groups) - excluding an EU dimension activity
lead by this ECC.
Total:
Sub-indicator II.1 (leading role)
Working group/projects in which the ECC has a
leading role/coordinator (e.g. Focus Groups, Strategy
Management group of the network, Joint Projects,
working groups) - excluding an EU dimension activity
lead by this ECC
Total:
List each
(please precise and add as many rows as necessary)
(only the groups from above that your centre has a
leading role)
Indicator III (feedbacks / contributions)
Number of feedbacks and contributions provided as
part of requests from the ECC network, related to
network activities (joint projects, mini questionnaires,
surveys, info requests etc.).
10
Objective 5 Cooperation with stakeholders
1. ECCs shall collaborate with:
a) EU institutions, Consumer Policy Network (CPN) members,
Consumer Policy Advisory Group (CPAG), business and
consumer organizations, MEPs, etc.
b) other stakeholders in the field of consumer protection
(including national representations of the European
Commission), including other EU networks (e.g., EJN, EEN,
Europe Direct, SOLVIT, Safer Internet Centres) and agencies
Description
e.g., EISMEA, EUIPO, academics, etc.
c) traders (associations or professional bodies) at national and
EU level.
d) similar consumer assistance bodies in third countries (when
relevant); on the basis of reciprocal arrangements.
2. ECCs should, when requested, promptly respond to surveys or
requests for information linked to ECC-Net activities from the
European Commission.
Indicative target Indicative target
Indicators to be achieved by to be achieved
2024 by 2025
Indicator I (stakeholders)
Number of instances of collaboration with consumer
protection related stakeholders5 (except traders and
out-of-court entities that are the next Indicators)
Indicator II (traders)
Number of ECC participation in collaboration events
with traders (information, trainings, awareness
campaigns, meetings and others)
Indicator III (EC consultations)
Number of EC consultations requests or EC call for
evidence requests that your ECC responded to
(submitted a response to).
Indicator IV (ADR, judicial,
enforcement)
5
Please describe the nature, purpose and the stakeholder involved in the Part B (Description of the action)
and in the section “Comments” under Objective 5.
11
Number of collaboration events with out-of-court
entities, judicial bodies and enforcement authorities
(data sharing, alerts, joint campaigns, trainings,
workshops, meetings and other)6
6
Please describe the nature, purpose and the stakeholder involved in the Part B (Description of the action)
and in the section “Comments” under Objective 5.
12
Ensuring a uniformly high quality standardised
Objective 6
service
Applying the common principles for the ECC-Net to deliver a
standardised high quality service to consumers. It includes the
following actions:
a) promote the identity of the Network, including the use of the
name and logo of the Network for all publications,
presentations, events and promotional actions including their
use in the national ECC websites. The use of the name and
logo shall respect the principles of the Network corporate
image, as approved by the European Commission and
EISMEA.
Description b) comply with the requirements laid down in the case handling
protocol of the Network;
c) acknowledge receipt of correspondence with consumers
indicating at least the scope of the ECC intervention/action
and timelines for handling the cases;
d) undertake appropriate initiatives to ensure high quality of the
service provided to consumers, including regular surveys in
order to get feedback on consumer satisfaction and, if
appropriate, follow up on the issues identified by the surveys.
e) comply with Commission directions regarding the use of the
IT tool.
Indicative target Indicative target
Indicators to be achieved by to be achieved by
2024 2025
Indicator I (consumer satisfaction
survey)
Sub-indicator II.1 (response rate)
Response rate to the consumer satisfaction survey
Sub-indicator II.2 (satisfaction rate)
% of answers (of all replies) where consumers
indicated that they were satisfied with the services
provided by your ECC
Indicator II (time to first response)
Percentage of the total number of consumer queries
received by your ECC where a response was issued
at the latest within 14 working days
13
Indicator III (time to deal with
complaints)
When handling complaints:
Percentage of cases in which target set out in Art.7a
of Case-Handling Protocol (CHP) was achieved
(trader ECC to accept, reject or request further
information on complaints after consumer ECCs
have shared them with you - no later than 20 working
days)
Percentage of cases in which target set out in Art.7b
of CHP was achieved (14 working days from the day
that you have accepted/accessed the case to
contacting the trader)
Indicator V
Number of trainings for ECC staff:
Case handler(s):
Communication officer(s):
14
OVERVIEW OF WORK PACKAGES (WP) AND TASKS (T)
WP/T
Title Description
number
Activities undertaken to manage both the project as
much as the activities of the Centre, covering
WP 1 Project Management
Objective 6 here above and including the quality
assurance.
Ensuring a uniformly
T1 high quality See Objective 6
standardised service
All the activities related to the implementation of
the action across Objectives 1 to 5 here above.
These are in essence activities related to case
WP 2 Activity of the Centre
handling, redress and enforcement, communication,
information and promotion, networking and
cooperation with stakeholders.
T1 Case-handling See Objective 1
Redress and
T2 See Objective 2
enforcement
Communication,
T3 information and See Objective 3
promotion
T4 ECC-Net networking See Objective 4
Cooperation with
T5 See Objective 5
stakeholders
15
APPENDIX
Explanatory notes in relation to the above listed objectives and corresponding indicators.
This appendix is provided indicatively and subject to change in view of IT-Tool developments, as
well as in agreement with the relevant network groups, the network as a whole, and in agreement
with DG JUST / EISMEA.
Additional information, eventually superseding this appendix, should be provided to ECCs in the
form of guidelines to be prepared by the network’s relevant groups.
Related documents:
o Case handling protocol
o Quality charter
o ECC-NET Vademecum
Objective 1: Case-handling and consumer assistance
1. Available translation services: ECCs should, when possible, provide consumers with the
information of publicly available translation services such as the e-translation tool.
2. Definitions
(i) A query, a case or an issue is a request for information or assistance received by an ECC
which concerns a particular issue or concern of the querist. It may be handled by ECC-Net as a
question or complaint.
(ii) A question is a query that ECC-Net handles without intervening with a trader or third party
(iii) A complaint is a query that the Consumer ECC shares with a Trader ECC for the purposes
of a network intervention with a trader or third party (such as an ADR body)
(iv) Ill-founded query is when a consumer claims something he has no legal right to.
Objective 2: Supporting Consumer Redress and Enforcement
16
Indicator I: ECCs are requested to provide the number of the cases in which that ECC informed
the consumer about the existence of other bodies capable for handling the case.
Signposting: when ECC does not intervene on behalf of the consumer but only informs the
consumer (via the ECC in the consumers’ country) about the possibility to turn to a certain body
Indicator II: you are requested to provide the total number of cases that your ECC acted as an
intermediary and assisted a consumer with one or more of the bellow actions:
-filling a complaint to another body on behalf of the consumer;
-monitoring the case and communicate on behalf of the consumer during the ADR process;
-Helping with translations;
Explanatory notes:
Cooperation arrangements with out-of-court entities, judicial bodies, enforcement authorities
and ADR networks may cover exchange of case-related or sector-related information, case
referrals, legal advice, and case-handling techniques. In particular, a follow-up procedure could
be agreed for the cases referred to an enforcement authority by the ECC for further investigation
and possible enforcement action. Meetings should review these arrangements and the outcome.
Objective 3: Communication, general information and promotion
Definitions:
Unique visitors: Unique Visitors are the number of unduplicated (counted only once)
visitors to your website over the course of a year.
Total Visits is the sum of all visits to the ECC website and is used as a measurement of
website traffic and website visitors.
Reach indicators: interacted means: that a visitor liked, re-shared or commented on your
shared content.
Publications: Any official statement made by an ECC for the purposes of providing
information to the public and/or stakeholders which has been published directly via
ECC’s channels or delivered to stakeholders and/or members of the news media.
Explanatory notes:
17
Contacts with the press, press releases, articles written by the ECC and published, media
response: please provide a general description of the media activities planned to be
implemented in the application form (Part B) and the objectives to be reached. Please specify
details such as expected number of contacts, number of articles/newsletters/press
releases/press conferences, language, timeframe, and media channels used.
Website and social media: please provide the URL addresses of the website(s) of your
centre, as well as the social media used by your centre in the application form (Part B). Each
ECC should plan a development and maintenance of its own social media account(s) and
website, independent from the host website, where consumers shall be provided with easy
access to information about the centre's services and the network in their native language.
Events: Indicative formats, topic addressed, target audience and timeframe should be
provided in the application form (Part B). Please plan for the organisation or promotion of
appropriate knowledge sharing events on consumer protection issues such as conferences,
seminars, workshops and participating in any EU information campaigns on consumers'
rights; including online when it is beneficial to engage more participants and/or to reduce
travelling. ECCs are encouraged to organise joint promotional activities (e.g. national
events, media relations or promotional campaigns) with key national partners, including host
authorities.
Objective 4: Active participation in Network activities
Explanatory notes:
Meetings of the network: The following meetings are considered as compulsory and
therefore ECCs must ensure their participation.
o ECC Directors' meetings
o EISMEA Info Day or other meetings
o Cooperation Day
o Presidency event (if the topic is relevant)
o At least one workshop on networking and/or communication activities
The centres are advised to plan for meetings for network groups and other meetings relevant
for their activities as well.
Study visits and staff exchange: The planned activities and purpose must be indicated in the
application form (Part B). The centre planning a study visit in another centre should ensure
that the respective centre is informed in good time about the visit and objectives. Study visits
can be combined with the proposal for a mentoring scheme. The staff exchange is designed
to help network staff members broaden their competencies by working in a different network
partner for a short period of time, thereby learning about new working methods and
approaches.
18
Objective 5: Cooperation with stakeholders
Indicator I: Instances of collaboration include cooperation arrangements with stakeholders may
cover data sharing, collaborating, organising common events or joint campaigns, etc. While
planning these actions, the centres shall as far as possible co–ordinate such activities taking into
account the activities of the European Commission/EISMEA and the activities of other
institutions, including Council Presidency events, sessions of the European Parliament, and EU
networks.
Examples of number of instances:
- co-organised an event with another stakeholder.
- chaired or participated as a speaker.
- co-organised joint campaigns, press releases, joint actions/ reports.
Indicator III: Cooperation arrangements with out-of-court entities, judicial bodies, enforcement
authorities and ADR networks may cover exchange of case-related or sector-related information,
case referrals, legal advice, and case-handling techniques. In particular, a follow-up procedure
could be agreed for the cases referred to an enforcement authority by the ECC for further
investigation and possible enforcement action. Meetings should review these arrangements and
the outcome (please list only important events).
Objective 6: Ensuring a uniformly high-quality standardised service
Explanatory notes:
When calculating the indicators: The SLA you will see now on the right hand side of your
cases in IT-Tool is called “EISMA-first response”
and the target is 112h on a 8 hours per day, Mon-Fri calendar (so 14 working days in line with
2022 reporting template and our ECC-Net quality charter).
To run the search on your own, and to extract cases where the new SLA was breached in cases
created in 2022 you can use this search:
"Owner ECC" in groupsOfUser() AND issuetype in (Complaint, Question) AND created >=
2022-01-01 AND created <= 2023-01-01 AND "EISMA-first response" = breached()
Principles of quality management: please describe how the goal of providing uniform quality
standardised services will be achieved, including information as regards consumer satisfaction
surveys, other forms of collecting customer feedback, quality standards (such as Quality
charter), IT-tool management, information sharing etc. ECCs should carry out surveys on regular
basis in order to assess the level of satisfaction of consumers vis-a-vis the services provided by
the ECC. A proper follow up of these surveys or customer feedback should be ensured.
19
Human resources management & Other Management activities: please provide information
about the type of training planned for the centre’s staff and describe any policy regarding staff
motivation and/or staff performance evaluation planned in the year. Other management activities
may include reporting activities for the host organisation.
ECCs should maintain and continuously improve the professionalism of the services provided
by the Network; and strive to achieve excellence in the services provided to consumers and in
all related Network activities.
There should be an aligned and uniformed way of distributing the consumer satisfaction surveys
by all ECCs.
20
VADEMECUM
European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net)
CHAPTER I
Aim, geographical coverage, scope of activity and definitions
Article 1
Aim and geographical coverage
1. The European Consumer Centre Network (hereinafter "ECC–Net") covers the Member States
of the European Union and third countries members of the EEA or other countries signatories
of the Consumer programme.
2. The aim of the ECC-Net is to provide consumers with information on their rights related to
cross–border purchases of goods and services, advise and assist them where appropriate so as
to enable them to take full advantage of the internal market.
Article 2
Scope of the activity of the ECC-Net
1. The European legislation which is most relevant to the ECC-Net activity is listed in the
Annex to the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation 1 and its subsequent updates.
2. The ECC-Net assists consumers with complaints against traders which relate to legislation
protecting their economic interests. The ECC-Net generally only deals with cross-border
complaints involving at least one consumer and one trader located in two different countries.
Where not in conflict with national arrangements, the handling of requests for information may,
exceptionally, also cover cases which do not originate from a cross-border issue2.
3. The ECC–Net does not:
a) represent the consumer before a Court or an out-of-court dispute resolution entity;
b) provide direct remedies to consumers for violations of their consumer rights;
c) enforce the law and/or apply sanctions on traders.
4. The ECC-Net does not handle the cases that:
a) are being processed before other bodies or pending before courts;
b) relate to disputes between consumers or between traders;
c) relate to complaints submitted by traders against consumers.
5. The services of the ECC-Net are free of charge for the consumer.
1
Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities
responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004.
2
Such activity should have an insignificant impact on the overall cost for running an ECC.
1
CHAPTER II
Specific objectives of the ECC-Net
Article 3
List of specific objectives
The main objectives of the European Consumer Centres are as follows:
1. Case-handling
2. Supporting Redress and enforcement
3. Communication, information and promotion
4. Active participation in Network activities
5. Cooperation with stakeholders
6. Ensuring a uniformly high quality standardised service
Article 4
Objective 1: Case-handling and consumer assistance
1. ECCs shall deal with consumer queries, in particular:
a) provide consumers with information about procedures, consumers’ rights and duties,
available translation services;
b) provide advice on applicable EU or national law following a consumer query and
encourage and help them to contact the trader in the first place before lodging a complaint
with the ECC-Net or other appropriate body, where applicable;
c) facilitate a dialogue between consumers and traders to promote amicable solutions.
2. ECCs shall process consumer queries on the IT-Tool provided by the Commission in
particular:
a) handle cases efficiently and effectively in line with the Networks’ case handling protocol
and other relevant guidelines;
b) register cases on the IT tool and ensure case data entered is comprehensive, accurate and
in full respect of the GDPR;
c) provide case-handling information on request to the European Commission.
3. ECCs shall provide mutual and reciprocal case-handling assistance. Complaints/requests
shall be introduced by the ECC where the consumer is resident and, in accordance with the
case-handling protocol, may be shared with the ECC of the country where the trader is located.
4. Towards fostering a high quality of service to consumers, the ECC-Net shall develop
experience in handling cases by sharing knowledge via activities such as meetings, joint
projects, etc.
Article 5
Objective 2: Supporting Consumer Redress and Enforcement
The ECCs shall:
1. Assist consumers with cases that are not suitable for a dialogue with a trader or where the ECC
intervention with a trader has not produced an amicable resolution. This may involve:
a) providing information on possibilities and schemes for problem solving e.g. identifying
appropriate out-of-court entities (ADR), other networks such as SOLVIT and FIN-NET or
judicial bodies (e.g. Court using the Small Claims Procedure (ESCP)3 or European order
for payment (EPO)4);
b) providing consumers with information about these procedures, their advantages and
disadvantages, including available translation services.
c) assisting consumers in referring or transferring cases to enforcement authorities, entities
in charge of legal proceedings like ESCP and EPO, collective redress / representative
actions, etc.
d) following-up, to the extent possible, on the outcome of these cases and registering the
information in the IT-Tool.
2. Facilitate consumers’ access to cross-border ADR by, for instance:
a) raising awareness about and promote the uptake of cross-border ADR;
b) signposting consumers or assisting them in transferring their case to a competent ADR
entity or an ODR system;
c) helping consumers opening an ADR dispute e.g. sharing machine translation tools, where
needed;
d) providing information about national ADR procedures across the EU/EEA.
3. Cooperate with national enforcement authorities and ADR entities, ADR networks (e.g. FIN-
NET, etc.), ODR systems and assist national authorities in the promotion and development of
cross-border ADR, to the extent possible.
4. Strengthen cooperation with enforcement authorities in all possible ways including, where
appropriate by means of formal and informal cooperation agreements.
5. Provide enforcement authorities with information on systematic cross border breaches of
consumer legislation by traders (e.g. through external alerts to the CPC network).
6. Supervise the activities of the ODR advisors in the case where the ECC has been appointed
ODR contact point, in accordance with Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 on online
resolution for consumer disputes.
3
Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure.
4
Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment
procedure.
Article 6
Objective 3: Communication, general information and promotion
The ECCs shall:
1. Develop a communication strategy adapted to the needs of their national consumers and the
resources of their individual centre.
2. Organise advertising and promotional activities, including participation in any EU information
campaigns on consumer rights and disseminating EU materials.
3. Organise or participate in events on consumer protection issues both stakeholders events and
multipliers (conferences, seminars, workshops, participation at fairs etc.)
4. Keep abreast with legal and policy developments and, issue/share contacts with the press,
issuing press releases, write articles and monitor media response5.
5. Produce information materials (types of formats, main topics, languages, way of distribution
etc.) related to consumer protection issues (e.g. sustainability) or targeting a certain group of
consumers (e.g. young or vulnerable consumers).
6. Maintain and regularly update the national ECC website.
7. Contribute to the common ECC-Net website by participating in the editorial or optimisation
team, or ad hoc collaboration, and actively promoting this website in national ECC channels
and linking it to relevant new content.
8. Follow social media trends and develop, maintain, manage social media profile(s), create and
share new content and engage users accordingly.
Article 7
Objective 4: Active participation in Network activities
1. The ECCs shall organise and/or actively participate in:
a) meetings of the Network (Cooperation day/Presidency event, strategy and project teams,
directors etc.);
b) study visits, staff exchanges, mentoring schemes for new staff;
c) capacity building events related to consumer rights.
2. The ECCs shall:
a) be actively involved in activities within the ECC-Net coordination groups e.g. provide
timely feedback to documents;
b) spread information or communication proposals, collaborate in and comply with the
projects’ requirements, coordination groups, shared tools and strategy of the network, pull
network projects, by all centres;
c) take active part in at least 1 coordination group or project in line with the ECC-Net
5
Press activities may need to be carried out in accordance with the press policy of the host organisation, which should be described in the
grant agreement.
Governance Charter;
d) Assist by providing feedback in the preparation of the network strategy and programme
plan which will be presented on a yearly basis to EISMEA and the European Commission;
e) Provide feedback when needed to the different Focus Groups, Joint Projects, etc.
f) Participate in the yearly Network evaluation surveys distributed by the Strategic
Management Group.
g) contribute to EU dimension activities: as leader (when relevant) or as
participating/contributing party (when applicable)
3. The number of projects should be reasonably limited and must represent a clear EU added
value.
4. EU dimension projects6 should be discussed, planned and executed in line with the grant
agreement and respect policy guidelines (e.g. on communications) of the European
Commission, EISMEA and the respective co-financers of the participating ECCs.
Article 8
Objective 5: Cooperation with Stakeholders
1. ECCs shall collaborate with:
a) EU institutions, Consumer Policy Network (CPN) members, Consumer Policy Advisory
Group (CPAG), business and consumer organisations, MEPs, etc.;
b) other stakeholders in the field of consumer protection (including national representations
of the European Commission), including other EU networks (e.g. EJN, EEN, Europe
Direct, SOLVIT, Safer Internet Centres) and agencies e.g. EISMEA, EUIPO, academics,
etc.;
c) traders (associations or professional bodies) at national and EU level;
d) similar consumer assistance bodies in third countries (when relevant); on the basis of
reciprocal arrangements.
2. ECCs should, when requested, promptly respond to surveys or requests for information linked
to ECC-Net activities from the European Commission.
Article 9
Objective 6: Ensuring a uniformly high quality standardised service
1. Objective 6 consists of applying the common principles for the ECC-Net to deliver a
standardised high quality service to consumers. It includes the following actions:
a) promote the identity of the Network, including the use of the name and logo of the Network
for all publications, presentations, events and promotional actions including their use in
the national ECC websites. The use of the name and logo shall respect the principles of
the Network corporate image, as approved by the European Commission and EISMEA.
b) comply with the requirements laid down in the case handling protocol of the Network;
c) acknowledge receipt of correspondence with consumers indicating at least the scope
of the ECC intervention/action and timelines for handling the cases;
6
Which have been granted by EISMEA.
d) undertake appropriate initiatives to ensure high quality of the service provided to
consumers, including regular surveys in order to get feedback on consumer satisfaction
and, if appropriate, follow up on the issues identified by the surveys.
e) comply with Commission directions regarding the use of the IT tool.
2. Should the name of the ECC Network be changed, this Vademecum may be adapted
accordingly regarding the name without any amendment.
***
Annex
In relation to the operations of the ECC-Net the following definitions are used:
‘Consumer’ means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her
trade, business, craft or profession, resident in any of the Member States of the European Union
or EEA country.
‘Trader’ means any natural or legal person, irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned,
who is acting, including through any other person acting in his/her name or on his/her behalf, for
the purposes relating to his/her trade, business, craft or profession to, in relation to the promotion,
sale or supply of a good or a service.
'Alternative dispute resolution' (ADR) procedure means a procedure, for the out-of court
resolution of domestic and cross-border disputes as set out in Directive 2013/11/EU on
alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes.
‘ADR entity’ means any entity, however named or referred to, which is established on a durable
basis and offers the resolution of a dispute through an ADR procedure and that is listed in
accordance with Article 20(2) of the Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for
consumer disputes.
‘ODR’ means online resolution for consumer disputes established by the Regulation (EU) No
524/2013. The purpose of this Regulation is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal
market, and in particular of its digital dimension by providing a European ODR platform ( ‘ODR’
platform) facilitating the independent, impartial, effective, fast and fair out-of-court resolution of
disputes between consumers and traders online.
‘ODR’ contact points means points designated by each Member State in order to support the
parties involved in a dispute submitted through the ODR platform.
‘Case’ means any request for information and/or complaint and/or dispute registered by a
consumer with a European Consumer Centre in relation to a specific consumer purchase they have
made or contemplated making.
‘Enforcement authority’ means an authority designated by a Member State/EEA for the purposes
of enforcing Directives, as transposed into national laws, or Regulations referred to in the Annex
to the CPC Regulation.
‘Case handling protocol’ means the document that the ECC-Net has agreed to use as a guide to
standardise its case handling.
‘Redress’ means remedies such as compensation, repair, replacement, price reduction, contract
termination or reimbursement of the price paid, provided by a trader to a concerned consumer as
appropriate and as available under Union or national law; unless another amicable settlement is
sought by the interested parties.
Single Market Programme (SMP)
General Model Grant Agreement
(SMP MGA — Multi & Mono)
Version 1.0
01 June 2021
Disclaimer
This document is aimed at assisting applicants. It shows the full range of provisions that may be applied to this
type of agreement, and is provided for information purposes only. The legally binding agreement will be that
which is signed by the parties in the system.
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
HISTORY OF CHANGES
Publication
Version Changes
date
1.0 01.06.2021 Initial version.
2
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
[NAME DG]
[Name Directorate]
[Name Unit]
GENERAL MODEL GRANT AGREEMENT FOR THE
SINGLE MARKET PROGRAMME (SMP) 1
(SMP MGA — MULTI & MONO)
Options [in green square brackets] will be automatically activated during grant agreement
preparation in the IT tools. Options not chosen will automatically either not appear or appear as ‘not
applicable’. Options chosen will appear without brackets and without the green instruction.
For fields in [grey in square brackets], the system will insert the appropriate data.
Text in grey indicates that text which is used in other EU programmes is not applicable for this
programme.
Footnotes in green are internal instructions and will not appear in the text generated by the system
for signature.
GRANT AGREEMENT
Project [insert number] — [insert acronym]
PREAMBLE
This Agreement (‘the Agreement’) is between the following parties:
on the one part,
[OPTION 1: the European Union (‘EU’), represented by the European Commission
(‘European Commission’ or ‘granting authority’),]
[OPTION 3 for direct management by executive agencies: the [European Climate,
Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)] [European Education and
Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)] [European Research Council Executive Agency
(ERCEA)] [European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA)] [European
Innovation Council and SME Executive Agency (EISMEA)] [European Research
Executive Agency (REA)] (‘EU executive agency’ or ‘granting authority’), under the powers
delegated by the European Commission (‘European Commission’),]
[OPTION 4 for indirect management by EU funding bodies: [insert name of funding body]
(‘granting authority’)[, under the powers delegated by the European Commission (‘European
Commission’)]]
1
Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing a
programme for the internal market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized
enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics (Single Market Programme)
(OJ L 153, 3.5.2021, p. 1).
3
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
and
on the other part,
1. ‘the coordinator’:
[COO legal name (short name)], PIC [number], established in [legal address],
[and the following other beneficiaries, if they sign their ‘accession form’ (see Annex 3 and
Article 40):
2. [BEN legal name (short name)], PIC [number], established in [legal address],
[3. Joint Research Centre (JRC), PIC [number], established in RUE DE LA LOI 200,
BRUSSELS 1049, Belgium,]
[same for each beneficiary] ]
Unless otherwise specified, references to ‘beneficiary’ or ‘beneficiaries’ include the
coordinator and affiliated entities (if any).
If only one beneficiary signs the grant agreement (‘mono-beneficiary grant’), all provisions
referring to the ‘coordinator’ or the ‘beneficiaries’ will be considered — mutatis mutandis —
as referring to the beneficiary.
The parties referred to above have agreed to enter into the Agreement.
By signing the Agreement and the accession forms, the beneficiaries accept the grant and
agree to implement the action under their own responsibility and in accordance with the
Agreement, with all the obligations and terms and conditions it sets out.
The Agreement is composed of:
Preamble
Terms and Conditions (including Data Sheet)
Annex 1 Description of the action 2
Annex 2 Estimated budget for the action
Annex 2a Additional information on unit costs and contributions (if applicable)
Annex 3 Accession forms (if applicable) 3
Annex 3a Declaration on joint and several liability of affiliated entities (if applicable) 4
2
Template published on Portal Reference Documents.
3
Template published on Portal Reference Documents.
4
Template published on Portal Reference Documents.
4
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
Annex 4 Model for the financial statements
Annex 5 Specific rules (if applicable)
5
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GRANT AGREEMENT .................................................................................................................................. 3
PREAMBLE ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
TERMS AND CONDITIONS ......................................................................................................................... 6
DATA SHEET ................................................................................................................................................ 10
CHAPTER 1 GENERAL ....................................................................................................................... 18
ARTICLE 1 — SUBJECT OF THE AGREEMENT ................................................................ 18
ARTICLE 2 — DEFINITIONS................................................................................................. 18
CHAPTER 2 ACTION........................................................................................................................... 19
ARTICLE 3 — ACTION .......................................................................................................... 19
ARTICLE 4 — DURATION AND STARTING DATE ........................................................... 20
CHAPTER 3 GRANT ............................................................................................................................ 20
ARTICLE 5 — GRANT............................................................................................................ 20
5.1 Form of grant ......................................................................................................... 20
5.2 Maximum grant amount......................................................................................... 20
5.3 Funding rate ........................................................................................................... 20
5.4 Estimated budget, budget categories and forms of funding ................................... 20
5.5 Budget flexibility ................................................................................................... 21
ARTICLE 6 — ELIGIBLE AND INELIGIBLE COSTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS ............... 21
6.1 General eligibility conditions ................................................................................. 21
6.2 Specific eligibility conditions for each budget category ........................................ 23
6.3 Ineligible costs and contributions .......................................................................... 31
6.4 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 4 GRANT IMPLEMENTATION ..................................................................................... 33
SECTION 1 CONSORTIUM: BENEFICIARIES, AFFILIATED ENTITIES AND OTHER
PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................................. 33
ARTICLE 7 — BENEFICIARIES ............................................................................................ 33
ARTICLE 8 — AFFILIATED ENTITIES ................................................................................ 35
ARTICLE 9 — OTHER PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN THE ACTION ............................ 36
9.1 Associated partners ................................................................................................ 36
9.2 Third parties giving in-kind contributions to the action ......................................... 37
9.3 Subcontractors ....................................................................................................... 37
9.4 Recipients of financial support to third parties ...................................................... 37
ARTICLE 10 — PARTICIPANTS WITH SPECIAL STATUS ............................................... 37
10.1 Non-EU participants .............................................................................................. 37
10.2 Participants which are international organisations ................................................. 38
10.3 Pillar-assessed participants .................................................................................... 38
SECTION 2 RULES FOR CARRYING OUT THE ACTION .......................................................... 41
ARTICLE 11 — PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION ..................................... 41
11.1 Obligation to properly implement the action ......................................................... 41
11.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 41
ARTICLE 12 — CONFLICT OF INTERESTS ........................................................................ 41
12.1 Conflict of interests ................................................................................................ 41
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Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
12.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 42
ARTICLE 13 — CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY...................................................... 42
13.1 Sensitive information ............................................................................................. 42
13.2 Classified information............................................................................................ 43
13.3 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 43
ARTICLE 14 — ETHICS AND VALUES ............................................................................... 43
14.1 Ethics ..................................................................................................................... 43
14.2 Values .................................................................................................................... 43
14.3 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 43
ARTICLE 15 — DATA PROTECTION................................................................................... 44
15.1 Data processing by the granting authority ............................................................. 44
15.2 Data processing by the beneficiaries ...................................................................... 44
15.3 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 45
ARTICLE 16 — INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) — BACKGROUND
AND RESULTS —ACCESS RIGHTS AND RIGHTS OF USE .......................... 45
16.1 Background and access rights to background ........................................................ 45
16.2 Ownership of results .............................................................................................. 45
16.3 Rights of use of the granting authority on materials, documents and
information received for policy, information, communication, dissemination
and publicity purposes ........................................................................................... 45
16.4 Specific rules on IPR, results and background....................................................... 46
16.5 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 46
ARTICLE 17 — COMMUNICATION, DISSEMINATION AND VISIBILITY ..................... 47
17.1 Communication — Dissemination — Promoting the action ................................. 47
17.2 Visibility — European flag and funding statement................................................ 47
17.3 Quality of information — Disclaimer .................................................................... 48
17.4 Specific communication, dissemination and visibility rules .................................. 48
17.5 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 48
ARTICLE 18 — SPECIFIC RULES FOR CARRYING OUT THE ACTION ........................ 48
18.1 Specific rules for carrying out the action ............................................................... 48
18.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 48
SECTION 3 GRANT ADMINISTRATION ........................................................................................ 48
ARTICLE 19 — GENERAL INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS ............................................ 48
19.1 Information requests .............................................................................................. 48
19.2 Participant Register data updates ........................................................................... 49
19.3 Information about events and circumstances which impact the action .................. 49
19.4 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 49
ARTICLE 20 — RECORD-KEEPING ..................................................................................... 49
20.1 Keeping records and supporting documents .......................................................... 49
20.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 50
ARTICLE 21 — REPORTING ................................................................................................. 51
21.1 Continuous reporting ............................................................................................. 51
21.2 Periodic reporting: Technical reports and financial statements ............................. 51
21.3 Currency for financial statements and conversion into euros ................................ 52
21.4 Reporting language ................................................................................................ 52
21.5 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 52
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Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
ARTICLE 22 — PAYMENTS AND RECOVERIES — CALCULATION OF AMOUNTS
DUE ....................................................................................................................... 52
22.1 Payments and payment arrangements .................................................................... 52
22.2 Recoveries.............................................................................................................. 53
22.3 Amounts due .......................................................................................................... 53
22.4 Enforced recovery .................................................................................................. 58
22.5 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 59
ARTICLE 23 — GUARANTEES ............................................................................................. 60
23.1 Prefinancing guarantee .......................................................................................... 60
23.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 60
ARTICLE 24 — CERTIFICATES ............................................................................................ 60
24.1 Operational verification report (OVR) ................................................................... 61
24.2 Certificate on the financial statements (CFS) ........................................................ 61
24.3 Certificate on the compliance of usual cost accounting practices (CoMUC)......... 61
24.4 Systems and process audit (SPA)........................................................................ 61
24.5 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 61
ARTICLE 25 — CHECKS, REVIEWS, AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS —
EXTENSION OF FINDINGS ............................................................................... 62
25.1 Granting authority checks, reviews and audits ...................................................... 62
25.2 European Commission checks, reviews and audits in grants of other granting
authorities .............................................................................................................. 63
25.3 Access to records for assessing simplified forms of funding ................................. 63
25.4 OLAF, EPPO and ECA audits and investigations ................................................. 63
25.5 Consequences of checks, reviews, audits and investigations — Extension of
findings .................................................................................................................. 64
25.6 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 65
ARTICLE 26 — IMPACT EVALUATIONS ........................................................................... 66
26.1 Impact evaluation................................................................................................... 66
26.2 Consequences of non-compliance.......................................................................... 66
CHAPTER 5 CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE ............................................................ 66
SECTION 1 REJECTIONS AND GRANT REDUCTION ................................................................ 66
ARTICLE 27 — REJECTION OF COSTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS .................................... 66
27.1 Conditions .............................................................................................................. 66
27.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 66
27.3 Effects .................................................................................................................... 66
ARTICLE 28 — GRANT REDUCTION .................................................................................. 67
28.1 Conditions .............................................................................................................. 67
28.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 67
28.3 Effects .................................................................................................................... 67
SECTION 2 SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION ........................................................................... 67
ARTICLE 29 — PAYMENT DEADLINE SUSPENSION ...................................................... 67
29.1 Conditions .............................................................................................................. 67
29.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 68
ARTICLE 30 — PAYMENT SUSPENSION ........................................................................... 68
30.1 Conditions .............................................................................................................. 68
30.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 69
ARTICLE 31 — GRANT AGREEMENT SUSPENSION ....................................................... 69
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Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
31.1 Consortium-requested GA suspension ................................................................... 69
31.2 EU-initiated GA suspension .................................................................................. 70
ARTICLE 32 — GRANT AGREEMENT OR BENEFICIARY TERMINATION .................. 71
32.1 Consortium-requested GA termination .................................................................. 71
32.2 Consortium-requested beneficiary termination ...................................................... 72
32.3 EU-initiated GA or beneficiary termination .......................................................... 73
SECTION 3 OTHER CONSEQUENCES: DAMAGES AND ADMINISTRATIVE
SANCTIONS .................................................................................................................... 77
ARTICLE 33 — DAMAGES .................................................................................................... 77
33.1 Liability of the granting authority .......................................................................... 77
33.2 Liability of the beneficiaries .................................................................................. 77
ARTICLE 34 — ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS AND OTHER MEASURES ................ 77
SECTION 4 FORCE MAJEURE ......................................................................................................... 78
ARTICLE 35 — FORCE MAJEURE ....................................................................................... 78
CHAPTER 6 FINAL PROVISIONS .................................................................................................... 78
ARTICLE 36 — COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PARTIES ....................................... 78
36.1 Forms and means of communication — Electronic management .......................... 78
36.2 Date of communication .......................................................................................... 78
36.3 Addresses for communication................................................................................ 79
ARTICLE 37 — INTERPRETATION OF THE AGREEMENT ............................................. 79
ARTICLE 38 — CALCULATION OF PERIODS AND DEADLINES................................... 79
ARTICLE 39 — AMENDMENTS ........................................................................................... 79
39.1 Conditions .............................................................................................................. 79
39.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 80
ARTICLE 40 — ACCESSION AND ADDITION OF NEW BENEFICIARIES ..................... 80
40.1 Accession of the beneficiaries mentioned in the Preamble .................................... 80
40.2 Addition of new beneficiaries ................................................................................ 80
ARTICLE 41 — TRANSFER OF THE AGREEMENT ........................................................... 81
ARTICLE 42 — ASSIGNMENTS OF CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT AGAINST THE
GRANTING AUTHORITY .................................................................................. 81
ARTICLE 43 — APPLICABLE LAW AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES ....................... 81
43.1 Applicable law ....................................................................................................... 81
43.2 Dispute settlement.................................................................................................. 82
ARTICLE 44 — ENTRY INTO FORCE .................................................................................. 82
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Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
DATA SHEET
1. General data
Project summary:
Project summary
Text from DoA Annex 1 Part A (same text as proposal abstract)
Keywords: [keywords from proposal]
Project number: [project number, e.g. 690853330]
Project name: [full title]
Project acronym: [acronym]
Call: [call ID, e.g. PROG-(SUBPROG-)YEAR-CALLABREV]
Topic: [topic ID, e.g. PROG-(SUBPROG-)YEAR-CALLABREV-NN/TOPICABBREV]
Type of action: [ToA, e.g. SMP Project Grants]
Granting authority: [European Commission – EU] [European Commission – Euratom] [[name of Executive Agency]]
[[name of EU funding body]]
Grant managed through EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Yes (eGrants)
[OPTION for SGAs: Framework Partnership Agreement No [insert number] — [insert acronym]]
Project starting date 5: [OPTION 1 by default: first day of the month following the entry into force date] [OPTION
2 if selected for the grant: fixed date: [dd/mm/yyyy]]
Project end date: [dd/mm/yyyy]
Project duration: [number of months, e.g. 48 months]
[ [OPTION if selected for the grant: Linked action: Linked with other action:
- [insert linked action information, e.g. name, acronym, number, funded by (EU/name of other donor
organisation), description (grant/ procurement/ prize/ equity investment/ repayable loan/etc)]
- [OPTION if selected for the grant: Specific linked action type: [Synergy][Blended finance
(linked action)]]
- Collaboration agreement: [OPTION 1 by default: No] [OPTION 2 if selected for the call:
Yes]
- …]
Consortium agreement: [OPTION 1 by default: Yes] [OPTION 2 if selected for the call: No]
2. Participants
List of participants:
5
This date must normally be the first day of a month and later than the entry into force of the agreement. The RAO can decide on
another date, if justified by the applicants. However, the starting date may not be earlier than the submission date of the grant
application – except if provided for by the basic act or in cases of extreme urgency and conflict prevention (Article 193 EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046).
10
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
Total eligible
Num Short Count costs Maximum
Role Legal name PIC Entry date Exit date
ber name ry grant amount
(BEN and AE)
1 COO [countr [amount] [amount] [date]
y]
2 BEN [countr [amount] [amount]
y]
2.1 AE [countr [amount] [amount]
y]
3 BEN [countr [amount] 0
y]
(UTRO)
4 BEN [countr [amount] [amount] [date]
y]
(pillar-
assessed)
5 BEN [countr [amount] [amount] [date]
y]
6 BEN [countr [amount] [amount]
y]
(IO, pillar-
assessed)
7 AP [countr 0 0
y]
Total [amount] [amount]
Coordinator:
- [COO legal name (short name)]: from [insert date] to [insert date]
- …
3. Grant
Maximum grant amount, total estimated eligible costs and contributions and funding rate:
Total eligible costs Funding rate Maximum grant Maximum grant
amount amount
(BEN and AE) (%)
(Annex 2) (award decision)
[amount] [...], […] [amount] [amount]
Grant form: Budget-based
Grant mode: Action grant
Budget categories/activity types:
[OPTION 1 by default (all SMP ToA except PPI Grants for Procurement, COSME
EEN Actions and European Statistics):
- A. Personnel costs
- A.1 Employees, A.2 Natural persons under direct contract, A.3
Seconded persons
11
Project: [insert number] — [insert acronym] — [insert call identifier]
EU Grants: SMP MGA — Multi & Mono: V1.0 – 01.06.2021
- A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries
- B. Subcontracting costs
- C. Purchase costs
- C.1 Travel and subsistence
- C.2 Equipment
- C.3 Other goods, works and services
- D. Other cost categories
- D.1 Financial support to third parties
- E. Indirect costs]
[OPTION 2 for PPI Grants for Procurement:
- A. Personnel costs
- A.1 Employees, A.2 Natural persons under direct contract, A.3
Seconded persons
- A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries
- B. Subcontracting costs
- C. Purchase costs
- C.1 Travel and subsistence
- C.2 Equipment
- C.3 Other goods, works and services
- D. Other cost categories
- D.1 Financial support to third parties
- D.2 PPI procurement costs
- E. Indirect costs]
[OPTION 3 for COSME EEN Actions:
- A. Personnel costs
- A.1 Employees, A.2 Natural persons under direct contract, A.3
Seconded persons
- A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries
- B. Subcontracting costs
- C. Purchase costs
- C.1 Travel and subsistence
- C.2 Equipment
- C.3 Other goods, works and services
- D. Other cost categories
- D.1 Financial support to third parties
- D.3 EEN additional coordination and networking costs
- E. Indirect costs]
[OPTION 4 for European Statistics:
- A. Personnel costs
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- A.6 ESS personnel costs based on time
- A.7 ESS personnel costs based on deliverables
- B. Subcontracting costs
- C. Purchase costs
- C.1 Travel and subsistence
- C.2 Equipment
- C.3 Other goods, works and services
- E. Indirect costs]
Cost eligibility options:
- Standard supplementary payments
6
- [OPTION if selected for the grant : Limitation for subcontracting]
- Travel and subsistence:
- Travel: Unit or actual costs
- Accommodation: Unit or actual costs
- Subsistence: Unit or actual costs
- Equipment: [OPTION 1 by default: depreciation only][OPTION 2 if selected for the call: full cost
only][OPTION 3 if selected for the call: depreciation and full cost for listed equipment][OPTION 4 if
selected for the call: full cost and depreciation for listed equipment]
- [OPTION for all SMP ToA (except European Statistics): Costs for providing financial support to third
7
parties ([actual cost][unit cost]; max amount for each recipient: EUR [60 000][[…]] )]
- Indirect cost flat-rate: [7%][25%][30%] of the [OPTION A by default (all SMP ToA except COSME
EEN Actions and European Statistics): eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except volunteers costs
and exempted specific cost categories, if any)][OPTION B for COSME EEN Actions: eligible direct
costs (categories A-D, except volunteers costs, subcontracting costs, financial support to third parties
and exempted specific cost categories, if any)][OPTION C for European Statistics: eligible personnel
costs (category A, except volunteers costs, if any)]
- VAT: Yes
- [OPTION if selected for the grant: Double funding for Synergy actions]
- Other ineligible costs
Budget flexibility: Yes (no flexibility cap)
4. Reporting, payments and recoveries
4.1 Continuous reporting (art 21)
Deliverables: see Funding & Tenders Portal Continuous Reporting tool
4.2 Periodic reporting and payments
Reporting and payment schedule (art 21, 22):
6
This is a standard obligation for all EU grants. It may be unselected only for actions where subcontracting is a key/large part of the
action (e.g infrastructure projects; technical assistance, statistical programmes, etc).
7
The amount applicable to the call must be specified in the call conditions. It may not be more than 60 000 EUR, unless the objective of
the actions funded by the call would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult to achieve (Article 204 EU Financial Regulation
2018/1046). A higher amount may exceptionally be agreed with the granting authority, if this is announced in the call and is needed
because otherwise the objective of the action would be impossible or overly difficult to achieve.
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Reporting Payments
Reporting periods Type Deadline Type Deadline (time to pay)
RP No Month from Month to
Initial OPTION 1 by default: 30 days from entry into
prefinancing force/10 days before starting date/financial
guarantee (if required)– whichever is the
latest]
[OPTION 2: if selected for the call: n/a]
1 [number] [number] Additional 60 days after Additional [OPTION 1 if selected for the grant: 60 days
prefinancing report end of prefinancing from receiving additional prefinancing
reporting report/financial guarantee (if required) –
period whichever is the latest][OPTION 2: n/a]
2 [number] [number] Periodic report 60 days after Interim payment [OPTION 1 if selected for the grant: 90 days
end of from receiving periodic report][OPTION 2: n/a]
reporting
period
3 [number] [number] Periodic report 60 days after Final payment 90 days from receiving periodic report
end of
reporting
period
Prefinancing payments and guarantees: [n/a]
Prefinancing payment Prefinancing guarantee
Type Amount Guarantee Division per participant
amount
Prefinancing 1 (initial) [[amount]] [n/a] [[amount]] [n/a] 1 – [short name] [n/a] [[amount]]
2 – [short name]
2.1 – [short name]
Prefinancing 2 [[amount]][n/a] [[amount]] [n/a] 1 – [short name] [n/a] [[amount]]
(additional)
2 – [short name]
2.1 – [short name]
Reporting and payment modalities (art 21, 22):
Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM): No
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Restrictions on distribution of initial prefinancing: The prefinancing may be distributed only if the minimum
number of beneficiaries set out in the call conditions (if any) have acceded to the Agreement and only to
beneficiaries that have acceded.
Interim payment ceiling (if any): 90% of the maximum grant amount
8
No-profit rule: [OPTION if selected for the grant : No/Yes]
Late payment interest: ECB + 3.5 %
Bank account for payments:
[IBAN account number and SWIFT/BIC, e.g. IT75Y0538703601000000198049; GEBABEBB]
Conversion into euros: Double conversion
Reporting language: Language of the Agreement
4.3 Certificates (art 24)
Certificates on the financial statements (CFS):
[OPTION 1 by default (all SMP ToA except European Statistics):
Conditions:
Schedule: interim/final payment, if threshold is reached
Standard threshold (beneficiary-level):
- financial statement: requested EU contribution to costs ≥ EUR 325 000
[OPTION if selected for the grant: Exempted beneficiaries:
- [BEN/AE legal name (short name)]
- [BEN/AE legal name (short name)]] ]
[OPTION 2 for European Statistics: n/a]
4.4 Recoveries (art 22)
First-line liability for recoveries:
Beneficiary termination: Beneficiary concerned
Final payment: Coordinator
After final payment: Beneficiary concerned
Joint and several liability for enforced recoveries (in case of non-payment):
[OPTION 1 by default: Limited joint and several liability of other beneficiaries — up to the maximum grant
amount of the beneficiary)] [OPTION 2 if selected for the grant: Unconditional joint and several liability of
other beneficiaries — up to the maximum grant amount for the action] [OPTION 3 if selected for the grant:
Individual financial responsibility: Each beneficiary is liable only for its own debts (and those of its affiliated
entities, if any)]
8
This is a standard obligation for all EU grants. It may be unselected only under the conditions of Article 192(3) EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046):
- actions with the objective to reinforce the financial capacity of the beneficiaries
- actions where the continuity after their end is to be ensured by the income generated by the action
- grants in the form of study, research or training scholarships paid to natural persons or as other forms of direct support paid to
natural persons who are most in need
- grants which are entirely in the form of financing not linked to costs
- actions implemented only by non-profit organisations (i.e. all beneficiaries and affiliated entities are non-profit organisations)
- grants with a maximum amount of not more than EUR 60 000 (low value grants).
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[OPTION 1 by default: Joint and several liability of affiliated entities — n/a] [OPTION 2 if selected for the
grant: Joint and several liability of the following affiliated entities with their beneficiary — up to the
maximum grant amount for the affiliated entity indicated in Annex 2:
- [AE legal name (short name)], linked to [BEN legal name (short name)]
- [AE legal name (short name)], linked to [BEN legal name (short name)]]
5. Consequences of non-compliance, applicable law & dispute settlement forum
Applicable law (art 43):
Standard applicable law regime: EU law + law of Belgium
[OPTION if selected for the grant: Special applicable law regime:
- [BEN legal name (short name)]: [OPTION 1: no applicable law clause selected] [OPTION 2: [EU
law][+][ law of [name of Member State or EFTA country]][+][general principles governing the
law of international organisations and the general rules of international law]]
- [BEN legal name (short name)]: [OPTION 1: no applicable law clause selected] [OPTION 2: [EU
law][+][ law of [insert name of Member State or EFTA country]][+][general principles governing
the law of international organisations and the general rules of international law]]]
Dispute settlement forum (art 43):
Standard dispute settlement forum:
EU beneficiaries: EU General Court + EU Court of Justice (on appeal)
Non-EU beneficiaries: Courts of Brussels, Belgium (unless an international agreement provides for
the enforceability of EU court judgements)
[OPTION if selected for the grant: Special dispute settlement forum:
- [BEN legal name (short name)]: Arbitration
- [BEN legal name (short name)]: Arbitration ]
6. Other
Specific rules (Annex 5): Yes
- IPR, results and background, access rights and rights of use
- Rights of use on results
- Access rights to ensure continuity and interoperability
- Different rights of use
- Communication, dissemination and visibility
- Communication and dissemination plan
- Additional communication and dissemination activities
- Specific rules for carrying out the action
- Specific rules for PPI Grants for Procurement
- Specific rules for blending operations
Standard time-limits after project end:
Confidentiality (for X years after final payment): 5
Record-keeping (for X years after final payment): 5 (or 3 for grants of not more than EUR 60 000)
Reviews (up to X years after final payment): 5 (or 3 for grants of not more than EUR 60 000)
Audits (up to X years after final payment): 5 (or 3 for grants of not more than EUR 60 000)
Extension of findings from other grants to this grant (no later than X years after final payment): 5 (or 3 for
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grants of not more than EUR 60 000)
Impact evaluation (up to X years after final payment): 5 (or 3 for grants of not more than EUR 60 000)
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CHAPTER 1 GENERAL
ARTICLE 1 — SUBJECT OF THE AGREEMENT
This Agreement sets out the rights and obligations and terms and conditions applicable to the
grant awarded [OPTION for SGAs: under Framework Partnership Agreement No [insert
number] — [insert acronym]] for the implementation of the action set out in Chapter 2.
ARTICLE 2 — DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Agreement, the following definitions apply:
Action — The project which is being funded in the context of this Agreement.
Grant — The grant awarded in the context of this Agreement.
EU grants — Grants awarded by EU institutions, bodies, offices or agencies (including
EU executive agencies, EU regulatory agencies, EDA, joint undertakings,
etc.).
Participants — Entities participating in the action as beneficiaries, affiliated entities,
associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors
or recipients of financial support to third parties.
Beneficiaries (BEN) — The signatories of this Agreement (either directly or through an
accession form).
Affiliated entities (AE) — Entities affiliated to a beneficiary within the meaning of Article
187 of EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046 9 which participate in the action
with similar rights and obligations as the beneficiaries (obligation to
implement action tasks and right to charge costs and claim contributions).
Associated partners (AP) — Entities which participate in the action, but without the right to
charge costs or claim contributions.
Purchases — Contracts for goods, works or services needed to carry out the action (e.g.
equipment, consumables and supplies) but which are not part of the action
tasks (see Annex 1).
9
For the definition, see Article 187 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending
Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No
1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and
repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (‘EU Financial Regulation’) (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1):
“affiliated entities [are]:
(a) entities that form a sole beneficiary [(i.e. where an entity is formed of several entities that satisfy the
criteria for being awarded a grant, including where the entity is specifically established for the purpose
of implementing an action to be financed by a grant)];
(b) entities that satisfy the eligibility criteria and that do not fall within one of the situations referred to in
Article 136(1) and 141(1) and that have a link with the beneficiary, in particular a legal or capital link,
which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation”.
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Subcontracting — Contracts for goods, works or services that are part of the action tasks (see
Annex 1).
In-kind contributions — In-kind contributions within the meaning of Article 2(36) of EU
Financial Regulation 2018/1046, i.e. non-financial resources made available
free of charge by third parties.
Fraud — Fraud within the meaning of Article 3 of EU Directive 2017/1371 10 and
Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’
financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995 11, as well as
any other wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or
personal gain.
Irregularities — Any type of breach (regulatory or contractual) which could impact the EU
financial interests, including irregularities within the meaning of Article
1(2) of EU Regulation 2988/95 12.
Grave professional misconduct — Any type of unacceptable or improper behaviour in
exercising one’s profession, especially by employees, including grave
professional misconduct within the meaning of Article 136(1)(c) of EU
Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
Applicable EU, international and national law — Any legal acts or other (binding or non-
binding) rules and guidance in the area concerned.
Portal — EU Funding & Tenders Portal; electronic portal and exchange system
managed by the European Commission and used by itself and other EU
institutions, bodies, offices or agencies for the management of their funding
programmes (grants, procurements, prizes, etc.).
CHAPTER 2 ACTION
ARTICLE 3 — ACTION
The grant is awarded for the action [insert project number] — [insert acronym] (‘action’),
as described in Annex 1.
[OPTION if selected for the grant (for linked actions) 13: This action is linked to the action(s)
set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 1) (‘linked actions’).]
10
Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against
fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29).
11
OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 48.
12
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European
Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1).
13
Linked actions cover all types of joint/combined/coordinated actions, where the action implementation
should be linked to another action (e.g. Horizon complementary grants, Horizon joint actions; Horizon
MSCA SNLS grants, EDIDP COFUND, JU implementing grants, etc.).
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ARTICLE 4 — DURATION AND STARTING DATE
The duration and the starting date of the action are set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 1).
CHAPTER 3 GRANT
ARTICLE 5 — GRANT
5.1 Form of grant
The grant is an action grant 14 which takes the form of a budget-based mixed actual cost grant
(i.e. a grant based on actual costs incurred, but which may also include other forms of
funding, such as unit costs or contributions, flat-rate costs or contributions, lump sum costs or
contributions or financing not linked to costs).
5.2 Maximum grant amount
The maximum grant amount is set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 3) and in the estimated
budget (Annex 2).
5.3 Funding rate
The funding rate for costs is [OPTION A by default (all SMP ToA except for Grants for
Financial Support and COSME EEN Actions): […%] of the action’s eligible costs] [OPTION
B for Grants for Financial Support: […]% of the eligible costs for financial support to third
parties and […]% of the eligible costs for the other cost categories] [OPTION C for COSME
EEN Actions: […]% of the eligible costs for additional coordination and networking costs and
[…]% of the eligible costs for the other cost categories] .Contributions are not subject to any
funding rate.
5.4 Estimated budget, budget categories and forms of funding
The estimated budget for the action is set out in Annex 2.
It contains the estimated eligible costs and contributions for the action, broken down by
participant and budget category.
Annex 2 also shows the types of costs and contributions (forms of funding) 15 to be used for
each budget category.
If unit costs or contributions are used, the details on the calculation will be explained in
Annex 2a.
14
For the definition, see Article 180(2)(a) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046: ‘action grant’ means an EU
grant to finance “an action intended to help achieve a Union policy objective”.
15
See Article 125 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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5.5 Budget flexibility
The budget breakdown may be adjusted — without an amendment (see Article 39) — by
transfers (between participants and budget categories), as long as this does not imply any
substantive or important change to the description of the action in Annex 1.
However:
- changes to the budget category for volunteers (if used) always require an amendment
- changes to budget categories with lump sums costs or contributions (if used; including
financing not linked to costs) always require an amendment
- changes to budget categories with higher funding rates or budget ceilings (if used)
always require an amendment
- addition of amounts for subcontracts not provided for in Annex 1 either require an
amendment or simplified approval in accordance with Article 6.2
- other changes require an amendment or simplified approval, if specifically provided
for in Article 6.2
- flexibility caps: not applicable.
ARTICLE 6 — ELIGIBLE AND INELIGIBLE COSTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
In order to be eligible, costs and contributions must meet the eligibility conditions set out in
this Article.
6.1 General eligibility conditions
The general eligibility conditions are the following:
(a) for actual costs:
(i) they must be actually incurred by the beneficiary
(ii) they must be incurred in the period set out in Article 4 (with the exception of
costs relating to the submission of the final periodic report, which may be
incurred afterwards; see Article 21)
(iii) they must be declared under one of the budget categories set out in Article 6.2
and Annex 2
(iv) they must be incurred in connection with the action as described in Annex 1
and necessary for its implementation
(v) they must be identifiable and verifiable, in particular recorded in the
beneficiary’s accounts in accordance with the accounting standards applicable
in the country where the beneficiary is established and with the beneficiary’s
usual cost accounting practices
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(vi) they must comply with the applicable national law on taxes, labour and social
security and
(vii) they must be reasonable, justified and must comply with the principle of
sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency
(b) for unit costs or contributions (if any):
(i) they must be declared under one of the budget categories set out in Article 6.2
and Annex 2
(ii) the units must:
- be actually used or produced by the beneficiary in the period set out in
Article 4 (with the exception of units relating to the submission of the
final periodic report, which may be used or produced afterwards; see
Article 21)
- be necessary for the implementation of the action and
(iii) the number of units must be identifiable and verifiable, in particular
supported by records and documentation (see Article 20)
(c) for flat-rate costs or contributions (if any):
(i) they must be declared under one of the budget categories set out in Article 6.2
and Annex 2
(ii) the costs or contributions to which the flat-rate is applied must:
- be eligible
- relate to the period set out in Article 4 (with the exception of costs or
contributions relating to the submission of the final periodic report,
which may be incurred afterwards; see Article 21)
(d) for lump sum costs or contributions (if any):
(i) they must be declared under one of the budget categories set out in Article 6.2
and Annex 2
(ii) the work must be properly implemented by the beneficiary in accordance
with Annex 1
(iii) the deliverables/outputs must be achieved in the period set out in Article 4
(with the exception of deliverables/outputs relating to the submission of the
final periodic report, which may be achieved afterwards; see Article 21)
(e) for unit, flat-rate or lump sum costs or contributions according to usual cost
accounting practices (if any):
(i) they must fulfil the general eligibility conditions for the type of cost
concerned
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(ii) the cost accounting practices must be applied in a consistent manner, based
on objective criteria, regardless of the source of funding
(f) for financing not linked to costs (if any): the results must be achieved or the conditions
must be fulfilled as described in Annex 1.
In addition, for direct cost categories (e.g. personnel, travel & subsistence, subcontracting and
other direct costs) only costs that are directly linked to the action implementation and can
therefore be attributed to it directly are eligible. They must not include any indirect costs (i.e.
costs that are only indirectly linked to the action, e.g. via cost drivers).
6.2 Specific eligibility conditions for each budget category
For each budget category, the specific eligibility conditions are as follows:
Direct costs
A. Personnel costs
[OPTION 1 by default (all SMP ToA except European Statistics):
A.1 Costs for employees (or equivalent) are eligible as personnel costs if they fulfil the
general eligibility conditions and are related to personnel working for the beneficiary under an
employment contract (or equivalent appointing act) and assigned to the action.
They must be limited to salaries, social security contributions, taxes and other costs linked to
the remuneration, if they arise from national law or the employment contract (or equivalent
appointing act) and be calculated on the basis of the costs actually incurred, in accordance
with the following method:
{daily rate for the person
multiplied by
number of day-equivalents worked on the action (rounded up or down to the nearest half-day)}.
The daily rate must be calculated as:
{annual personnel costs for the person
divided by
215}
The number of day-equivalents declared for a person must be identifiable and verifiable (see
Article 20).
The total number of day-equivalents declared in EU grants, for a person for a year, cannot be
higher than 215.
The personnel costs may also include supplementary payments for personnel assigned to the
action (including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature),
if:
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- it is part of the beneficiary’s usual remuneration practices and is paid in a consistent
manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required
- the criteria used to calculate the supplementary payments are objective and generally
applied by the beneficiary, regardless of the source of funding used.
A.2 and A.3 Costs for natural persons working under a direct contract other than an
employment contract and costs for seconded persons by a third party against payment are
also eligible as personnel costs, if they are assigned to the action, fulfil the general eligibility
conditions and:
(a) work under conditions similar to those of an employee (in particular regarding the way
the work is organised, the tasks that are performed and the premises where they are
performed) and
(b) the result of the work belongs to the beneficiary (unless agreed otherwise).
They must be calculated on the basis of a rate which corresponds to the costs actually incurred
for the direct contract or secondment and must not be significantly different from those for
personnel performing similar tasks under an employment contract with the beneficiary.
A.4 The work of SME owners for the action (i.e. owners of beneficiaries that are small and
medium-sized enterprises 16 not receiving a salary) or natural person beneficiaries (i.e.
beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary) may be declared as personnel
costs, if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions and are calculated as unit costs in
accordance with the method set out in Annex 2a.]
[OPTION 2 for European Statistics: A.6 ESS personnel costs based on time spent are
eligible, if and as declared eligible in the call conditions, if they fulfil the general eligibility
conditions and are calculated as unit cost in accordance with the method set out in Annex 2b
and the following:
{daily rate
multiplied by
number of actual days worked on the action (rounded up or down to the nearest half-day)}.
The number of actual days declared for a person must be identifiable and verifiable (see
Article 20).
16
For the definition, see Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC: micro, small or medium-sized
enterprise (SME) are enterprises
- engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of their legal form (including, in particular, self-
employed persons and family businesses engaged in craft or other activities, and partnerships or
associations regularly engaged in an economic activity) and
- employing fewer than 250 persons (expressed in ‘annual working units’ as defined in Article 5 of
the Recommendation) and which have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an
annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million.
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The daily rate is the rate of the pay grade set out in Annex 2b (or — for personnel without an
applicable pay grade — the rate of the grade with the closest basic salary).
A.7 ESS personnel costs based on deliverables (e.g. number of conducted interviews,
number of translated pages) are eligible, if and as declared eligible in the call conditions, if
they fulfil the general eligibility conditions and are calculated on the basis of the costs
actually incurred (i.e. limited to the amount per deliverable, including social security
contributions, taxes or other costs included in the remuneration, if they arise from national
law or the contract) and the following:
{amount per deliverable
multiplied by
number of deliverables produced for the action}.]
B. Subcontracting costs
Subcontracting costs for the action (including related duties, taxes and charges, such as non-
deductible or non-refundable value added tax (VAT)) are eligible, if they are calculated on the
basis of the costs actually incurred, fulfil the general eligibility conditions and are awarded
using the beneficiary’s usual purchasing practices — provided these ensure subcontracts with
best value for money (or if appropriate the lowest price) and that there is no conflict of
interests (see Article 12).
Beneficiaries that are ‘contracting authorities/entities’ within the meaning of the EU
Directives on public procurement must also comply with the applicable national law on public
procurement.
[OPTION if selected for the grant 17: Subcontracting may cover only a limited part of the
action.]
The tasks to be subcontracted and the estimated cost for each subcontract must be set out in
Annex 1 and the total estimated costs of subcontracting per beneficiary must be set out in
Annex 2 (or may be approved ex post in the periodic report, if the use of subcontracting does
not entail changes to the Agreement which would call into question the decision awarding the
grant or breach the principle of equal treatment of applicants; ‘simplified approval
procedure’).
C. Purchase costs
Purchase costs for the action (including related duties, taxes and charges, such as non-
deductible or non-refundable value added tax (VAT)) are eligible if they fulfil the general
eligibility conditions and are bought using the beneficiary’s usual purchasing practices —
provided these ensure purchases with best value for money (or if appropriate the lowest price)
and that there is no conflict of interests (see Article 12).
17
This is a standard obligation for all EU grants. It may be unselected only for actions where subcontracting is
a key/large part of the action (e.g infrastructure projects; PCP/PPI; technical assistance, statistical
programmes, etc).
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Beneficiaries that are ‘contracting authorities/entities’ within the meaning of the EU
Directives on public procurement must also comply with the applicable national law on public
procurement.
C.1 Travel and subsistence
Purchases for travel, accommodation and subsistence must be calculated as follows:
- travel: as unit costs in accordance with the method set out in Annex 2a if covered by
Decision C(2021)35 18 or otherwise as costs actually incurred and in line with the
beneficiary’s usual practices on travel
- accommodation: as unit costs in accordance with the method set out in Annex 2a if
covered by Decision C(2021)35 19 or otherwise as costs actually incurred and in line
with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel
- subsistence: as unit costs in accordance with the method set out in Annex 2a if
covered by Decision C(2021)35 20 or otherwise as costs actually incurred and in line
with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel.
C.2 Equipment
[OPTION 1 by default (depreciation only):
Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets used for the action must be declared
as depreciation costs, calculated on the basis of the costs actually incurred and written off in
accordance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual accounting
practices.
Only the portion of the costs that corresponds to the rate of actual use for the action during the
action duration can be taken into account.
Costs for renting or leasing equipment, infrastructure or other assets are also eligible, if they
do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment, infrastructure or assets and do not
include any financing fees. ]
[OPTION 2 full cost only (if selected for the call 21):
18
Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and
subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial
framework (C(2021)35).
19
Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and
subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial
framework (C(2021)35).
20
Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and
subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial
framework (C(2021)35).
21
To be used as an exception, only if justified by the nature of the actions and the context of the use of the
equipment or assets.
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Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets specifically for the action (or
developed as part of the action tasks) may be declared as full capitalised costs if they fulfil the
cost eligibility conditions applicable to their respective cost categories.
‘Capitalised costs’ means:
- costs incurred in the purchase or for the development of the equipment, infrastructure
or other assets and
- which are recorded under a fixed asset account of the beneficiary in compliance with
international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual cost accounting
practices.
If such equipment, infrastructure or other assets are rented or leased, full costs for renting or
leasing are eligible, if they do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment,
infrastructure or assets and do not include any financing fees.]
[OPTION 3 depreciation + full cost for listed equipment at grant level (if selected for the
call 22):
Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets used for the action must be declared
as depreciation costs, calculated on the basis of the costs actually incurred and written off in
accordance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual accounting
practices.
Only the portion of the costs that corresponds to the rate of actual use for the action during the
action duration can be taken into account.
Costs for renting or leasing equipment, infrastructure or other assets are also eligible, if they
do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment, infrastructure or assets and do not
include any financing fees.
[additional OPTION if selected for the grant 23: Moreover, for the following equipment,
infrastructure or other assets purchased specifically for the action (or developed as part of the
action tasks):
- [insert name/type of equipment]
- [insert name/type of equipment]
[same for more equipment]
costs may exceptionally be declared as full capitalised costs, if they fulfil the cost eligibility
conditions applicable to their respective cost categories.
‘Capitalised costs’ means:
22
To be used as an exception, only if justified by the nature of the actions and the context of the use of the
equipment or assets.
23
Full purchase cost option and conditions must be specified in the call.
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- costs incurred in the purchase or for the development of the equipment, infrastructure
or other assets and
- which are recorded under a fixed asset account of the beneficiary in compliance with
international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual cost accounting
practices.
If such equipment, infrastructure or other assets are rented or leased, full costs for renting or
leasing are eligible, if they do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment,
infrastructure or assets and do not include any financing fees.]]
[OPTION 4 full cost + depreciation for listed equipment at grant level (if selected for the
call 24):
Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets specifically for the action (or
developed as part of the action tasks) may be declared as full capitalised costs if they fulfil the
eligibility conditions applicable to their respective cost categories.
‘Capitalised costs’ means:
- costs incurred in the purchase or for the development of the equipment, infrastructure
or other assets and,
- which are recorded under a fixed asset account of the beneficiary in compliance with
international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual cost accounting
practices.
If such equipment, infrastructure or other assets are rented or leased, full costs for renting or
leasing are eligible, if they do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment,
infrastructure or assets and do not include any financing fees.
[additional OPTION if selected for the grant 25: However, for the following equipment,
infrastructure or other assets used for the action:
- [insert name/type of equipment]
- [insert name/type of equipment]
[same for more equipment]
the costs must be declared as depreciation costs, on the basis of the costs actually incurred and
written off in accordance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual
accounting practices.
Only the portion of the costs that corresponds to the rate of actual use for the action during the
action duration can be taken into account.
24
To be used as an exception, only if justified by the nature of the actions and the context of the use of the
equipment or assets.
25
Depreciation option and conditions must be specified in the call.
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Costs for renting or leasing such equipment, infrastructure or other assets are also eligible, if
they do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment, infrastructure or assets and do
not include any financing fees. ]]
C.3 Other goods, works and services
Purchases of other goods, works and services must be calculated on the basis of the costs
actually incurred.
Such goods, works and services include, for instance, consumables and supplies, promotion,
dissemination, protection of results, translations, publications, certificates and financial
guarantees, if required under the Agreement.
D. Other cost categories
[OPTION for all SMP ToA (except European Statistics): D.1 Financial support to third
parties
Costs for providing financial support to third parties (in the form of grants, prizes or
similar forms of support; if any) are eligible, if and as declared eligible in the call conditions,
if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions, are calculated [on the basis of the costs actually
incurred][as unit costs in accordance with the method set out in Annex 2a] and the support is
implemented in accordance with the conditions set out in Annex 1.
These conditions must ensure objective and transparent selection procedures and include at
least the following:
(a) for grants (or similar):
(i) the maximum amount of financial support for each third party (‘recipient’);
this amount may not exceed the amount set out in the Data Sheet (see Point
3) 26 or otherwise agreed with the granting authority
(ii) the criteria for calculating the exact amount of the financial support
(iii) the different types of activity that qualify for financial support, on the basis of
a closed list
(iv) the persons or categories of persons that will be supported and
(v) the criteria and procedures for giving financial support
(b) for prizes (or similar):
(i) the eligibility and award criteria
(ii) the amount of the prize and
26
The amount must be specified in the call. It may not be more than 60 000 EUR, unless the objective of the
action would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult (Article 204 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046).
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the payment arrangements. ]
[OPTION for Grants for Procurement: D.2 PPI procurement costs
PPI procurement costs are eligible, if and as declared eligible in the call conditions, if they
fulfil the general eligibility conditions, are calculated on the basis of the costs actually
incurred and:
- are incurred for a joint or coordinated public procurement of innovative goods and
services targeted by the action and described in Annex 1 and
- the procurement is carried out by a ‘contracting authority/entity’ as defined in the EU
public procurement Directives (in particular, Directives 2014/24/EU 27, 2014/25/EU 28
and 2009/81/EC 29).
The beneficiaries must award the procurement contracts to the tender(s) offering best value
for money and use objective and transparent procedures which — unless otherwise provided
in the call conditions — include:
- if a preliminary market consultation is carried out: the publication of a prior
information notice about the consultation in the Official Journal of the European
Union
- the publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union
- the publication of a contract award notice within 48 days after concluding the
contract(s) in the Official Journal of the European Union
in English and any additional language(s) chosen by the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries that are ‘contracting authorities/entities’ within the meaning of the EU
Directives on public procurement must also comply with these Directives and the applicable
national law on public procurement.
The beneficiaries which act as procurers (i.e. the buyers group and the lead procurer), the
object and estimated cost for each procurement and the estimated financial contribution per
member of the buyers group must be set out in Annex 1 and the estimated procurement costs
per beneficiary must be set out in Annex 2.
27
Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public
procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
28
Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement
by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive
2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
29
Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of
procedures for the award of certain works contracts, supply contracts and service contracts by contracting
authorities or entities in the fields of defence and security, and amending Directives 2004/17/EC and
2004/18/EC (OJ L 216, 20.8.2009, p. 76).
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The costs for the cost categories other than procurement costs are eligible only up to 50% of
the total estimated eligible costs of the action set out in Annex 2. ]
[OPTION for COSME EEN Actions: D.3 EEN additional coordination and networking
costs
EEN additional coordination and networking costs (e.g. personnel costs for participating
in the governance of the Network, contributing to training/capacity building activities for the
Network, coordinating of activities spanning across several consortia and for other activities
contributing to the quality of the Network) are eligible, if and as declared eligible in the call
conditions, if they fulfil the general eligibility conditions and are calculated as lump sums.
Changes to this cost category always require an amendment.]
Indirect costs
E. Indirect costs
Indirect costs will be reimbursed at the flat-rate of [7%][25%][30%] of the [OPTION A by
default (all SMP ToA except COSME EEN Actions and European Statistics): eligible direct
costs (categories A-D, except volunteers costs and exempted specific cost categories, if
any)][OPTION B for COSME EEN Actions: eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except
volunteers costs, subcontracting costs, financial support to third parties and exempted specific
cost categories, if any)] [OPTION C for European Statistics: eligible personnel costs
(category A, except volunteers costs, if any)].
Contributions
Not applicable
6.3 Ineligible costs and contributions
The following costs or contributions are ineligible:
(a) costs or contributions that do not comply with the conditions set out above (Article 6.1
and 6.2), in particular:
(i) costs related to return on capital and dividends paid by a beneficiary
(ii) debt and debt service charges
(iii) provisions for future losses or debts
(iv) interest owed
(v) currency exchange losses
(vi) bank costs charged by the beneficiary’s bank for transfers from the granting
authority
(vii) excessive or reckless expenditure
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(viii) deductible or refundable VAT (including VAT paid by public bodies acting
as public authority)
(ix) costs incurred or contributions for activities implemented during grant
agreement suspension (see Article 32)
(x) in-kind contributions by third parties
(b) costs or contributions declared under other EU grants (or grants awarded by an EU
Member State, non-EU country or other body implementing the EU budget), except
for the following cases:
(i) [OPTION 1 by default: Synergy actions: not applicable] [OPTION 2 if
selected for the grant: if the grants are part of jointly coordinated Synergy
actions and the funding under the grants does not go above 100% of the costs
and contributions declared to them]
(ii) if the action grant is combined with an operating grant 30 running during the
same period and the beneficiary can demonstrate that the operating grant does
not cover any (direct or indirect) costs of the action grant
(c) costs or contributions for staff of a national (or regional/local) administration, for
activities that are part of the administration’s normal activities (i.e. not undertaken
only because of the grant)
(d) costs or contributions (especially travel and subsistence) for staff or representatives of
EU institutions, bodies or agencies
(e) other 31:
(i) country restrictions for eligible costs: not applicable
(ii) costs or contributions declared specifically ineligible in the call conditions.
6.4 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary declares costs or contributions that are ineligible, they will be rejected (see
Article 27).
This may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
30
For the definition, see Article 180(2)(b) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046: ‘operating grant’ means an
EU grant to finance “the functioning of a body which has an objective forming part of and supporting an EU
policy”.
31
Condition must be specified in the call.
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CHAPTER 4 GRANT IMPLEMENTATION
SECTION 1 CONSORTIUM: BENEFICIARIES, AFFILIATED ENTITIES AND
OTHER PARTICIPANTS
ARTICLE 7 — BENEFICIARIES
The beneficiaries, as signatories of the Agreement, are fully responsible towards the granting
authority for implementing it and for complying with all its obligations.
They must implement the Agreement to their best abilities, in good faith and in accordance
with all the obligations and terms and conditions it sets out.
They must have the appropriate resources to implement the action and implement the action
under their own responsibility and in accordance with Article 11. If they rely on affiliated
entities or other participants (see Articles 8 and 9), they retain sole responsibility towards the
granting authority and the other beneficiaries.
They are jointly responsible for the technical implementation of the action. If one of the
beneficiaries fails to implement their part of the action, the other beneficiaries must ensure
that this part is implemented by someone else (without being entitled to an increase of the
maximum grant amount and subject to an amendment; see Article 39). The financial
responsibility of each beneficiary in case of recoveries is governed by Article 22.
The beneficiaries (and their action) must remain eligible under the EU programme funding
the grant for the entire duration of the action. Costs and contributions will be eligible only as
long as the beneficiary and the action are eligible.
The internal roles and responsibilities of the beneficiaries are divided as follows:
(a) Each beneficiary must:
(i) keep information stored in the Portal Participant Register up to date (see
Article 19)
(ii) inform the granting authority (and the other beneficiaries) immediately of any
events or circumstances likely to affect significantly or delay the
implementation of the action (see Article 19)
(iii) submit to the coordinator in good time:
- the prefinancing guarantees (if required; see Article 23)
- the financial statements and certificates on the financial statements
(CFS) (if required; see Articles 21 and 24.2 and Data Sheet, Point 4.3)
- the contribution to the deliverables and technical reports (see Article
21)
- any other documents or information required by the granting authority
under the Agreement
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(iv) submit via the Portal data and information related to the participation of their
affiliated entities.
(b) The coordinator must:
(i) monitor that the action is implemented properly (see Article 11)
(ii) act as the intermediary for all communications between the consortium and
the granting authority, unless the Agreement or granting authority specifies
otherwise, and in particular:
- submit the prefinancing guarantees to the granting authority (if any)
- request and review any documents or information required and verify
their quality and completeness before passing them on to the granting
authority
- submit the deliverables and reports to the granting authority
- inform the granting authority about the payments made to the other
beneficiaries (report on the distribution of payments; if required, see
Articles 22 and 32)
(iii) distribute the payments received from the granting authority to the other
beneficiaries without unjustified delay (see Article 22).
The coordinator may not delegate or subcontract the above-mentioned tasks to any other
beneficiary or third party (including affiliated entities).
However, coordinators which are public bodies may delegate the tasks set out in Point (b)(ii)
last indent and (iii) above to entities with ‘authorisation to administer’ which they have
created or which are controlled by or affiliated to them. In this case, the coordinator retains
sole responsibility for the payments and for compliance with the obligations under the
Agreement.
Moreover, coordinators which are ‘sole beneficiaries’ 32 (or similar, such as European research
infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may delegate the tasks set out in Point (b)(i) to (iii) above to
one of their members. The coordinator retains sole responsibility for compliance with the
obligations under the Agreement.
The beneficiaries must have internal arrangements regarding their operation and co-
ordination, to ensure that the action is implemented properly.
If required by the granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 1), these arrangements must be set
out in a written consortium agreement between the beneficiaries, covering for instance:
32
For the definition, see Article 187(2) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046: “Where several entities satisfy
the criteria for being awarded a grant and together form one entity, that entity may be treated as the sole
beneficiary, including where it is specifically established for the purpose of implementing the action
financed by the grant.”
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- the internal organisation of the consortium
- the management of access to the Portal
- different distribution keys for the payments and financial responsibilities in case of
recoveries (if any)
- additional rules on rights and obligations related to background and results (see Article
16)
- settlement of internal disputes
- liability, indemnification and confidentiality arrangements between the beneficiaries.
The internal arrangements must not contain any provision contrary to this Agreement.
[OPTION if selected for the grant: For linked actions, the beneficiaries must have
arrangements with the participants of the other action, to ensure that both actions are
implemented and coordinated properly.
If required by the granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 1), these arrangements must be set
out in a written collaboration agreement with the participants of the other action or, if the
consortium is the same, as part of their consortium agreement, covering for instance:
- the internal organisation and decision making processes
- the areas where close collaboration/synchronisation is needed (e.g. on management of
outputs, common approaches towards standardisation, links with regulatory and policy
activities, common communication and dissemination activities, sharing of
information, access to background and results, etc.)
- settlement of disputes
- liability, indemnification and confidentiality arrangements between the beneficiaries in
both actions.
The arrangements with the participants of the other action must not contain any provision
contrary to this Agreement.]
ARTICLE 8 — AFFILIATED ENTITIES
[OPTION 1 if selected for the grant: The following entities which are linked to a beneficiary
will participate in the action as ‘affiliated entities’:
- [AE legal name (short name)], PIC [number], linked to [BEN legal name (short
name)]
- [AE legal name (short name)], PIC [number], linked to [BEN legal name (short
name)]
[same for more AE]
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Affiliated entities can charge costs and contributions to the action under the same conditions
as the beneficiaries and must implement the action tasks attributed to them in Annex 1 in
accordance with Article 11.
Their costs and contributions will be included in Annex 2 and will be taken into account for
the calculation of the grant.
The beneficiaries must ensure that all their obligations under this Agreement also apply to
their affiliated entities.
The beneficiaries must ensure that the bodies mentioned in Article 25 (e.g. granting authority,
OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA), etc.) can exercise their rights also towards the affiliated
entities.
Breaches by affiliated entities will be handled in the same manner as breaches by
beneficiaries. Recovery of undue amounts will be handled through the beneficiaries.
If the granting authority requires joint and several liability of affiliated entities (see Data
Sheet, Point 4.4), they must sign the declaration set out in Annex 3a and may be held liable in
case of enforced recoveries against their beneficiaries (see Article 22.2 and 22.4). ]
[OPTION 2: Not applicable]
ARTICLE 9 — OTHER PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN THE ACTION
9.1 Associated partners
[OPTION 1 if selected for the grant: The following entities which cooperate with a
beneficiary will participate in the action as ‘associated partners’:
- [AP legal name (short name)], PIC [number]
- [AP legal name (short name)], PIC [number]
[same for more AP]
Associated partners must implement the action tasks attributed to them in Annex 1 in
accordance with Article 11. They may not charge costs or contributions to the action and the
costs for their tasks are not eligible.
The tasks must be set out in Annex 1.
The beneficiaries must ensure that their contractual obligations under Articles 11 (proper
implementation), 12 (conflict of interests), 13 (confidentiality and security), 14 (ethics), 17.2
(visibility), 18 (specific rules for carrying out action), 19 (information) and 20 (record-
keeping) also apply to the associated partners.
The beneficiaries must ensure that the bodies mentioned in Article 25 (e.g. granting authority,
OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA), etc.) can exercise their rights also towards the associated
partners.]
[OPTION 2: Not applicable]
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9.2 Third parties giving in-kind contributions to the action
Other third parties may give in-kind contributions to the action (i.e. personnel, equipment,
other goods, works and services, etc. which are free-of-charge), if necessary for the
implementation.
Third parties giving in-kind contributions do not implement any action tasks. They may not
charge costs or contributions to the action and the costs for the in-kind contributions are not
eligible.
The third parties and their in-kind contributions should be set out in Annex 1.
9.3 Subcontractors
Subcontractors may participate in the action, if necessary for the implementation.
Subcontractors must implement their action tasks in accordance with Article 11. The costs for
the subcontracted tasks (invoiced price from the subcontractor) are eligible and may be
charged by the beneficiaries, under the conditions set out in Article 6. The costs will be
included in Annex 2 as part of the beneficiaries’ costs.
The beneficiaries must ensure that their contractual obligations under Articles 11 (proper
implementation), 12 (conflict of interest), 13 (confidentiality and security), 14 (ethics), 17.2
(visibility), 18 (specific rules for carrying out action), 19 (information) and 20 (record-
keeping) also apply to the subcontractors.
The beneficiaries must ensure that the bodies mentioned in Article 25 (e.g. granting authority,
OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA), etc.) can exercise their rights also towards the
subcontractors.
9.4 Recipients of financial support to third parties
[OPTION 1 for European Statistics: Not applicable]
[OPTION 2 by default (all SMP ToA except European Statistics): If the action includes
providing financial support to third parties (e.g. grants, prizes or similar forms of support), the
beneficiaries must ensure that their contractual obligations under Articles 12 (conflict of
interest), 13 (confidentiality and security), 14 (ethics), 17.2 (visibility), 18 (specific rules for
carrying out action), 19 (information) and 20 (record-keeping) also apply to the third parties
receiving the support (recipients).
The beneficiaries must also ensure that the bodies mentioned in Article 25 (e.g. granting
authority, OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA), etc.) can exercise their rights also towards the
recipients. ]
ARTICLE 10 — PARTICIPANTS WITH SPECIAL STATUS
10.1 Non-EU participants
Participants which are established in a non-EU country (if any) undertake to comply with
their obligations under the Agreement and:
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- to respect general principles (including fundamental rights, values and ethical
principles, environmental and labour standards, rules on classified information,
intellectual property rights, visibility of funding and protection of personal data)
- for the submission of certificates under Article 24: to use qualified external auditors
which are independent and comply with comparable standards as those set out in EU
Directive 2006/43/EC 33
- for the controls under Article 25: to allow for checks, reviews, audits and
investigations (including on-the-spot checks, visits and inspections) by the bodies
mentioned in that Article (e.g. granting authority, OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA),
etc.).
Special rules on dispute settlement apply (see Data Sheet, Point 5).
10.2 Participants which are international organisations
Participants which are international organisations (IOs; if any) undertake to comply with their
obligations under the Agreement and:
- to respect general principles (including fundamental rights, values and ethical
principles, environmental and labour standards, rules on classified information,
intellectual property rights, visibility of funding and protection of personal data)
- for the submission of certificates under Article 24: to use either independent public
officers or external auditors which comply with comparable standards as those set out
in EU Directive 2006/43/EC
- for the controls under Article 25: to allow for the checks, reviews, audits and
investigations by the bodies mentioned in that Article, taking into account the specific
agreements concluded by them and the EU (if any).
For such participants, nothing in the Agreement will be interpreted as a waiver of their
privileges or immunities, as accorded by their constituent documents or international law.
Special rules on applicable law and dispute settlement apply (see Article 43 and Data Sheet,
Point 5).
10.3 Pillar-assessed participants
Pillar-assessed participants (if any) may rely on their own systems, rules and procedures, in so
far as they have been positively assessed and do not call into question the decision awarding
the grant or breach the principle of equal treatment of applicants or beneficiaries.
‘Pillar-assessment’ means a review by the European Commission on the systems, rules and
procedures which participants use for managing EU grants (in particular internal control
system, accounting system, external audits, financing of third parties, rules on recovery and
33
Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of
annual accounts and consolidated accounts or similar national regulations (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 87).
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exclusion, information on recipients and protection of personal data; see Article 154 EU
Financial Regulation 2018/1046).
Participants with a positive pillar assessment may rely on their own systems, rules and
procedures, in particular for:
- record-keeping (Article 20): may be done in accordance with internal standards,
rules and procedures
- currency conversion for financial statements (Article 21): may be done in
accordance with usual accounting practices
- guarantees (Article 23): for public law bodies, prefinancing guarantees are not
needed
- certificates (Article 24):
- certificates on the financial statements (CFS): may be provided by their
regular internal or external auditors and in accordance with their internal
financial regulations and procedures
- certificates on usual accounting practices (CoMUC): are not needed if
those practices are covered by an ex-ante assessment
and use the following specific rules, for:
- recoveries (Article 22): in case of financial support to third parties, there will be no
recovery if the participant has done everything possible to retrieve the undue
amounts from the third party receiving the support (including legal proceedings)
and non-recovery is not due to an error or negligence on its part
- checks, reviews, audits and investigations by the EU (Article 25): will be
conducted taking into account the rules and procedures specifically agreed
between them and the framework agreement (if any)
- impact evaluation (Article 26): will be conducted in accordance with the
participant’s internal rules and procedures and the framework agreement (if any)
- grant agreement suspension (Article 31): certain costs incurred during grant
suspension are eligible (notably, minimum costs necessary for a possible
resumption of the action and costs relating to contracts which were entered into
before the pre-information letter was received and which could not reasonably be
suspended, reallocated or terminated on legal grounds)
- grant agreement termination (Article 32): the final grant amount and final payment
will be calculated taking into account also costs relating to contracts due for
execution only after termination takes effect, if the contract was entered into
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before the pre-information letter was received and could not reasonably be
terminated on legal grounds
- liability for damages (Article 33.2): the granting authority must be compensated
for damage it sustains as a result of the implementation of the action or because
the action was not implemented in full compliance with the Agreement only if the
damage is due to an infringement of the participant’s internal rules and procedures
or due to a violation of third parties’ rights by the participant or one of its
employees or individual for whom the employees are responsible.
Participants whose pillar assessment covers procurement and granting procedures may also do
purchases, subcontracting and financial support to third parties (Article 6.2) in accordance
with their internal rules and procedures for purchases, subcontracting and financial support.
Participants whose pillar assessment covers data protection rules may rely on their internal
standards, rules and procedures for data protection (Article 15).
The participants may however not rely on provisions which would breach the principle of
equal treatment of applicants or beneficiaries or call into question the decision awarding the
grant, such as in particular:
- eligibility (Article 6)
- consortium roles and set-up (Articles 7-9)
- security and ethics (Articles 13, 14)
- IPR (including background and results, access rights and rights of use),
communication, dissemination and visibility (Articles 16 and 17)
- information obligation (Article 19)
- payment, reporting and amendments (Articles 21, 22 and 39)
- rejections, reductions, suspensions and terminations (Articles 27, 28, 29-32)
If the pillar assessment was subject to remedial measures, reliance on the internal systems,
rules and procedures is subject to compliance with those remedial measures.
Participants whose assessment has not yet been updated to cover (the new rules on) data
protection may rely on their internal systems, rules and procedures, provided that they ensure
that personal data is:
- processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject
- collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a
manner that is incompatible with those purposes
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- adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for
which they are processed
- accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
- kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is
necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed and
- processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data.
Participants must inform the coordinator without delay of any changes to the systems, rules
and procedures that were part of the pillar assessment. The coordinator must immediately
inform the granting authority.
Pillar-assessed participants that have also concluded a framework agreement with the EU,
may moreover — under the same conditions as those above (i.e. not call into question the
decision awarding the grant or breach the principle of equal treatment of applicants or
beneficiaries) — rely on the provisions set out in that framework agreement.
SECTION 2 RULES FOR CARRYING OUT THE ACTION
ARTICLE 11 — PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION
11.1 Obligation to properly implement the action
The beneficiaries must implement the action as described in Annex 1 and in compliance with
the provisions of the Agreement, the call conditions and all legal obligations under applicable
EU, international and national law.
11.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 12 — CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
12.1 Conflict of interests
The beneficiaries must take all measures to prevent any situation where the impartial and
objective implementation of the Agreement could be compromised for reasons involving
family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or
indirect interest (‘conflict of interests’).
They must formally notify the granting authority without delay of any situation constituting or
likely to lead to a conflict of interests and immediately take all the necessary steps to rectify
this situation.
The granting authority may verify that the measures taken are appropriate and may require
additional measures to be taken by a specified deadline.
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12.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28) and the grant or the beneficiary may be terminated (see Article 32).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 13 — CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY
13.1 Sensitive information
The parties must keep confidential any data, documents or other material (in any form) that is
identified as sensitive in writing (‘sensitive information’) — during the implementation of the
action and for at least until the time-limit set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 6).
If a beneficiary requests, the granting authority may agree to keep such information
confidential for a longer period.
Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, they may use sensitive information only to
implement the Agreement.
The beneficiaries may disclose sensitive information to their personnel or other participants
involved in the action only if they:
(a) need to know it in order to implement the Agreement and
(b) are bound by an obligation of confidentiality.
The granting authority may disclose sensitive information to its staff and to other EU
institutions and bodies.
It may moreover disclose sensitive information to third parties, if:
(a) this is necessary to implement the Agreement or safeguard the EU financial interests
and
(b) the recipients of the information are bound by an obligation of confidentiality.
The confidentiality obligations no longer apply if:
(a) the disclosing party agrees to release the other party
(b) the information becomes publicly available, without breaching any confidentiality
obligation
(c) the disclosure of the sensitive information is required by EU, international or national
law.
Specific confidentiality rules (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
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13.2 Classified information
The parties must handle classified information in accordance with the applicable EU,
international or national law on classified information (in particular, Decision 2015/444 34 and
its implementing rules).
Deliverables which contain classified information must be submitted according to special
procedures agreed with the granting authority.
Action tasks involving classified information may be subcontracted only after explicit
approval (in writing) from the granting authority.
Classified information may not be disclosed to any third party (including participants
involved in the action implementation) without prior explicit written approval from the
granting authority.
Specific security rules (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
13.3 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 14 — ETHICS AND VALUES
14.1 Ethics
The action must be carried out in line with the highest ethical standards and the applicable
EU, international and national law on ethical principles.
Specific ethics rules (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
14.2 Values
The beneficiaries must commit to and ensure the respect of basic EU values (such as respect
for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights, including
the rights of minorities).
Specific rules on values (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
14.3 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
34
Commission Decision 2015/444/EC, Euratom of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting EU
classified information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53).
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ARTICLE 15 — DATA PROTECTION
15.1 Data processing by the granting authority
Any personal data under the Agreement will be processed under the responsibility of the data
controller of the granting authority in accordance with and for the purposes set out in the
Portal Privacy Statement.
For grants where the granting authority is the European Commission, an EU regulatory or
executive agency, joint undertaking or other EU body, the processing will be subject to
Regulation 2018/1725 35.
15.2 Data processing by the beneficiaries
The beneficiaries must process personal data under the Agreement in compliance with the
applicable EU, international and national law on data protection (in particular, Regulation
2016/679 36).
They must ensure that personal data is:
- processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subjects
- collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a
manner that is incompatible with those purposes
- adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for
which they are processed
- accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
- kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is
necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed and
- processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the data.
The beneficiaries may grant their personnel access to personal data only if it is strictly
necessary for implementing, managing and monitoring the Agreement. The beneficiaries must
ensure that the personnel is under a confidentiality obligation.
The beneficiaries must inform the persons whose data are transferred to the granting authority
and provide them with the Portal Privacy Statement.
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Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies,
offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and
Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).
36
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and
repealing Directive 95/46/EC (‘GDPR’) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
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15.3 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 16 — INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) — BACKGROUND
AND RESULTS —ACCESS RIGHTS AND RIGHTS OF USE
16.1 Background and access rights to background
The beneficiaries must give each other and the other participants access to the background
identified as needed for implementing the action, subject to any specific rules in Annex 5.
‘Background’ means any data, know-how or information — whatever its form or nature
(tangible or intangible), including any rights such as intellectual property rights — that is:
(a) held by the beneficiaries before they acceded to the Agreement and
(b) needed to implement the action or exploit the results.
If background is subject to rights of a third party, the beneficiary concerned must ensure that
it is able to comply with its obligations under the Agreement.
16.2 Ownership of results
The granting authority does not obtain ownership of the results produced under the action.
‘Results’ means any tangible or intangible effect of the action, such as data, know-how or
information, whatever its form or nature, whether or not it can be protected, as well as any
rights attached to it, including intellectual property rights.
16.3 Rights of use of the granting authority on materials, documents and information
received for policy, information, communication, dissemination and publicity
purposes
The granting authority has the right to use non-sensitive information relating to the action and
materials and documents received from the beneficiaries (notably summaries for publication,
deliverables, as well as any other material, such as pictures or audio-visual material, in paper
or electronic form) for policy, information, communication, dissemination and publicity
purposes — during the action or afterwards.
The right to use the beneficiaries’ materials, documents and information is granted in the form
of a royalty-free, non-exclusive and irrevocable licence, which includes the following rights:
(a) use for its own purposes (in particular, making them available to persons working for
the granting authority or any other EU service (including institutions, bodies, offices,
agencies, etc.) or EU Member State institution or body; copying or reproducing them
in whole or in part, in unlimited numbers; and communication through press
information services)
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(b) distribution to the public (in particular, publication as hard copies and in electronic
or digital format, publication on the internet, as a downloadable or non-downloadable
file, broadcasting by any channel, public display or presentation, communicating
through press information services, or inclusion in widely accessible databases or
indexes)
(c) editing or redrafting (including shortening, summarising, inserting other elements
(e.g. meta-data, legends, other graphic, visual, audio or text elements), extracting parts
(e.g. audio or video files), dividing into parts, use in a compilation)
(d) translation
(e) storage in paper, electronic or other form
(f) archiving, in line with applicable document-management rules
(g) the right to authorise third parties to act on its behalf or sub-license to third parties
the modes of use set out in Points (b), (c), (d) and (f), if needed for the information,
communication and publicity activity of the granting authority and
(h) processing, analysing, aggregating the materials, documents and information received
and producing derivative works.
The rights of use are granted for the whole duration of the industrial or intellectual property
rights concerned.
If materials or documents are subject to moral rights or third party rights (including
intellectual property rights or rights of natural persons on their image and voice), the
beneficiaries must ensure that they comply with their obligations under this Agreement (in
particular, by obtaining the necessary licences and authorisations from the rights holders
concerned).
Where applicable, the granting authority will insert the following information:
“© – [year] – [name of the copyright owner]. All rights reserved. Licensed to the [name of granting
authority] under conditions.”
16.4 Specific rules on IPR, results and background
Specific rules regarding intellectual property rights, results and background (if any) are set out
in Annex 5.
16.5 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such a breach may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
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ARTICLE 17 — COMMUNICATION, DISSEMINATION AND VISIBILITY
17.1 Communication — Dissemination — Promoting the action
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, the beneficiaries must promote the action
and its results by providing targeted information to multiple audiences (including the media
and the public), in accordance with Annex 1 and in a strategic, coherent and effective manner.
Before engaging in a communication or dissemination activity expected to have a major
media impact, the beneficiaries must inform the granting authority.
17.2 Visibility — European flag and funding statement
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, communication activities of the
beneficiaries related to the action (including media relations, conferences, seminars,
information material, such as brochures, leaflets, posters, presentations, etc., in electronic
form, via traditional or social media, etc.), dissemination activities and any infrastructure,
equipment, vehicles, supplies or major result funded by the grant must acknowledge EU
support and display the European flag (emblem) and funding statement (translated into local
languages, where appropriate):
The emblem must remain distinct and separate and cannot be modified by adding other visual
marks, brands or text.
Apart from the emblem, no other visual identity or logo may be used to highlight the EU
support.
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When displayed in association with other logos (e.g. of beneficiaries or sponsors), the emblem
must be displayed at least as prominently and visibly as the other logos.
For the purposes of their obligations under this Article, the beneficiaries may use the emblem
without first obtaining approval from the granting authority. This does not, however, give
them the right to exclusive use. Moreover, they may not appropriate the emblem or any
similar trademark or logo, either by registration or by any other means.
17.3 Quality of information — Disclaimer
Any communication or dissemination activity related to the action must use factually accurate
information.
Moreover, it must indicate the following disclaimer (translated into local languages where
appropriate):
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only
and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or [name of the granting authority]. Neither
the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”
17.4 Specific communication, dissemination and visibility rules
Specific communication, dissemination and visibility rules (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
17.5 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 18 — SPECIFIC RULES FOR CARRYING OUT THE ACTION
18.1 Specific rules for carrying out the action
Specific rules for implementing the action (if any) are set out in Annex 5.
18.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such a breach may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
SECTION 3 GRANT ADMINISTRATION
ARTICLE 19 — GENERAL INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS
19.1 Information requests
The beneficiaries must provide — during the action or afterwards and in accordance with
Article 7 — any information requested in order to verify eligibility of the costs or
contributions declared, proper implementation of the action and compliance with the other
obligations under the Agreement.
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The information provided must be accurate, precise and complete and in the format requested,
including electronic format.
19.2 Participant Register data updates
The beneficiaries must keep — at all times, during the action or afterwards — their
information stored in the Portal Participant Register up to date, in particular, their name,
address, legal representatives, legal form and organisation type.
19.3 Information about events and circumstances which impact the action
The beneficiaries must immediately inform the granting authority (and the other beneficiaries)
of any of the following:
(a) events which are likely to affect or delay the implementation of the action or affect the
EU’s financial interests, in particular:
(i) changes in their legal, financial, technical, organisational or ownership
situation (including changes linked to one of the exclusion grounds listed in
the declaration of honour signed before grant signature)
(ii) [OPTION 1 by default: linked action information: not applicable] [OPTION 2
if selected for the grant: changes regarding the linked action (see Article 3)]
(b) circumstances affecting:
(i) the decision to award the grant or
(ii) compliance with requirements under the Agreement.
19.4 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be reduced
(see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 20 — RECORD-KEEPING
20.1 Keeping records and supporting documents
The beneficiaries must — at least until the time-limit set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 6) —
keep records and other supporting documents to prove the proper implementation of the
action in line with the accepted standards in the respective field (if any).
In addition, the beneficiaries must — for the same period — keep the following to justify the
amounts declared:
(a) for actual costs: adequate records and supporting documents to prove the costs
declared (such as contracts, subcontracts, invoices and accounting records); in
addition, the beneficiaries’ usual accounting and internal control procedures must
enable direct reconciliation between the amounts declared, the amounts recorded in
their accounts and the amounts stated in the supporting documents
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(b) for flat-rate costs and contributions (if any): adequate records and supporting
documents to prove the eligibility of the costs or contributions to which the flat-rate is
applied
(c) for the following simplified costs and contributions: the beneficiaries do not need to
keep specific records on the actual costs incurred, but must keep:
(i) for unit costs and contributions (if any): adequate records and supporting
documents to prove the number of units declared
(ii) for lump sum costs and contributions (if any): adequate records and
supporting documents to prove proper implementation of the work as
described in Annex 1
(iii) for financing not linked to costs (if any): adequate records and supporting
documents to prove the achievement of the results or the fulfilment of the
conditions as described in Annex 1
(d) for unit, flat-rate and lump sum costs and contributions according to usual cost
accounting practices (if any): the beneficiaries must keep any adequate records and
supporting documents to prove that their cost accounting practices have been applied
in a consistent manner, based on objective criteria, regardless of the source of funding,
and that they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in Articles 6.1 and 6.2.
Moreover, the following is needed for specific budget categories:
(e) for personnel costs: time worked for the beneficiary under the action must be
supported by declarations signed monthly by the person and their supervisor, unless
another reliable time-record system is in place; the granting authority may accept
alternative evidence supporting the time worked for the action declared, if it considers
that it offers an adequate level of assurance
(f) additional record-keeping rules: not applicable.
The records and supporting documents must be made available upon request (see Article 19)
or in the context of checks, reviews, audits or investigations (see Article 25).
If there are on-going checks, reviews, audits, investigations, litigation or other pursuits of
claims under the Agreement (including the extension of findings; see Article 25), the
beneficiaries must keep these records and other supporting documentation until the end of
these procedures.
The beneficiaries must keep the original documents. Digital and digitalised documents are
considered originals if they are authorised by the applicable national law. The granting
authority may accept non-original documents if they offer a comparable level of assurance.
20.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, costs or contributions
insufficiently substantiated will be ineligible (see Article 6) and will be rejected (see Article
27), and the grant may be reduced (see Article 28).
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Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 21 — REPORTING
21.1 Continuous reporting
The beneficiaries must continuously report on the progress of the action (e.g. deliverables,
milestones, outputs/outcomes, critical risks, indicators, etc; if any), in the Portal
Continuous Reporting tool and in accordance with the timing and conditions it sets out (as
agreed with the granting authority).
Standardised deliverables (e.g. progress reports not linked to payments, reports on cumulative
expenditure, special reports, etc; if any) must be submitted using the templates published on
the Portal.
21.2 Periodic reporting: Technical reports and financial statements
In addition, the beneficiaries must provide reports to request payments, in accordance with the
schedule and modalities set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 4.2):
- for additional prefinancings (if any): an additional prefinancing report
- for interim payments (if any) and the final payment: a periodic report.
The prefinancing and periodic reports include a technical and financial part.
The technical part includes an overview of the action implementation. It must be prepared
using the template available in the Portal Periodic Reporting tool.
The financial part of the additional prefinancing report includes a statement on the use of the
previous prefinancing payment.
The financial part of the periodic report includes:
- the financial statements (individual and consolidated; for all beneficiaries/affiliated
entities)
- the explanation on the use of resources (or detailed cost reporting table, if required)
- the certificates on the financial statements (CFS) (if required; see Article 24.2 and
Data Sheet, Point 4.3).
The financial statements must detail the eligible costs and contributions for each budget
category and, for the final payment, also the revenues for the action (see Articles 6 and 22).
All eligible costs and contributions incurred should be declared, even if they exceed the
amounts indicated in the estimated budget (see Annex 2). Amounts that are not declared in the
individual financial statements will not be taken into account by the granting authority.
By signing the financial statements (directly in the Portal Periodic Reporting tool), the
beneficiaries confirm that:
- the information provided is complete, reliable and true
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- the costs and contributions declared are eligible (see Article 6)
- the costs and contributions can be substantiated by adequate records and supporting
documents (see Article 20) that will be produced upon request (see Article 19) or in
the context of checks, reviews, audits and investigations (see Article 25)
- for the final periodic report: all the revenues have been declared (if required; see
Article 22).
Beneficiaries will have to submit also the financial statements of their affiliated entities (if
any). In case of recoveries (see Article 22), beneficiaries will be held responsible also for the
financial statements of their affiliated entities.
21.3 Currency for financial statements and conversion into euros
The financial statements must be drafted in euro.
Beneficiaries with general accounts established in a currency other than the euro must convert
the costs recorded in their accounts into euro, at the average of the daily exchange rates
published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union (ECB website),
calculated over the corresponding reporting period.
If no daily euro exchange rate is published in the Official Journal for the currency in question,
they must be converted at the average of the monthly accounting exchange rates published on
the European Commission website (InforEuro), calculated over the corresponding reporting
period.
Beneficiaries with general accounts in euro must convert costs incurred in another currency
into euro according to their usual accounting practices.
21.4 Reporting language
The reporting must be in the language of the Agreement, unless otherwise agreed with the
granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 4.2).
21.5 Consequences of non-compliance
If a report submitted does not comply with this Article, the granting authority may suspend
the payment deadline (see Article 29) and apply other measures described in Chapter 5.
If the coordinator breaches its reporting obligations, the granting authority may terminate the
grant or the coordinator’s participation (see Article 32) or apply other measures described in
Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 22 — PAYMENTS AND RECOVERIES — CALCULATION OF
AMOUNTS DUE
22.1 Payments and payment arrangements
Payments will be made in accordance with the schedule and modalities set out in the Data
Sheet (see Point 4.2).
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They will be made in euro to the bank account indicated by the coordinator (see Data Sheet,
Point 4.2) and must be distributed without unjustified delay (restrictions may apply to
distribution of the initial prefinancing payment; see Data Sheet, Point 4.2).
Payments to this bank account will discharge the granting authority from its payment
obligation.
The cost of payment transfers will be borne as follows:
- the granting authority bears the cost of transfers charged by its bank
- the beneficiary bears the cost of transfers charged by its bank
- the party causing a repetition of a transfer bears all costs of the repeated transfer.
Payments by the granting authority will be considered to have been carried out on the date
when they are debited to its account.
22.2 Recoveries
Recoveries will be made, if — at beneficiary termination, final payment or afterwards — it
turns out that the granting authority has paid too much and needs to recover the amounts
undue.
The general liability regime for recoveries (first-line liability) is as follows: At final payment,
the coordinator will be fully liable for recoveries, even if it has not been the final recipient of
the undue amounts. At beneficiary termination or after final payment, recoveries will be made
directly against the beneficiaries concerned.
Beneficiaries will be fully liable for repaying the debts of their affiliated entities.
In case of enforced recoveries (see Article 22.4):
- the beneficiaries will be jointly and severally liable for repaying debts of another
beneficiary under the Agreement (including late-payment interest), if required by the
granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 4.4)
- affiliated entities will be held liable for repaying debts of their beneficiaries under the
Agreement (including late-payment interest), if required by the granting authority
(see Data Sheet, Point 4.4).
22.3 Amounts due
22.3.1 Prefinancing payments
The aim of the prefinancing is to provide the beneficiaries with a float.
It remains the property of the EU until the final payment.
For initial prefinancings (if any), the amount due, schedule and modalities are set out in the
Data Sheet (see Point 4.2).
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For additional prefinancings (if any), the amount due, schedule and modalities are also set
out in the Data Sheet (see Point 4.2). However, if the statement on the use of the previous
prefinancing payment shows that less than 70% was used, the amount set out in the Data
Sheet will be reduced by the difference between the 70% threshold and the amount used.
Prefinancing payments (or parts of them) may be offset (without the beneficiaries’ consent)
against amounts owed by a beneficiary to the granting authority — up to the amount due to
that beneficiary.
For grants where the granting authority is the European Commission or an EU executive
agency, offsetting may also be done against amounts owed to other Commission services or
executive agencies.
Payments will not be made if the payment deadline or payments are suspended (see Articles
29 and 30).
22.3.2 Amount due at beneficiary termination — Recovery
In case of beneficiary termination, the granting authority will determine the provisional
amount due for the beneficiary concerned. Payments (if any) will be made with the next
interim or final payment.
The amount due will be calculated in the following step:
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
The granting authority will first calculate the ‘accepted EU contribution’ for the beneficiary
for all reporting periods, by calculating the ‘maximum EU contribution to costs’ (applying the
funding rate to the accepted costs of the beneficiary), taking into account requests for a lower
contribution to costs and CFS threshold cappings (if any; see Article 24.5) and adding the
contributions (accepted unit, flat-rate or lump sum contributions and financing not linked to
costs, if any).
After that, the granting authority will take into account grant reductions (if any). The resulting
amount is the ‘total accepted EU contribution’ for the beneficiary.
The balance is then calculated by deducting the payments received (if any; see report on the
distribution of payments in Article 32), from the total accepted EU contribution:
{total accepted EU contribution for the beneficiary
minus
{prefinancing and interim payments received (if any)}}.
If the balance is positive, the amount will be included in the next interim or final payment to
the consortium.
If the balance is negative, it will be recovered in accordance with the following procedure:
The granting authority will send a pre-information letter to the beneficiary concerned:
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- formally notifying the intention to recover, the amount due, the amount to be
recovered and the reasons why and
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
If no observations are submitted (or the granting authority decides to pursue recovery despite
the observations it has received), it will confirm the amount to be recovered and ask this
amount to be paid to the coordinator (confirmation letter).
The amounts will later on also be taken into account for the next interim or final payment.
22.3.3 Interim payments
Interim payments reimburse the eligible costs and contributions claimed for the
implementation of the action during the reporting periods (if any).
Interim payments (if any) will be made in accordance with the schedule and modalities set out
the Data Sheet (see Point 4.2).
Payment is subject to the approval of the periodic report. Its approval does not imply
recognition of compliance, authenticity, completeness or correctness of its content.
The interim payment will be calculated by the granting authority in the following steps:
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
Step 2 — Limit to the interim payment ceiling
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
The granting authority will calculate the ‘accepted EU contribution’ for the action for the
reporting period, by first calculating the ‘maximum EU contribution to costs’ (applying the
funding rate to the accepted costs of each beneficiary), taking into account requests for a
lower contribution to costs, and CFS threshold cappings (if any; see Article 24.5) and adding
the contributions (accepted unit, flat-rate or lump sum contributions and financing not linked
to costs, if any).
After that, the granting authority will take into account grant reductions from beneficiary
termination (if any). The resulting amount is the ‘total accepted EU contribution’.
Step 2 — Limit to the interim payment ceiling
The resulting amount is then capped to ensure that the total amount of prefinancing and
interim payments (if any) does not exceed the interim payment ceiling set out in the Data
Sheet (see Point 4.2).
Interim payments (or parts of them) may be offset (without the beneficiaries’ consent) against
amounts owed by a beneficiary to the granting authority — up to the amount due to that
beneficiary.
For grants where the granting authority is the European Commission or an EU executive
agency, offsetting may also be done against amounts owed to other Commission services or
executive agencies.
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Payments will not be made if the payment deadline or payments are suspended (see Articles
29 and 30).
22.3.4 Final payment — Final grant amount — Revenues and Profit — Recovery
The final payment (payment of the balance) reimburses the remaining part of the eligible
costs and contributions claimed for the implementation of the action (if any).
The final payment will be made in accordance with the schedule and modalities set out in the
Data Sheet (see Point 4.2).
Payment is subject to the approval of the final periodic report. Its approval does not imply
recognition of compliance, authenticity, completeness or correctness of its content.
The final grant amount for the action will be calculated in the following steps:
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
Step 2 — Limit to the maximum grant amount
Step 3 — Reduction due to the no-profit rule
Step 1 — Calculation of the total accepted EU contribution
The granting authority will first calculate the ‘accepted EU contribution’ for the action for all
reporting periods, by calculating the ‘maximum EU contribution to costs’ (applying the
funding rate to the total accepted costs of each beneficiary), taking into account requests for a
lower contribution to costs, CFS threshold cappings (if any; see Article 24.5) and adding the
contributions (accepted unit, flat-rate or lump sum contributions and financing not linked to
costs, if any).
After that, the granting authority will take into account grant reductions (if any). The resulting
amount is the ‘total accepted EU contribution’.
Step 2 — Limit to the maximum grant amount
If the resulting amount is higher than the maximum grant amount set out in Article 5.2, it will
be limited to the latter.
Step 3 — Reduction due to the no-profit rule
If the no-profit rule is provided for in the Data Sheet (see Point 4.2), the grant must not
produce a profit (i.e. surplus of the amount obtained following Step 2 plus the action’s
revenues, over the eligible costs and contributions approved by the granting authority).
‘Revenue’ is all income generated by the action, during its duration (see Article 4), for
beneficiaries that are profit legal entities.
If there is a profit, it will be deducted in proportion to the final rate of reimbursement of the
eligible costs approved by the granting authority (as compared to the amount calculated
following Steps 1 and 2 minus the contributions).
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The balance (final payment) is then calculated by deducting the total amount of prefinancing
and interim payments already made (if any), from the final grant amount:
{final grant amount
minus
{prefinancing and interim payments made (if any)}}.
If the balance is positive, it will be paid to the coordinator.
The final payment (or part of it) may be offset (without the beneficiaries’ consent) against
amounts owed by a beneficiary to the granting authority — up to the amount due to that
beneficiary.
For grants where the granting authority is the European Commission or an EU executive
agency, offsetting may also be done against amounts owed to other Commission services or
executive agencies.
Payments will not be made if the payment deadline or payments are suspended (see Articles
29 and 30).
If the balance is negative, it will be recovered in accordance with the following procedure:
The granting authority will send a pre-information letter to the coordinator:
- formally notifying the intention to recover, the final grant amount, the amount to be
recovered and the reasons why
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
If no observations are submitted (or the granting authority decides to pursue recovery despite
the observations it has received), it will confirm the amount to be recovered (confirmation
letter), together with a debit note with the terms and date for payment.
If payment is not made by the date specified in the debit note, the granting authority will
enforce recovery in accordance with Article 22.4.
22.3.5 Audit implementation after final payment — Revised final grant amount —
Recovery
If — after the final payment (in particular, after checks, reviews, audits or investigations; see
Article 25) — the granting authority rejects costs or contributions (see Article 27) or reduces
the grant (see Article 28), it will calculate the revised final grant amount for the beneficiary
concerned.
The beneficiary revised final grant amount will be calculated in the following step:
Step 1 — Calculation of the revised total accepted EU contribution
Step 1 — Calculation of the revised total accepted EU contribution
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The granting authority will first calculate the ‘revised accepted EU contribution’ for the
beneficiary, by calculating the ‘revised accepted costs’ and ‘revised accepted contributions’.
After that, it will take into account grant reductions (if any). The resulting ‘revised total
accepted EU contribution’ is the beneficiary revised final grant amount.
If the revised final grant amount is lower than the beneficiary’s final grant amount (i.e. its
share in the final grant amount for the action), it will be recovered in accordance with the
following procedure:
The beneficiary final grant amount (i.e. share in the final grant amount for the action) is
calculated as follows:
{{{total accepted EU contribution for the beneficiary
divided by
total accepted EU contribution for the action}
multiplied by
}
final grant amount for the action .
The granting authority will send a pre-information letter to the beneficiary concerned:
- formally notifying the intention to recover, the amount to be recovered and the reasons
why and
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
If no observations are submitted (or the granting authority decides to pursue recovery despite
the observations it has received), it will confirm the amount to be recovered (confirmation
letter), together with a debit note with the terms and the date for payment.
Recoveries against affiliated entities (if any) will be handled through their beneficiaries.
If payment is not made by the date specified in the debit note, the granting authority will
enforce recovery in accordance with Article 22.4.
22.4 Enforced recovery
If payment is not made by the date specified in the debit note, the amount due will be
recovered:
(a) by offsetting the amount — without the coordinator or beneficiary’s consent —
against any amounts owed to the coordinator or beneficiary by the granting authority.
In exceptional circumstances, to safeguard the EU financial interests, the amount may
be offset before the payment date specified in the debit note.
For grants where the granting authority is the European Commission or an EU
executive agency, debts may also be offset against amounts owed by other
Commission services or executive agencies.
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(b) by drawing on the financial guarantee(s) (if any)
(c) by holding other beneficiaries jointly and severally liable (if any; see Data Sheet, Point
4.4)
(d) by holding affiliated entities jointly and severally liable (if any, see Data Sheet, Point
4.4) or
(e) by taking legal action (see Article 43) or, provided that granting authority is the
European Commission or an EU executive agency, by adopting an enforceable
decision under Article 299 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) and
Article 100(2) of EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
The amount to be recovered will be increased by late-payment interest at the rate set out in
Article 22.5, from the day following the payment date in the debit note, up to and including
the date the full payment is received.
Partial payments will be first credited against expenses, charges and late-payment interest and
then against the principal.
Bank charges incurred in the recovery process will be borne by the beneficiary, unless
Directive 2015/2366 37 applies.
For grants where the granting authority is an EU executive agency, enforced recovery by
offsetting or enforceable decision will be done by the services of the European Commission
(see also Article 43).
22.5 Consequences of non-compliance
22.5.1 If the granting authority does not pay within the payment deadlines (see above), the
beneficiaries are entitled to late-payment interest at the reference rate applied by the
European Central Bank (ECB) for its main refinancing operations in euros, plus the
percentage specified in the Data Sheet (Point 4.2). The ECB reference rate to be used is the
rate in force on the first day of the month in which the payment deadline expires, as published
in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union.
If the late-payment interest is lower than or equal to EUR 200, it will be paid to the
coordinator only on request submitted within two months of receiving the late payment.
Late-payment interest is not due if all beneficiaries are EU Member States (including regional
and local government authorities or other public bodies acting on behalf of a Member State
for the purpose of this Agreement).
If payments or the payment deadline are suspended (see Articles 29 and 30), payment will not
be considered as late.
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services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and
Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).
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Late-payment interest covers the period running from the day following the due date for
payment (see above), up to and including the date of payment.
Late-payment interest is not considered for the purposes of calculating the final grant amount.
22.5.2 If the coordinator breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the grant may be
reduced (see Article 29) and the grant or the coordinator may be terminated (see Article 32).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 23 — GUARANTEES
23.1 Prefinancing guarantee
If required by the granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 4.2), the beneficiaries must
provide (one or more) prefinancing guarantee(s) in accordance with the timing and the
amounts set out in the Data Sheet.
The coordinator must submit them to the granting authority in due time before the
prefinancing they are linked to.
The guarantees must be drawn up using the template published on the Portal and fulfil the
following conditions:
(a) be provided by a bank or approved financial institution established in the EU or — if
requested by the coordinator and accepted by the granting authority — by a third party
or a bank or financial institution established outside the EU offering equivalent
security
(b) the guarantor stands as first-call guarantor and does not require the granting authority
to first have recourse against the principal debtor (i.e. the beneficiary concerned) and
(c) remain explicitly in force until the final payment and, if the final payment takes the
form of a recovery, until five months after the debit note is notified to a beneficiary.
They will be released within the following month.
23.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If the beneficiaries breach their obligation to provide the prefinancing guarantee, the
prefinancing will not be paid.
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
ARTICLE 24 — CERTIFICATES
[OPTION 1 for European Statistics:
Not applicable]
[OPTION 2 for all other SMP ToAs:
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24.1 Operational verification report (OVR)
Not applicable
24.2 Certificate on the financial statements (CFS)
If required by the granting authority (see Data Sheet, Point 4.3), the beneficiaries must
provide certificates on their financial statements (CFS), in accordance with the schedule,
threshold and conditions set out in the Data Sheet.
The coordinator must submit them as part of the periodic report (see Article 21).
The certificates must be drawn up using the template published on the Portal, cover the costs
declared on the basis of actual costs and costs according to usual cost accounting practices (if
any), and fulfil the following conditions:
(a) be provided by a qualified approved external auditor which is independent and
complies with Directive 2006/43/EC (or for public bodies: by a competent
independent public officer)
(b) the verification must be carried out according to the highest professional standards to
ensure that the financial statements comply with the provisions under the Agreement
and that the costs declared are eligible.
The certificates will not affect the granting authority's right to carry out its own checks,
reviews or audits, nor preclude the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the European Public
Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) or the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) from using their
prerogatives for audits and investigations under the Agreement (see Article 25).
If the costs (or a part of them) were already audited by the granting authority, these costs do
not need to be covered by the certificate and will not be counted for calculating the threshold
(if any).
24.3 Certificate on the compliance of usual cost accounting practices (CoMUC)
Not applicable
24.4 Systems and process audit (SPA)
Not applicable
24.5 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary does not submit a certificate on the financial statements (CFS) or the
certificate is rejected, the accepted EU contribution to costs will be capped to reflect the CFS
threshold.
If a beneficiary breaches any of its other obligations under this Article, the granting authority
may apply the measures described in Chapter 5. ]
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ARTICLE 25 — CHECKS, REVIEWS, AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS —
EXTENSION OF FINDINGS
25.1 Granting authority checks, reviews and audits
25.1.1 Internal checks
The granting authority may — during the action or afterwards — check the proper
implementation of the action and compliance with the obligations under the Agreement,
including assessing costs and contributions, deliverables and reports.
25.1.2 Project reviews
The granting authority may carry out reviews on the proper implementation of the action and
compliance with the obligations under the Agreement (general project reviews or specific
issues reviews).
Such project reviews may be started during the implementation of the action and until the
time-limit set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 6). They will be formally notified to the
coordinator or beneficiary concerned and will be considered to start on the date of the
notification.
If needed, the granting authority may be assisted by independent, outside experts. If it uses
outside experts, the coordinator or beneficiary concerned will be informed and have the right
to object on grounds of commercial confidentiality or conflict of interest.
The coordinator or beneficiary concerned must cooperate diligently and provide — within the
deadline requested — any information and data in addition to deliverables and reports already
submitted (including information on the use of resources). The granting authority may request
beneficiaries to provide such information to it directly. Sensitive information and documents
will be treated in accordance with Article 13.
The coordinator or beneficiary concerned may be requested to participate in meetings,
including with the outside experts.
For on-the-spot visits, the beneficiary concerned must allow access to sites and premises
(including to the outside experts) and must ensure that information requested is readily
available.
Information provided must be accurate, precise and complete and in the format requested,
including electronic format.
On the basis of the review findings, a project review report will be drawn up.
The granting authority will formally notify the project review report to the coordinator or
beneficiary concerned, which has 30 days from receiving notification to make observations.
Project reviews (including project review reports) will be in the language of the Agreement.
25.1.3 Audits
The granting authority may carry out audits on the proper implementation of the action and
compliance with the obligations under the Agreement.
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Such audits may be started during the implementation of the action and until the time-limit set
out in the Data Sheet (see Point 6). They will be formally notified to the beneficiary
concerned and will be considered to start on the date of the notification.
The granting authority may use its own audit service, delegate audits to a centralised service
or use external audit firms. If it uses an external firm, the beneficiary concerned will be
informed and have the right to object on grounds of commercial confidentiality or conflict of
interest.
The beneficiary concerned must cooperate diligently and provide — within the deadline
requested — any information (including complete accounts, individual salary statements or
other personal data) to verify compliance with the Agreement. Sensitive information and
documents will be treated in accordance with Article 13.
For on-the-spot visits, the beneficiary concerned must allow access to sites and premises
(including for the external audit firm) and must ensure that information requested is readily
available.
Information provided must be accurate, precise and complete and in the format requested,
including electronic format.
On the basis of the audit findings, a draft audit report will be drawn up.
The auditors will formally notify the draft audit report to the beneficiary concerned, which
has 30 days from receiving notification to make observations (contradictory audit procedure).
The final audit report will take into account observations by the beneficiary concerned and
will be formally notified to them.
Audits (including audit reports) will be in the language of the Agreement.
25.2 European Commission checks, reviews and audits in grants of other granting
authorities
Where the granting authority is not the European Commission, the latter has the same rights
of checks, reviews and audits as the granting authority.
25.3 Access to records for assessing simplified forms of funding
The beneficiaries must give the European Commission access to their statutory records for the
periodic assessment of simplified forms of funding which are used in EU programmes.
25.4 OLAF, EPPO and ECA audits and investigations
The following bodies may also carry out checks, reviews, audits and investigations — during
the action or afterwards:
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- the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) under Regulations No 883/2013 and No
39
2185/96
- the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) under Regulation 2017/1939
- the European Court of Auditors (ECA) under Article 287 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the EU (TFEU) and Article 257 of EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
If requested by these bodies, the beneficiary concerned must provide full, accurate and
complete information in the format requested (including complete accounts, individual salary
statements or other personal data, including in electronic format) and allow access to sites and
premises for on-the-spot visits or inspections — as provided for under these Regulations.
To this end, the beneficiary concerned must keep all relevant information relating to the
action, at least until the time-limit set out in the Data Sheet (Point 6) and, in any case, until
any ongoing checks, reviews, audits, investigations, litigation or other pursuits of claims have
been concluded.
25.5 Consequences of checks, reviews, audits and investigations — Extension of
findings
25.5.1 Consequences of checks, reviews, audits and investigations in this grant
Findings in checks, reviews, audits or investigations carried out in the context of this grant
may lead to rejections (see Article 27), grant reduction (see Article 28) or other measures
described in Chapter 5.
Rejections or grant reductions after the final payment will lead to a revised final grant amount
(see Article 22).
Findings in checks, reviews, audits or investigations during the action implementation may
lead to a request for amendment (see Article 39), to change the description of the action set
out in Annex 1.
Checks, reviews, audits or investigations that find systemic or recurrent errors, irregularities,
fraud or breach of obligations in any EU grant may also lead to consequences in other EU
grants awarded under similar conditions (‘extension to other grants’).
Moreover, findings arising from an OLAF or EPPO investigation may lead to criminal
prosecution under national law.
25.5.2 Extension from other grants
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Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September
2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation
(Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18/09/2013, p. 1).
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Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/1996 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and
inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests
against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15/11/1996, p. 2).
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Findings of checks, reviews, audits or investigations in other grants may be extended to this
grant, if:
(a) the beneficiary concerned is found, in other EU grants awarded under similar
conditions, to have committed systemic or recurrent errors, irregularities, fraud or
breach of obligations that have a material impact on this grant and
(b) those findings are formally notified to the beneficiary concerned — together with the
list of grants affected by the findings — within the time-limit for audits set out in the
Data Sheet (see Point 6).
The granting authority will formally notify the beneficiary concerned of the intention to
extend the findings and the list of grants affected.
If the extension concerns rejections of costs or contributions: the notification will include:
(a) an invitation to submit observations on the list of grants affected by the findings
(b) the request to submit revised financial statements for all grants affected
(c) the correction rate for extrapolation, established on the basis of the systemic or
recurrent errors, to calculate the amounts to be rejected, if the beneficiary concerned:
(i) considers that the submission of revised financial statements is not possible or
practicable or
(ii) does not submit revised financial statements.
If the extension concerns grant reductions: the notification will include:
(a) an invitation to submit observations on the list of grants affected by the findings and
(b) the correction rate for extrapolation, established on the basis of the systemic or
recurrent errors and the principle of proportionality.
The beneficiary concerned has 60 days from receiving notification to submit observations,
revised financial statements or to propose a duly substantiated alternative correction
method/rate.
On the basis of this, the granting authority will analyse the impact and decide on the
implementation (i.e. start rejection or grant reduction procedures, either on the basis of the
revised financial statements or the announced/alternative method/rate or a mix of those; see
Articles 27 and 28).
25.6 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, costs or contributions
insufficiently substantiated will be ineligible (see Article 6) and will be rejected (see Article
27), and the grant may be reduced (see Article 28).
Such breaches may also lead to other measures described in Chapter 5.
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ARTICLE 26 — IMPACT EVALUATIONS
26.1 Impact evaluation
The granting authority may carry out impact evaluations of the action, measured against the
objectives and indicators of the EU programme funding the grant.
Such evaluations may be started during implementation of the action and until the time-limit
set out in the Data Sheet (see Point 6). They will be formally notified to the coordinator or
beneficiaries and will be considered to start on the date of the notification.
If needed, the granting authority may be assisted by independent outside experts.
The coordinator or beneficiaries must provide any information relevant to evaluate the impact
of the action, including information in electronic format.
26.2 Consequences of non-compliance
If a beneficiary breaches any of its obligations under this Article, the granting authority may
apply the measures described in Chapter 5.
CHAPTER 5 CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE
SECTION 1 REJECTIONS AND GRANT REDUCTION
ARTICLE 27 — REJECTION OF COSTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
27.1 Conditions
The granting authority will — at beneficiary termination, interim payment, final payment or
afterwards — reject any costs or contributions which are ineligible (see Article 6), in
particular following checks, reviews, audits or investigations (see Article 25).
The rejection may also be based on the extension of findings from other grants to this grant
(see Article 25).
Ineligible costs or contributions will be rejected.
27.2 Procedure
If the rejection does not lead to a recovery, the granting authority will formally notify the
coordinator or beneficiary concerned of the rejection, the amounts and the reasons why. The
coordinator or beneficiary concerned may — within 30 days of receiving notification —
submit observations if it disagrees with the rejection (payment review procedure).
If the rejection leads to a recovery, the granting authority will follow the contradictory
procedure with pre-information letter set out in Article 22.
27.3 Effects
If the granting authority rejects costs or contributions, it will deduct them from the costs or
contributions declared and then calculate the amount due (and, if needed, make a recovery;
see Article 22).
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ARTICLE 28 — GRANT REDUCTION
28.1 Conditions
The granting authority may — at beneficiary termination, final payment or afterwards —
reduce the grant for a beneficiary, if:
(a) the beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed:
(i) substantial errors, irregularities or fraud or
(ii) serious breach of obligations under this Agreement or during its award
(including improper implementation of the action, non-compliance with the
call conditions, submission of false information, failure to provide required
information, breach of ethics or security rules (if applicable), etc.), or
(b) the beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed
— in other EU grants awarded to it under similar conditions — systemic or recurrent
errors, irregularities, fraud or serious breach of obligations that have a material impact
on this grant (extension of findings; see Article 25.5).
The amount of the reduction will be calculated for each beneficiary concerned and
proportionate to the seriousness and the duration of the errors, irregularities or fraud or breach
of obligations, by applying an individual reduction rate to their accepted EU contribution.
28.2 Procedure
If the grant reduction does not lead to a recovery, the granting authority will formally notify
the coordinator or beneficiary concerned of the reduction, the amount to be reduced and the
reasons why. The coordinator or beneficiary concerned may — within 30 days of receiving
notification — submit observations if it disagrees with the reduction (payment review
procedure).
If the grant reduction leads to a recovery, the granting authority will follow the contradictory
procedure with pre-information letter set out in Article 22.
28.3 Effects
If the granting authority reduces the grant, it will deduct the reduction and then calculate the
amount due (and, if needed, make a recovery; see Article 22).
SECTION 2 SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION
ARTICLE 29 — PAYMENT DEADLINE SUSPENSION
29.1 Conditions
The granting authority may — at any moment — suspend the payment deadline if a payment
cannot be processed because:
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(a) the required report (see Article 21) has not been submitted or is not complete or
additional information is needed
(b) there are doubts about the amount to be paid (e.g. ongoing extension procedure,
queries about eligibility, need for a grant reduction, etc.) and additional checks,
reviews, audits or investigations are necessary, or
(c) there are other issues affecting the EU financial interests.
29.2 Procedure
The granting authority will formally notify the coordinator of the suspension and the reasons
why.
The suspension will take effect the day the notification is sent.
If the conditions for suspending the payment deadline are no longer met, the suspension will
be lifted — and the remaining time to pay (see Data Sheet, Point 4.2) will resume.
If the suspension exceeds two months, the coordinator may request the granting authority to
confirm if the suspension will continue.
If the payment deadline has been suspended due to the non-compliance of the report and the
revised report is not submitted (or was submitted but is also rejected), the granting authority
may also terminate the grant or the participation of the coordinator (see Article 32).
ARTICLE 30 — PAYMENT SUSPENSION
30.1 Conditions
The granting authority may — at any moment — suspend payments, in whole or in part for
one or more beneficiaries, if:
(a) a beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed
or is suspected of having committed:
(i) substantial errors, irregularities or fraud or
(ii) serious breach of obligations under this Agreement or during its award
(including improper implementation of the action, non-compliance with the
call conditions, submission of false information, failure to provide required
information, breach of ethics or security rules (if applicable), etc.), or
(b) a beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed
— in other EU grants awarded to it under similar conditions — systemic or recurrent
errors, irregularities, fraud or serious breach of obligations that have a material impact
on this grant (extension of findings; see Article 25.5).
If payments are suspended for one or more beneficiaries, the granting authority will make
partial payment(s) for the part(s) not suspended. If suspension concerns the final payment, the
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payment (or recovery) of the remaining amount after suspension is lifted will be considered to
be the payment that closes the action.
30.2 Procedure
Before suspending payments, the granting authority will send a pre-information letter to the
beneficiary concerned:
- formally notifying the intention to suspend payments and the reasons why and
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
If the granting authority does not receive observations or decides to pursue the procedure
despite the observations it has received, it will confirm the suspension (confirmation letter).
Otherwise, it will formally notify that the procedure is discontinued.
At the end of the suspension procedure, the granting authority will also inform the
coordinator.
The suspension will take effect the day after the confirmation notification is sent.
If the conditions for resuming payments are met, the suspension will be lifted. The granting
authority will formally notify the beneficiary concerned (and the coordinator) and set the
suspension end date.
During the suspension, no prefinancing will be paid to the beneficiaries concerned. For
interim payments, the periodic reports for all reporting periods except the last one (see Article
21) must not contain any financial statements from the beneficiary concerned (or its affiliated
entities). The coordinator must include them in the next periodic report after the suspension is
lifted or — if suspension is not lifted before the end of the action — in the last periodic report.
ARTICLE 31 — GRANT AGREEMENT SUSPENSION
31.1 Consortium-requested GA suspension
31.1.1 Conditions and procedure
The beneficiaries may request the suspension of the grant or any part of it, if exceptional
circumstances — in particular force majeure (see Article 35) — make implementation
impossible or excessively difficult.
The coordinator must submit a request for amendment (see Article 39), with:
- the reasons why
- the date the suspension takes effect; this date may be before the date of the submission
of the amendment request and
- the expected date of resumption.
The suspension will take effect on the day specified in the amendment.
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Once circumstances allow for implementation to resume, the coordinator must immediately
request another amendment of the Agreement to set the suspension end date, the resumption
date (one day after suspension end date), extend the duration and make other changes
necessary to adapt the action to the new situation (see Article 39) — unless the grant has been
terminated (see Article 32). The suspension will be lifted with effect from the suspension end
date set out in the amendment. This date may be before the date of the submission of the
amendment request.
During the suspension, no prefinancing will be paid. Costs incurred or contributions for
activities implemented during grant suspension are not eligible (see Article 6.3).
31.2 EU-initiated GA suspension
31.2.1 Conditions
The granting authority may suspend the grant or any part of it, if:
(a) a beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed
or is suspected of having committed:
(i) substantial errors, irregularities or fraud or
(ii) serious breach of obligations under this Agreement or during its award
(including improper implementation of the action, non-compliance with the
call conditions, submission of false information, failure to provide required
information, breach of ethics or security rules (if applicable), etc.), or
(b) a beneficiary (or a person having powers of representation, decision-making or
control, or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed
— in other EU grants awarded to it under similar conditions — systemic or recurrent
errors, irregularities, fraud or serious breach of obligations that have a material impact
on this grant (extension of findings; see Article 25.5)
(c) other:
(i) [OPTION 1 by default: linked action issues: not applicable] [OPTION 2 if
selected for the grant: the linked action (see Article 3) has not started as
specified in Annex 1, has been suspended or can no longer contribute, and
this impacts the implementation of the action under this Agreement]
(ii) additional GA suspension grounds: not applicable.
31.2.2 Procedure
Before suspending the grant, the granting authority will send a pre-information letter to the
coordinator:
- formally notifying the intention to suspend the grant and the reasons why and
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
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If the granting authority does not receive observations or decides to pursue the procedure
despite the observations it has received, it will confirm the suspension (confirmation letter).
Otherwise, it will formally notify that the procedure is discontinued.
The suspension will take effect the day after the confirmation notification is sent (or on a
later date specified in the notification).
Once the conditions for resuming implementation of the action are met, the granting authority
will formally notify the coordinator a lifting of suspension letter, in which it will set the
suspension end date and invite the coordinator to request an amendment of the Agreement to
set the resumption date (one day after suspension end date), extend the duration and make
other changes necessary to adapt the action to the new situation (see Article 39) — unless the
grant has been terminated (see Article 32). The suspension will be lifted with effect from the
suspension end date set out in the lifting of suspension letter. This date may be before the date
on which the letter is sent.
During the suspension, no prefinancing will be paid. Costs incurred or contributions for
activities implemented during suspension are not eligible (see Article 6.3).
The beneficiaries may not claim damages due to suspension by the granting authority (see
Article 33).
Grant suspension does not affect the granting authority’s right to terminate the grant or a
beneficiary (see Article 32) or reduce the grant (see Article 28).
ARTICLE 32 — GRANT AGREEMENT OR BENEFICIARY TERMINATION
32.1 Consortium-requested GA termination
32.1.1 Conditions and procedure
The beneficiaries may request the termination of the grant.
The coordinator must submit a request for amendment (see Article 39), with:
- the reasons why
- the date the consortium ends work on the action (‘end of work date’) and
- the date the termination takes effect (‘termination date’); this date must be after the
date of the submission of the amendment request.
The termination will take effect on the termination date specified in the amendment.
If no reasons are given or if the granting authority considers the reasons do not justify
termination, it may consider the grant terminated improperly.
32.1.2 Effects
The coordinator must — within 60 days from when termination takes effect — submit a
periodic report (for the open reporting period until termination).
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The granting authority will calculate the final grant amount and final payment on the basis of
the report submitted and taking into account the costs incurred and contributions for activities
implemented before the end of work date (see Article 22). Costs relating to contracts due for
execution only after the end of work are not eligible.
If the granting authority does not receive the report within the deadline, only costs and
contributions which are included in an approved periodic report will be taken into account (no
costs/contributions if no periodic report was ever approved).
Improper termination may lead to a grant reduction (see Article 28).
After termination, the beneficiaries’ obligations (in particular Articles 13 (confidentiality and
security), 16 (IPR), 17 (communication, dissemination and visibility), 21 (reporting), 25
(checks, reviews, audits and investigations), 26 (impact evaluation), 27 (rejections), 28 (grant
reduction) and 42 (assignment of claims)) continue to apply.
32.2 Consortium-requested beneficiary termination
32.2.1 Conditions and procedure
The coordinator may request the termination of the participation of one or more beneficiaries,
on request of the beneficiary concerned or on behalf of the other beneficiaries.
The coordinator must submit a request for amendment (see Article 39), with:
- the reasons why
- the opinion of the beneficiary concerned (or proof that this opinion has been
requested in writing)
- the date the beneficiary ends work on the action (‘end of work date’)
- the date the termination takes effect (‘termination date’); this date must be after the
date of the submission of the amendment request.
If the termination concerns the coordinator and is done without its agreement, the amendment
request must be submitted by another beneficiary (acting on behalf of the consortium).
The termination will take effect on the termination date specified in the amendment.
If no information is given or if the granting authority considers that the reasons do not justify
termination, it may consider the beneficiary to have been terminated improperly.
32.2.2 Effects
The coordinator must — within 60 days from when termination takes effect — submit:
(i) a report on the distribution of payments to the beneficiary concerned
(ii) a termination report from the beneficiary concerned, for the open reporting
period until termination, containing an overview of the progress of the work, the
financial statement, the explanation on the use of resources, and, if applicable, the
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certificate on the financial statement (CFS; see Articles 21 and 24.2 and Data
Sheet, Point 4.3)
(iii) a second request for amendment (see Article 39) with other amendments needed
(e.g. reallocation of the tasks and the estimated budget of the terminated
beneficiary; addition of a new beneficiary to replace the terminated beneficiary;
change of coordinator, etc.).
The granting authority will calculate the amount due to the beneficiary on the basis of the
report submitted and taking into account the costs incurred and contributions for activities
implemented before the end of work date (see Article 22). Costs relating to contracts due for
execution only after the end of work are not eligible.
The information in the termination report must also be included in the periodic report for the
next reporting period (see Article 21).
If the granting authority does not receive the termination report within the deadline, only costs
and contributions which are included in an approved periodic report will be taken into account
(no costs/contributions if no periodic report was ever approved).
If the granting authority does not receive the report on the distribution of payments within the
deadline, it will consider that:
- the coordinator did not distribute any payment to the beneficiary concerned and that
- the beneficiary concerned must not repay any amount to the coordinator.
If the second request for amendment is accepted by the granting authority, the Agreement is
amended to introduce the necessary changes (see Article 39).
If the second request for amendment is rejected by the granting authority (because it calls into
question the decision awarding the grant or breaches the principle of equal treatment of
applicants), the grant may be terminated (see Article 32).
Improper termination may lead to a reduction of the grant (see Article 31) or grant
termination (see Article 32).
After termination, the concerned beneficiary’s obligations (in particular Articles 13
(confidentiality and security), 16 (IPR), 17 (communication, dissemination and visibility), 21
(reporting), 25 (checks, reviews, audits and investigations), 26 (impact evaluation), 27
(rejections), 28 (grant reduction) and 42 (assignment of claims)) continue to apply.
32.3 EU-initiated GA or beneficiary termination
32.3.1 Conditions
The granting authority may terminate the grant or the participation of one or more
beneficiaries, if:
(a) one or more beneficiaries do not accede to the Agreement (see Article 40)
(b) a change to the action or the legal, financial, technical, organisational or ownership
situation of a beneficiary is likely to substantially affect the implementation of the
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action or calls into question the decision to award the grant (including changes linked
to one of the exclusion grounds listed in the declaration of honour)
(c) following termination of one or more beneficiaries, the necessary changes to the
Agreement (and their impact on the action) would call into question the decision
awarding the grant or breach the principle of equal treatment of applicants
(d) implementation of the action has become impossible or the changes necessary for its
continuation would call into question the decision awarding the grant or breach the
principle of equal treatment of applicants
(e) a beneficiary (or person with unlimited liability for its debts) is subject to bankruptcy
proceedings or similar (including insolvency, winding-up, administration by a
liquidator or court, arrangement with creditors, suspension of business activities, etc.)
(f) a beneficiary (or person with unlimited liability for its debts) is in breach of social
security or tax obligations
(g) a beneficiary (or person having powers of representation, decision-making or control,
or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has been found guilty of
grave professional misconduct
(h) a beneficiary (or person having powers of representation, decision-making or control,
or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed fraud,
corruption, or is involved in a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism-
related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or human trafficking
(i) a beneficiary (or person having powers of representation, decision-making or control,
or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) was created under a
different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or other legal
obligations in the country of origin (or created another entity with this purpose)
(j) a beneficiary (or person having powers of representation, decision-making or control,
or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed:
(i) substantial errors, irregularities or fraud or
(ii) serious breach of obligations under this Agreement or during its award
(including improper implementation of the action, non-compliance with the
call conditions, submission of false information, failure to provide required
information, breach of ethics or security rules (if applicable), etc.)
(k) a beneficiary (or person having powers of representation, decision-making or control,
or person essential for the award/implementation of the grant) has committed — in
other EU grants awarded to it under similar conditions — systemic or recurrent
errors, irregularities, fraud or serious breach of obligations that have a material impact
on this grant (extension of findings; see Article 25.5)
(l) despite a specific request by the granting authority, a beneficiary does not request —
through the coordinator — an amendment to the Agreement to end the participation of
one of its affiliated entities or associated partners that is in one of the situations under
points (d), (f), (e), (g), (h), (i) or (j) and to reallocate its tasks, or
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(m) other:
(i) [OPTION 1 by default: linked action issues: not applicable] [OPTION 2 if
selected for the grant: the linked action (see Article 3) has not started as
specified in Annex 1, has been terminated or can no longer contribute, and
this impacts the implementation of the action under this Agreement]
(ii) additional GA termination grounds: not applicable.
32.3.2 Procedure
Before terminating the grant or participation of one or more beneficiaries, the granting
authority will send a pre-information letter to the coordinator or beneficiary concerned:
- formally notifying the intention to terminate and the reasons why and
- requesting observations within 30 days of receiving notification.
If the granting authority does not receive observations or decides to pursue the procedure
despite the observations it has received, it will confirm the termination and the date it will
take effect (confirmation letter). Otherwise, it will formally notify that the procedure is
discontinued.
For beneficiary terminations, the granting authority will — at the end of the procedure — also
inform the coordinator.
The termination will take effect the day after the confirmation notification is sent (or on a
later date specified in the notification; ‘termination date’).
32.3.3 Effects
(a) for GA termination:
The coordinator must — within 60 days from when termination takes effect — submit
a periodic report (for the last open reporting period until termination).
The granting authority will calculate the final grant amount and final payment on the
basis of the report submitted and taking into account the costs incurred and
contributions for activities implemented before termination takes effect (see Article
22). Costs relating to contracts due for execution only after termination are not
eligible.
If the grant is terminated for breach of the obligation to submit reports, the coordinator
may not submit any report after termination.
If the granting authority does not receive the report within the deadline, only costs and
contributions which are included in an approved periodic report will be taken into
account (no costs/contributions if no periodic report was ever approved).
Termination does not affect the granting authority’s right to reduce the grant (see
Article 28) or to impose administrative sanctions (see Article 34).
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The beneficiaries may not claim damages due to termination by the granting authority
(see Article 33).
After termination, the beneficiaries’ obligations (in particular Articles 13
(confidentiality and security), 16 (IPR), 17 (communication, dissemination and
visibility), 21 (reporting), 25 (checks, reviews, audits and investigations), 26 (impact
evaluation), 27 (rejections), 28 (grant reduction) and 42 (assignment of claims))
continue to apply.
(b) for beneficiary termination:
The coordinator must — within 60 days from when termination takes effect —
submit:
(i) a report on the distribution of payments to the beneficiary concerned
(ii) a termination report from the beneficiary concerned, for the open
reporting period until termination, containing an overview of the progress
of the work, the financial statement, the explanation on the use of
resources, and, if applicable, the certificate on the financial statement
(CFS; see Articles 21 and 24.2 and Data Sheet, Point 4.3)
(iii) a request for amendment (see Article 39) with any amendments needed
(e.g. reallocation of the tasks and the estimated budget of the terminated
beneficiary; addition of a new beneficiary to replace the terminated
beneficiary; change of coordinator, etc.).
The granting authority will calculate the amount due to the beneficiary on the basis of
the report submitted and taking into account the costs incurred and contributions for
activities implemented before termination takes effect (see Article 22). Costs relating
to contracts due for execution only after termination are not eligible.
The information in the termination report must also be included in the periodic report
for the next reporting period (see Article 21).
If the granting authority does not receive the termination report within the deadline,
only costs and contributions included in an approved periodic report will be taken into
account (no costs/contributions if no periodic report was ever approved).
If the granting authority does not receive the report on the distribution of payments
within the deadline, it will consider that:
- the coordinator did not distribute any payment to the beneficiary concerned
and that
- the beneficiary concerned must not repay any amount to the coordinator.
If the request for amendment is accepted by the granting authority, the Agreement is
amended to introduce the necessary changes (see Article 39).
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If the request for amendment is rejected by the granting authority (because it calls
into question the decision awarding the grant or breaches the principle of equal
treatment of applicants), the grant may be terminated (see Article 32).
After termination, the concerned beneficiary’s obligations (in particular Articles 13
(confidentiality and security), 16 (IPR), 17 (communication, dissemination and
visibility), 21 (reporting), 25 (checks, reviews, audits and investigations), 26 (impact
evaluation), 27 (rejections), 28 (grant reduction) and 42 (assignment of claims))
continue to apply.
SECTION 3 OTHER CONSEQUENCES: DAMAGES AND ADMINISTRATIVE
SANCTIONS
ARTICLE 33 — DAMAGES
33.1 Liability of the granting authority
The granting authority cannot be held liable for any damage caused to the beneficiaries or to
third parties as a consequence of the implementation of the Agreement, including for gross
negligence.
The granting authority cannot be held liable for any damage caused by any of the
beneficiaries or other participants involved in the action, as a consequence of the
implementation of the Agreement.
33.2 Liability of the beneficiaries
The beneficiaries must compensate the granting authority for any damage it sustains as a
result of the implementation of the action or because the action was not implemented in full
compliance with the Agreement, provided that it was caused by gross negligence or wilful act.
The liability does not extend to indirect or consequential losses or similar damage (such as
loss of profit, loss of revenue or loss of contracts), provided such damage was not caused by
wilful act or by a breach of confidentiality.
ARTICLE 34 — ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS AND OTHER MEASURES
Nothing in this Agreement may be construed as preventing the adoption of administrative
sanctions (i.e. exclusion from EU award procedures and/or financial penalties) or other public
law measures, in addition or as an alternative to the contractual measures provided under this
Agreement (see, for instance, Articles 135 to 145 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046 and
Articles 4 and 7 of Regulation 2988/95 40).
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Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1).
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SECTION 4 FORCE MAJEURE
ARTICLE 35 — FORCE MAJEURE
A party prevented by force majeure from fulfilling its obligations under the Agreement cannot
be considered in breach of them.
‘Force majeure’ means any situation or event that:
- prevents either party from fulfilling their obligations under the Agreement,
- was unforeseeable, exceptional situation and beyond the parties’ control,
- was not due to error or negligence on their part (or on the part of other participants
involved in the action), and
- proves to be inevitable in spite of exercising all due diligence.
Any situation constituting force majeure must be formally notified to the other party without
delay, stating the nature, likely duration and foreseeable effects.
The parties must immediately take all the necessary steps to limit any damage due to force
majeure and do their best to resume implementation of the action as soon as possible.
CHAPTER 6 FINAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 36 — COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PARTIES
36.1 Forms and means of communication — Electronic management
EU grants are managed fully electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal
(‘Portal’).
All communications must be made electronically through the Portal, in accordance with the
Portal Terms and Conditions and using the forms and templates provided there (except if
explicitly instructed otherwise by the granting authority).
Communications must be made in writing and clearly identify the grant agreement (project
number and acronym).
Communications must be made by persons authorised according to the Portal Terms and
Conditions. For naming the authorised persons, each beneficiary must have designated —
before the signature of this Agreement — a ‘legal entity appointed representative (LEAR)’.
The role and tasks of the LEAR are stipulated in their appointment letter (see Portal Terms
and Conditions).
If the electronic exchange system is temporarily unavailable, instructions will be given on the
Portal.
36.2 Date of communication
The sending date for communications made through the Portal will be the date and time of
sending, as indicated by the time logs.
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The receiving date for communications made through the Portal will be the date and time the
communication is accessed, as indicated by the time logs. Formal notifications that have not
been accessed within 10 days after sending, will be considered to have been accessed (see
Portal Terms and Conditions).
If a communication is exceptionally made on paper (by e-mail or postal service), general
principles apply (i.e. date of sending/receipt). Formal notifications by registered post with
proof of delivery will be considered to have been received either on the delivery date
registered by the postal service or the deadline for collection at the post office.
If the electronic exchange system is temporarily unavailable, the sending party cannot be
considered in breach of its obligation to send a communication within a specified deadline.
36.3 Addresses for communication
The Portal can be accessed via the Europa website.
The address for paper communications to the granting authority (if exceptionally allowed) is
the official mailing address indicated on its website.
For beneficiaries, it is the legal address specified in the Portal Participant Register.
ARTICLE 37 — INTERPRETATION OF THE AGREEMENT
The provisions in the Data Sheet take precedence over the rest of the Terms and Conditions of
the Agreement.
Annex 5 takes precedence over the Terms and Conditions; the Terms and Conditions take
precedence over the Annexes other than Annex 5.
Annex 2 takes precedence over Annex 1.
ARTICLE 38 — CALCULATION OF PERIODS AND DEADLINES
In accordance with Regulation No 1182/71 41, periods expressed in days, months or years are
calculated from the moment the triggering event occurs.
The day during which that event occurs is not considered as falling within the period.
‘Days’ means calendar days, not working days.
ARTICLE 39 — AMENDMENTS
39.1 Conditions
The Agreement may be amended, unless the amendment entails changes to the Agreement
which would call into question the decision awarding the grant or breach the principle of
equal treatment of applicants.
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Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of the Council of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to
periods, dates and time-limits (OJ L 124, 8/6/1971, p. 1).
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Amendments may be requested by any of the parties.
39.2 Procedure
The party requesting an amendment must submit a request for amendment signed directly in
the Portal Amendment tool.
The coordinator submits and receives requests for amendment on behalf of the beneficiaries
(see Annex 3). If a change of coordinator is requested without its agreement, the submission
must be done by another beneficiary (acting on behalf of the other beneficiaries).
The request for amendment must include:
- the reasons why
- the appropriate supporting documents and
- for a change of coordinator without its agreement: the opinion of the coordinator (or
proof that this opinion has been requested in writing).
The granting authority may request additional information.
If the party receiving the request agrees, it must sign the amendment in the tool within 45
days of receiving notification (or any additional information the granting authority has
requested). If it does not agree, it must formally notify its disagreement within the same
deadline. The deadline may be extended, if necessary for the assessment of the request. If no
notification is received within the deadline, the request is considered to have been rejected.
An amendment enters into force on the day of the signature of the receiving party.
An amendment takes effect on the date of entry into force or other date specified in the
amendment.
ARTICLE 40 — ACCESSION AND ADDITION OF NEW BENEFICIARIES
40.1 Accession of the beneficiaries mentioned in the Preamble
The beneficiaries which are not coordinator must accede to the grant by signing the accession
form (see Annex 3) directly in the Portal Grant Preparation tool, within 30 days after the entry
into force of the Agreement (see Article 44).
They will assume the rights and obligations under the Agreement with effect from the date of
its entry into force (see Article 44).
If a beneficiary does not accede to the grant within the above deadline, the coordinator must
— within 30 days — request an amendment (see Article 39) to terminate the beneficiary and
make any changes necessary to ensure proper implementation of the action. This does not
affect the granting authority’s right to terminate the grant (see Article 32).
40.2 Addition of new beneficiaries
In justified cases, the beneficiaries may request the addition of a new beneficiary.
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For this purpose, the coordinator must submit a request for amendment in accordance with
Article 39. It must include an accession form (see Annex 3) signed by the new beneficiary
directly in the Portal Amendment tool.
New beneficiaries will assume the rights and obligations under the Agreement with effect
from the date of their accession specified in the accession form (see Annex 3).
Additions are also possible in mono-beneficiary grants.
ARTICLE 41 — TRANSFER OF THE AGREEMENT
In justified cases, the beneficiary of a mono-beneficiary grant may request the transfer of the
grant to a new beneficiary, provided that this would not call into question the decision
awarding the grant or breach the principle of equal treatment of applicants.
The beneficiary must submit a request for amendment (see Article 39), with
- the reasons why
- the accession form (see Annex 3) signed by the new beneficiary directly in the Portal
Amendment tool and
- additional supporting documents (if required by the granting authority).
The new beneficiary will assume the rights and obligations under the Agreement with effect
from the date of accession specified in the accession form (see Annex 3).
ARTICLE 42 — ASSIGNMENTS OF CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT AGAINST THE
GRANTING AUTHORITY
The beneficiaries may not assign any of their claims for payment against the granting
authority to any third party, except if expressly approved in writing by the granting authority
on the basis of a reasoned, written request by the coordinator (on behalf of the beneficiary
concerned).
If the granting authority has not accepted the assignment or if the terms of it are not observed,
the assignment will have no effect on it.
In no circumstances will an assignment release the beneficiaries from their obligations
towards the granting authority.
ARTICLE 43 — APPLICABLE LAW AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
43.1 Applicable law
The Agreement is governed by the applicable EU law, supplemented if necessary by the law
of Belgium.
Special rules may apply for beneficiaries which are international organisations (if any; see
Data Sheet, Point 5).
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43.2 Dispute settlement
If a dispute concerns the interpretation, application or validity of the Agreement, the parties
must bring action before the EU General Court — or, on appeal, the EU Court of Justice —
under Article 272 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU).
For non-EU beneficiaries (if any), such disputes must be brought before the courts of
Brussels, Belgium — unless an international agreement provides for the enforceability of EU
court judgements.
For beneficiaries with arbitration as special dispute settlement forum (if any; see Data Sheet,
Point 5), the dispute will — in the absence of an amicable settlement — be settled in
accordance with the Rules for Arbitration published on the Portal.
If a dispute concerns administrative sanctions, offsetting or an enforceable decision under
Article 299 TFEU (see Articles 22 and 34), the beneficiaries must bring action before the
General Court — or, on appeal, the Court of Justice — under Article 263 TFEU.
For grants where the granting authority is an EU executive agency (see Preamble), actions
against offsetting and enforceable decisions must be brought against the European
Commission (not against the granting authority; see also Article 22).
ARTICLE 44 — ENTRY INTO FORCE
The Agreement will enter into force on the day of signature by the granting authority or the
coordinator, depending on which is later.
SIGNATURES
For the coordinator For the granting authority
[function/forename/surname] [forename/surname]
[electronic signature] [electronic signature]
Done in [English] Done in [English]
on [electronic time stamp] on [electronic time stamp]
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ANNEX 1
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
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ANNEX 2
ESTIMATED BUDGET
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ANNEX 2a
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON UNIT COSTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
SME owners/natural person beneficiaries without salary (Decision C(2020) 7115 42)
Type: unit costs
Units: days spent working on the action (rounded up or down to the nearest half-day)
Amount per unit (daily rate): calculated according to the following formula:
{EUR 5 080 / 18 days = 282,22}
multiplied by
{country-specific correction coefficient of the country where the beneficiary is established}
The country-specific correction coefficients used are those set out in the Horizon Europe Work Programme
(section Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions) in force at the time of the call (see Portal Reference Documents).
42
Commission Decision of 20 October 2020 authorising the use of unit costs for the personnel costs of the owners of small and medium-
sized enterprises and beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary for the work carried out by themselves under an
action or work programme (C(2020)7115).
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Travel and subsistence (Decision C(2021)35 43)
Travel
Type: unit costs
Units: travel (journeys) for the action
Amount per unit:
standard:
for travel of 50 -399km (inside EU countries):
Country Unit costs in € Country Unit costs in € Country Unit costs in €
AT 60 FI 36 PL 20
BE 46 FR 64 PT 40
BG 12 HR 36 RO 16
CZ 20 HU 28 SE 56
DE 64 IE 36 SI 27
DK 76 IT 52 SK 20
EE 16 LT 20
EL 36 LV 16
ES 52 NL 49
43
Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial
framework (C(2021)35).
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for travel of 50 -399km (land-based; between EU countries):
MS AT BE BG CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LT LU LV NL PL PT RO SE SI SK
AT 58 65 64 58 58 58 58 58 58 58
BE 82 82 50 82
BG 37 36 26 17
CZ 58 65 64 36 26 20 19 37 21
DE 65 82 65 76 82 65 65 82 65 65 65
DK 76 76 76
EE 22 22
EL 37
ES 82 54
FI 55
FR 64 82 64 82 82 82 82 82
HR 58 36 36 65 36 50 36 37
HU 589 26 26 36 50 26 26 37 26
IE
IT 58 65 82 50 50 50
LT 22 19 20
LU 50 82 82 82
LV 22 19 20
NL 82 65 76 82 82
PL 58 20 65 26 20 20 20 21
PT 54
RO 58 17 19 36 26 20 21
SE 76 55
SI 58 37 65 37 37 50 37
SK 58 21 26 21 21 37
No connection below 400 km
for travel of 50-399km not covered above: EUR 196
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for travel of 400 km or more* (air or rail or combined air/rail):
Distance Band Unit costs in € Distance Band Unit costs in € Distance Band Unit costs in €
400-600 196 1601-2000 295 4501-6000 637
601-800 209 2001-2500 343 6001-7500 720
801-1200 221 2501-3500 433 7501-10000 961
1201-1600 230 3501-4500 527 10001-Max 1 101
* All distances to be measured using the rail calculator or flight calculator.
special rates:
for travel from EU countries to EU outermost regions or OCTs:
Remote region Unit costs in € Remote region Unit costs in € Remote region Unit costs in €
Aruba 1 343 French Guiana 905 Saint Helena 2 395
Bonaire 1 344 Martinique 958 Saint Martin 939
Curaçao 1 302 Mayotte 1 170 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1 832
French Polynesia 2 204 New Caledonia 2 065 Wallis and Fotuna 2 398
Greenland 1 118 Réunion 1 040
Guadeloupe 801 Saba 1 286
for travel to/from location 400 km or more from nearest airport: increase applicable unit cost by 50%
Accomodation
Type: unit costs
Units: nights spent on travel for the action
Amount per unit:
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Accommodation Accommodation Accommodation -
Country Country Country
- € per night - € per night € per night
Albania 101 Greece 107 North Macedonia 95
Algeria 157 Hungary 105 Norway 145
Armenia 115 Iceland 190 Palestine 140
Austria 126 Ireland 139 Poland 103
Azerbaijan 136 Israel 187 Portugal 109
Belarus 108 Italy 114 Romania 109
Belgium 137 Jordan 140 Serbia 105
Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 Kosovo 92 Slovakia 98
Bulgaria 110 Latvia 95 Slovenia 113
Croatia 104 Lebanon 154 Spain 117
Cyprus 120 Libya 146 Sweden 158
Czechia 107 Lichtenstein 135 Switzerland 178
Denmark 158 Lithuania 94 Syria 145
Egypt 152 Luxembourg 163 Tunisia 99
Estonia 107 Malta 141 Turkey 116
Finland 146 Moldova 133 Ukraine 122
France 166 Montenegro 98 United Kingdom 151
Germany 119 Morocco 129
Georgia 134 Netherlands 133
Subsistence
Type: unit costs
Units: days spent on travel for the action
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Amount per unit (‘daily rate’):
Subsistence daily Subsistence daily Subsistence daily
Country Country Country
rate in € rate in € rate in €
Albania 50 Greece 82 North Macedonia 50
Algeria 85 Hungary 64 Norway 80
Armenia 70 Iceland 85 Palestine 60
Austria 102 Ireland 108 Poland 67
Azerbaijan 70 Israel 105 Portugal 83
Belarus 90 Italy 98 Romania 62
Belgium 102 Jordan 60 Serbia 60
Bosnia and Herzegovina 65 Kosovo 60 Slovakia 74
Bulgaria 57 Latvia 73 Slovenia 84
Croatia 75 Lebanon 70 Spain 88
Cyprus 88 Libya 50 Sweden 117
Czech Republic 70 Lichtenstein 80 Switzerland 80
Denmark 124 Lithuania 69 Syria 80
Egypt 65 Luxembourg 98 Tunisia 60
Estonia 80 Malta 88 Turkey 55
Finland 113 Moldova 80 Ukraine 80
France 102 Montenegro 60 United Kingdom 125
Germany 97 Morocco 75
Georgia 80 Netherlands 103
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SMP COSME EYE unit costs for financial support to third parties 44
Type: unit costs
Units: months spent by the entrepreneurs in the country of exchange
Amount per unit: see table below (for each entrepreneur)
Monthly unit costs for financial support to be paid to a third party
Amount per month
Country of exchange while staying in this
country/ EUR
EU Member States:
Austria 900
Belgium 830
Bulgaria 560
Croatia 720
Cyprus 780
Czech Republic 610
Denmark 1100
Estonia 670
Finland 950
France 900
Germany 830
Greece 780
Hungary 670
Ireland 1000
Italy 900
Latvia 610
Lithuania 560
Luxembourg 830
Malta 720
Netherlands 830
Poland 610
Portugal 780
Romania 560
Slovakia 610
Slovenia 720
Spain 830
Sweden 950
Entrepreneurs from/to: Outermost Regions of the EU
(referred to in Article 349 TFEU) and Outermost Countries and Territories 1100
(referred to in Article 198 TFEU)
Entrepreneurs with disabilities
1100
(regardless of the country of stay)
Non-EU countries (if associated to the SMP Programme)
Albania 530
Armenia 610
Bosnia-Herzegovina 560
Iceland 900
Kosovo 45 560
Lichtenstein 1100
Moldova 530
Montenegro 560
44
Decision of 8 March 2022 authorising the use of unit costs for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs action under the Single Market
Programme.
45
This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
declaration of independence.
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North Macedonia 560
Norway 1100
Serbia 560
Turkey 750
Ukraine 530
United Kingdom 1000
Entrepreneurs with disabilities
1100
(regardless of the country of stay)
The minimum length of the exchange is one month and maximum is 6 months.
SMP ESS personnel costs based on time46
Type: unit costs
Units: days spent working on the action (rounded up or down to the nearest half-day)
Amount per unit: see (for each beneficiary/affiliated entity) the unit cost table in Annex 2b
46
Decision of 6 April 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for eligible personnel costs for actions implemented by Eurostat.
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ANNEX 2b
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CUSTOMISED UNIT COSTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS
SMP ESS personnel costs based on time47
Unit cost table (ESS personnel costs based on time)
Unit cost grid [Participant name]
Organisation: [full official legal name of the organisation requesting validation of the grid]
Validation request date: [unit cost grid validation request date]
Officials (permanent or temporary) Contractual staff (temporary or unlimited employment
contract)
Paygrade Amount per unit (daily Paygrade Amount per unit (daily
rates) rates)
Unit cost grid [Participant name]
Organisation: [full official legal name of the organisation requesting validation of the grid]
Validation request date: [unit cost grid validation request date]
Officials (permanent or temporary) Contractual staff (temporary or unlimited employment
contract)
Paygrade Amount per unit (daily Paygrade Amount per unit (daily
rates) rates)
47
Decision of 6 April 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for eligible personnel costs for actions implemented by Eurostat.
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…
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ANNEX 3
ACCESSION FORM FOR BENEFICIARIES 48
48
Template published on Portal Reference Documents.
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[OPTION if selected for the grant:
ANNEX 3a
DECLARATION ON JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY OF
AFFILIATED ENTITIES 49 ]
49
Template published on Portal Reference Documents.
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ANNEX 4
MODEL FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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ANNEX 5
SPECIFIC RULES
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) — BACKGROUND AND RESULTS —
ACCESS RIGHTS AND RIGHTS OF USE (— ARTICLE 16)
Rights of use of the granting authority on results for information, communication,
dissemination and publicity purposes
The granting authority also has the right to exploit non-sensitive results of the action for
information, communication, dissemination and publicity purposes, using any of the
following modes:
- use for its own purposes (in particular, making them available to persons working for
the granting authority or any other EU service (including institutions, bodies, offices,
agencies, etc.) or EU Member State institution or body; copying or reproducing them
in whole or in part, in unlimited numbers; and communication through press
information services)
- distribution to the public in hard copies, in electronic or digital format, on the
internet including social networks, as a downloadable or non-downloadable file
- editing or redrafting (including shortening, summarising, changing, correcting,
cutting, inserting elements (e.g. meta-data, legends or other graphic, visual, audio or
text elements extracting parts (e.g. audio or video files), dividing into parts or use in a
compilation
- translation (including inserting subtitles/dubbing) in all official languages of EU
- storage in paper, electronic or other form
- archiving in line with applicable document-management rules
- the right to authorise third parties to act on its behalf or sub-license to third parties,
including if there is licensed background, any of the rights or modes of exploitation set
out in this provision
- processing, analysing, aggregating the results and producing derivative works
- disseminating the results in widely accessible databases or indexes (such as through
‘open access’ or ‘open data’ portals or similar repositories, whether free of charge or
not.
The beneficiaries must ensure these rights of use for the whole duration they are protected by
industrial or intellectual property rights.
If results are subject to moral rights or third party rights (including intellectual property rights
or rights of natural persons on their image and voice), the beneficiaries must ensure that they
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comply with their obligations under this Agreement (in particular, by obtaining the necessary
licences and authorisations from the rights holders concerned).
Access rights for third parties to ensure continuity and interoperability
Where the call conditions impose continuity or interoperability obligations, the beneficiaries
must make the materials, documents and information and results produced in the framework
of the action available to the public (freely accessible on the Internet under open licences or
open source licences).
Different rights of use in Standardisation actions
In view of the specific business model of standardisation organisations (and unless otherwise
agreed with the granting authority), access rights in European Standardisation actions do not
include the following:
- the right to make available standards and standardisation deliverables to persons
working for other EU services (including institutions, bodies, offices, agencies, etc.)
other than the granting authority or to persons working for an EU Member State
institution or body; copying or reproducing them in whole or in part, in unlimited
numbers; and communication through press information services
- the right to distribute to the public standards and standardisation deliverables (in
particular, publication as hard copies and in electronic or digital format, publication
on the internet, as a downloadable or non-downloadable file, broadcasting by any
channel, public display or presentation, communicating through press information
services, or inclusion in widely accessible databases or indexes)
- the right to edit or redraft standards and standardisation deliverables
- the translation of standards and standardisation deliverables
- the processing, analysing, aggregating of standards and standardisation deliverables
received and producing derivative works.
COMMUNICATION, DISSEMINATION AND VISIBILITY (— ARTICLE 17)
Communication and dissemination plan
Where imposed by the call conditions, the beneficiaries must provide a detailed
communication and dissemination plan, setting out the objectives, key messaging, target
audiences, communication channels, social media plan, planned budget and relevant
indicators for monitoring and evaluation.
Additional communication and dissemination activities
The beneficiaries must engage in the following additional communication and dissemination
activities:
- present the project (including project summary, coordinator contact details, list of
participants, European flag and funding statement and project results) on the
beneficiaries’ websites or social media accounts
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- upload the public project results to the Single Market Programme Project Results
platform, available through the Funding & Tenders Portal
SPECIFIC RULES FOR CARRYING OUT THE ACTION (— ARTICLE 18)
Specific rules for PPI Grants for Procurement
When implementing procurements in PPI Grants for Procurement, the beneficiaries must
respect the following conditions:
- avoid any conflict of interest and comply with the principles of transparency, non-
discrimination, equal treatment, sound financial management, proportionality and
competition rules
- assign the ownership of the intellectual property rights under the contracts to the
contractors (unless there are exceptional overriding public interests which are duly
justified in Annex 1), with the right of the buyers to access results — on a royalty-free
basis — for their own use and to grant (or to require the contractors to grant) non-
exclusive licences to third parties to exploit the results for them — under fair and
reasonable conditions — without any right to sub-license
- allow for all communications to be made in English (and any additional languages
chosen by the beneficiaries)
- ensure that prior information notices, contract notices and contract award notices
contain information on the EU funding and a disclaimer that the EU is not
participating as contracting authority in the procurement
- allow for the award of multiple procurement contracts within the same procedure
(multiple sourcing)
- where the call conditions impose a place of performance obligation: ensure that the
part of the activities that is subject to the place of performance obligation is performed
in the eligible countries or target countries set out in the call conditions
- to ensure reciprocal level of market access: where the WTO Government Procurement
Agreement (GPA) does not apply, ensure that the participation in tendering procedures
is open on equal terms to bidders from EU Member States and all countries with
which the EU has an agreement in the field of public procurement under the
conditions laid down in that agreement, including all Horizon Europe associated
countries. Where the WTO GPA applies, ensure that tendering procedures are also
open to bidders from states that have ratified this agreement, under the conditions laid
down therein.
Specific rules for blending operations
When implementing blending operations, the beneficiaries acknowledge and accept that:
- the grant depends on the approved financing from the Implementing Partner and/or
public or private investors for the project
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- they must inform the granting authority both about the approval for financing and the
financial close — within 15 days
- the payment deadline for the first prefinancing is automatically suspended until the
granting authority is informed about the approval for financing
- both actions will be managed and monitored in parallel and in close coordination with
the Implementing Partner, in particular:
- all information, data and documents (including the due diligence by the
Implementing Partner and the signed agreement) may be exchanged and may be
relied on for the management of the other action (if needed)
- issues in one action may impact the other (e.g. suspension or termination in one
action may lead to suspension also of the other action; termination of the grant
will normally suspend and exit from further financing and vice versa, etc.)
- the granting authority may disclose confidential information also to the Implementing
Partner.
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Online Manual
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Version 1.1
15 September 2022
EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual: V1.1 – 15.09.2022
HISTORY OF CHANGES
Publication
Version Changes
date
1.0 08.02.2021 Initial version (document covering all programmes managed
through the Funding & Tenders Portal; updated to the new MFF)
1.1 15.09.2022 Update of hyperlinks.
Clarifications and updates in sections on:
Roles and access rights
Terms and Conditions of Use and Data privacy
Complaints
Proposal submission (who can apply; instructions on macro-
supported xlsm documents; special security requirements)
Work packages and deliverables
Security scrutiny
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EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual: V1.1 – 15.09.2022
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The Online Manual is a user guide that aims to explain to applicants and beneficiaries how EU grants,
procurements and prizes work and how to manage them electronically in the Funding & Tenders Portal.
The Online Manual is limited to procedural aspects and explaining the functionalities of the IT tools behind
the Portal (roles & access rights, proposal submission and evaluation, grant management, amendments,
etc).
Legal and policy aspects are covered rather in other documentation, such as the Rules for Legal Entity
Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant
Agreement (which annotates the provisions of the MGAs) and the Programme Guides that exist for some
EU funding programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Erasmus+ Programme Guide, European
Solidarity Corps Programme Guide).
A comprehensive list of all relevant documentation (including legislation, work programmes and calls,
guidance and templates) can be found on Portal Reference Documents.
Terms frequently used are explained in the Portal Glossary.
User questions are covered by the Portal FAQ.
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EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual: V1.1 – 15.09.2022
Table of contents
1. My Area — User account and roles ................................................................................ 5
1.1 EU Login....................................................................................................................5
1.2 Roles and access rights ...............................................................................................6
1.3 Accepting the Terms and Conditions of Use .................................................................. 15
2. Participant Register — Register your organisation ..................................................... 15
2.1 Registration and validation of your organisation ........................................................... 16
2.2 LEAR appointment and validation ............................................................................... 19
2.3 Bank account registration and validation ..................................................................... 21
2.4 Financial capacity assessment .................................................................................... 22
2.5 Data updates ........................................................................................................... 23
2.6 Complaints about validation ....................................................................................... 24
3. Grants ........................................................................................................................ 24
3.1 Applying for funding ................................................................................................. 24
3.1.1 Search funding opportunities — Find a call ........................................................... 24
3.1.2 Projects that can be funded — Conditions for funding ............................................ 28
3.1.3 Apply with partners or as individual ..................................................................... 28
3.1.4 Submit a proposal — Portal Submission System .................................................... 30
3.1.5 Complaints about failed submission ..................................................................... 38
3.2 Selection — From evaluation to grant signature............................................................ 38
3.2.1 Admissibility and eligibility check ......................................................................... 38
3.2.2 Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 39
3.2.3 Special procedures: Ethics review, security scrutiny, Ownership control check .......... 43
3.2.4 Grant preparation .............................................................................................. 44
3.2.5 Grant signature ................................................................................................. 51
3.2.6 Complaints about proposal rejection .................................................................... 54
3.3 Grant management................................................................................................... 55
3.3.1 Keeping records ................................................................................................ 55
3.3.2 Amendments .................................................................................................... 55
3.3.3 Continuous reporting on milestones & deliverables ................................................ 60
3.3.4 Reports & payment requests ............................................................................... 61
3.3.5 Communicating your project — Acknowledgement of EU funding ............................. 65
3.3.6 Dissemination & exploitation of project results ...................................................... 66
3.3.7 Checks, audits, reviews & investigations .............................................................. 67
3.3.8 Communicating with the Granting Authority .......................................................... 68
4. Procurement............................................................................................................... 69
5. Prizes ......................................................................................................................... 69
6. Financial instruments ................................................................................................. 69
7. Working as an expert ................................................................................................. 69
7.1 Expert registration .................................................................................................... 71
7.2 Signing a contract and payment ................................................................................. 72
7.3 Experts roles and tasks ............................................................................................. 75
8. Help ............................................................................................................................ 79
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EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Online Manual: V1.1 – 15.09.2022
1. My Area — User account and roles
Getting access to My Area
The EU Funding & Tenders Portal (‘Portal’) is the central electronic portal for all EU funding and
tenders.
It is managed by the European Commission and used by itself and other EU services (together
‘EU’) for their grants, prizes and procurements.
The Portal has two parts: A public section with general information (Funding Opportunities,
Reference Documents, etc) and My Area, which is a secured, personalised section (Portal
electronic exchange system) used by the participants for managing their proposals and
grants/contracts.
For security reasons, access to My Area is based on:
EU Login account — unique identifier for individuals. All you need to open an EU Login
account is your work e-mail address.
Roles & access rights (Identity and Access Management System — IAM)
PIC number — unique identifier for organisations. This 9-digit number is received after
you register in the Portal Participant Register.
In My Area you can:
get access to non-public information on your proposals, projects/contracts,
organisations, etc
register in the Participant Register and update your organisation/natural person data
sign contracts, submit reports, cost claims, invoices and receive payments
communicate with the EU services about your ongoing projects/contracts
for experts working with the EU services: register, sign contracts, manage tasks, submit
cost claims and receive payments
for external audit firms working with the EU services: register and manage tasks
Individual users:
have to register as a user only once
will be asked to agree to the Portal Terms and Conditions on their first login
will have specific access rights, depending on their roles in the
organisation/projects/contracts
Organisations:
will be asked to agree to the Portal Terms and Conditions when they appoint their LEAR.
1.1 EU Login
EU Login provides a single sign-on to a large number of services and tools available on the
Portal.
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To access to the functions available on My Area, you must have an EU Login account.
To create an EU Login account, you click on the Register button on the Portal homepage;
all you need is your name and work e-mail address.
If you already have an EU Login account, you must use that one.
EU Login is the new name for the previously used ECAS account (European Commission
Authentication System); old accounts continue to work, there is no need to create new ones.
Creating an EU Login account
Go to the Portal Register page and enter:
your first name, last name and e-mail address
the displayed security code.
Select Create an account
You will receive an e-mail to the address that you specified, containing a link you should
use to complete the registration process.
Click the link you will be asked to choose and confirm a password.
Go back to the Portal homepage.
Click on Login and log in with your registered e-mail (user name) address and
password.
Your EU Login password and user name is personal — do NOT share it with colleagues or
anyone else. All transactions made with your account (user name, password) will be considered
as having been made by yourself. Keep your password secure and change it regularly.
Logging in to the Portal with your EU Login account
After logging in, you can use the personalised services and tools available on the Portal.
Your EU Login account gives you only general access to My Area, but it will NOT yet give you
access to project/contract data of your organisation. This access depends on your roles and
access rights.
FAQ
FAQ on EU Login help page
1.2 Roles and access rights
Roles and access rights restrict the information a user can view and the tasks they can perform
(for instance, only a person with the coordinator role can delete a draft application).
Access rights are linked to a user's roles in the Portal personalised area (My Area), which are
in turn linked to their functions within their organisation or in relation to a particular
project/contract and their nomination by the organisation’s LEAR (or other authorised person).
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How are access rights managed?
Roles are divided into 2 main sections:
Organisation roles are linked to the whole organisation and its data (but without any
access to the projects/contracts)
Project/contract roles are defined first in the proposal, and then transferred to the
project/contract when you have been invited to sign with the EU. They are managed
application by application and project by project, covering all types of access
(read/write/submit).
One user can have several roles at the same time.
How are the roles assigned?
Most of these roles can be freely assigned and managed by you or your organisation, according
to your needs:
you can start creating an application yourself
you can be invited by other users who have created an application to join their
application
persons in your organisation can give you (and revoke) access to roles of your
organisation
the initiator of an application (or persons in your organisation involved in an on-going
application) can give you (and revoke) access to roles in the application
persons involved in on-going projects/contracts can give you (and revoke) access to
roles in their projects/contracts.
All access rights are linked to the user's EU Login account.
Exceptions
The EU services intervene in the assignment of the following 2 key roles:
LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) — organisation role
The LEAR is the person that is officially nominated by an organisation to manage rights and
obligations related to the use of the Portal and to act as main administrative and legal contact
in case of issues. Usually, LEARs are staff members in the central administration of the
organisation. The LEAR handles all the organisation-related data on the Portal and appoints the
persons within their organisation that are allowed to electronically sign grants/contracts and
cost claims.
There can only be one LEAR per organisation.
LEARs are validated by the Central Validation Service as part of the registration in the
Participant Register. Learn more about the detailed procedure for appointing the LEAR.
Primary Coordinator Contact — project role
The Main Contact/Contact Point of the Coordinator/Group Leader in the application will become
the PCoCo (Primary Coordinator Contact). This person is by default the one creating the
application in the Portal and thereby becomes the main person responsible for the application.
As such, they can submit requests, reports and notifications to the EU on behalf of the
consortium.
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There can only be one PCoCo per project/contract.
During the application phase and before call deadline, the PCoCo may transfer this role to
someone else in the application.
Afterwards (i.e. after call submission is closed), a new PCoCo can be assigned only by the EU
Project/Procurement Officer. If such a replacement becomes necessary, the Coordinator should
send a request to the Officer via the Portal Messaging Service (My Projects/My Contracts >
Actions > Manage Project/Contract).
Exceptionally — and only until a LEAR has been appointed — self-registrants have certain
roles (that were not assigned to any of the other users listed above).
Roles — Overview
The picture below shows all the roles involved in managing organisations and projects/contracts
in the Portal.
For some funding programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe ERC and MSCA grants), additional roles
are used. See the for more details.
Organisation roles
Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR)
The LEAR is the formally nominated main responsible for an organisation’s use of the Portal and
thus bears the final responsibilty for all the organisation’s actions in the Portal.
LEARs have system rights to:
update their organisation's data
nominate/revoke representatives of their organisation to electronically sign
grant/contracts
nominate/revoke representatives of their organisation to electronically sign cost
claims/invoices
nominate/revoke Account Administrators within their organisation to help them with
their work.
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The LEAR does NOT assign the Legal Signatories and Financial Signatories for a particular
project/contract. This is done by the Coordinator Contact (CoCo) or Participant Contact (PaCo)
of that project/contract.
Self-registrant
The Self-registrant is the person who first registers an organisation in the Portal Participant
Register.
Before the LEAR is validated, Self-registrants can provide the EU with requested information
and documents about their organisation.
Once the LEAR has been formally validated (normally after the organisation has been validated
by the Central Validation Service), the role of Self-registrant is revoked and replaced by the
LEAR.
Account Administrator
The LEAR may delegate tasks to one or more Account Administrators. Though the LEAR keeps
the full responsibility, Account Administrators can fulfil tasks for their LEAR. An organisation
can have an unlimited number of Account Administrators.
If the organisation nominates a new person as their LEAR, the existing Account Administrators
remain, but can be revoked by the new LEAR.
Legal Signatory (LSIGN)
LSIGNs must be nominated for an organisation by the LEAR or an Account Administrator (see
Figure 3).
LSIGNs are assigned to a particular project by a Coordinator or Participant Contact (see Figure
3). An organisation can have an unlimited number of LSIGNs.
Financial Signatory (FSIGN)
FSIGNs must be nominated for an organisation by the LEAR or an Account Administrator (see
Figure 3).
FSIGNs are assigned to a particular project by a Coordinator or Participant Contact (see Figure
3). An organisation can have an unlimited number of FSIGNs.
Primary Audit Contact (PAuCo) and Audit Contact (AuCo)
Audit roles can be assigned in the Portal only when the organisation is audited.
The LEAR is automatically assigned the Primary Audit Contact (PAuCo), and can nominate other
PAuCos in the organisation.
The PAuCo(s) must also nominate at least one Audit Contact (AuCo) as main contact for audits
on the organisation, and additionally, assign both the AuCo and the audit to an audit team
within the organisation.
PAuCos have the following system rights for their organisation:
nominate other PAuCo(s) for the organisation and the AuCo(s) for an audit (My
Organisations > Actions > View Roles, click the Roles tab). Detailed explanations are
available in the
manage the teams in the organisation to assign the audits and the audit contacts to
them (My Organisations > Actions > View Roles, click the Teams tab). Detailed
explanations are available in the
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revoke other roles
AuCos can nominate other AuCos for the teams to which they are assigned. They can also
revoke other AuCos in their team.
An AuCo assigned to a team has the following system rights for those audits:
perform the audit tasks for their organisation
communicate with the EU auditors (receive and send formal notifications, submit audit
documents, etc)
Summary organisation roles
When nominating FSIGNs or LSIGNs, the LEAR can add comments that can help the
Participant Contacts to select the right LSIGN/FSIGN for their project (e.g. "Mr Smith can sign
for projects run by Department X from 1 February 2014."). Such comments can be useful for
defining the scope of responsibilities or duration of FSIGNs or LSIGNs in large organisations
with different departments.
Proposal roles
When preparing your proposal, you will need to define the participating organisations and the
organisation/proposal contact(s). Both are set in the application online form.
For grants and prizes: The proposal will contain the following types of participating
organisations:
Coordinator. A proposal can have only one, and you may submit an application with just
one Coordinator and no other participating organisations. You need to name a
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Coordinator immediately to launch your application, but you can change it later on,
before submission.
Partner. A proposal can have none, one or more. The number of Partners in an
application (and other aspects such as the country where they are registered, etc) are
subject to the call conditions (i.e. the specific requirements for each call for proposals).
Partners can also have Affiliated Entities linked to them (through a permanent legal or
capital link or as members of an association; former Linked Third Parties). Affiliated
Entities are allowed to fully participate in the grant and claim costs. They must comply
with all eligibility conditions (same as a Partner).
Associated Partners. This kind of participating organisation contributes to the project
but cannot claim costs. They are normally not linked to any Partner and do not need to
comply with the eligibility conditions.
Then, you will need to define the contact persons for each participating organisation. There are
two possible types of contacts:
Main Contact. You need to define one per participating organisation.
Contact Person. You may define one or more Contact Persons for each Partner. You may
further define their kind of access as Coordinator/Participant Contact (full access) or
Team Member (read-only access).
The roles in your proposal will afterwards become project roles:
The Main Contact of the Coordinator will become the Primary Coordinator Contact
(PCoCo). This role is automatically assigned to the initiator of the application who
submits the proposal to the EU.
The Main Contacts of the Partners will become Participant Contacts (PaCo).
The Contact Persons of the Coordinator/Partners will become Team Members (TeMe) if
they had read-only access in the application form or Participating Contacts (PaCo) if
they had full access.
For tenders:
The tender will contain the following types of participating organisations:
Group Leader. A submission can have only one, and you may submit a tender with just
one Group Leader and no more participating organisations.
Group Member. A submission can have none, one or more (often none).
In a call for tenders, you need to provide one single contact: Contact Point. One per application.
This Contact is always linked to the Group Leader.
During the submission phase, this is the only role which will be defined. The Contact Point will
then become the Primary Coordinator Contact (PCoCo).
Project/contract roles
Depending on your project roles you can have read-only, read-write or read-write-submit rights
to information, documents and online forms.
(Primary) Coordinator Contact (PCoCo/CoCo)
The Primary Coordinator Contact is for each project the main contact between the consortium
and the EU for a particular project/contract. By default, it is the person that creates the
application in the Portal.
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The PCoCo can nominate/revoke a Coordinator Contact (CoCo) for the project/contract
(unlimited number possible), who will then have the same rights — except the right to revoke
the PCoCo.
All Coordinator Contacts can:
nominate/revoke Participant Contacts for other organisations in the consortium
nominate/revoke Task Managers and Team Members in their own organisation
assign Legal and Financial Signatories in their organisation to their projects
make changes to project documents on the Portal
communicate with the EU services and submit applications and project documents to
the EU.
It is important to list your partner organisations (and their contact persons) relatively early
on in the application process, because this will give them access to the application and allow
them to appoint other roles for their organisation.
Participant Contact (PaCo)
The PaCo is a representative of an organisation in the consortium that is not the coordinating
organisation.
An organisation can have an unlimited number of PaCos per project, and each will be able to:
nominate/revoke other PaCos in their organisation
assign Legal and Financial Signatories in their organisation to their projects/contracts
submit their work to the Coordinator
nominate/revoke Task Managers and Team Members in their own organisation
make changes specifically to the participant-related sections of the project documents
on the Portal
submit information directly to the EU services (if required under the Grant Agreement)
Task Manager (TaMa)
TaMas can perform some restricted actions: creating, updating and uploading documents about
their organisation's participation and completing, modifying or deleting project/contract
information.
An organisation can have an unlimited number of TaMas per project. They cannot nominate or
revoke anybody, nor submit information to the Coordinator or EU.
This role is not used during the application phase.
Team Member (TeMe)
TeMes have limited access rights: search and read-only functions.
Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN)
The PLSIGN has the right to sign the grant/contract (and amendments) for a specific project on
behalf of the organisation.
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The LEAR (or Account Administrators) must first appoint LSIGNs; the Coordinator and each
participant (PCoCo/CoCos/PaCos) can then assign PLSIGNs for a given project to act as legal
signatory for the participant in the project.
An organisation can have can have an unlimited number PLSIGNs per project.
They have the same rights as CoCos/PaCos for project/contract information. Cannot
assign/revoke any roles.
Project Financial Signatory (PFSIGN)
The PFSIGN has the right to sign cost claims/invoices on behalf of the organisation.
The LEAR (or Account Administrators) must first appoint FSIGNs; the Coordinator and each
participant (PCoCo/CoCos/PaCos) can then assign PFSIGNs for a given project to act as legal
signatory for the participant in the project.
An organisation can have an unlimited number of PFSIGNs per project.
They have the same rights as CoCos/PaCos for project/contract information. Cannot
assign/revoke any roles.
Summary project/contract roles
Rights associated with roles
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Nomination process
Some roles are automatically given based on the information in your application:
The proposal initiator will become the Primary Coordinator Contact (PCoCo).
The main contact persons in the participating organisations will become Participant
Contacts (PaCos).
Persons with read-only access to the proposal will become Team Members (TeMes).
Once your organisation is validated by the Central Validation Service, it is important that
you appoint a LEAR to make sure that you can manage the access rights to the Portal.
How to nominate/revoke someone
To grant a role, the LEAR (or other authorised person) must enter the user's e-mail address. It
must be the same as the address the person used to open their EU Login account.
If the person does not already have an EU Login account, they will automatically receive an
invitation to create one.
Organisation roles — to grant/revoke, go to My Organisations > Actions > Edit Organisation
Roles > Add Roles.
Project/contract roles — to grant/revoke, go to My Projects > Actions > Manage Consortium
> Edit Roles.
How many different roles are needed in a consortium?
A user's EU Login account can carry any combination of roles, this depends on the participants.
Thus, a user can acquire a differentiated set of access rights to different functions for managing
projects, contracts or organisation data.
For small organisations or beneficiaries who are individuals (natural persons), this means
that one single person can combine all the access rights needed to manage their
projects/contracts (i.e. LEAR, CoCo/PaCo, PLSIGN and PFSIGN).
The minimum configuration for a consortium in any given project is:
1 Primary Coordinator Contact (PCoCo)
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1 Participant Contact (PaCo) per beneficiary
1 LEAR per organisation
1 Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN) per organisation
1 Project Financial Signatory (PFSIGN) per organisation.
One person can have several roles at the same time.
Organisations that participate as Affiliated Entities (or other type of participant — Associated
Partner, Subcontractor, etc) do NOT need any access roles in the Portal, since they are not
allowed to use it. All actions in the Portal are handled for them by the Coordinator/Beneficiary
they are linked to.
FAQ
FAQ on users' roles and access rights
1.3 Accepting the Terms and Conditions of Use
The Portal is part of the Single Electronic Data Exchange Area set up under Articles 147 and
128 of the EU Financial Regulation.
On the first login to My Area, users must agree to the Portal Terms and Conditions and the
Portal Privacy Statement.
Organisations will be asked to agree to the Terms and Conditions when they appoint their LEAR
(declaration of consent). Every time you access to My Area, you are implicitly reaffirming
your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions valid at that time.
Personal data will be kept and processed for the purposes of the Single Electronic Data Exchange
Area, i.e. for the management and implementation of your EU grants, contracts, prizes and
other transactions managed through the Portal. The detailed conditions for the processing of
your personal data are set out in the Portal Privacy Statement.
2. Participant Register — Register your organisation
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If you want to submit a proposal, your organisation needs to be registered in the Portal
Participant Register and have a 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC).
If your proposal is successful, you will receive a notification and be asked to:
provide supporting documents to confirm the administrative and legal information
declared during the registration (legal entity validation)
appoint a Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR appointment)
provide supporting documents to verify the financial capacity of your organisation
(financial capacity assessment, if applicable)
validate the bank account for payments (bank account validation, only for coordinators).
2.1 Registration and validation of your organisation
Before submitting an application, all participants involved in the proposal must first be
registered in the Portal Participant Register and have their 9-digit Participant Identification Code
(PIC number).
You can verify directly on the Portal whether your organisation is already registered and has a
PIC. If not, please proceed with the registration following the instructions on the same page
(the Registration wizard will help you through the process). Once completed, you get the PIC
to be used in your online application form and further correspondence with the EU services.
If you do not have an user account (EU Login), you will first need to create one, before starting
the registration process. If you already have a user account (EU Login), you can log in and
directly start registration.
Please note that the Participant Register is primarily directed at organisations and that not
all of the labels fit for individuals (natural persons). Enter your information as appropriate (e.g.
country of residence instead of country of registration, passport number instead of registration
number, etc).
What you need to register your organisation
To register your organisation, you will need to provide basic administrative and legal
information, in addition to contact details.
Get ready
Since the declared information will be verified against supporting documents later on, it is
useful to have the relevant documents at hand when you complete the registration, to
make sure you fill in everything correctly (legal form, non-profit, public/private, etc).
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Check for already existing PIC
In order to avoid creating duplicate PICs, you should first check whether your organisation
(or another department) is already registered in the Portal and use that PIC.
Go to How to Participate > Participant Register > Search a PIC > Search a PIC and put in
your organisation data. Check several variants to make sure there is really no entry.
If no PIC is registered, start registration
Go to How to Participate > Participant Register > Register your organisation. The
Registration wizard will guide you step-by-step through the process.
Detailed explanations are available in the .
You do not need to complete the registration process in a single session. You can enter some
information, save it and continue later on. To resume your registration, go to My Organisations
> Continue Registration. Incomplete draft registrations are automatically deleted after one
year.
If you create by mistake a new PIC, see below Data updates.
PIC number
After completing a new registration, you will receive the 9-digit Participant Identification
Code (PIC) — to be used in your online application form and further correspondence with the
EU services.
The newly created PIC will be provisional (declared/non-valid status) until it is formally validated
at a later stage.
Nothing else is expected from you after the PIC has been generated, the Central Validation
Service will contact you later, to initiate the validation process.
Validation of your organisation
If your proposal is successful, you will be contacted for the validation of your PIC
registration data.
Validation is needed only for certain types of participants (grants: Beneficiaries and Affiliated
Entities; procurement: Contractors). It is not needed for Associated Partners, Subcontractors
or other participants.
It will be done by the Central Validation Service which carries out the validation for all EU
services using the Portal.
The Central Validation Service will contact the person who registered the organisation (Self-
registrant) and ask them to:
upload official supporting documents (via the My Organisations page)
clarify any details.
The documents that are required will be listed in the notification you receive. You will need to
fill out a legal entity identification form and provide us with an official VAT document,
registration extract, statutes or act of establishment, etc. The detailed list of documents is also
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explained in the Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity
Assessment.
The Central Validation Service will check that your organisation is legally recognised (has legal
personality). If this is not the case (exceptionally this is allowed), you will have to prove that
the representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on the organisation’s behalf
and that the organisation has financial and operational capacity equivalent to that of legal
persons.
The Central Validation Service will also check whether your organisation qualifies for some of
the special legal statuses that are required for some funding programmes (private or public
body, non-profit, international organisation).
The outcome of this process is the validation of your organisation (validated PIC). The Central
Validation Service will send a confirmation message once the process is completed and the PIC
is validated.
Please don’t forget that all communications with the Central Validation Service must take
place through the Participant Register (My Organisations page). Emails and other
communications will NOT be accepted.
Please also note that if you apply for a call with specific eligibility criteria that are not validated
by the Central Validation Service, these will be checked by the responsible EU service managing
the call — in addition to the validation, which means that they may come back to you with
additional questions.
Validation of the organisation is a prerequisite for the LEAR appointment.
Data updates
Updates to the registered organisation data must be requested via the Participant Register (My
Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation):
by the LEAR (or Account Administrators) for validated entities
by the Self-registrant if your organisation has not been validated yet.
If your organisation has already a validated PIC and a new one is created by mistake, your
LEAR or Account Administrator should contact the Central Validation Service via the Portal
Messaging Facility (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation). The information will be
transferred from the duplicate PIC to the correct PIC and the duplicate flagged.
SME self-assessment
In addition to the standard validation, a SME self-assessment is needed if you apply for a call
where SME status is an eligibility criterion (or allows for a higher funding rate or other
advantages).
If there is no recent (not older than 2 years) SME self-assessment information available in the
Participant Register, the Portal Submission System will automatically prompt you to go through
the SME self-assessment wizard to establish your SME status. You will need to enter the
financial figures of the last approved accounting period of your organisation and of any other
organisation that might be directly or indirectly related to you. If the result confirms your SME
status, you will be able to proceed with the application process.
Please note that the SME self-assessment is only needed if the SME-status is an eligibility
criterion (or gives special advantages); otherwise, you will simply self-declare your SME status
in the Legal Information tab and proceed with the registration.Detailed rules are explained in
the Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.
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Links
Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
Participant Register User’s Guide
SME Self-Assessment User Guide
FAQ
FAQ on Participant Register, organisation data management and SME-self-assessment
2.2 LEAR appointment and validation
Parallel to the validation of your organisation, you will be requested by the Central Validation
Service to appoint your Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR).
This must be done by a legal representative of your organisation with the necessary legal
authority to commit the organisation for this type of decisions (e.g. typically CEOs, rectors,
Director-Generals, etc... always in accordance with the statutes of your organisation). If
such decisions are normally reserved for joint decision-making by several representatives, the
appointment must be done together (documents signed by all).
The LEAR role, which can be performed by any member of the organisation (typically from the
central administration), is key. They are formally nominated to manage your organisation’s use
of the Portal and thus bear the final responsibilty for all your actions in the Portal. Once
validated, they will be responsible for:
keeping an overview of all the proposals/projects/contracts your organisation is involved
in
managing all the legal and financial information about your organisation
managing the access rights at organisation-level (and read-only access at project-level)
appointing the persons which will be able to electronically sign grants/contracts (Legal
Signatories — LSIGNs) and cost claims/invoices (Financial Signatories — FSIGNs).
Applicants that are natural persons do not need to prove their capacity to become a LEAR, but
still need to enter their LEAR data and submit supporting documents.
Further details about the LEAR's rights and responsibilities are explained in the Roles and access
rights section.
Appointing and validation of your LEAR
Please note that registration and validation of your organisation is a prerequisite for the
validation of your LEAR.
Identify the person in your organisation who will act as LEAR and the legal
representative who will appoint them
The person who initially registered the organisation in the Participant Register (the Self-
registrant) will receive the notification from the Central Validation Service to launch the
LEAR appointment procedure.
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Encode in the Participant Register the name and contact information of the
LEAR and the legal representative appointing them
To do so, the Self-registrant must go to My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation.
The Participant Register will, then, generate the necessary documents to be signed:
LEAR appointment letter and LEAR role and duties (generated as a single document)
declaration of consent to the Portal Terms & Conditions.
The system will automatically check the existence of an EU Login account for the LEAR (e-
mail address, first and last name). In case of inconsistencies, the system alerts the Self-
registrant. If no EU Login account exists, the system will start creating one and the LEAR
will be requested (via a notification e-mail) to finalise it. The LEAR appointment process
will be blocked until this is done.
Get your organisation's legal representative to:
date, sign and stamp the LEAR appointment letter & LEAR roles and duties
document generated by the system ( both sections must be signed in blue-ink)
read the Portal Terms and Conditions and
date, sign and stamp the declaration of consent to the Portal Terms and Conditions
(also in blue-ink).
Upload the following documents in the Participant Register:
the LEAR appointment letter & LEAR role and duties (dated and signed by the legal
representative and the LEAR)
the declaration of consent to the Portal Terms and Conditions (dated and signed by
the legal representative)
copies of an official valid proof of identity (ID-card, passport) with a photo and
signature of:
o the legal representative and
o the appointed LEAR
documents proving the authority of the legal representative; these documents
must:
o clearly indicate the person’s role/function within the organisation as legal
representative
o identify and appoint the individual (by name) as the person covering that
specific role/function.
Don't forget that you MUST keep the originals of all documents you uploaded, so that
they are available in case of EU controls, checks or audits. Since your registration in the
Participant Register is valid for this and any future EU funding and tenders procedures your
organisation will ever apply for, the originals must be kept permanently, as long as you are
registered in the Portal (and possibly beyond, for controls, checks and audits, etc). You
should therefore NOT throw them away and ensure that they are maintained also in case
of insolvency, takeover or change of control.
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Validation of the LEAR appointment by the Central Validation Service
After receiving the above-listed documents and once the corresponding PIC has been
validated, the Central Validation Service will also validate the LEAR appointment in the
Participant Register.
Activate the LEAR's online user account
After validation, the LEAR account (with the special access rights) can be be activated by:
following the instructions the LEAR receives by e-mail
using the account activation PIN code which will be sent to the LEAR by post, or
by SMS if the LEAR's mobile phone number was provided
Should you encounter any problems with the LEAR appointment, please contact the Central
Validation Service via the Portal Messaging Facility (My Organisations > Actions> Modify
Organisation).
Data updates — Changing the LEAR
If you need to replace an already validated LEAR, you can designate a new LEAR by making a
new appointment (same steps as initial appointment).
If you are a LEAR and your e-mail address has changed, please inform the Central Validation
Service via the Portal Messaging Facility (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation),
in order to obtain instructions on how to proceed for the change.
How can you contact the LEAR?
For contacting LEARs of other organisations, go to How to participate > Participant Register >
Search a PIC to find the organisation. Then, select Actions > Contact Organisation. This will
launch a contact form that allows you to send a message to the LEAR (and their Account
Administrators). The LEAR can then contact you directly.
To contact your own LEAR, log in and then go to My Organisations > Actions > Contact
Organisation.
Links
Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
FAQ
FAQ on LEAR appointment
2.3 Bank account registration and validation
Registration and validation of the bank account for payments
In addition to the validation of the participating organisations, we also have to validate the bank
account that will be used for our payments to you (usually bank account of the Coordinator).
The Central Validation Service will contact the Coordinator after the PIC is validated, to enter
the bank account details into the Participant Register and upload the necessary supporting
documents (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation).
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The documents required will be listed in the notification you receive. In general, you will need
to provide the bank account details and either a bank statement or financial identification form.
The Central Validation Service will cross-check this information and validate the account.When
registering your organisation for the first time, you do not need to declare any bank account
information. You will be prompted to do this only later on, if your proposal is successful.
Data updates
If you need to change an already validated bank account, please declare the new bank account
details via the Participant Register and upload the required supporting documents.
Please note that it can happen that not all types of modifications are supported. In case of an
issue, please contact the IT Helpdesk.
2.4 Financial capacity assessment
Assessment of your financial capacity
For some participants, we will also have to check the financial capacity before awarding
grants/contracts.
For grants, the criteria for checking financial capacity are set out in the call conditions.
Normally, the financial capacity assessment will be done for all Beneficiaries and Affiliated
Entities, except:
public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including local,
regional or national authorities) or international organisations
if the individual requested grant amount is EUR 60 000 or below.
Specific rules apply for some programmes (i.e. only for coordinators; only for grants above a
certain threshold; State guarantee; see Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Erasmus+
Programme Guide).
The Central Validation Service will contact you during grant preparation to upload the necessary
financial documents (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation).
The documents required will be listed in the notification you receive. In general, you will need
to provide documents showing your financial situation for the last two closed financial years
(profit and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an approved
external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year, etc).
The analysis is based on neutral financial indicators (liquidity, financial autonomy, solvency and
profitability), but will also take into account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding
and deficit and revenue in previous years. The results of your financial capacity assessment will
be taken into account when evaluating your ability to implement the project (and to take on
the Coordinator role, if it is the case).
If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:
– an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several liabiliy for all
Beneficiaries or joint and several liability of Affiliated Entities
– prefinancing paid in instalments (multiple/additional prefinancing)
– (one or more) prefinancing guarantees
or
– propose no prefinancing or
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– request that you are replaced or, if needed, reject the entire application.
Specific rules apply to programmes with Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM, former Participant
Guarantee Fund; e.g. Horizon Europe). For these programmes, prefinancing guarantees and
joint and several liability of Beneficiaries are normally excluded.
Financial capacity self-check
You can check your financial capacity yourself by using the Financial capacity self-check
simulator.
The self-check is not available for all programmes (because of the algorithms used).
Moreover, it is only a simulation. If a formal financial capacity assessment is required, you will
have to go through the formal procedure.
Links
Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
2.5 Data updates
Who can update the online information about your organisation?
Initially, only the person who first registered the organisation or any other appointed
Self-registrant
once appointed, only the appointed representative (LEAR) and appointed Account
Administrators.
To change the information on your organisation, go to My Organisations > Actions > Modify
Organisation.
Please upload legal/financial supporting documents for any updates you submit so that the
Central Validation Service can validate them. Maximum size for uploads: 6MB per file
Changes of legal status
If your organisation changes status or address, your LEAR should immediately update the
information in the Participant Register (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation) and,
if possible, directly inform (via your Coordinator) your EU Project Officers in ongoing grants
(Coordinator uses the Portal Messaging Facility: My Projects > Actions > Manage Project >
Process communications > New message).
Some changes like, for instance, partial or universal transfers of rights will moreover require
amendments in case you have ongoing Grant Agreements/Procurement Contracts.
Managing roles in the organisation
If organisation roles need to be changed, your LEAR should immediately update them in the
system (My Organisations > Actions > Edit Organisation Roles)
If project/contract roles need to be changed, your CoCo/PaCo should immediately update them
in the system (My Projects > Actions > Project Consortium).
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If grants/contracts or cost claims/invoices are signed in the system by persons whose access
rights should have been revoked, this will be your responsibility and you will have to bear the
consequences. Their signatures and other actions will be considered valid by the EU services.
Links
Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
2.6 Complaints about validation
If you believe that a validation result is flawed, you can submit a complaint (following the
deadline and procedure set out in the message on the validation result).
Generally, the means of redress are the following:
request for validation review — within 30 days of receiving the message
request for review of legality under Article 22 of Regulation 58/2003 — within 1 month
of receiving the message
action for annulment under Article 263 TFEU — within 2 months of receiving the
message.
Please note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are
considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from opening/access (see
Portal Terms and Conditions).
Please do NOT make more than one complaint at a time. If you would like to use several of
the means of redress, start in the order set out above (e.g. first validation review, then Article
22 and then Article 263) and always wait for our reply before starting a new complaint. We will
count the deadlines for further complaints always as from when you receive the reply to the
previous one.
When filing a complaint, please take into account that the formal decision was taken by the
Central Validation Service hosted in the REA executive agency, and that complaints must
therefore be directed against that agency (NOT against the European Commission).
In case you consider that there has been maladministration on the part of the Central Validation
Service, you can also address a complaint to the European Ombudsman — within 2 years after
you became aware of it AND after having used all the means of administrative redress available
(validation review and Article 22 request).
3. Grants
3.1 Applying for funding
3.1.1 Search funding opportunities — Find a call
The Portal is the single point of entry for all EU funding and tenders, i.e. grants, prizes and
procurements managed by the European Commission and other EU services.
The Portal currently hosts the following EU funding programmes:
MFF 2021-2027
Anti-Counterfeiting (PERICLES IV)
Anti-Fraud (EUAF)
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Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)
Border Management and Visa (BMVI)
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)
Civil Protection (UCPM)
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
Creative Europe (CREA)
Customs Control Equipment (CCEI)
Defence (EDF)
Digital Europe
Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
Erasmus+
EU External Action (RELEX)
Eu4Health
European Social Fund + (ESF)
European Solidarity Corps (ESC)
Fiscalis
Horizon Europe (including Euratom)
Humanitarian Aid (HA)
Information Measures Common Agricultural Policy (IMCAP)
Innovation Fund (INNOVFUND)
Internal Security Fund (ISF)
Justice Programme (JUST)
Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions
Promotion of Agricultural Products (AGRIP)
Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism
Research Fund for Coal & Steel (RFCS)
Single Market (including COSME, Consumers, European Statistics)
Social Prerogative and Specific Competencies Lines (SOCPL)
Technical Support (TSI)
MFF 2014-2020
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF)
Civil Protection (UCPM)
Consumer Programme
COSME
Defence and Industrial Development (EDIDP)
European Statistics (ESP)
Health (3HP)
Hercule III
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Horizon 2020 (H2020)
Internal Security Fund – Borders and Visa (ISFB)
Internal Security Fund – Police (ISFP)
Justice (JUST)
Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)
Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions
Promotion of Agricultural Products (AGRIP)
Research Fund for Coal & Steel (RFCS)
Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC)
You can access calls and topics in your area of interest through the Portal Search funding &
tenders page. This page allows you to search in the text of the call and topic titles, call and
topic identifiers, topic description and keywords and tags. You can also filter using the quick
search per topics related to specific EU priorities.
If you would like to receive updates on new calls, you can subscribe to the Funding Opportunities
RSS feed.
The Search funding & tenders page also hosts calls for tenders (EU procurements) and prizes.
It does NOT cover financial instruments (EU loans and venture capital) — these are normally
managed through financial partners (banks), but the Portal homepage has a direct link to the
Access to finance page on Europa.
Calls and topics
On the Portal most calls are divided into topics.
Call — Group of topics that are open in parallel and address the same policy domain.
Topic — Part of a call with one opening and closing date. The proposals submitted to the topic
will be evaluated together and compete against each other.
The Search funding & tenders page will display the list of open topics; the name of the call they
belong to is visible on the Topic page.
The Topic page contains all the information you need to have for your proposal (call conditions,
legal framework and key documents, standard application form and other practical information
you need to prepare your proposal). The Topic page also specifies the call deadline and contains
a link to the Portal Submission System, through which you can submit your proposal. The
Topic page also contains call and topic updates (changes or important information for the
applicants).
Deadline for submission
A topic is considered open until the deadline for submission has passed (call deadline).
Each topic will specify deadlines and/or cut-off dates.
Deadline models
Single-stage
For most topics, you must submit a full proposal by the call deadline.
Two-stage
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Some topics have a 2-stage submission procedure, which means that you have to submit a
short outline proposal for stage 1 and then a full proposal only if you are invited to stage 2
(meaning that your project looks promising).
Multiple cut-off
Some topics are continuously open, where you can submit a proposal at any time, and cut-
off dates mean that all proposals received by a given cut-off date will be evaluated after that
deadline.
Types of action
Types of action designate funding schemes, i.e. calls with the same characteristics: policy
domain (scope of funded activities), award criteria, reimbursement rate and in some cases form
of funding (budget-based grant, lump sum grant, unit grant, prize, procurement, debt and
equity facility, etc).
The types of action depend on each EU programme.
There are two main types: action grants (for projects) and operating grants (to support
organisations and their running costs).
In addition, most programmes distinguish the following:
Project Grants
Lump Sum Grants
Unit Grants and
Framework Partnerships.
However, especially larger programmes have developed their own specific set of types of action,
for instance:
Horizon Europe: Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, Coordination and
Support Actions, Pre-commercial Procurements, Public Procurement of Innovative
Solutions, etc
Digital Europe: Simple Grants, Coordination and Support Actions, SME Support Actions,
Grants for Financial Support, Grants for Procurement, PAC Grants for Procurement,
Lump Sum Grants, Framework Partnerships
CEF: Project Grants, Infrastructure Projects, Lump Sum Grants, Unit Grants, Framework
Partnerships
Single Market Programme: Project Grants, Lump Sum Grants, Grants for Financial
Support, PPI Grants for Procurement, Framework Partnerships, European Statistics, etc.
Within the types of actions, EU grants fund all kinds of activities (collaborative actions,
coordination and networking actions, coordination and support actions, support to
organisations, technical assistance and capacity building actions, mobility actions, cofund
actions to existing grant schemes/procurements of the beneficiaries, infrastructure actions,
etc).
Technology readiness levels (TRL)
Calls in the field of innovation (close to market) often use the notion of technology readiness
level to specify also the level of technology readiness that is expected from the projects. There
are 9 technology readiness levels:
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TRL 1 — basic principles observed
TRL 2 — technology concept formulated
TRL 3 — experimental proof of concept
TRL 4 — technology validated in lab
TRL 5 — technology validated in relevant environment
TRL 6 — technology demonstrated in relevant environment
TRL 7 — system prototype demonstration in operational environment
TRL 8 — system complete and qualified
TRL 9 — actual system proven in operational environment.
3.1.2 Projects that can be funded — Conditions for funding
The types of projects and activities that can be funded are set out for each call in the call
conditions on the Topic page.
The other conditions (eligibility of participants, admissibility requirements, exclusion grounds,
operational and financial capacity requirements, award criteria, etc) are also explained on the
Topic page.
Please note that for some programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe, EDF and AMIF), projects may
need to undergo additional checks and procedures before funding can be awarded, such as
specific ethics review, security scrutiny, third country control check, etc.
3.1.3 Apply with partners or as individual
Who can apply?
To see whether your organisation is eligible for funding, check the call conditions on the Topic
page.
In general, most EU funding programmes require that participants (Beneficiaries and Affiliated
Entities) are:
legal entities (public or private bodies, including international organisations)
and
established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
o EU Member State (including EU overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
o eligible non-EU countries:
o EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — if opted-in for the
programme)
o associated countries (countries associated to the funding programme by
paying a contribution — list differs for each programme).
Please be aware, however, that almost all programmes have additional criteria, which
widen or narrow the group of entities that can apply. Some programmes are open to participants
from the entire world (e.g. Horizon Europe) others are deliberately restricted to EU countries
only (e.g. EDF). In addition, the situation can be different from call to call even within a
programme. It is therefore very important to carefully look at the call conditions.
Moreover, participants must be registered in the Participant Register (mandatory for
Beneficiaries, Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners) and be validated by the Central
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Validation Service by the time the grant is signed (mandatory for Beneficiaries and Affiliated
Entities).
Multi-participant or mono-participant actions
Most of the calls for EU grants target multi-beneficiary consortia made up of participants from
different countries — to enhance the EU added value, promote cooperation between
organisations in different countries, reinforce the quality of applications and ensure fair
competition and equal opportunities throughout the EU.
Some programmes formalise this, by adding specific requirements for the consortium
composition (e.g. Horizon Europe, UCPM, etc).
To see whether a call requires minimum consortium composition, check the call conditions on
the Topic page.
How to find partners for your project ideas?
To find partners for your project ideas, you can:
Use the Partner Search function of the Portal. The function allows to:
o look for organisations which received funding in the past
o create and check Partner Search requests by call/topic
Use other Partner Search tools and services. A list of recommended support sites is
offered under the Helpdesks & Support Services page.
Participate in conferences, brokerage events organised by the EU or networks in the
Member States (National Contact Points or Desks, Enterprise Europe Network, etc).
Portal Partner Search
If you want to find experienced partners who already have ongoing projects, or if you want to
browse in the database of registered organisations, visit the Partner Search page. You can
search by keyword/geographical area/funding type, etc. Search results include complete
organisation profiles with lists of funded projects and the possibility to contact representatives.
If you have selected your area of interest via the Topic search, you may publish your
offer/interest for one or more of the open/forthcoming topics of a call on the Portal. All your
published offers/interests will be visible on your organisation's page too.
Enterprise Europe Network Cooperation Opportunities Database — The Enterprise Europe
Network (EEN) publishes an extensive number of innovation and technology profiles from
international companies and research organisations to help identify suitable partners for
bilateral business, innovation and technology cooperation. The EEN database is updated with
new profiles on a weekly basis. All profiles are published anonymously. Express your interest in
collaboration by filling in and sending the Expression of Interest form to your local EEN office,
who will establish the contact.
Consortium roles and responsibilities
When setting up your grant consortium, you should think of organisations that help you reach
objectives and solve problems.
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Beneficiaries — Affiliated Entities — Associated Partners —
Subcontractors
The roles should be attributed according to the level of participation in the project. Main
participants should participate as Beneficiaries or Affiliated Entities (former Linked Third
Parties); other entities can participate as Associated Partners, Subcontractors, Third parties
giving in-kind contributions, etc.
Associated Partners and Third parties giving in-kind contributions do not get any part
of the grant money and will therefore have to organise other funding sources (bear their own
costs, internal reallocation of funding inside the consortium, find investors, etc).
Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part of the project and will need to
be justified (give reasons). Tasks may NOT be subcontracted inside the consortium (between
Beneficiaries or Affiliated Entities).
Coordinator — Other Beneficiaries
The Coordinator is responsible for managing the project, submitting reports and deliverables
and acting as intermediary for all contacts with the EU Granting Authority.
The other Beneficiaries must implement their part of the project and contribute to the grant
administration (preparing the grant, reporting, etc).
The consortium participants will be jointly responsible for implementing the project activities
(in accordance with their proposal/description of the action). If a project is not finished (or badly
implemented), the grant money may have to be reduced for everyone.
3.1.4 Submit a proposal — Portal Submission System
Proposal submission
Proposals must be submitted electronically using the Portal Submission System.
Where? Access to the Submission System is available through the Topic page on the Portal>
Start Submission.
Who? Proposals must be created and submitted by a contact person of the coordinating
organisation. Exceptions exist for some programmes/types of action which are fully focused on
individuals (e.g. the Principal Investigator in Horizon Europe ERC grants or the Fellow in Horizon
Europe MSCA grants).
How? The Submission wizard will guide you step-by-step through the process. You will need
to use the online forms and templates available in the Submission System. The application form
is described below.
Submission process
Get prepared: Finding your topic > Find partners > Plan your work and budget
Electronic proposal submission: Get an EU Login account > Get a PIC number (Participant
Register) > Launch Submission wizard > Pre-register your draft proposal > List participants,
contact persons > Fill in Administrative Forms (Part A) > Upload Technical Description (Part B)
> Submit your proposal > Acknowledgement of receipt
Application form (Part A and B)
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Proposals are submitted using the application forms available in the Submission System. The
application form is structured in into two parts, Parts A and B:
Part A: contains the structured Administrative Forms with data on the participants, legal
declarations and contact persons (retrieved from the Submission System screens). It
may also include some programme-specific questions.
Part B (the narrative part): Technical Description of the project with the planned
activities, work packages, costs, etc (must be uploaded as PDF).
Part A is generated while entering the data into the Submission System; Part B needs to be
prepared in advance (using the template downloaded from the system; do NOT use the standard
template from the Topic page).
Part B will also include annexes and supporting documents if required by the call conditions
(detailed budget table, declarations from national authorities, CVs, annual activity reports, etc).
All participants can contribute to the parts, but it is the person from the coordinating
organisation who created the application who must finalise and submit the application.
For programmes with specific security requirements, special instructions may apply (e.g. for
EDF, documents must be uploaded through a password-word protected zip file). For such
programmes, detailed instructions will be available in the call documentation.
Tasks of the Coordinator:
Mandate: Make sure that you have the mandate of all participants to submit the
application (explicit agreement to participate).
Quality check:
Check that the application is coherent and that Part A and B are consistent (especially
budgetary information).
Make sure that the template has been followed and all sections are completed; make
sure that no annexes are missing.
Confidentiality
EU services will treat your proposal confidentially, as well as any related information, data
and documents received.
Our evaluators (both in-house and outside experts, if any) are also bound by an obligation of
confidentiality.
Please do NOT discuss your proposal with persons that might act as expert evaluator for us
or be otherwise involved in the evaluation, since this could lead to a conflict of interest with
adverse consequences both for you and the concerned person.
Security, data protection and document retention
Your proposal and all the information received from you will be stored under secure conditions
at all times. The Portal is a closed, secured platform with multiple safeguards.
After the evaluation, we will keep the proposals for audit trail purposes (at least 5 years for
unsuccessful proposals and 10 years after project end for successful proposals and, possibly,
longer if needed for controls, checks and audit purposes).
Personal data will be handled according to the standards set out in Regulation No 2018/1725
and in line with the Portal Privacy Statement.
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Please be aware that your proposal MUST NOT contain any classified information (Decision
2015/444 or national rules).
Access to proposals
The proposals will remain sealed and closed until after the call deadline.
However, in order to plan the evaluation process (organise translations, evaluation capacities,
evaluators with specialist knowledge, etc) we will ask you for permission to access to certain
information already before:
call title and topic for which the proposal is submitted
title of your application, proposal abstract, keywords
PICs of the participating organisations
relevant panel (for proposals submitted to specific panels, e.g. Horizon Europe MSCA,
UCPM).
A warning will inform you that the Granting Authority will be accessing this information and
will give you the opportunity to refuse access.
Links
User Guide of the Submission System
FAQ
FAQ on Proposal submission and evaluation
3.1.4.1 Get prepared
Before you can start completing your application, you should study the call documentation,
select partners and plan your project.
Study the call documentation
Choose your topic, and then read carefully the related documents and standard
templates that are available on the Topic page.
The Submission System will check some basic admissibility and eligibility requirements,
but NOT all of them. It is therefore very important that you carefully read the call
conditions. Please note that whenever there is a contradiction between the IT checks in
place and the call documentation, the call documentation prevails.
Select your partners for the project
Most calls require several participants in the proposal (see call conditions on the Topic
page).
You can use the Portal Partner Search to find partners. Other partner search tools are
explained in the Helpdesk & Support Services page.
Plan your project and prepare the Technical Description (Part B)
Planning of the work (work packages, deliverables, milestones)
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Look at the call conditions, award criteria and standard application form (Technical
Description (Part B)) on the Topic page.
For most types of action the Technical Description must give a detailed description of the
project idea and work plan (work packages, milestones and deliverables, division of
responsibilities and resources, time schedule, project management structure,
dissemination and communication activities).
Work packages
All project activities should be grouped in a logical, consistent and structured way into
separate work packages. All work packages must present a clear, logical link to the
project objectives and to the other work packages. Ideally, each work package should
constitute a sub-part of the project, a step leading to the achievement of the project’s
overall goals.
Projects should normally have at least 2 work packages:
work package 1 — management and coordination activities
work package 2 — outputs related to the project goals.
Beyond that, create only as many as you need (as many as necessary, as few as
possible).
Work package 1 should normally cover all activities related to the general management
and coordination of the project and any activities that do not relate to any of the work
packages leading to a specific result, but which are directly linked to the project as a whole.
For the other work packages, describe the:
objective(s)
activities to be implemented — in specific terms
(tangible and intangible) outputs to be produced.
Milestones & deliverables (if required)
Concerning the outputs:
1. Distinguish between milestones and deliverables:
milestones: control points in the project that help to chart progress (kick-
off meetings, steering committes, first-draft of a survey, prototype, etc)
deliverables: outputs to be submitted to the EU (publication, leaflet,
progress report, brochure, list, etc)
2. Be as specific as possible, e.g.:
events — the number of events, title, content, duration, number of
participants, etc.
publications — number of pages, language, format (printed/electronic),
number of printed copies (in each language), etc.
3. Be realistic about what you can achieve within the project duration. The scope of
your project should be large enough to make a difference, but it doesn't need to produce
an excessively high number of outputs.
4. Refer only to major outputs. Do NOT include minor sub-items, internal working
papers, meeting minutes, etc. Adapt the number of deliverables to the size of your
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project and work packages (use as many as necessary, as few as possible). You may
be asked to reduce or increase the number during grant preparation.
Budget
Look at the budget table in the Administrative Forms (Part A) in the Submission System.
Only the white cells need to be filled in (the grey cells are not applicable or automatically
filled by the system).
Cross-check with Part B to see if you will also need to submit a detailed budget table or
outline budgetary details also in Part B.
The budget categories to be used for the call are set out in the call conditions and explained
in the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.
The budgeted costs should be based on a detailed and accurate estimation of your
estimated project costs (based on the cost eligibility rules set out in the Grant Agreement).
They should include all your estimated costs (those of your Affiliated Entities should be
presented separately, for each participating entity).
Keep your estimates on file — you may be required to produce them later on.
Annexes & supporting documents
If required by the call conditions, you will need to prepare additional annexes and
supporting documents (consortium description, declarations by the national authorities,
CVs, annual activity reports, etc).
Use the templates provided inside the Submission System (NOT the ones on the Topic
page).
Detailed budget table (if required)
Many programmes require the submission of a detailed budget table (templates are usually
in format .xlsx or .xlxm).
Simple .xlsx files can simply be filled-in, merged and uploaded. For .xlsm files, you can
usually — after the table has been filled-in and completed using the macro-support — save
a copy as .xlsx and use that copy for merging and uploading the file.
If you are asked to merge and upload a table as PDF (usually for needed for GAP), please
proceed as follows:
Sheets per participant must be filled in for each Beneficiary/Affiliated Entity; sheets for
the entire project must be filled in by the Coordinator — after having received all the
information by the other participants.
Combine into a single PDF:
1. Save participant sheets into one PDF per Beneficiary/Affiliated Entity (choose
sheets via ‘Options’ when saving as PDF)
2. Save participant sheets and project sheets into a PDF for the Coordinator.
3. Combine into a single PDF for upload (using Adobe Acrobat or the Preview App
on Apple Macs).
4. Upload in the system.
CVs (if required)
Provide CVs for the core project team (these are the key staff you have listed in part B and
may include outside experts, if key to your proposal).
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You can submit CVs in any format. If standard CVs are required in the call conditions we
strongly recommend you to use the Europass format. If short outlines are requested, there
are no specific formatting requirements (but please keep the information on each person
to name, birthdate and 1-2 paragraphs describing studies and most relevant work
experience).
As far as possible, upload them in a single PDF file, rather than individually.
If you are still recruiting, please provide the job profile.
Activity report of last year (if required)
This report should describe your organisation's activities for the last year.
It should be detailed enough to allow us to check your organisation’s aims and activities
and its operational and professional capacity.
No finalised annual report yet? Submit the draft version, certified by your organisation's
legal representative.
No report of this type available? Create one for this application and have it certified by your
legal representative.
Online versions — If your report is available on your website, you can just provide a link
(directly to the document(s), not simply to the homepage) and indicate the link on a
separate sheet and upload it as annex (PDF format).
3.1.4.2 Electronic proposal submission
Electronic proposal submission: Get an EU Login account > Get a PIC number (Participant
Register) > Launch Submission wizard > Pre-register your draft proposal > List participants,
contact persons > Fill in Administrative Forms (Part A) > Upload Technical Description (Part B)
> Submit your proposal > Acknowledgement of receipt
Proposals must be submitted online using the Portal Submission System and before the call
deadline.
Details are explained in the .
Actions to be completed before submission
Create your user account to login to the Portal
To be able to submit a proposal, you must first register on the Portal for an EU Login account.
Make sure all participants are registered (PIC)
All participants (Beneficiaries, Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners) must be
registered in the Participant Register and have their 9-digit Participant Identification Code
(PIC). The Coordinator has to be identified with its PIC number at Step 3 of the Submission
wizard, while other participants at Step 4.
Read more about registration and PIC search in the Registration and validation of your
organisation section.
Submitting the application
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The Submission wizard will guide you step-by-step through the process.
Detailed explanations are available in the .
Do not forget to check the system requirements for using the Submission System.
Launch the Submission wizard and enter information for the Administrative
Forms (application form (Part A))
Go to the topic on the Search funding & tenders page > Start Submission.
Upload Part B (Technical Description) and annexes and supporting documents
Part B (and the annexes and supporting documents) can be uploaded in Step 5 of the
wizard. Detailed instructions for preparing these documents are available in the section Get
prepared.
Tips
Do not wait until the end to submit
It is highly recommended to submit your proposalas early as possible and at least 48 hours
before the deadline. This will avoid technical problems (system requirements, local
configuration settings, system congestion, etc).
Please note that you can submit the proposal as many times as you want. Every submitted
version will replace the previous one. Your proposal is sealed and closed. It will not be accessed
before the deadline of the call. There is no reason to delay submission for fear of disclosure.
Affiliated entities
In Step 4 of the wizard you specify the organisations participating in the consortium. As from
2021, this will include Affiliated Entities and Associated Partners. They will therefore need to
have registered beforehand and have their PIC. Their budget will also have to be individualised
already at application stage (separate row in the budget table).
Access rights of individual contact persons
In Step 4 of the wizard you also specify the contact persons for the organisations. To read more
about the levels of access rights, see the Roles and access rights section.
Changes to organisation-related data during proposal preparation
If your organisation is already registered, but organisation-related data has changed during
proposal preparation, you cannot update it directly in the Submission System.
The update must first be requested via the Participant Register (My Organisations > Actions >
Modify Organisation):
by the LEAR (or Account Administrators) for validated entities
by the Self-registrant if your organisation has not been validated yet.
Page limits and formatting requirements for the Technical Description (Part B)
Don’t forget that applications may have mandatory page limits and formatting requirements
(indicated at the beginning of the application form). Excess pages will be automatically made
invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators.
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Checklist for submission
Before submitting the proposal, check that:
your proposal fulfils the call conditions
the proposal (both the Administrative Forms (Part A) and Technical Description (Part
B)) is complete, readable, accessible and printable
the requested declarations have been made
all consortium members have:
o obtained a user account to log in to the Portal
o registered in the Participant Register.
Mock evaluation
For some programmes, you can find standard evaluation forms similar to those used by our
evaluators on Portal Reference Documents. Try them out. Ideally, ask a disinterested colleague
to carry out a mock evaluation.
Multiple versions of proposal
You can submit your proposal several times before the deadline, to make updates or changes.
To view or change your submitted proposal, go to My Proposals > View Submitted > Re-edit
proposal. As long as the call has not been closed, the newly submitted version will overwrite
the previous one.
Please note that the re-edit functionality is not available for continuously open calls.
Multiple proposals
If the Coordinator submits a number of similar proposals, the Granting Authority may ask them
to choose one or more of them to be withdrawn.
Specific submission schemes
Two-stage submission schemes — You must submit a short outline proposal for stage 1 and will
be invited to submit a full application only if you pass to stage 2. The full application must be
consistent with the short outline proposal (no substantial differences allowed).
Calls with multiple cut-off dates — The call has a final closure date (usually the end of the
funding programme) and several cut-off dates that trigger evaluation. There is an evaluation
session after each cut-off date and the final closure date (normally within a month). After each
cut-off date, the submitted proposals are grouped, reviewed and ranked together. Evaluation
results are made available and proposals invited for grant preparation. If you miss a cut-off
date, the proposal will be evaluated with the next batch in the next evaluation session.
After submission
At submission, the application package is combined into one document, sealed and an e-receipt
is generated (with date and time of submission).
All contact persons of the coordinating organisation will receive an e-mail (after each submission
if several). If you have not received this e-mail, the application has not been submitted.
Please try again or contact the IT Helpdesk.
After the submission, there is normally no further contact between you and us until after the
end of the evaluation. The competent EU service will contact you only if there is a need to clarify
issues or request additional information or if the call foresees a hearing/interview as part of the
evaluation procedure.
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Withdrawal of submitted proposals
Before the call deadline, a proposal can be withdrawn at Step 6 of the wizard (My Proposals >
View Submitted > Withdraw proposal). After the call deadline, withdrawal has to be requested
via the IT Helpdesk.
Once withdrawn, the new status will be shown on the My Proposals page (and you can delete
the application with the Delete button).
After the call deadline
Once the call deadline has passed, no further corrections or re-submissions are possible.
However, you can have read-only access to the submitted proposal (My Proposals > View
Submitted).
Proposals that were never submitted (remain in draft status) are accessible for 90 days after
the call deadline (My Proposals > View Draft).
3.1.5 Complaints about failed submission
If you think that submission of your proposal failed and this was due to a technical error on the
Portal side, you may lodge a complaint through the IT Helpdesk.
The complaint must be filed within 4 calendar days after call closure. You will receive an
acknowledgement of receipt the same or next working day.
What else to do? You should secure a PDF version of the part B and annexes of your application
holding a time stamp before the call deadline (file attributes listing the date and time of creation
and last modification), as well as proof of the alleged failure (screenshots). You may be
requested by the IT Helpdesk to provide these items.
EC services will check the IT logs (application log files and access log files of the Commission
IT systems involved) and see if they show a technical problem on the Portal side which
prevented you from submitting (or resubmitting) the proposal.
You will be notified about the outcome as soon as possible.
If your complaint is justified, the files you provided to the IT Helpdesk will be used as your
proposal and sent for evaluation. If you didn’t provide any files, the last version recorded in the
IT system will be used.
Links
Proposal Submission System User Manual
3.2 Selection — From evaluation to grant signature
3.2.1 Admissibility and eligibility check
Once you have submitted a proposal, the Granting Authority will check:
admissibility (complete and properly put together) and
eligibility (fulfills eligibility conditions)
and then
ask an independent evaluation committee to evaluate it.
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Admissibility criteria
The admissibility conditions are set out in the call conditions on the Topic page.
They are generally the same across all EU programmes. The proposal must:
be submitted through the online Submission System before the call deadline
be complete — application form correctly filled out, all sections of Parts A and B
completed, all annexes and supporting documents provided
be readable, accessible and printable.
Furthermore, the proposal should respect the page limit set out in the application form. Excess
pages will be automatically made illegible, and will not be taken into consideration by the
evaluators.
Eligibility criteria
The eligibility criteria are also set out in the call conditions on the Topic page.
The basic eligibility check involves for most EU programmes if the content of the proposal is in
line with the topic description and if it involves participants coming from the right countries.
Additional criteria depend on the programme or specific topic (i.e. minimum consortium
composition, type of participant, geographic location of the project activities, coordinator from
an EU country, etc.).
For more information on participation of non-EU participants, see Who can apply section.
Outcome of the admissibility and eligibility check
If a proposal is inadmissible or ineligible, the participants will be informed (through the
coordinating organisation) and the rejection letter will be posted in their Portal library (My
Proposals > Actions > Follow-up > Proposal Management & Grant Preparation > Documents).
For complaints procedures against such rejections, see section Complaints about proposal
rejection.
3.2.2 Evaluation
Admissible and eligible proposals are sent on to evaluation by an independent evaluation
committee.
For most programmes the evaluation committee (panel) is made up of EU staff from the
Granting Authority and other services. They are often and assisted by outside experts for
individual evaluation and consensus group evaluation. For some programmes however (e.g.
Horizon Europe), the committee is usually composed exclusively of outside experts — for all
stages of the evaluation process (no internal staff).
The evaluation committee will also take position on the operational capacity of the consortium
and individual participants to properly implement the tasks planned. This assessment will be
based on the competence and experience of the participants, including operational resources
(human, technical and other) and is, for many programmes, integrated into the award criteria.
3.2.2.1 Award criteria
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Award criteria, scores thresholds and weighting
Proposals are evaluated and scored against award criteria set out in the call conditions on the
Topic page.
The award criteria, scores, thresholds and weightings depend on each programme and type of
action.
Globally speaking most programmes evaluate the following quality parameters: project
relevance, quality/implementation and impact. But in practice the labels vary and the
parameters are broken down into different aspects and focal points (see call conditions and, for
some programmes, the Programme Guides, e.g. Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Erasmus+
Programme Guide, AGRIP Programme Guide).
To be considered for funding, your proposal must score above a certain threshold for each
individual award criterion, and above an overall threshold for all of them together.
Moreover, in order to receive funding, your proposal must be ranked sufficiently to be above
the budget-threshold (relative positioning in the list of all proposals, compared to the other
proposals). For calls which provide for weightings, this ranking will also depend on the
weighting.
Your proposals will be evaluated on its own merit, and not its potential should certain
changes be made. Proposals with an inflated budget are likely to receive a lower score.
3.2.2.2 Evaluation and evaluation results
Evaluation process
Briefing
Evaluation: Individual evaluation > Consensus group > Panel review
Briefing of evaluators
Before starting the evaluation process, the evaluators are briefed on:
the evaluation processes and procedures (including award criteria)
the content of the topics under consideration
the need to evaluate proposals as they were submitted, rather than their potential
should certain changes be made
for outside experts: the terms of their contract (confidentiality, impartiality, conflicts of
interest, completing tasks and approving reports, penalties for non-compliance, etc).
For most EU programmes, there is no scope for recommending improvements to proposals
(including improvements on the budget).
Individual evaluation
During the individual evaluation, the evaluators work individually. Each evaluator gives a score
for each criterion, with explanatory comments, and prepares an individual evaluation report
(IER).
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Proposals are normally evaluated by at least three individual evaluators (for some programmes
and types of action, two may suffice; for many it is five).
The evaluators should also indicate if they consider that the proposal:
is out of scope or
involves security issues that will need further scrutiny.
Consensus group
After the individual evaluation, all evaluators who have evaluated the proposal will get together
in a consensus group, to agree on a common position on comments and scores.
For consensus groups made up of outside experts, the group will normally be assisted by a
member of the Granting Authority staff who will act as moderator to:
seek a consensus, impartially and
ensure that each proposal is evaluated fairly, according to the award criteria.
Panel review
After the consensus phase, the evaluation committee (panel) will take over and discuss the
proposals to:
reach an agreement on the scores and comments for all proposals evaluated together,
checking consistency across the evaluations
if necessary, propose a new set of marks or revise comments, and resolve cases where
evaluators were unable to agree
rank the above-threshold proposals and give a priority order for proposals with the same
score.
Proposals with the same score
The evaluation committee will recommend a priority order for proposals with the same score,
using the procedure set out in the call conditions.
Interviews/hearings
If provided for in the call conditions, the evaluation committee (panel) may arrange
interviews/hearings.
In this case, invitations are sent to the coordinators of above-threshold proposals (and,
sometimes, also to those with scores above individual thresholds but below the overall
qualifying threshold).
The interviews/hearings may be held remotely or on site, in Brussels.
The questions to be asked will be determined by the panel beforehand and sent to all proposals.
The interviews/hearings will be used to get further information to clarify the proposals and help
the panel establish its final ranking list and scores. They may not serve to change proposals or
add missing information.
Outcome of evaluation
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On the basis of the report and ranked list provided by the evaluation committee (panel), the
Granting Authority reviews the evaluation result, puts together the final ranking list and
informs the participants.
You can find the timing the evaluation and information on evaluation results in the call
conditions on the Topic page.
Final ranking — Reserve list — Rejections
The Granting Authority produces the final ranked list and the list of applications proposed
for funding.
The number of proposals in the list depends on the available budget. If the available budget is
too small to fund all above-threshold proposals (normally the case because EU grants are
heavily oversubscribed), some proposals may be put on a reserve list. These will then be
offered funding if a higher-scoring project does not go ahead or additional funds become
available.
The below-threshold proposals will be rejected.
Proposals will NOT be offered funding if the Granting Authority finds that it is already funding
very similar work elsewhere, or a proposal is in any way manifestly contrary to EU general
principles or established EU priorities or policies.
Evaluation result letters — Evaluation summary report
The participants will be informed (through the coordinating organisation) about their evaluation
result (together with the evaluation summary report (ESR)) and it will be posted in their Portal
library (My Proposals > Actions > Follow-up > Proposal Management & Grant Preparation >
Documents).
If your proposal was successful, you will get a grant preparation invitation letter. To follow
the further steps of preparing your grant, you will be prompted for each of the actions that need
to be carried out. Details are explained in the next section Grant preparation.
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Please note that invitation to grant preparation is NOT a formal commitment for funding. The
final decision on your project will only be taken at a later stage — this depends on the finalisation
of grant preparation and further checks which we still need to make (i.e. financial capacity, non-
exclusion, etc).
If your proposal was not succesful, you will receive a rejection letter. The means of redress for
such rejections are described in the section Complaints about proposal rejection.
3.2.3 Special procedures: Ethics review, security scrutiny,
Ownership control check
Ethics review
In order to avoid funding of ethically problematic activities, some funding programmes require
an ethics review procedure to clear the projects (e.g. Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, EU4H,
AMIF).
The details and the scope of the ethics review depend on each programme. Most programmes
simply check whether projects raise ethics issues and, if so, whether these are adequately
addressed. Some programmes, such as Horizon Europe, have a more elaborated review
procedure which includes several steps depending on the complexity of the issues (see Horizon
Europe Programme Guide).
The participants will be informed (through the coordinating organisation) of the ethics review
result and it will be posted in their Portal library (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project >
Document Library).
If the ethics review leads to requirements to be implemented before grant signature, you will
need to take immediate action to comply (and may also have to adapt the description of the
action (DoA Part B) to reflect this). If the review leads to additional requirements to be fulfilled
during the project, they are automatically added as ethics deliverables into the system and DoA
Part A and will be placed in an automatically generated work package called ethics
requirements. If the review shows that there are serious ethics issues that cannot be solved,
funding may have to be refused.
You may be asked to provide additional information if this is needed to complete the ethics
review (e.g. in case of serious or complex ethics issues or missing information).
Links
How to complete your ethics self-assessment
Security scrutiny
In order to ensure that classified information (for EU classified information (EUCI), see Decision
2015/444) is protected from unauthorised disclosure and that security issues emerging from
project activities are appropriately addressed, some EU programmes systematically provide for
a security review procedure for applications that operate in security relevant contexts (e.g.
European Defence Fund, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe).
The details and the scope of the security review depend on each programme. Some
programmes, such as Horizon Europe and Digital Europe, have a more elaborated security
review procedure which includes several steps depending on whether the topic under which a
proposal is submitted is flagged by the Commission as security sensitive or not (see Horizon
Europe Programme Guide).
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The security scrutiny (which is the final step of the more elaborated security review) is
essentially the same for all programmes: proposals must be cleared by the Security Scrutiny
Group (composed of national security experts nominated in agreement with their national
security authorities (NSAs)). The Security Scrutiny Group will determine the level of sensitivity
of the application and check whether all security aspects are being handled appropriately. You
will be informed about the result through your coordinator.
If the security scrutiny leads to requirements to be implemented before grant signature, you
will need to take immediate action to comply. If the scrutiny leads to classification and additional
requirements to be fulfilled during the project, this will be automatically reflected in the system
(classification of existing deliverables, limited dissemination of existing deliverables due to
security reasons, security aspect letter (SAL), security classification guide (SCG), appointment
of project security officer, establishment of security advisory board, etc.). If the scrutiny shows
that the project is too security sensitive, funding may have to be refused.
Links
How to handle security-sensitive projects
Third country control
Some programmes (or calls) limit the participation of entities which are controlled by third
countries (e.g. European Defence Fund, Digital Europe, Horizon Europe, CEF). In this case, a
special procedure is needed to verify ownership control of participants.
Links
Guidance on participation in DEP, HE, EDF and CEF-DIG restricted calls
Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
3.2.4 Grant preparation
Grant preparation
The Grant Agreement must be prepared directly in the Portal Grant Management System.
Where? Access to the Grant Management System is available through My Projects > Actions
> Manage Project > Proposal Management & Grant Preparation > Grant agreement data
preparation.
Who? The Grant Agreement data should be prepared by the consortium participants together
and submitted by the Coordinator.
How? You will be prompted by e-mail for all the actions that you need to carry out for the grant
preparation. For more details, see the list of grant-related notifications.
What? The grant preparation process consists of:
setting up the Portal Grant Management System with the:
o participants’ legal, administrative and financial information
o description of the action (DoA, Annex 1 GA)
o estimated budget (Annex 2 and 2a GA)
o project variables (when the project starts, reporting periods, amount of
prefinancing, GA options, etc)
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o legal documents needed for grant signature (declarations of honour)
so that the system can generate the Grant Agreement
and
trigger signature directly inside the system (Grant Agreement and Accession Forms).
In parallel, the Granting Authority will perform the remaining legal checks to ensure that all the
successful proposals can receive EU funding (legal entity validation, financial capacity check,
non-exclusion check, etc).
Our Grant Agreement clauses are common to all EU programmes and mandatory for all
beneficiaries. They are explained in more detail in the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.
Grant preparation process
Enter & submit grant data: Entering legal, administrative & financial data > Preparing the
Description of the Action (DoA)
Signing the Grant Agreement
Description of the Action (DoA) (Part A and B)
The description of the action (DoA, Annex 1) is structured like the application form into
two parts, Parts A and B:
Part A: contains the structured tables with project information (retrieved from the Grant
Management System tabs)
Part B (the narrative part): is based on Part B of the application form and must be
uploaded as a PDF.
Creating Part B of the DoA is straightforward, as it can be derived directly from Part B of the
application. The instructions for this are available on Portal Reference Documents.
The system will merge the Parts A and B, generating a single PDF with the full description of
the action (DoA).
All participants can contribute to the parts, but it is the Coordinator who will have to finalise
and submit it.
Tasks of the Coordinator:
Workplan tables: Complete the workplan tables in Part A, (work package descriptions,
deliverables and milestones)
Check that all PICs have been validated by the Central Validation Service
Quality check:
Check that the DoA is coherent and that information in Part A and B is consistent.
Some programmes will ask you not to simply attach the application, but to adapt Part
B. In this case, try to avoid overlaps between Parts A and B (delete work plan tables
from Part B, etc).
Check that DoA and the application match: please check if the content of the DoA differs
from the application, as this must be in compliance with your invitation letter to start
grant preparation. In addition, you may correct shortcomings identified by the experts
in the evaluation summary report. The information presented in the DoA can be made
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more consistent if necessary. Any errors should be corrected (data displayed in a table
or figure is at odds with the description, etc).
Check that the DoA and the legal and administrative information match: for example, it
must describe the role and tasks performed by each Partner (Coordinator, Beneficiary,
Affiliated Entity, Third party providing in-kind contributions, etc) defined in the
structured part.
Make sure that the template has been followed and all sections are completed and no
annexes are missing.
Termination of grant preparation
If the consortium decides against the grant during grant preparation, they can launch the
termination process directly in the Portal. See the detailed screens and descriptions in the
on grant preparation termination.
This type of termination works only during grant preparation. Afterwards (after grant
signature), the grant must be formally terminated by amending the GA (early termination
amendment).
Links
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
How to successfully manage a Horizon 2020-funded project — 10 practical tips on
research project management
Communication to Horizon 2020 beneficiaries: How to avoid errors when claiming costs
in H2020 grants
FAQ
FAQ on grant preparation
3.2.4.1 Enter & submit grant data
Actions to be completed before grant preparation
Organise access rights and roles
All Beneficiaries need access rights in order to prepare their grant data in the system and
sign the legal documents (declarations of honour, Grant Agreements and Accession Forms).
The contact persons of each organisation indicated in the proposal will automatically receive
access rights during grant preparation:
Proposal Grant preparation
Person who created the application ou PCoCo
submit the proposal?
Contact persons with full access rights CoCos (for Coordinator) + PaCos (for
other Beneficiaries)
Contact persons with read-only rights Team Members (TeMes)
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In addition, if your organisation has already been validated, the LEAR will normally also
already have been appointed.
Other persons and roles (especially LSIGNs and FSIGNs) will have to be appointed first by
the LEAR (My Organisations > Actions > Edit Organisation Roles > Add Roles) and then
assigned to the project by the CoCos and PaCos (My Projects > Actions > Project
Consortium > Edit Roles).
The minimum setup of roles that you need to prepare and conclude the Grant Agreement
are the following:
for the Coordinator:
o Primary Coordinator Contact (PCoCo) — already appointed
o Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR)
o Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN)
for other Beneficiaries:
o Participant Contact (PaCo)
o Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR)
o Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN).
The same person can fulfil several or all of the above roles.
Our system allows for only one signature on your side. If your internal rules require
several signatories, you must give an internal mandate to one of them and ensure that the
electronic signature in our system is executed only after all the necessary internal
authorisations were given. These authorisations must be collected, stored and kept by you
in line with your usual management practices (usually paper-based) so that they can be
provided to us in case of EU controls, checks or audits.
More details about nomination are in the Roles and access rights section.
Make sure all participants are registered and validated (PIC)
All Beneficiaries and Affiliated Entities must be registered and validated in time for grant
signature (see section on Registration and validation of your organisation).
Associated Partners need to be only registered (have a PIC); no validation is needed,
because they will not receive any grant money.
Prepare and sign a consortium agreement (always recommended; in many
cases mandatory)
Consortium agreements are mandatory for many EU programmes. But even if they are not,
it is highly recommended to have arrangements in place to cover consortium-internal issues
that may arise during the project (e.g. decision-making procedures, resolve conflicts,
safeguard intellectual property rights, etc). The consortium agreement should be signed
before the Grant Agreement. For details, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 7
and the How to establish your H2020 consortium agreement.
Enter legal, administrative & financial data
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You need to prepare the Grant Agreement in the Portal Grant Management System.
Details are explained in the .
Enter the structured information into the system (Part A of the DoA)
Go to My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Proposal Management & Grant Preparation
> Grant agreement data preparation and transfer the information from your application
form (Part B) to the Work Packages, Deliverables, Milestones and Critical Risks screens.
You can move work packages up and down by drag & drop to position them in the order of
your preference. When a work package is moved to a new position, the numbering of WPs
(and also the relative numbering of deliverables) is automatically adapted.
Enter the other grant data into the system
a) Set the project starting date
Set the date on which the project is to start (starting date of the action) on the Project
Summary screen.
The options may vary depending on programme and type of action (see call conditions),
but generally there are 2 options:
the first day of the month after entry into force (signature by EU) — default
option
if needed, a fixed starting date may be agreed — this should be the first day of
a month and normally after grant signature (unless authorised otherwise by the
Granting Authority).
If you enter a fixed starting date, you will be asked to justify your choice. If you
chose a starting date before grant signature, you must explain why your project requires
this. Please note that the starting date can normally NOT be before the date on which
your application was submitted (unless explicitly allowed in the call conditions). Please
also note that any project activities taking place before grant signature bear the risk
that the grant may finally not be signed.
b) Check the project reporting periods
The reporting periods will be pre-filled for each call on the Reporting Periods screen.
To minimise administrative burden for you, we will choose the smallest possible number
of reporting periods. On average, most programmes tend to have reporting periods
between 12 and 18 months.
c) Check the prefinancing for the project
The standard prefinancing percentage will be pre-filled for each call on the Project
Financial Information screen.
The final prefinancing amount for each project will however be fixed only later, once the
budgetary information is completed from your side and the Granting Authority has
examined the results from the financial capacity assessment (see section Financial
capacity assessment). The prefinancing may be lowered in case of low financial capacity.
d) Complete the legal and administrative information for the participants
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Fill in the missing information for each participant on the Partner Summary screen and
complete the Affiliated Entities and Associated Partner screens.
e) Define the budgets for the participants
Fill in the budget for each participant on the Partner Financial Information screens.
Make sure the budget details match the proposal and the GAP invitation letter (and the
detailed budget table, if required).
f) Provide the banking details for the Coordinator
Select the bank account to be used for payments from the dropdown menu on the
Coordinator’s Bank Account screen.
If your preferred bank account is not listed, you must ask your LEAR to add the bank
account in the Participant Register (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation).
Once the new bank account has been validated (this may take a few days), it will appear
in the dropdown menu and you will be able to select it.
f) Enter other information as prompted
Upload Part B of the description of the action (DoA)
Upload Part B on the Documents screen. Follow the instructions from Portal Reference
Documents.
Sign the declarations of honour (DoH)
For each Beneficiary, the PLSIGN must sign a declaration of honour (DoH) directly in the
system (grant declaration) .
Affiliated entities also need to sign a DoH. For them, the responsible Beneficiary must
download the template from Portal Reference Documents, ask each entity to complete and
sign it (blue-ink), then upload the scanned DoHs for their linked third parties.
Joint and several liability of Affiliated Entities (if required)
If the Granting Authority requires joint and several liability of an Affiliated Entity, the
declaration on joint and several liability must be submitted together with the Accession
Form.
The Beneficiary must download the form prepared by the system, ask the Affiliated Entity
to sign it (blue-ink) and upload the scanned declaration when signing the Accession Form.
For more details, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 22.
Prefinancing guarantee (if required)
If the Granting Authority requires a prefinancing guarantee, you need to obtain this from
a bank or approved financial institution (using the template available on Portal Reference
Documents), send a scanned copy through Portal Formal Notifications (My Projects >
Actions > Manage Project > Launch new interaction with the EU > Formal Notification) and
the original by registered post with proof of delivery to the mail address of the service
responsible for your grant.
For more details, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 23.
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Submit grant preparation to the Granting Authority
Assessment by the Granting Authority and finalisation of GA data
The Project Officer will enter the EU grant preparation data (GA options, etc) and check the
data submitted by the consortium. If needed, they will send back the session to the
consortium for changes/addition information (ping-pong).
Tips
Changes to consortium composition/project during grant preparation
Please note that consortia/projects can be altered ONLY under exceptional circumstances,
and ONLY if duly justified.
Nonetheless, there may be circumstances where you may need to change/adjust the consortium
composition/project before grant signature (bankruptcy, merger/acquisition, loss of a key
member of staff that is needed to carry out the project, etc).
In this case, your Coordinator should contact the EU Project Officer explain why and propose a
solution (reassign tasks and budget within the consortium or to a new participant, adjustments
to the project, etc).
If accepted, you may need to update the Grant Management System screens and upload a new
Part B.
Please note that the proposals may NOT be substantially changed and that all changed
elements must comply with the call conditions for the call. Redistribution of tasks must be in
line with the competences of the participants concerned and the quality of the
project/consortium must be guaranteed.
If no acceptable solution is presented, we will request you to withdraw the proposal and
terminate grant preparation.
Deadlines
In the interest of all sides, we will try to handle grant preparation as swiftly as possible (ideally
3 months after you receive the GAP invitation letter).
To make this happen, we will ask you to comply with relatively strict deadlines during grant
preparation:
Preparation grant data & annexes (first version): 3 weeks after GAP invitation letter
Finalisation grant data & annexes: up to 2 weeks after reply by Project Officer
Sign declaration of honour (DoH): at the latest 6 weeks after GAP invitation letter.
Grant signature: 3 months from GAP invitation letter
Deadlines can be extended under exceptional circumstances by the EU Project Officer.
Please note that if you have not been granted an extension, and fail to meet the established
deadlines, preparation of your Grant Agreement may be terminated and your proposal rejected.
3.2.4.2 Final legal checks
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During grant preparation, we will also finalise the mandatory legal checks (legal entity
validation, operational and financial capacity, exclusion and double funding).
In case of issues, we may need to contact you.
3.2.5 Grant signature
Signing the Grant Agreement is the last step of the grant preparation phase. It is done directly
in the Portal Grant Management System (electronic signature) and demonstrates that both
contracting parties formally approve the agreement and its annexes.
The Grant Agreement enters into force with the last signature (normally the EU because the
Coordinator usually signs first).
Where? Access to the Grant Management System is available through My Projects > Actions
> Manage Project > Proposal Management & Grant Preparation > Sign.
Who? The Grant Agreement is signed by the EU and the Coordinator. The other Beneficiaries
do not sign the Grant Agreement itself, but accede to the Grant Agreement through Accession
Forms. Affiliated Entities or Associated Partners do not sign and do not become formal parties
to the Agreement.
How? You will receive e-mail notifications prompting the tasks needed for grant signature. For
more detail, see the list of grant-related notifications.
Signing EU Grant Agreements electronically —
What's involved?
The electronic signature in the Portal requires:
a chain of trust with Beneficiaries — to guarantee signatories' identity
a system of digital signatures protected by multiple security features — to guarantee
documents' reliability and authenticity
This type of electronic signature is used for signature of contracts, amendments and cost claims
(Financial Statements and invoices).
The chain of trust
LEAR
The Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) appointed by the Beneficiary’s legal
representative (blue-ink signature; LEAR documents uploaded in the Participant Register) is
the centrepiece of the chain of trust. More in the section LEAR appointment and validation.
LEAR appoints all LSIGNs and FSIGNs for the organisation
The LEAR vouches for the organisation data entered into the system and the nominated
persons. They appoint the individuals authorised to sign:
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Grant Agreements and amendments (Legal Signatories, known as LSIGNs)
Financial Statements (Financial Signatories, known as FSIGNs).
The LEAR is responsible for keeping these lists constantly updated.
PaCO selects LSIGN and FSIGN for project
Participant Contacts (PaCo) or Coordinator Contacts (CoCos) have to select the Project
Legal Signatories (PLSIGNs) and Financial Signatories (PFSIGNs) from the LSIGN and
FSIGN lists nominated by the LEAR. For more information, check the section on Roles and
access rights.
Closed system where access rights are strictly controlled.
The chain of trust is built in a closed electronic exchange system. Each individual must
identify themselves with their personal EU Login account and access is strictly controlled.
Signing the Grant Agreement
Sign the declarations of honour (DoH)
Before the Grant Agreement can be signed, the PLSIGN of each Beneficiary must sign a
declaration of honour (grant declaration). For more details, see Enter legal administrative
& financial grant data.
Grant agreement ready for signature
The system prepares the Grant Agreement for signing (PDF document, digitally sealed to
guarantee its security, reliability and authenticity).
Coordinator signs the Grant Agreement
The Coordinator's PLSIGN logs into the Portal My Projects > Actions > Manage Project >
Proposal Management & Grant Preparation > Sign.
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During signature, a pop-up explains that this means the signatory is preparing to sign. It
then asks the PLSIGN to confirm that they wish to sign and a second prompt asks the
PLSIGN to enter their EU Login password.
After signature, the system creates a new version of the PDF document (with a digital seal,
a time stamp, and the signatory's EU Login credentials on the signature placeholder). The
validity of the signature can be verified by opening it in a compatible PDF reader and clicking
on the image of the digital signature.
The Grant Agreement can be previewed, downloaded or printed (before or after signature)
from the Documents screen if desired.
The LEAR of the Coordinator and the other Beneficiaries are informed that the Coordinator
has signed the Grant Agreement.
Granting authority signs the Grant Agreement
The EU Authorising Officer is prompted to countersign the Grant Agreement from their side
(same procedure as under point 3).
The Participants will be informed and the countersigned Grant Agreement will be available
in their Portal Library (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Document Library).
Participants sign the Accession forms
All other Beneficiaries' PLSIGNs are prompted to sign their Accession Forms (same
procedure as under point 3) — within 30 days after entry into force (signature by EU).
The CoCos and LEAR of the Coordinator and PaCo and LEAR of the concerned Beneficiary
are notified when an Accession Form has been signed.
Grant Agreement is finalised
Not signed Grant Agreement
If the Coordinator does not sign, the Granting Authority may stop preparing the grant
and reject the proposal.
If a Beneficiary does not sign the Accession Form within 30 days of the Grant Agreement
entering into force, the Granting Authority may terminate the Grant Agreement. In this
case, in order to continue with the project, the Coordinator must: request an
amendment, so that any changes needed to ensure that the project is carried out
properly can be made.
o This request must be made within 30 days after the missed deadline for signing
the Accession Form.
o The request for an amendment does not affect the Granting Authority's right to
terminate the Grant Agreement.
The Accession Form template is available for information on Portal Reference
Documents.
Project starting date
The project starting date is calculated as from the entry into force of the Grant Agreement (last
signature = signature by the EU).
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Prefinancing
The entry into force and starting date also determine the baseline date for the prefinancing (i.e.
the float that we normally pay immediately after grant signature).
Depending on the programme (see call conditions), prefinancing is either paid 30 days from:
Horizon Europe, Digital, SMP, etc: the entry into force or 10 days before the starting
date or submission of the prefinancing guarantee (if required) — depending on which
is the latest
or
CEF, LIFE, EMFAF, Erasmus, etc: the entry into force or submission of the prefinancing
guarantee (if required) — depending on which is the latest.
Links
eSignature of grant documents video
3.2.6 Complaints about proposal rejection
If you believe that the rejection of your proposal was based on an error in the selection
procedure, you can submit a complaint (following the deadlines and procedures set out in the
evaluation result letter).
Generally, the means of redress are the following:
request for admissibility/eligibility or evaluation review (redress review) — within 30
days of receiving the letter
for decisions by EU executive agencies: request for review of legality under Article 22
of Regulation 58/2003 — within 1 month of receiving the letter (using the Article 22
complaints form template)
action for annulment under Article 263 TFEU — within 2 months of receiving the letter.
Please note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are
considered to have been accessed and that the deadlines will be counted from opening/access
(see Portal Terms and Conditions).
Please do NOT make more than one complaint at a time. If you would like to use several of
the means of redress, start in the order set out above (e.g. first redress, then Article 22 and
then Article 263) and always wait for our reply before starting a new complaint. We will count
the deadlines for further complaints always as from when you receive the reply to the previous
one.
Complaints will be subject to the following conditions:
Complaints must be limited to procedural aspects, not on the merits of the proposal.
The complaint must relate to the evaluation procedure, admissibility or eligibility checks
and demonstrate a procedural irregularity, factual error, manifest error of assessment
or abuse of powers (e.g. lack of coherence between scores and comments, lack or
inadequate reasoning of the conclusions, the existence of a conflict of interests,
exceeding the limits of discretion, etc). Mere repetitions of the content of the proposal
or disagreements with the result or reasoning of the evaluation will not be considered.
Only one request for review per proposal will be considered. The request cannot refer
to the evaluation of proposals submitted by other applicants or under different or
previous calls.
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Review requests will not automatically trigger a re-evaluation of the proposal. Re-
evaluations will only be carried out if the complaint demonstrates that the procedural
irregularity, factual error, manifest error of assessment or abuse of powers affects the
decision on whether to fund the proposal. Thus, for example, a problem relating to one
of the evaluation criteria will not lead to a re-evaluation if, even by adding the maximum
points under this criterion, the final score of the proposal would still remain below the
threshold for funding.
Re-evaluations will be made on the proposal as it was originally submitted; no additional
information will be admitted. Re-evaluations will be partial (limited to the criterion
affected by the error) or full (when the whole evaluation has been recognized as flawed)
— depending on the case. They may be assigned to the same evaluation panel or a new
one, depending on the internal procedures of the Granting Authority.
The score following a re-evaluation may be lower than the original score.
All requests for review will be treated as confidential.
Please pay attention to who took the formal decision and who the complaint must be addressed
to. If a decision was taken by an EU executive agency or other EU body, both redress review
and applications for annulment must be directed against that agency/body (NOT against the
European Commission). Only Article 22 complaints must be addressed to the respective
Directorate-General of the Commission (parent DG of the executive agency).
In case you consider that there has been maladministration on our part, you can also address
a complaint to the European Ombudsman — within 2 years after you became aware of it AND
after having used all the means of administrative redress available (redress and Article 22
request, if any).
3.3 Grant management
3.3.1 Keeping records
All participants must keep records and other supporting documentation in order to prove
the proper implementation and the costs claimed (see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art
20).
For Lump Sum grants, records on costs incurred are exceptionally NOT needed; it is enough to
keep the evidence to prove the proper implementation of the action.
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 20
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
3.3.2 Amendments
Amendments requested by the consortium
If there are any changes to the Grant Agreement (e.g. data or options specific to that
agreement) or its annexes, they must be done through a formal amendment directly in the
Portal (electronic signature).
Where? Access to the Grant Management System is available through My Projects > Actions
> Manage Project > Launch new interaction with the EU > Request for Amendment.
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Who? Amendments can be prepared by the consortium participants together, but only the
Coordinator can launch, sign and submit them.
The EU Granting Authority can also propose amendments, but for practical reasons we will often
as you to initiate the procedure.
When? Amendments must normally be done before the end of the project, but some
amendment clauses are also open afterwards (addition of Beneficiary/Affiliated
Entity/Associated Partner, change of Coordinator, change of Annex 1, change of Annex 2,
change of bank account, error amendments, etc).
What? Cases requiring a formal amendment are listed in the AGA — Annotated Grant
Agreement, art 39. See also How to prepare an amendment in the .
Amendments are normally NOT necessary for:
budget transfers covered by the budget flexibility
name or address changes of a participant — done directly in the Participant Register
universal takeovers (merger/acquisition) of a participant — done directly in the
Participant Register
changes of the banking details — done directly in the Participant Register.
The signed amendment is the legal document containing the changes to the Grant
Agreement. It is legally binding and will be incorporated into the Agreement. The consolidated
version is only for information.
Amendment process
Get ready > Launch amendment > Amendment preparation > Consult Commission >
Sign&Submit > Assessment > Countersign
Amendment request
The amendment request consists of:
updated structured information on the Grant Management System screens
amendment request letter: the letter with the request and reasons for the amendment
amendment core (including new version of GA Annexes 1 and 2, if needed): the legal
document with the list of amendment clauses
supporting documents: documents uploaded by the consortium, consolidated Grant
Agreement, etc
All participants can contribute to the amendment, but it is the Coordinator who will have to
launch, finalise, submit and sign the request.
Tasks of the Coordinator:
Check that the updated information Grant Management System screens is correct.
Quality check: Check that the Amendment documents are correct and all supporting
documents attached.
Actions to be completed before amendment
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Make sure new participants are registered and validated (PIC)
New Beneficiaries and Affiliated Entities must be registered and validated in the Participant
Register before the amendment can be requested (see section on Registration and
validation of your organisation).
Associated Partners need to be only registered (have a PIC); no validation is needed,
because they will not receive any grant money from us.
Make sure that new bank accounts are registered and validated
New banking information must be registered and validated in the Participant Register
before an amendment can be requested (see section on Bank account registration and
validation).
Submitting an amendment
Amendments must be prepared in the Portal Grant Management System.
Details are explained in the .
Get ready
Before launching your amendment request, prepare the supporting documents and, if
needed, discuss the request beforehand with the EU Project Officer (— recommended for
more complicated cases).
Launch the amendment
Go to My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Launch new interaction with the EU >
Request for Amendment
Amendment reference number (ID) — Once you have launched the request, the
amendment is automatically assigned a reference number. Please use this unique identifier
in all contacts with the Granting Authority during the amendment process.
Change the grant data in the system
Go to My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Amendment > Amendment preparation.
Once the amendment is been launched, you can amend the grant data in the same way as
as you did when preparing the Grant Agreement.
Enter the amendment information into the system
a) Justification
Fill out the field to justify the request on the Amendment Information screen.
b) Amendment clauses
On the basis of the changes to the grant data, the system will automatically select the
relevant amendment types (automatic clauses) on the Amendment Information screen.
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Other types of amendment have to be selected manually by the EU Project Officer,
(change of Annex 1, change in the maximum grant amount, resuming the action after
suspension, etc). Contact the Project Officer to activate the clause.
In case a change triggers the need for another change, a prompt will appear.
Upload annexes and supporting documents
You will be prompted to upload mandatory supporting documents. These depend on the
type of amendment and the specific case (e.g. a new Beneficiary must provide the DoH
and the Accession Form).
Consult Granting Authority
Once ready, the amendment request must be submitted to the Granting Authority for
informal assessment.
Informal assessment by the Granting Authority
The Project Officer will check that the amendment request is correct and admissible. If
needed, they will send it back to the consortium for changes/additional information (ping-
pong).
Coordinator signs & submits the amendment request
Once the request for an amendment is complete and ready to be submitted, the system
generates the 2 documents (amendment request letter and amendment core) for signature
(PDF document, digitally signed to guarantee its security, reliability and authenticity).
The Coordinator’s PLSIGN logs into My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Amendment
> Sign & Submit (same procedure as for Grant Agreement; see Signing the Grant
Agreement).
The amendment can be previewed, downloaded or printed (before or after signature) from
the Documents screen if desired.
As Coordinator, you cannot alter a request for an amendment once it has been signed
and submitted. There are 2 options:
You withdraw it.
The Granting Authority rejects it (amendment rejection letter).
Formal assessment by the Granting Authority
The Granting Authority has 45 days to accept or reject the request.
This deadline will be extended if needed (e.g. if the amendment are complex, specific
compliance checks are needed for a new participant, or if the project has to be reviewed to
assess the changes).
Granting authority signs the amendment
Acceptance: If the Granting Authority accepts the request, they countersign it from their
side (same procedure as for Grant Agreement; see Signing the Grant Agreement).
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The Coordinator and Beneficiaries will be informed and the countersigned amendment will
be available in their Portal Library (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Project
Library).
Rejection: If the request is rejected, the consortium will be informed by amendment
rejection letter.
Amendment number — Once the amendment is countersigned, it is automatically assigned
a sequential amendment number (1, 2, 3, etc). For instance, an amendment request with
the reference AMD-345622-6 is assigned number 2 if it is the 2nd signed amendment for
the grant. Rejected amendments are assigned a number (R1, R2); but they are saved, so
that they can be reused to draw up a new request.
The Coordinator’s PLSIGN can withdraw a submitted request until it is countersigned.
Withdrawn requests are saved and can be reused to submit a new request.
Entry into force & taking effect
An amendment proposed by a consortium enters into force on the day the Granting Authority
signs it.
It takes effect (i.e. the changes to the Grant Agreement start to apply) either:
on a specific date specified in the amendment or
on the date of entry into force (last signature = signature by the EU).
Depending on the nature of the amendment, the date on which it takes effect may affect
the eligibility of costs (e.g. if a Beneficiary is added, costs are eligible from the accession date
specified in the Accession Form).
Coordinator change without their agreement
If the Coordinator is to be replaced without their agreement, another Beneficiary (acting on
behalf of the other Beneficiaries in the consortium) must submit the amendment request.
To do this, you will need to contact the EU Project Officer, so that they can give you
(exceptional) PCoCo access rights in the system.
Please note you will have to provide proof both of the consortium decision to change the
Coordinator, to nominate you to act on their behalf AND the opinion of the changed Coordinator
(or at least proof that the opinion was requested) — otherwise the termination will be considered
improper.
Amendments initiated by the Granting Authority
If the Granting Authority requests an amendment, the request is also prepared and signed
electronically in the Portal Grant Management System.
You will receive an e-mail notification prompting you to accept the request.
To do so, the Coordinator's PLSIGN must countersign the amendment on the consortium's
behalf.
Links
Amendment Guide
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AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 39
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
3.3.3 Continuous reporting on milestones & deliverables
During the project, you are expected to provide regular updates on the status of the project:
the continuous reporting.
The continuous reporting includes:
progress in achieving milestones
deliverables
updates to the publishable summary
response to critical risks, publications, communications activities, IPRs
programme-specific monitoring information (if required).
Where? The Continuous Reporting Module is accessible through the link you receive at the
beginning of the project.
Who? Milestones and deliverables should be submitted by each participant for their work.
What? You should report on milestones and deliverables in accordance with the schedule set
out for them.
The Continuous Reporting Module also allows you to report on critical risks, prepare the
summary for publication and the programme-specific information on indicators (e.g. Trainings,
Gender, Open Data, etc — if available for your programme and type of action).
Milestones — Control points in the project that help to chart progress (kick-off meetings,
steering committes, first-draft of a survey, prototype, etc). They may correspond to the
completion of a key deliverable, which allows the next phase of the work to begin or is needed
at intermediary points.
Deliverables — Outputs to be submitted to the EU (publication, leaflet, progress report,
brochure, list, etc).
All this information is automatically compiled to create part A of the periodic Technical Report,
at the moment this report is prepared (Locked for review).
Reporting in the Continuous Reporting Module
At the beginning of the project, you will receive a notification (+ link) that the Continuous
Reporting Module is activated and that you can contribute to it on an ongoing basis.
Detailed information on the Module can be found in the .
Update the project summary
Please note that you must provide a separate summary for each periodic report (just
update the summary for the previous period).
The summary must be suitable for direct publication by the Granting Authority,
especially:
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be a stand-alone text — no references to other parts of the report, only to publicly
available information.
easily understandable by a general audience
preferably not longer than 7,480 characters (roughly 2 pages)
with no confidential/sensitive data
You can upload diagrams or photographs illustrating and promoting your project work (
only as images and you must have cleared any rights of third parties advance).
You can also mention the websites used to promote the EU project (see section
Communicating and promoting the project).
Update the deliverables
The deliverables must be submitted according to the timing specified in the Continuous
Reporting section.
At the time the periodic report is submitted, check if all deliverables due have been
provided and, if not, give an explanation in the Comments column (especially for missing
or late deliverables and/or cancelled or grouped deliverables).
Update the milestones
Specify whether the milestones were achieved or not. If not, enter an estimate of when.
The milestones table included in each periodic report is cumulative (it shows all milestones
from the beginning of the project).
Update the critical risks
Assess the state of play of the listed risks and if necessary specify new mitigation
measures or add newly identified risks.
Programme-specific monitoring information (if required)
Some programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe) have additional policy-monitoring screens on
indicators which require input (Publications, Dissemination, Patents (IPR), SME
participation, Gender, Infrastructure, Innovation, Open data, ABS Regulation, Trainings).
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 21
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
3.3.4 Reports & payment requests
In order to receive payments, the consortium must submit periodic reports (following the
schedule set out in the Grant Agreement). When these are due, they must be submitted directly
in the Periodic Reporting Module of the Portal Grant Management System.
Where? Access to the Grant Management System is available through My Projects > Actions
> Manage Project > Periodic Reporting > Technical Part contribution/Financial Statement
drafting.
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Who? The periodic report should be prepared by the consortium participants together and
submitted by the Coordinator.
How? You will be prompted by e-mail for all the actions that you need to carry out for the
periodic reporting.
What? In the periodic report, you should report on the progress of the work and costs claimed
(see below Periodic Report). When the Coordinator submits the periodic report, the IT tool will
capture the information from the Continuous Reporting Module in order to generate the Part A
of the Technical Report. The system will also consolidate the Individual Financial Statements
and it will generate the use of resources report (if required) and the Summary Financial
Statements (for the consortium).
Reporting process
Continuous reporting > Preparing your periodic report > Approving Partners' reports >
Submitting the report to the Commission > Acceptance or rejection by the Commission >
Interim payment
Periodic report: Technical Report (Part A and B) and Financial Report
The periodic report consists of two parts, the Technical Report and Financial Report.
The Technical Report is itself also divided in two parts, Parts A and B:
Part A: contains the structured tables with project information (retrieved from the Grant
Management System).
Part B (the narrative part): mirrors the application form and requires the participants to report
on differences (delays, work not implemented, new subcontracts, budget overruns etc). It must
be uploaded as PDF document.
The Financial Report consists of the structured individual and consolidated Financial
Statements (retrieved from the Grant Management System). In addition, most programmes
require either a detailed cost reporting table (excel table) or the use of resources report (online
wizard) and, for payments above a certain thresholds, a certificate on the financial statements
(CFS).
The technical report Part A and the financial report is generated automatically on the basis of
the data in the Grant Management System; Part B needs to be prepared outside the tools (using
the template downloaded from the system) and then uploaded as PDF (together with Annexes,
if any).
All participants should contribute to the parts, but it is the Coordinator who will have to submit
them as a single report.
Tasks of the Coordinator:
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Check that the Continuous Reporting Module is updated in time (before the Periodic
Report is Locked for review).
Check that all participants have submitted their Financial Statements (and CFS, if
needed)
Quality checks:
Check that the Report is coherent and that information in Part A and B is consistent.
Make sure that the template has been followed and all sections are completed and no
annexes are missing.
Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS)
The CFS is a report produced by an independent auditor (or, for public bodies, public officer)
using the template available on Portal Reference Documents. Its purpose is to give assurance
to the Granting Authority about the regularity of the costs claimed.
The thresholds depend on the EU programme and type of action (see call conditions on the
Topic page). For the MFF 2021-2027, there is usually a single threshold of EUR 325 000
requested EU contribution.
Please note that costs already audited by the Granting Authority do not have to be covered
again by the CFS (the EU contribution covered by the audit can therefore be excluded from the
calculation of the threshold).
The CFS must be uploaded as a scanned copy (PDF) together with the Financial Statement. The
originals must be kept in the your files.
Submitting the periodic reports
You should start preparing the periodic report in the Grant Management System right after the
periodic reporting is opened at the end of each reporting period (— deadline for submission is
normally 60 days).
Details on how to submit are available in the .
Make sure that the information in the Continuous Reporting Module is updated
This must be done before the Technical Report (both parts) is first Locked for review by
the Coordinator. Any entries into the Continuous Reporting Module made afterwards will
NOT be included in this periodic report.
Complete your Financial Statements
Go to My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Periodic Reporting > Financial Statement
drafting and complete the Financial Statements for each participant on their Financial
Statement screen.
Make sure the cost details match the use of resources or detailed budget table (if required).
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To sign and submit to the Coordinator, the Beneficiary’s PFSIGN must log into My Projects
> Actions > Manage Project > Periodic Reporting > Sign & Submit (same procedure as for
Grant Agreement; see Signing the Grant Agreement).
Affiliated Entities must supply their Beneficiary with a blue-ink signed paper Financial
Statement; the Beneficiary must then fill in the information in the system and sign and
submit.
If you fail to submit a Financial Statement, your costs will be considered zero for this
reporting period (but you can declare them in the next reporting period).
Upload Part B of the technical report
Upload Part B on the Technical Report Part B screen (as a single PDF). Use the template
available inside the system. This can be done by any Beneficiary (not only the Coordinator).
If any changes to Part B are needed, you must delete the pdf file and upload a new one.
When both Parts A and B are ready to submit, the Technical Report can be finalised by the
Coordinator (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Periodic Reporting > Accept &
Include).
Coordinator approves Partners' financial reports
The Coordinator must review and explicitly approve the periodic report. If needed, you can
send back a Financial Statement to a Partner for further changes, or unlock the Technical
Report for editing.
Before submitting, all the accepted Partners' Financial Statements must be included (My
Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Periodic Reporting > Include).
Missing statements
Sometimes you may decide to submit the report without Financial Statements from certain
Partners (e.g. if a Beneficiary cannot submit its individual Financial Statement on time). If
this happens, you will be asked to confirm that you are aware of this and that therefore
these costs will not be considered for the current payment. The participant's costs will be
considered zero for this reporting period, but they will be able to declare their costs in the
next financial report (next reporting period).
Submit the report to the Granting Authority
The Coordinator must submit all parts of the periodc report together (all the individual
Financial Statements and Part B of the Technical Report): My Projects > Actions > Manage
Project > Periodic Reporting > Submit to EU. The system will automatically generate the
report with explanations of the use of resources and the periodic Summary Financial
Statements, which includes the request for payment.
Acceptance or rejection by the Granting Authority
The Granting Authority will either:
accept the report and start preparing the payment or
ask for changes to it — which means that the process described above starts
again.
Payment
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When the Granting Authority approves the payment, the amount due will be paid out to
the Coordinator (within 90 days of receiving the report)
If the amount due is above the interim payment ceiling (90% of the maximum grant
amount), the amount due will be lowered.
The Granting Authority will send a letter to inform about the payment. After receiving the
letter, the Coordinator has 30 days to submit observations, if needed. In case of
observations, the Granting Authority will send a confirmation letter to state its final
position.
Final report
The Periodic Reporting Module (and periodic reports) are also used for the final report (report
for the last reporting period, to close the grant). The system behaviour, screens and documents
used are the same.
Beneficiary termination reporting
If one of the Beneficiaries has to leave the consortium, the the Coordinator has to prepare a
termination report (Technical Report Part B and Financial Report) and a report on the
distribution of payments to this Beneficiary in the Grant Management System.
Details on the steps to follow are explained in the .
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 6, 21, 22
Detailed description of the Portal Grant Management System in the
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
Communication to Horizon 2020 Beneficiaries: How to avoid errors when claiming costs
in H2020 grants
FAQ
FAQ on Audit and Certificates
3.3.5 Communicating your project — Acknowledgement of EU
funding
Since the EU grants are financed by public funds, EU Beneficiaries are generally expected to
actively engage in communication activities, to promote the projects and to publicly
acknowledge the EU support.
Communicating and promoting the project
What does communication involve?
The communication activities must already be part of the proposal (either as a specific work
package for communication or by including them in another work package). Communication will
be taken into consideration as part of the award criteria.
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A good communication plan should define clear objectives (adapted to various relevant target
audiences) and set out a description and timing for each activity.
With your communication activities you should draw the attention (general and specialised
audiences) to the EU policy area addressed by the call.
Regarding typical communication activities (and indicators to measure them), you can refer to
the communication network indicators we use for our own communication activities.
In addition, some programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe) may have more targeted communication
guidance (see Horizon Europe Programme Guide).
Good communication
Starts at the outset of the action and continues throughout its entire lifetime
Is strategically planned and not just ad-hoc efforts
Identifies and sets clear communication objectives (e.g. have final and intermediate
communication aims been specified? what impact is intended? what reaction or change
is expected from the target audience?)
Is targeted and adapted to audiences that go beyond the project's own community,
including the media and the public
Chooses relevant messages (e.g. how does the action's work relate to our everyday
lives? why does the target audience need to know about the action?)
Uses the right medium and means (e.g. working at the right level — local, regional,
national, EU-wide; using the right ways to communicate — one-way exchange (website,
press release, brochure, etc) or two-way exchange (exhibition, school visit, internet
debate, et.); where relevant, include measures for public/societal engagement on issues
related to the action)
Is proportionate to the scale of the action.
Acknowledgement of EU funding
Beneficiaries of EU funding must display the EU flag and funding statement (“Funded by the
European Union” or “Co-funded by the European Union”) in all their communication and
dissemination activities and any infrastructure, equipment, vehicles, supplies or major result
results funded by the grant.
The EU flag and funding statement must be displayed in a way that is easily visible for the public
and with sufficient prominence.
EU funding must moreover be acknowledged in all types of public outputs (including patent
applications, EU standardisation of results), media contacts and other public statements.
The EU flag and funding statement are available in the Grant Agreement and on the Europa
website.
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 17
60-minute workout webinar to increase the communication impact of your project
3.3.6 Dissemination & exploitation of project results
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Since EU grants are financed by public funds, EU Beneficiaries moreover also expected to
disseminate their project results. In this way, the projects can benefit a larger group of persons
and reach wider target groups.
Several programmes will therefore ask you to upload results on dedicated results portals
(accessible through the Portal Projects & Results page).
Some programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe) will require more extensive dissemination and
exploitation activities (e.g. open access, exploitation obligation, etc; see Horizon Europe
Programme Guide).
In case of specific questions on intellectual property, the EU IP Helpdesk may provide support.
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 16 and Annex 5
3.3.7 Checks, audits, reviews & investigations
In order to ensure sound financial management and compliance with the Grant Agreement
rules, the Granting Authority will perform project reviews and financial audits on participants.
For lump sum grants, since they do not use actual costs, there will be no financial audits focusing
on costs. Reviews will focus on the technical implementation of the action or other aspects of
the Grant Agreement.
Project reviews
The Granting Authority will regularly monitor the project implementation and check the proper
implementation of the action and compliance with the Grant Agreement obligations, including
assessing deliverables and reports.
In addition, the Granting Authority may also carry out in-depth project reviews. Those reviews
focus typically on the technical implementation of the project, but may also cover financial and
budgetary aspects or compliance with other obligations under the GA.
Audits
In addition, most programmes perform financial audits of participants in EU projects (often with
the help of outside audit firms).
Such audits will be performed in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. The
auditors comply with ethical requirements and will plan and perform relevant procedures in line
with the EU Grants Indicative Audit Programme, in order to obtain reasonable assurance that
the Financial Statements are free of material misstatement.
You will receive a draft audit report on which you will be able to provide your observations.
If systemic errors are found, the Granting Authority may extend the findings of the audit
results to non-audited Grant Agreements or non-audited periods.
Anti-fraud strategy — OLAF investigations
In case of fraud suspicions, the Granting Authority will inform the European Anti-fraud Office
(OLAF), who may conduct more in-depth investigations.
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OLAF also cooperates with national authorities (through information exchange, on-the-spot
checks, coordination of forensic audits etc).
Related Certifications
Certificate on the methodology for unit cost (CoMUC)
The CoMUC is a factual report produced by an independent auditor (using the template available
on Portal Reference Documents). Its purpose is to enable the granting authority to:
identify your usual cost accounting practices
check that you have used a suitable unit cost accounting methodology.
Submitting a CoMUC methodology certificate is voluntary. Doing so will help prevent problems
later on, if your grant is audited. If the certificate is approved, costs declared in line with this
methodology will not be challenged, unless you have concealed information for the purpose of
the approval.
For the MFF 2021-2027, only CEF and Digital Europe will be using this certification. For Horizon
Europe it has been replaced by the SPA (systems and process audit; see AGA — Annotated
Grant Agreement, art 24).
The certificate may be requested at any time during the implementation of the programme.
As a minimum, one project should have been started and the data available must give the
auditor enough of a basis to carry out the necessary procedures. Ideally, we would recommend
submitting the methodology after at least one reporting period has passed.
In case of subsequent changes to your methodology you should notify the Granting Authority.
You may also submit a new certificate reflecting the changes.
Links
AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 25
EU Grants Indicative Audit Programme
Commission Anti-fraud Strategy
European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) website
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day 2019 agenda with presentations
Communication to Horizon 2020 Beneficiaries: How to avoid errors when claiming costs
in H2020 grants
FAQ
FAQ on Audit and Certificates FAQ
3.3.8 Communicating with the Granting Authority
Formal notification
The formal notification channel (My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Launch new
interaction with the EU > Formal Notification) can be used ONLY for correspondence requiring
acknowledgement of receipt, i.e.
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to dispatch replies to formal notifications received from the Granting Authority
and
for communications under Article 19 of the Grant Agreement
o information requests
o information about events and circumstances which impact the action and
whenever it is clearly stipulated in the Grant Agreement (e.g. declare conflict of interest,
force majeure).
Portal Messaging Facility
The two Portal Messaging Facilities should be used for all other communications:
Participant Register: My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation
Grant Management System: My Projects > Actions > Manage Project > Process
Communications)
The Grant Management System Messaging Facility can be used only by the Coordinator.
4. Procurement
EU calls for tenders are published both on the Portal and on the TED — Tenders Electronic Daily
web site.
Currently, calls for tenders are published under the Portal Search funding & tenders page of the
Portal and the users are then redirected to the e-Tendering website for the submission of
tenders and documentation.
Read about public procurement procedures in the Portal Procurement section and the
eProcurement wiki.
5. Prizes
Prizes are also published on the Portal (Search funding & tenders page).
6. Financial instruments
Financial instruments (debt and equity instruments) are not published on the Portal, but they
are accessible via a direct link to the Europa Access to finance website, where you can locate
banks or funds which provide risk finance supported by the EU.
7. Working as an expert
Introduction
The EU services managing grants and tenders frequently make use of different types of
independent experts to assist them with the implementation, evaluation and monitoring of their
funding programmes. These include:
Evaluators
Observers
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Ethics evaluators
Monitors
Ethics monitors
business coaches
As an expert you perform this work as an independent individual and do NOT represent a
company or organisation.
The EU services recruit experts from the Portal Expert Database, where you can register at
any time. Registration is open to experts of any nationality including those outside of the EU
and Associated Countries.
To find out exactly what type of knowledge and skills we are looking for, see call for expression
of interest.
Working as an expert in short:
Place of work: All or part of the evaluation and monitoring may be carried out at your
home or place of work (remote evaluation), or at the offices of the service concerned
(usually Brussels or Luxembourg), depending on the type of work to be done. Project
review sessions and audits, involving project representatives, may take place either at
the service’s offices or on the Beneficiaries' premises.
Conflicts of interest: You will NOT be appointed for proposals or projects if you have
a vested interest that could influence the way you evaluate them. For more detail, please
see the section on Contracting and payments and the Model Contract for Experts.
Confidentiality: If you are going to be handling classified information, you will need
security clearance before you can sign a contract.
Remuneration: As an expert, you will normally receive EUR 450 for each full day
worked. However for remote evaluation and ethics review, we have developed a new
simplified methodology to calculate the amounts, please see details in the contracting
& payment section. Your travel and subsistence costs will be refunded.
Amount of work: Projects are usually monitored and evaluated in sessions lasting 15
days a year at most. The number of proposals you assess will largely depend on the
area concerned. An independent expert may normally earn up EUR 90 000 in a four
calendar year period (counting fees only and at the current rate this equals 200 days).
In depth - working as an expert:
How you can become an expert: start with registering as an expert
You will be offered to sign a contract, if you are selected as an expert. To find out more
visit the Contracting & Payment page.
Find out more what steps experts follow during proposals evaluation or project
monitoring under experts roles and tasks.
Links
Model contract for experts
Rules on Methodology for expert fees for remote evaluation and ethics review
Presentation of the facilities for expert evaluators at the Covent Garden building in
Brussels video
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IT Helpdesk
FAQ
FAQ section for experts
7.1 Expert registration
Registering as an expert
To work as expert, you will first need to register.
To register, go to the Experts' page on the Funding & Tenders Portal. To access the registration
forms, you'll need an EU Login account, which you can set-up on the same website if you don't
yet have one.
Once you've done this, you can log in to your account any time and view, update or complete
your profile in “My Expert Area”.
Click on the "Register as an expert" button. To create your profile, you'll need to specify:
personal details, knowledge of languages, education and training
area of expertise
professional experience (employment, past involvement in EU research programmes,
publications or other achievements...)
To find out exactly what type of knowledge and skills we are looking for, see the call for
expression of interests.
Privacy
Once you have completed all sections and your profile status appears as 'valid', you become
eligible for selection for an assignment. However, registration as an expert in the database
does not guarantee automatic selection. The EU services will select experts according to their
needs of expertise.
If you are selected, you will be contacted directly by the service concerned.
Selection of experts
Experts will be selected for assignments from the database of experts who registered in My
Expert Area.
The experts will be selected for each assignment on the basis of the specific expertise needed.
For each assignment (e.g. evaluation of a call or monitoring of projects), a 'pool' of experts
is drawn-up on the basis of the following criteria:
Experts have a high level of skills, experience and knowledge in the relevant
area, including project management, innovation, exploitation, dissemination
and communication. Where relevant, inter-disciplinary experts, those with
expertise in appropriate disciplines of the social sciences and humanities, as well as
gender specialists are included in the 'pool'.
If this condition is satisfied, the 'pool' should have a balanced composition in terms
of various skills, experience and knowledge, geographical diversity and
gender. With respect to gender, the policy of the EU is one of equal opportunities for
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women and men and, in this context, we have a target of 40% of the under-represented
sex in evaluation panels and expert groups.
A private-public sector balance is assured, if appropriate.
Experts are regularly rotated by ensuring that individual experts do not work more
than 200 days activities within consecutive 4 calendar years (EUR 90 000 EUR). With
respect to evaluations in particular, for each call, at least 25% of experts included in the
'pool' should be newcomers, i.e. not have evaluated for the call in the previous 3 years.
The 'pool' of experts is drawn-up well in advance of the assignment in question and the final
list of experts selected from the initial 'pool' is made once the precise needs in terms of expertise
are known, e.g. in the case of an evaluation, after the call deadline once the proposals are
known. Consequently, extra experts are generally included in the 'pool' to ensure the expertise
required is covered and to foresee a sufficient reserve, should some no longer be in a position
to carry out the task.
7.2 Signing a contract and payment
Contracts
If you are selected as an expert, you will be offered a contract to be signed and managed
through the Funding & Tenders Portal. This contract (including its annexes) defines all the
rights, obligations, terms and conditions applicable to you. It is not an employment contract or
agreement.
Your contract will be based on the Model Contract for Experts. Some of the terms and conditions
in your contract will vary, depending on the type of expert activity that you are asked to carry
out. The contract will indicate
whether or not your work will involve travel,
the maximum number of days of work that you will be paid for and
the planned calendar for your work.
Your correspondence with the EU services
All your correspondence with us is electronic. You should use only My Expert Area (Funding &
Tenders Portal) to communicate about your contract, e.g.
submitting your identity/bank account details
signing your contract (electronic-signature)
making requests for payment and providing related supporting documents.
For any other correspondence related to your contract that the My Expert Area does not
currently support, use the email address indicated in Article 21.3 of your contract.
Signing the contract
You must sign the contract online in My Expert Area on the Funding & Tenders Portal. You will
receive an email notification inviting you to do so, with a link to the contract.
The contract enters into force only once it has been signed by both parties. The contract must
be signed by both yourself and the EU service concerned by the day on which you start working
as an expert. Please do not forget to obtain permission from your employer to carry out your
expert activities if your employer requires this for outside activities – this is your responsibility.
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You may start work as soon as the contract has entered into force.
If you have a contract to act as an evaluator or monitor, you will be granted access to the IT
system for the relevant proposals or project reports once the contract has entered into force.
Code of conduct
You need to adhere to the code of conduct in Annex 1 of the model contract, which includes
rules on the performance of the contract and obligations of impartiality and confidentiality.
Please carefully read Annex 1 before signing the contract.
Conflicts of interest
When contracting independent experts, the EU services ensure — to the best of their knowledge
- that you, as an expert, do not have any conflicts of interest on the activity that you are being
asked to undertake and, in particular, any proposal or project you are called upon to assess.
You should be independent, impartial and objective, and behave professionally at all times.
The contract you sign before starting work includes a declaration that you accept and will
abide by the Code of Conduct (Annex 1 of the contract). This means, amongst other things,
that
you declare that no conflict of interest exists and
you will inform the EU service concerned if you should discover that any such conflict
arises in the course of your duties.
If, at the time that you sign the contract, you are already aware that you may be in a
position of conflict of interest, you are required to declare this.
Conflict of Interest impact?
To avoid situations of conflicts of interest, the EU services may withdraw experts from
evaluation or monitoring duties if it deems that this is necessary. You will be informed if this
happens to you and advised as to what to do if you need to take action.
If you knowingly conceal a conflict of interest and this is discovered during your activities
as an expert, you will be dismissed with immediate effect, your contract will be
terminated and the measures laid down in the contract will be taken.
Example: Submitting proposals for funding while working as an expert
If you submit a research proposal for evaluation, you are not necessarily excluded from
acting as an expert evaluator, provided that you declare it and that there is no conflict
of interest. In this case, you will not be assigned to evaluate your own proposal or any
proposals which may be competing with it.
We strongly advise you make sure that you have properly understood the provisions laid down
in the Code of Conduct, especially which situations are automatically considered to be a conflict
of interest.
Confidentiality
If your role involves handling classified information, you will need security clearance before
entering into a contract.
The EU publishes an annual list of experts who have worked for us but we do not disclose who
has worked on which proposals.
Before assigning a project to you for monitoring activities, the EU services may inform the
project consortium of your name. The consortium may reject our choice of expert in the
interests of commercial confidentiality.
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Payment
Requests for payment
Once your work is completed, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to submit your request
for payment through My Expert Area on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Travel expenses — When you claim your travel expenses, you should upload scanned copies of
all the original supporting documents as requested.
You must keep records and other supporting documents for at least two years after the payment
is made to show that you have complied in full with the terms of your contract.
Deadline — You should submit your request for payment within 30 days of receiving the email
invitation.
Bank account — You should request payment on one of the bank accounts which you have listed
in My Expert Area.
The EU services will make payments within 30 days of receiving the reports, deliverables or
completed payment requests (whichever comes latest) provided they are complete and
approved
Amount of the payment
The daily rate is EUR 450 for work including travel such as participating at evaluations,
monitoring activites or meetings at the commission or beneficiary premises. This is calculated
to the nearest half day (EUR 225) except in the following two cases:
for remote work carried out by evaluators, any work that you are specifically asked to
carry out remotely will be paid in accordance with Article 4.1 of your contract.
you are covered by one of the exceptional situations for which a zero fee contract must
be issued (e.g. for former EU staff in receipt of an allowance) or you requested that a
zero fee contract be issued
The contract sets out the maximum total number of days of work (and amount) that you can
be paid for. This is an upper ceiling. The actual amount that you will be paid is based on the
actual task assigned and worked; this may be less than the maximum amount.
Please note that you will not receive payment for tasks that are not covered by the
contract (or an amendment to it) and which are not specifically assigned to you, either
via the relevant IT system, or in writing by us.
The reimbursement of travel expenses and payments of accommodation allowance and daily
allowance (see below) are made on request and in accordance with the Commission Rules on
the reimbursement of expenses of experts (see the annex of Commission Decision
C(2007)5858).
Travel expenses
If your contract includes activities involving travel, expenses are refunded for this travel -
normally between the address indicated in the contract (the address registered in your expert
profile) and the meeting venue indicated in Article 3.2 of the contract. If you exceptionally need
to travel to or from a different location than the address in the contract, you need our explicit
agreement prior to purchasing your tickets.
You should book your travel as soon as possible to keep costs reasonable, but you should NOT
book your travel before your contract has been signed by both Parties.
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Accommodation and daily allowances
We will also pay accommodation allowances and daily allowances:
accommodation allowance is EUR 100 per night
daily allowance is a flat rate of EUR 92 to cover all expenditure at the place where
the meeting/work is held, including meals and local transport (bus, tram, metro, taxi,
parking, motorway tolls, etc.) as well as travel and accident insurance
experts who live less than 100km from the meeting venue receive a daily allowance
of EUR 46, and are not eligible to receive the accommodation allowance
allowances may be increased for disabled experts, see below.
Other expenses
Expenses that you incur as a result of special instructions received in writing from the EU
services, different from the contract terms, may be reimbursed in justified cases on presentation
of supporting documents. Please note that no other expenses will be reimbursed.
Taxation issues
You are obliged to ensure compliance with your national legislation on taxes and social security
law – this is your responsibility. Payments you receive are NOT exempted from national taxes.
However, if you are considered to supply a taxable service under national tax law and you are
registered for VAT as a natural person in an EU Member State, you can benefit from a VAT
exemption certificate for EU payments made under your contract.
Please note that in this case your invoice needs to bear a special indication “VAT exemption
/ European Union / Article 151 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC” (specific incidations are
mandatory for some countries, like Belgium, Luxembourg or Italy).
Further information on the VAT situation can be found in the FAQs on the Funding & Tenders
Portal.
Disabilities
If an expert's disability requires that a person accompany them when travelling, then the
travel expenses of that person will also be refunded upon prior request. The EU services will
also pay accommodation allowances and daily allowances to the accompanying person.
Keeping supporting documents:
You must keep records or other supporting documents for two years from the date of the
last payment made under the contract that the work relates to, when you work as an expert.
The EU services may ask you to provide these documents as evidence that the contract was
carried out correctly and that any expenses claimed are genuine.
7.3 Experts roles and tasks
If you have registered as an expert and have the required profile, the EU service will contact
you in due course to let you know whether you have been selected. This depends on whether
there are any proposals to be evaluated or projects to be monitored requiring your
particular expertise.
Roles and tasks assigned to experts
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As an expert, you can perform a variety of roles and tasks:
1. Evaluators are responsible for evaluating proposals submitted in response to a call for
proposals.
Evaluators may also act as a rapporteur, chair, or vice-chair at consensus discussions
or meetings of panels of evaluators. Rapporteurs are responsible for drafting the
consensus report (CR) of a consensus meeting.
2. Observers provide the EU services with independent advice on the conduct and fairness
of all phases of the evaluation process, on how evaluators apply award criteria, and on
how to improve the procedure.
The observer may attend any meeting held during the proposal evaluation process and
drafts a report on the evaluation session observed.
3. Monitors assist EU services in monitoring the implementation of projects that have
received funding, taking into account work descriptions, reports and deliverables.
All experts' tasks are laid down in their contract and its annexes. See the Model Contract for
Experts for further details.
Proposal-evaluation process
The underlying principles to bear in mind during evaluation are:
Excellence - projects must demonstrate a high level of quality in relation to the topics
and criteria set out in the calls
Transparency - funding decisions must be based on clearly defined rules and
procedures, and applicants should receive adequate feedback on the outcome of the
evaluation
Fairness and impartiality - all proposals must be treated equally and evaluated
impartially on their merits, irrespective of their origin or the identity of the applicants
Confidentiality - all proposals and related data, knowledge and documents must be
treated in confidence
Speed and efficiency - proposals should be evaluated and grants awarded and
administered as swiftly as possible, without compromising quality or breaking the rules
Award criteria
The award criteria to be applied by the evaluators are set for each programme in the call
conditions .
Thresholds may vary according to the work programme. For two-stage submission schemes,
thresholds and the maximum overall score may vary between the first and the second stage.
Steps in the Process
The diagram below depicts the main steps of the evaluation process and highlights at which
stages the experts intervene
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There are three main phases in the experts' involvement in the evaluation process.
Before starting their work, experts are briefed on evaluation procedures (including remote
evaluation), the topics of the relevant calls for proposals and the terms of their contracts. This
briefing can be done in Brussels or remotely (e.g. web-streaming).
For each proposal, experts presents their evaluation results in an individual evaluation
report (IER), explaining the evaluation scores. Expert evaluators also pre-screen each
proposal (on the basis of the applicant's ethics self-assessment) to see if it raises ethical
issues. All evaluation forms are completed online. This report can be completed and
signed remotely or in Brussels.
In principle, proposals will be evaluated initially by at least three experts (in a number of
cases, five or more). However, for the first stage in two-stage submission schemes and
for low-value grants, only two experts may be involved.
A consensus group is convened in order for all the experts who assessed the proposals
in question to discuss the individual evaluation reports and agree on comments and
scores.
The consensus group discussion is led by a moderator (normally an official from the
concerned EU service), who seeks a consensus and ensures that proposals are evaluated
in a fair manner and in line with the established criteria.
The consensus group discussion results in a consensus report (CR) including
justifications of scores and dissenting views, if any. The moderator is responsible for
ensuring that the consensus report reflects the consensus reached. The report is signed
by the rapporteur and the experts evaluating the proposal discussed.
The discussion usually takes place in Brussels and includes experts who participated in
the individual evaluation. It is also possible to convene a remote consensus group.
Panel review consists of reviewing all the proposals within a call, or part of a call, to:
ensure that the consensus groups have been consistent in their evaluations;
if necessary, propose a new set of marks or comments; and
resolve cases where a consensus could not be reached and a minority view was
recorded in the consensus report.
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Exceptionally, in some cases, justified by the specific call circumstances, the outcome of
the consensus group will constitute the final result of the evaluation, and there will be no
panel review. These cases will be signalled in the guidance documents.
The panel review is led by a panel chairperson (normally an official from the concerned
EU service) who ensures fair and equal treatment of the proposals.
The panel review should result in a panel report which includes the evaluation
summary report (ESR) for each proposal, a list of proposals passing all thresholds,
along with a final score, (panel ranked list) and, where necessary, the panel's
recommendations for priority order in the event of equal scores, using the procedure set
out in the work programme. A rapporteur may be appointed to draft the panel report.
Monitoring projects (Technical review)
Projects are monitored to assess the work carried out over a given period and make
recommendations to the EU services. Monitoring may cover scientific, technological and other
aspects of the implementation of the project and Grant Agreement.
The monitoring expert's task is to advise the EU services on how the project has progressed
with regard to:
the initial work plan
deliverables
planned and used resources
relevance of the objectives
scientific and industrial quality
management procedures and methods
Beneficiaries' contributions, and
the expected potential impact in scientific, technological, economic, competitive and
social terms, and the plans for the use and dissemination of results.
Depending on the project's complexity and progress, the review may include remote work
entailing reading and analysis of the Grant Agreement, grant decision and other background
information and deliverables and finally drafting the report. The expert may also be required to
attend project meetings at the EU services offices or at the premises of the Beneficiary.
The EU services may require the expert to carry out on-site technical audits to verify whether
critical milestones are being met, or to assist in carrying out research integrity (scientific
misconduct) analysis during implementation.
Types of project monitoring
Periodic monitoring provided for in the Grant Agreement (generally linked to payment)
Ad-hoc monitoring, which the EU services can request at any time, where necessary,
and which may involve reviewing financial and technical aspects, or only technical
aspects.
Monitoring process
Review meeting and assessment - experts read all relevant documents before and
attends the review meeting. They then assess the project on the basis of the written
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material and information provided at the meeting. In the event of remote monitoring,
the assessment is based on written documents only.
Monitoring report - the expert draws up the monitoring report on a project, and the
EU service sends it to the consortium via the Coordinator, but it is not made public. If
more than one expert is involved in project monitoring, they issue a single consolidated
report written by a rapporteur.
Recommendations - the monitor will also assist the EU services by recommending any
changes that may be required. However, the final decision on recommendations and
changes is taken by the EU services alone.
Observations - Beneficiaries may comment on the monitoring report within one month
of receiving it.
Project assessment by the EU services? - taking the experts' formal
recommendations into account, the EU services informs the Coordinator of its decision,
which, however, may depart from the recommendations. It may entail
o accepting or rejecting the deliverables
o allowing the project to continue in its existing form
o suggesting modifications, or
o taking steps to terminate the Grant Agreement or to exclude a Beneficiary from
taking part.
8. Help
In case you need further help, please contact:
IT Helpdesk — for IT-related questions
Participant Validation Helpdesk — for legal questions relating to participant validation
and LEAR appointment
Europe Direct — for general questions on the EU
If you have specific questions relating to a funding programme or call, please contact the
competent EU service through the functional mailbox mentioned in the the call documentation
or in the Portal Support page.
For Horizon Europe, please contact the Research Enquiry Service or your National Contact Point.
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Acronyms
AC Associated country
AGRIP Promotion of Agricultural Products Programme (EU programme)
AE Affiliated entity (type of participant)
AMIF Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (EU programme)
AoR Acknowledgement of receipt
AP Associated partner (type of participant)
AuCo Audit contact (role)
BA Bank account
BAF Bank account file
BEN Beneficiary (type of participant)
CFS Certificate on the financial statements
COO Coordinator (type of participant)
COSME Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (EU programme)
CR Consensus group report
DoA Description of action (Annex 1 GA)
DoH Declaration of honour
EDF European Defence Fund (EDF)
EEN Enterprise Europe Network
EIC European Innovation Council (EU service)
EIT European Institute of Technology (EU service)
EMFAF European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EU programme)
ERC European Research Council (EU service)
ESR Evaluation summary report
ESTAT Eurostat (EU service)
EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community
FTP Funding & Tenders Portal (eGrants/Procurement IT tool)
FCA Financial capacity assessment
FEL/LEF Legal entity file
FPA/SGA Framework partnership agreement/Specific grant agreement
FSC Facility security clearance
FTS Financial transparency system (EU website)
GA/AGA/MGA Grant agreement
GF/PGF/MIM Guarantee Fund/Participant Guarantee Fund/Mutual Insurance Mechanism
HE Horizon Europe (EU programme)
IBA Actions by invitation (named Beneficiaries and SGAs)
IER Individual evaluation report
IO International organisations (type of participant)
IPR Intellectual property rights
ISF Internal Security Fund
JRC Joint Research Center (EU service, Type of participant)
JUs Joint undertakings (EU service)
JUST Justice Programme (EU programme)
K
LE Legal entity
LEAR Legal entity appointed representative
LSIGN Legal signatory
MFF Multi-annual financial framework
MGA/GA/AGA Model grant agreement
MSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (part of Horizon Europe)
OLAF European Anti-Fraud Office (EU service)
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PaCo Participant contact (role)
PIC Participant identification code
PNS Participant notification system
PTRO Partial takeover
RAO Responsible authorising officer (all levels AO, AOD, AOSD) (role)
REA Research Executive Agency (EU service)
RFCS Research Fund for Coal and Steel (EU programme)
SAL Security aspects letter
SME Small Medium Sized Enterprises
T
UCPM Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EU programme)
UTRO Universal takeover
VAT Value added tax
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