(1) Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 (the 'ERDF Regulation'); (2) Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 (the 'ESF Regulation'); (3) Regulation (EU) No 1300/2013 (the 'CF Regulation'); (4) Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 (the 'ETC Regulation'); (5) Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 (the 'EAFRD Regulation'); and (6) a future Union legal act establishing the conditions for the financial support for maritime and fisheries policy for the programming period 2014 - 2020 (the 'EMFF Regulation").
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006
Modified by
- Regulation (EU) 2015/1839 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 14 October 2015amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures for Greece, 32015R1839, October 15, 2015
- Regulation (EU) 2016/2135 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 23 November 2016amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards certain provisions relating to financial management for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability, 32016R2135, December 13, 2016
- Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 17 May 2017on the establishment of the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 1305/2013, 32017R0825, May 19, 2017
- Regulation (EU) 2017/1199 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 4 July 2017amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters, 32017R1199, July 7, 2017
- Regulation (EU) 2017/2305 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 12 December 2017amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the changes to the resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion and to the resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal, 32017R2305, December 15, 2017
- Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 18 July 2018on 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, 32018R1046, July 30, 2018
- Regulation (EU) 2018/1719 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 14 November 2018amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion and the resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal, 32018R1719, November 16, 2018
- Regulation (EU) 2019/711 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 17 April 2019amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative, 32019R0711, May 10, 2019
- Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 30 March 2020amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mobilise investments in the healthcare systems of Member States and in other sectors of their economies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative), 32020R0460, March 31, 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 23 April 2020amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013 and (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide exceptional flexibility for the use of the European Structural and Investments Funds in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, 32020R0558, April 24, 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2020/1041 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 15 July 2020amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative, 32020R1041, July 17, 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2020/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 21 October 2020amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards the adjustment of annual pre-financing for the years 2021 to 2023, 32020R1542, October 26, 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2020/2221 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 23 December 2020amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards additional resources and implementing arrangements to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and for preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU), 32020R2221, December 28, 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 6 April 2022amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 223/2014 as regards Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), 32022R0562, April 8, 2022
- Regulation (EU) 2022/613 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 12 April 2022amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 223/2014 as regards increased pre-financing from REACT-EU resources and the establishment of a unit cost, 32022R0613, April 13, 2022
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2039 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 19 October 2022amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) 2021/1060 as regards additional flexibility to address the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation FAST (Flexible Assistance for Territories) – CARE, 32022R2039, October 25, 2022
- Regulation (EU) 2023/435 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 27 February 2023amending Regulation (EU) 2021/241 as regards REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) 2021/1060 and (EU) 2021/1755, and Directive 2003/87/EC, 32023R0435, February 28, 2023
Corrected by
- Corrigendum to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, 32013R1303R(01), July 26, 2016
(1) 'Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' means the targets and shared objectives guiding the action of Member States and the Union set out in the Conclusions adopted by the European Council of 17 June 2010 as Annex I (New European Strategy for Jobs and Growth, EU Headline Targets), Council Recommendation of13 July 2010 Council Recommendation of 13 July 2010 on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union (OJ L 191, 23.7.2010, p. 28 ).Council Decision 2010/707/EU of 21 October 2010 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (OJ L 308, 24.11.2010, p. 46 ).(2) 'a strategic policy framework' means a document or a set of documents established at national or regional level, which sets out a limited number of coherent priorities established on the basis of evidence and a timeframe for the implementation of those priorities and which may include a monitoring mechanism; (3) 'smart specialisation strategy' means the national or regional innovation strategies which set priorities in order to build competitive advantage by developing and matching research and innovation own strengths to business needs in order to address emerging opportunities and market developments in a coherent manner, while avoiding duplication and fragmentation of efforts; a smart specialisation strategy may take the form of, or be included in, a national or regional research and innovation (R&I) strategic policy framework; (4) 'Fund-specific rules' means the provisions laid down in, or established on the basis of, Part Three or Part Four of this Regulation or a Regulation governing one or more of the ESI Funds listed in the fourth paragraph of Article 1; (5) 'programming' means the process of organisation, decision-making and allocation of financial resources in several stages, with the involvement of partners in accordance with Article 5, intended to implement, on a multi-annual basis, joint action by the Union and the Member States to achieve the objectives of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; (6) 'programme' means an 'operational programme' as referred to in Part Three or Part Four of this Regulation and in the EMFF Regulation, and 'rural development programme' as referred to in the EAFRD Regulation; (7) 'programme area' means a geographical area covered by a specific programme or, in the case of a programme covering more than one category of region, the geographical area corresponding to each separate category of region; (8) 'priority' in Parts Two and Four of this Regulation means the 'priority axis' referred to in Part Three of this Regulation for ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund and the 'Union priority' referred to in the EMFF Regulation and in the EAFRD Regulation; (9) 'operation' means a project, contract, action or group of projects selected by the managing authorities of the programmes concerned, or under their responsibility, that contributes to the objectives of a priority or priorities; in the context of financial instruments, an operation is constituted by the financial contributions from a programme to financial instruments and the subsequent financial support provided by those financial instruments; (10) 'beneficiary' means a public or private body or a natural person, responsible for initiating or both initiating and implementing operations, and: (a) in the context of State aid, the body which receives the aid, except where the aid per undertaking is less than EUR 200000 , in which case the Member State concerned may decide that the beneficiary is the body granting the aid, without prejudice to Commission Regulations (EU) No 1407/2013Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union tode minimis aid (OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, p. 1 ).Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union tode minimis aid in the agriculture sector (OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, p. 9 ).Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union tode minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45 ).(b) in the context of financial instruments under Title IV of Part Two of this Regulation, the body that implements the financial instrument or the fund of funds as appropriate;
(11) 'financial instruments' means financial instruments as defined in the Financial Regulation, save where otherwise provided in this Regulation; (12) 'final recipient' means a legal or natural person receiving financial support from a financial instrument; (13) 'State aid' means aid falling under Article 107(1) TFEU which shall be deemed for the purposes of this Regulation also to include de minimis aid within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis aid (OJ L 379, 28.12.2006, p. 5 ).Commission Regulation (EC) No 1535/2007 of 20 December 2007 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the sector of agricultural production (OJ L 337, 21.12.2007, p. 35 ).Commission Regulation (EC) No 875/2007 of 24 July 2007 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the fisheries sector and amending Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 (OJ L 193, 25.7.2007, p. 6 ).(14) 'completed operation' means an operation that has been physically completed or fully implemented and in respect of which all related payments have been made by beneficiaries and the corresponding public contribution has been paid to the beneficiaries; (15) 'public expenditure' means any public contribution to the financing of operations the source of which is the budget of national, regional or local public authorities, the budget of the Union related to the ESI Funds, the budget of public law bodies or the budget of associations of public authorities or of public law bodies and, for the purpose of determining the co-financing rate for ESF programmes or priorities, may include any financial resources collectively contributed by employers and workers; (16) 'public law body' means any body governed by public law within the meaning of point 9 of Article 1 of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114 ).Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) (OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 19 ).(17) 'document' means a paper or an electronic medium bearing information of relevance in the context of this Regulation; (18) 'intermediate body' means any public or private body which acts under the responsibility of a managing or certifying authority, or which carries out duties on behalf of such an authority, in relation to beneficiaries implementing operations; (19) 'community-led local development strategy' means a coherent set of operations the purpose of which is to meet local objectives and needs, and which contributes to achieving the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and which is designed and implemented by a local action group; (20) 'Partnership Agreement' means a document prepared by a Member State with the involvement of partners in line with the multi-level governance approach, which sets out that Member State's strategy, priorities and arrangements for using the ESI Funds in an effective and efficient way so as to pursue the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and which is approved by the Commission following assessment and dialogue with the Member State concerned; (21) 'category of regions' means the categorisation of regions as 'less developed regions', 'transition regions' or 'more developed regions' in accordance with Article 90(2); (22) 'payment application' means a payment application or declaration of expenditure submitted by the Member State to the Commission; (23) 'EIB' means the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund or any subsidiary of the European Investment Bank; (24) 'Public private partnerships' (PPPs) means forms of cooperation between public bodies and the private sector, which aim to improve the delivery of investments in infrastructure projects or other types of operations, delivering public services through risk sharing, pooling of private sector expertise or additional sources of capital; (25) 'PPP operation' means an operation which is implemented or intended to be implemented under a public-private-partnership structure; (26) 'escrow account' means a bank account covered by a written agreement between a managing authority or an intermediate body and the body implementing a financial instrument, or, in the case of a PPP operation, a written agreement between a public body beneficiary and the private partner approved by the managing authority or an intermediate body, set up specifically to hold funds to be paid out after the eligibility period in the case of a financial instrument, or during the eligibility period and/or after the eligibility period in the case of a PPP operation, exclusively for the purposes provided for in point (c) of Article 42(1), Article 42(2), Article 42(3) and Article 64, or a bank account set up on terms providing equivalent guarantees on the payments out of the funds; (27) 'fund of funds' means a fund set up with the objective of contributing support from a programme or programmes to several financial instruments. Where financial instruments are implemented through a fund of funds, the body implementing the fund of funds shall be considered to be the only beneficiary within the meaning of point 10 of this Article; (28) 'SME' means a micro, small or medium sized enterprise as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36 ).(29) 'accounting year', means, for the purposes of Part Three and Part Four, the period from 1 July to 30 June, except for the first accounting year of the programming period, in respect of which it means the period from the start date for eligibility of expenditure until 30 June 2015 . The final accounting year shall be from1 July 2023 to30 June 2024 ;(30) 'financial year', means, for the purposes of Part Three and Part Four, the period from 1 January to 31 December; (31) 'macroregional strategy' means an integrated framework agreed by the Council and, where appropriate, endorsed by the European Council, which may be supported by the ESI Funds among others, to address common challenges faced by a defined geographical area relating to Member States and third countries located in the same geographical area which thereby benefit from strengthened cooperation contributing to achievement of economic, social and territorial cohesion; (32) 'sea basin strategy' means a structured framework of cooperation in relation to a given geographical area, developed by Union institutions, Member States, their regions and where appropriate third countries sharing a sea basin; a sea basin strategy takes into account the geographic, climatic, economic and political specificities of the sea basin; (33) 'applicable ex ante conditionality' means a concrete and precisely pre-defined critical factor, which is a prerequisite for and has a direct and genuine link to, and direct impact on, the effective and efficient achievement of a specific objective for an investment priority or a Union priority; (34) 'specific objective' means the result to which an investment priority or Union priority contributes in a specific national or regional context through actions or measures undertaken within such a priority; (35) 'relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU' and 'relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU' mean recommendations relating to structural challenges which it is appropriate to address through multiannual investments that fall directly within the scope of the ESI Funds as set out in the Fund-specific Regulations; (36) 'irregularity' means any breach of Union law, or of national law relating to its application, resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator involved in the implementation of the ESI Funds, which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the budget of the Union by charging an unjustified item of expenditure to the budget of the Union. (37) 'economic operator' means any natural or legal person or other entity taking part in the implementation of assistance from the ESI Funds, with the exception of a Member State exercising its prerogatives as a public authority; (38) 'systemic irregularity' means any irregularity, which may be of a recurring nature, with a high probability of occurrence in similar types of operations, which results from a serious deficiency in the effective functioning of a management and control system, including a failure to establish appropriate procedures in accordance with this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules; (39) 'serious deficiency in the effective functioning of a management and control system' means, for the purposes of implementation of the Funds and the EMFF under Part Four, a deficiency for which substantial improvements in the system are required, which exposes the Funds and the EMFF to a significant risk of irregularities, and the existence of which is incompatible with an unqualified audit opinion on the functioning of the management and control system.
(a) competent urban and other public authorities; (b) economic and social partners; and (c) relevant bodies representing civil society, including environmental partners, non-governmental organisations, and bodies responsible for promoting social inclusion, gender equality and non-discrimination.
(a) the main principles concerning transparent procedures to be followed for the identification of the relevant partners including, where appropriate, their umbrella organisations in order to facilitate Member States in designating the most representative relevant partners, in accordance with their institutional and legal framework; (b) the main principles and good practices concerning the involvement of the different categories of relevant partners set out in paragraph 1 in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and programmes, the information to be provided concerning their involvement, and at the various stages of implementation; (c) the good practices concerning the formulation of the rules of membership and internal procedures of monitoring committees to be decided, as appropriate, by the Member States or the monitoring committees of programmes in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules; (d) the main objectives and good practices in cases where the managing authority involves the relevant partners in the preparation of calls for proposals and in particular good practices for avoiding potential conflicts of interest in cases where there is a possibility of relevant partners also being potential beneficiaries, and for the involvement of the relevant partners in the preparation of progress reports and in relation to monitoring and evaluation of programmes in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules; (e) the indicative areas, themes and good practices concerning how the competent authorities of the Member States may use the ESI Funds including technical assistance to strengthen the institutional capacity of relevant partners in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules; (f) the role of the Commission in the dissemination of good practices; (g) the main principles and good practices that are apt to facilitate the Member States' assessment of the implementation of partnership and its added value.
(1) strengthening research, technological development and innovation; (2) enhancing access to, and use and quality of, ICT; (3) enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs, of the agricultural sector (for the EAFRD) and of the fishery and aquaculture sector (for the EMFF); (4) supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors; (5) promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management; (6) preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency; (7) promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures; (8) promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting labour mobility; (9) promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination; (10) investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning; (11) enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders and efficient public administration.
(a) mechanisms for ensuring the contribution of the ESI Funds to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and the coherence and consistency of the programming of the ESI Funds in relation to the relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU, the relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with 148(4) TFEU, and where appropriate at national level, to the National Reform Programme; (b) arrangements to promote an integrated use of the ESI Funds; (c) arrangements for coordination between the ESI Funds and other relevant Union policies and instruments, including external instruments for cooperation; (d) horizontal principles referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 8 and cross-cutting policy objectives for the implementation of the ESI Funds; (e) arrangements to address the key territorial challenges for urban, rural, coastal and fisheries areas, the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of geographical areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps as referred to in Article 174 TFEU, and the specific challenges of outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 TFEU; (f) priority areas for cooperation activities under the ESI Funds, where appropriate, taking account of macro-regional and sea basin strategies.
(a) arrangements to ensure alignment with the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as the Fund-specific missions pursuant to their Treaty-based objectives, including economic, social and territorial cohesion, including: (i) an analysis of disparities, development needs and growth potential with reference to the thematic objectives and the territorial challenges, and taking account of the National Reform Programme, where appropriate, and relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU; (ii) a summary of the ex ante evaluations of the programmes, or key findings of the ex ante evaluation of the Partnership Agreement, where the latter evaluation is undertaken by the Member State at its own initiative; (iii) selected thematic objectives, and for each of the selected thematic objectives a summary of the main results expected for each of the ESI Funds; (iv) the indicative allocation of support by the Union by thematic objective at national level for each of the ESI Funds, as well as the total indicative amount of support envisaged for climate change objectives; (v) the application of the horizontal principles referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 8 and policy objectives for the implementation of the ESI Funds; (vi) the list of the programmes under the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, except those under the European territorial cooperation goal, and of the programmes of the EAFRD and the EMFF, with the respective indicative allocations by ESI Fund and by year; (vii) information on the allocation related to the performance reserve, broken down by ESI Fund and, where appropriate, by category of region, and on the amounts excluded for the purpose of calculating the performance reserve in accordance with Article 20;
(b) arrangements to ensure effective implementation of the ESI Funds, including: (i) arrangements, in line with the institutional framework of the Member States, that ensure coordination between the ESI Funds and other Union and national funding instruments and with the EIB; (ii) the information required for ex ante verification of compliance with the rules on additionality as they are defined in Part Three; (iii) a summary of the assessment of the fulfilment of applicable ex ante conditionalities in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI at national level and, in the event that the applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, of the actions to be taken, the bodies responsible and the timetable for implementation of those actions; (iv) the methodology and mechanisms to ensure consistency in the functioning of the performance framework in accordance with Article 21; (v) an assessment of whether there is a need to reinforce the administrative capacity of the authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and, where appropriate, of beneficiaries as well as, where necessary, a summary of actions to be taken for that purpose; (vi) a summary of the actions planned in the programmes, including an indicative timetable for achievement of a reduction in the administrative burden on beneficiaries;
(c) arrangements for the partnership principle as referred in Article 5; (d) an indicative list of the partners referred to in Article 5 and a summary of the actions taken to involve them in accordance with Article 5 and of their role in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and the progress report as referred to in Article 52.
(a) an integrated approach to territorial development supported by the ESI Funds or a summary of the integrated approaches to territorial development based on the content of the programmes, setting out: (i) the arrangements to ensure an integrated approach to the use of the ESI Funds for the territorial development of specific subregional areas, in particular the implementation arrangements for Articles 32, 33 and 36 accompanied by the principles for identifying the urban areas where integrated actions for sustainable urban development are to be implemented; (ii) the main priority areas for cooperation under the ESI Funds, taking account, where appropriate, of macro-regional strategies and sea basin strategies; (iii) where appropriate, an integrated approach to addressing the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or of target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, the long term unemployed and young people not in employment, education or training; (iv) where appropriate, an integrated approach to address the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of geographical areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps as referred to in Article 174 TFEU;
(b) arrangements to ensure efficient implementation of the ESI Funds, including an assessment of the existing systems for electronic data exchange, and a summary of the actions planned to gradually permit all exchanges of information between beneficiaries, and authorities responsible for management and control of programmes, to be carried out by electronic data exchange.
(a) resources allocated to the YEI as defined in the operational programme in accordance with Article 18 of the ESF Regulation; (b) resources allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission; (c) resources transferred from the first pillar of the CAP to the EAFRD under Articles 7(2) and 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013; (d) transfers to the EAFRD in application of Articles 10b, 136 and 136b of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 in respect of calendar years 2013 and 2014 respectively; (e) resources transferred to the CEF from the Cohesion Fund in accordance with Article 92(6) of this Regulation; (f) resources transferred to the Fund for European Aid for the Most Deprived in accordance with Article 92(7) of this Regulation; (g) resources allocated for innovative actions for sustainable urban development in accordance with Article 92(8) of this Regulation.
(a) to support the implementation of a relevant country-specific recommendation adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and of a relevant Council recommendation adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, addressed to the Member State concerned; (b) to support the implementation of relevant Council Recommendations addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Articles 7(2) or 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (OJ L 306, 23.11.2011, p. 25 ).(c) to maximise the growth and competitiveness impact of the available ESI Funds, if a Member State meets one of the following conditions: (i) Union financial assistance is made available to it under Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 of 11 May 2010 establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism (OJ L 118, 12.5.2010, p. 1 ).(ii) financial assistance is made available to it in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 of 18 February 2002 establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments (OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 1 ).(iii) financial assistance is made available to it that triggers a macroeconomic adjustment programme in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the strengthening of economic and budgetary surveillance of Member States in the euro area experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability (OJ L 140, 27.05.2013, p. 1 ).
(a) where the Council decides in accordance with Article 126(8) or Article 126(11) TFEU that a Member State has not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit; (b) where the Council adopts two successive recommendations in the same imbalance procedure, in accordance with Article 8(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 on the grounds that a Member State has submitted an insufficient corrective action plan; (c) where the Council adopts two successive decisions in the same imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 10(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 establishing non-compliance by a Member State on the grounds that it has not taken the recommended corrective action; (d) where the Commission concludes that a Member State has not taken measures to implement the adjustment programme referred to in Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 or Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 and as a consequence decides not to authorise the disbursement of the financial assistance granted to that Member State; (e) where the Council decides that a Member State does not comply with the macro-economic adjustment programme referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 472/2013, or with the measures requested by a Council decision adopted in accordance with Article 136(1) TFEU.
(a) A maximum of 50 % of the commitments relating to the next financial year for the ESI Funds in the first case of non-compliance with an excessive deficit procedure as referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 and a maximum 25 % of the commitments relating to the next financial year for the ESI Funds in the first case of non-compliance relating to a corrective action plan under an excessive imbalances procedure as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 or non-compliance with the recommended corrective action pursuant to an excessive imbalances procedure as referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9. The level of the suspension shall increase gradually up to a maximum of 100 % of the commitments relating to the next financial year for the ESI Funds in the case of an excessive deficit procedure and up to 50 % of the commitments relating to the next financial year for the ESI Funds in the case of an excessive imbalance procedure, in line with the seriousness of the non-compliance; (b) a maximum of 0,5 % of nominal GDP applying in the first case of non-compliance with an excessive deficit procedure as referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 and a maximum of 0,25 % of nominal GDP applying in the first case of non-compliance relating to a corrective action plan under an excessive imbalances procedure as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 or non-compliance with recommended corrective action under an excessive imbalances procedure as referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9. If non-compliance relating to corrective actions referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 persists, the percentage of that GDP cap shall be gradually increased up to: a maximum of 1 % of nominal GDP applying in the event of persistent non-compliance with an excessive deficit procedure in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9; and a maximum of 0,5 % of nominal GDP applying in the event of persistent non-compliance with an excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with point (b) or (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9, in line with the seriousness of the non-compliance;
(c) a maximum of 50 % of the commitments relating to the next financial year for the ESI Funds or a maximum of 0,5 % of nominal GDP in the first case of non-compliance as referred to in points (d) and (e) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 9. In determining the level of the suspension and whether to suspend commitments or payments, the stage of the programme cycle shall be taken into account having regard in particular to the period remaining for using the funds following the re-budgeting of suspended commitments.
(a) where the excessive deficit procedure is held in abeyance in accordance with Article 9 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 of 7 July 1997 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure (OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 6 ).(b) where the Council has endorsed the corrective action plan submitted by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 or the excessive imbalance procedure is placed in a position of abeyance in accordance with Article 10(5) of that Regulation or the Council has closed the excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 11 of that Regulation; (c) where the Commission has concluded that the Member State concerned has taken adequate measures to implement the adjustment programme referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 or the measures requested by a decision of the Council in accordance with Article 136(1) TFEU.
(a) where the Member State concerned receives a loan from the Union under Regulation (EU) No 407/2010; (b) where the Member State concerned receives medium-term financial assistance in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 conditional on the implementation of a macroeconomic adjustment programme; (c) where financial assistance is made available to the Member State concerned conditional on the implementation of a macroeconomic adjustment programme as specified in Regulation (EU) No 472/2013.
(a) the public expenditure; or (b) the maximum amount of support from the ESI Funds for each priority for the ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund, or for each measure for the EAFRD and the EMFF, as laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the programme,
(a) financial indicators relating to expenditure allocated; (b) output indicators relating to the operations supported; (c) result indicators relating to the priority concerned.
(a) the elements set out under the first subparagraph of Article 27(1), and under paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of that Article as regards the principles set out under Article 5; (b) an identification of the bodies referred to under Articles 125, 126 and 127 of this Regulation and Article 65(2) of the EAFRD Regulation as relevant for the Fund concerned; (c) for each ex ante conditionality, established in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI, which is applicable to the programme, an assessment of whether the ex ante conditionality is fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and programme, and where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, a description of the actions to fulfil the ex ante conditionality, the bodies responsible and a timetable for such actions in accordance with the summary submitted in the Partnership Agreement.
(a) focused on specific subregional areas; (b) led by local action groups composed of representatives of public and private local socio-economic interests, in which, at the decision-making level neither public authorities, as defined in accordance with national rules, nor any single interest group represents more than 49 % of the voting rights; (c) carried out through integrated and multi-sectoral area-based local development strategies; (d) designed taking into consideration local needs and potential, and shall include innovative features in the local context, networking and, where appropriate, cooperation.
(a) the definition of the area and population covered by the strategy; (b) an analysis of the development needs and potential of the area, including an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; (c) a description of the strategy and its objectives, a description of the integrated and innovative features of the strategy and a hierarchy of objectives, including measurable targets for outputs or results. In relation to results, targets may be expressed in quantitative or qualitative terms. The strategy shall be consistent with the relevant programmes of all the ESI Funds concerned that are involved; (d) a description of the community involvement process in the development of the strategy; (e) an action plan demonstrating how objectives are translated into actions; (f) a description of the management and monitoring arrangements of the strategy, demonstrating the capacity of the local action group to implement the strategy and a description of specific arrangements for evaluation; (g) the financial plan for the strategy, including the planned allocation from each of the ESI Funds concerned.
(a) building the capacity of local actors, including potential beneficiaries, to develop and implement operations including by fostering their capacity to prepare and manage their projects; (b) drawing up a non-discriminatory and transparent selection procedure which avoids conflicts of interests, ensures that at least 50 % of the votes in selection decisions are cast by partners which are not public authorities, and allows selection by written procedure; (c) drawing up and approving non-discriminatory objective criteria for the selection of operations that ensure coherence with the community-led local development strategy by prioritising those operations according to their contribution to meeting that strategy’s objectives and targets; (d) preparing and publishing calls for proposals or an ongoing project submission procedure; (e) receiving and assessing applications for support; (f) selecting operations and fixing the amount of support and, where relevant, presenting the proposals to the body responsible for final verification of eligibility before approval; (g) monitoring the implementation of the community-led local development strategy and the operations supported and carrying out specific evaluation activities linked to that strategy.
(a) the costs of preparatory support consisting of capacitybuilding, training and networking with a view to preparing and implementing a community-led local development strategy. Such costs may include one or more of the following elements: (i) training actions for local stakeholders; (ii) studies of the area concerned; (iii) costs related to the design of the community-led local development strategy, including consultancy costs and costs for actions related to consultations of stakeholders for the purposes of preparing the strategy; (iv) administrative costs (operating and personnel costs) of an organisation that applies for preparatory support during the preparation phase; (v) support for small pilot projects.
Such preparatory support shall be eligible regardless of whether the community-led local development strategy designed by the local action group benefitting from the support is selected for funding by the selection committee set up under Article 33(3). (b) implementation of operations under the community-led local development strategy; (c) preparation and implementation of the local action group's cooperation activities; (d) running costs linked to the management of the implementation of the community-led local development strategy consisting of operating costs, personnel costs, training cost, costs linked to public relations, financial costs as well as the costs linked to monitoring and evaluation of that strategy as referred to in point (g) of Article 34(3); (e) animation of the community-led local development strategy in order to facilitate exchange between stakeholders to provide information and to promote the strategy and to support potential beneficiaries with a view to developing operations and preparing applications.
(a) an analysis of market failures, suboptimal investment situations, and investment needs for policy areas and thematic objectives or investment priorities to be addressed with a view to contributing to the achievement of specific objectives set out under a priority and to be supported through financial instruments. That analysis shall be based on available good practices methodology; (b) an assessment of the added value of the financial instruments that are being considered for support from the ESI Funds, consistency with other forms of public intervention addressing the same market, possible State aid implications, the proportionality of the envisaged intervention and measures to minimise market distortion; (c) an estimate of additional public and private resources to be potentially raised by the financial instrument down to the level of the final recipient (expected leverage effect), including as appropriate an assessment of the need for, and the extent of, differentiated treatment as referred to in Article 43a to attract counterpart resources from investors operating under the market economy principle and/or a description of the mechanisms which will be used to establish the need for, and extent of, such differentiated treatment, such as a competitive or appropriately independent assessment process; (d) an assessment of lessons learnt from similar instruments and ex ante assessments carried out by the Member State in the past, and how such lessons will be applied in the future; (e) the proposed investment strategy, including an examination of options for implementation arrangements within the meaning of Article 38, financial products to be offered, final recipients targeted and envisaged combination with grant support as appropriate; (f) a specification of the expected results and how the financial instrument concerned is expected to contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives set out under the relevant priority including indicators for that contribution; (g) provisions allowing for the ex ante assessment to be reviewed and updated as required during the implementation of any financial instrument which has been implemented based upon such assessment, where during the implementation phase, the managing authority considers that the ex ante assessment may no longer accurately represent the market conditions existing at the time of implementation.
(a) financial instruments set up at Union level, managed directly or indirectly by the Commission; (b) financial instruments set up at national, regional, transnational or cross-border level, managed by or under the responsibility of the managing authority; (c) financial instruments combining such contribution with EIB financial products under the EFSI in accordance with Article 39a.
(a) financial instruments complying with the standard terms and conditions laid down by the Commission, in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph; (b) already existing or newly created financial instruments which are specifically designed to achieve the specific objectives set out under the relevant priority.
(a) invest in the capital of existing or newly created legal entities, including those financed from other ESI Funds, dedicated to implementing financial instruments consistent with the objectives of the respective ESI Funds, which will undertake implementation tasks; the support to such entities shall be limited to the amounts necessary to implement new investments in accordance with Article 37 and in a manner that is consistent with the objectives of this Regulation; (b) entrust implementation tasks, through the direct award of a contract, to: (i) the EIB; (ii) an international financial institution in which a Member State is a shareholder; (iii) a publicly-owned bank or institution, established as a legal entity carrying out financial activities on a professional basis, which fulfils all of the following conditions: there is no direct private capital participation, with the exception of non-controlling and non-blocking forms of private capital participation required by national legislative provisions, in conformity with the Treaties, which do not exert a decisive influence on the relevant bank or institution, and with the exception of forms of private capital participation which confer no influence on decisions regarding the day-to-day management of the financial instrument supported by the ESI Funds; operates under a public policy mandate given by the relevant authority of a Member State at national or regional level, which includes carrying out, as all or part of its activities, economic development activities contributing to the objectives of the ESI Funds; carries out, as all or part of its activities, economic development activities contributing to the objectives of the ESI Funds in regions, policy areas or sectors for which access to funding from market sources is not generally available or sufficient; operates without primarily focussing on maximising profits, but ensures a long-term financial sustainability for its activities; ensures that the direct award of a contract referred to in point (b) does not provide any direct or indirect benefit for commercial activities by way of appropriate measures in accordance with applicable law; is subject to the supervision of an independent authority in accordance with applicable law;
(c) entrust implementation tasks to another body governed by public or private law; or (d) undertake implementation tasks directly, in the case of financial instruments consisting solely of loans or guarantees. In that case the managing authority shall be considered to be the beneficiary within the meaning of point (10) of Article 2.
(a) where applicable, between the duly mandated representatives of the managing authority and the body that implements the fund of funds; and (b) between the duly mandated representatives of the managing authority, or where applicable, the body that implements the fund of funds, and the body that implements the financial instrument.
(a) uncapped guarantees providing capital relief to financial intermediaries for new portfolios of debt finance to eligible SMEs in accordance with Article 37(4) of this Regulation; (b) securitisation, as defined in point (61) of Article 4 (1) of Regulation (EU) 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1 ).(i) existing portfolios of debt finance to SMEs and other enterprises with less than 500 employees; (ii) new portfolios of debt finance to SMEs.
(a) by way of derogation from Article 37(2), it shall be based on an ex ante assessment at Union level carried out by the EIB and the Commission or, where more recent data are available, on anex ante assessment at Union, national or regional level.On the basis of available data sources on bank debt finance and SMEs, the ex ante assessment shall cover, inter alia, an analysis of the SME financing needs at the relevant level, SME financing conditions and needs as well as an indication of the SME financing gap, a profile of the economic and financial situation of the SME sector at the relevant level, minimum critical mass of aggregate contributions, a range of estimated total loan volume generated by such contributions, and the added value;(b) it shall be provided by each participating Member State as part of a separate priority axis within a programme in the case of ERDF contribution, or a single dedicated national programme per financial contribution by ERDF and EAFRD, supporting the thematic objective set out in point (3) of the first paragraph of Article 9; (c) it shall be subject to the conditions set out in a funding agreement concluded between each participating Member State and the EIB including, inter alia: (i) tasks and obligations of the EIB including remuneration; (ii) minimum leverage to be achieved at clearly defined milestones within the eligibility period indicated in Article 65(2); (iii) conditions for the new debt finance; (iv) provisions relating to non-eligible activities and exclusion criteria; (v) schedule of payments; (vi) penalties in the event of non-performance by financial intermediaries; (vii) selection of financial intermediaries; (viii) monitoring, reporting and auditing; (ix) visibility; (x) the conditions for termination of the agreement.
For the purposes of implementation of the instrument, the EIB will enter into contractual arrangements with selected financial intermediaries; (d) in the event that the funding agreement referred to in point (c) is not concluded within six months of the adoption of the programme referred to in point (b), the Member State shall have the right to reallocate such contribution to other programmes and priorities in accordance with requirements for thematic concentration.
(a) for the activities referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article, to the resources referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 42(1); (b) for the activities referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article, to the aggregate amount of new debt finance resulting from the securitisation transactions, paid to or to the benefit of eligible SMEs within the eligibility period set out in Article 65(2).
(a) the total amount of ERDF and EAFRD support paid to the financial instrument in relation to uncapped guarantees or securitisation transactions, by programme and priority or measure; (b) progress in creating the new debt finance in accordance with Article 37(4), for eligible SMEs.
(a) invest in the capital of an existing or newly created legal entity dedicated to implement investments in final recipients consistent with the objectives of the respective ESI Funds which will undertake implementation tasks; (b) entrust implementation tasks in accordance with points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 38(4).
(a) where applicable, between the duly mandated representatives of the managing authority and the body that implements the fund of funds; (b) between the duly mandated representatives of the managing authority, or where applicable, between the body that implements the fund of funds, and the body that implements the financial instrument.
(a) supporting documents, providing evidence of the support from the financial instrument to final recipients and of its use for the intended purposes in line with applicable law, are not available at the level of the managing authority or at the level of the bodies that implement financial instruments; (b) there is evidence that the documents available at the level of the managing authority or at the level of the bodies that implement financial instruments do not represent a true and accurate record of the support provided.
(a) where the irregularity that gives rise to the cancellation of the contribution is detected at the level of the final recipient, the contribution cancelled may be reused only for other final recipients within the same financial instrument; (b) where the irregularity that gives rise to the cancellation of the contribution is detected at the level of the financial intermediary within a fund of funds, the contribution cancelled may be reused only for other financial intermediaries.
(a) the amount of the programme contribution paid to the financial instrument included in each application for interim payment submitted during the eligibility period shall not exceed 25 % of the total amount of programme contributions committed to the financial instrument under the relevant funding agreement, corresponding to expenditure within the meaning of points (a), (b) and (d) of Article 42(1) expected to be paid during the eligibility period. Applications for interim payment submitted after the eligibility period shall include the total amount of eligible expenditure within the meaning of Article 42; (b) each application for interim payment referred to in point (a) of this paragraph may include up to 25 % of the total amount of the national co-financing as referred to in Article 38(9) expected to be paid to the financial instrument, or at the level of final recipients for expenditure in the meaning of points (a), (b) and (d) of Article 42(1), within the eligibility period; (c) subsequent applications for interim payment submitted during the eligibility period shall only be made: (i) for the second application for interim payment, when at least 60 % of the amount included in the first application for interim payment has been spent as eligible expenditure within the meaning of points (a), (b) and (d) of Article 42(1); (ii) for the third and subsequent applications for interim payment, when at least 85 % of the amounts included in the previous applications for interim payment have been spent as eligible expenditure within the meaning of points (a), (b) and (d) of Article 42(1);
(d) each application for interim payment, which includes expenditure related to financial instruments, shall separately disclose the total amount of programme contributions paid to the financial instruments and the amounts paid as eligible expenditure within the meaning of points (a), (b) and (d) of Article 42(1). At closure of a programme, the application for payment of the final balance shall include the total amount of eligible expenditure as referred to in Article 42.
(a) payments to final recipients, and in the cases referred to in Article 37(7) payments to the benefit of final recipients; (b) resources committed for guarantee contracts, whether outstanding or already come to maturity, in order to honour possible guarantee calls for losses, calculated on the basis of a prudent ex ante risk assessment, covering a multiple amount of underlying new loans or other risk-bearing instruments for new investments in final recipients; (c) capitalised interest rate subsidies or guarantee fee subsidies, due to be paid for a period not exceeding 10 years after the eligibility period, used in combination with financial instruments, paid into an escrow account specifically set up for that purpose, for effective disbursement after the eligibility period, but in respect of loans or other risk-bearing instruments disbursed for investments in final recipients within the eligibility period; (d) reimbursement of management costs incurred or payment of management fees of the financial instrument.
(a) shall be used solely for follow-on investments in final recipients having received initial equity investments from the financial instrument within the eligibility period, which are still wholly or partially outstanding; (b) shall be used solely for follow-on investments to be made in accordance with market standards and market standard contractual arrangements and limited to the minimum necessary to stimulate private sector co-investment, while ensuring continuity of financing for the target enterprises so that both public and private investors can benefit from investments; (c) shall not exceed 20 % of the eligible expenditure of the equity-based instrument referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 from which ceiling capital resources and gains returned to that equity-based instrument during the eligibility period shall be deducted.
(a) total amount of the support from the ESI Funds paid for the purposes of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3; and (b) corresponding national co-financing.
(a) further investments through the same or other financial instruments, in accordance with the specific objectives set out under a priority; (b) where applicable, to cover the losses in the nominal amount of the ESI Funds contribution to the financial instrument resulting from negative interest, if such losses occur despite active treasury management by the bodies implementing financial instruments; (c) where applicable, reimbursement of management costs incurred and payment of management fees of the financial instrument.
(a) identification of the programme and of the priority or measure from which support from the ESI Funds is provided; (b) description of the financial instrument and implementation arrangements; (c) identification of the bodies implementing financial instruments, and the bodies implementing funds of funds where applicable, as referred to under points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 38(1); (d) total amount of programme contributions by priority or measure paid to the financial instrument; (e) total amount of support paid to the final recipients or to the benefit of final recipients, or committed in guarantee contracts by the financial instrument for investments in final recipients, as well as management costs incurred or management fees paid, by programme and priority or measure; (f) the performance of the financial instrument including progress in its set-up and in selection of bodies implementing the financial instrument, including the body implementing a fund of funds; (g) interest and other gains generated by support from the ESI Funds to the financial instrument and programme resources paid back to financial instruments from investments as referred to in Articles 43 and 44 and amounts used for differentiated treatment as referred to in Article 43a; (h) progress in achieving the expected leverage effect of investments made by the financial instrument; (i) the value of equity investments, with respect to previous years; (j) contribution of the financial instrument to the achievement of the indicators of the priority or measure concerned.
(a) changes in the development needs in the Member State since the adoption of the Partnership Agreement; (b) progress made towards achievement of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as of the Fund-specific missions referred to in Article 4(1), through the contribution of the ESI Funds to the thematic objectives selected, and in particular with regard to the milestones set out in the performance framework for each programme, and to the support used for climate change objectives; (c) whether the actions taken to fulfil the applicable ex ante conditionalities set out in the Partnership Agreement not fulfilled at the date of adoption of the Partnership Agreement have been implemented in accordance with the timetable established. This point shall only apply to the progress report to be submitted in 2017; (d) implementation of mechanisms to ensure coordination between the ESI Funds and other Union and national funding instruments and with the EIB; (e) implementation of the integrated approach to territorial development, or a summary of the implementation of the integrated approaches that are based on the programmes, including progress towards achievement of priority areas established for cooperation; (f) where appropriate, actions taken to reinforce the capacity of the Member State authorities and beneficiaries to administer and use the ESI Funds; (g) actions taken, and progress made, with regard to reducing the administrative burden on beneficiaries; (h) the role of the partners referred to in Article 5 in the implementation of the Partnership Agreement; (i) a summary of the actions taken in relation to the application of the horizontal principles referred to in Articles 5, 7 and 8 and policy objectives for the implementation of the ESI Funds.
(a) the contribution to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, having regard to the selected thematic objectives and priorities, taking into account national and regional needs and potential for development as well as lessons drawn from previous programming periods; (b) the internal coherence of the proposed programme or activity and its relationship with other relevant instruments; (c) the consistency of the allocation of budgetary resources with the objectives of the programme; (d) the consistency of the selected thematic objectives, the priorities and corresponding objectives of the programmes with the CSF, the Partnership Agreement and the relevant country specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and where appropriate at national level, the National Reform Programme; (e) the relevance and clarity of the proposed programme indicators; (f) how the expected outputs will contribute to results; (g) whether the quantified target values for indicators are realistic, having regard to the support envisaged from the ESI Funds; (h) the rationale for the form of support proposed; (i) the adequacy of human resources and administrative capacity for management of the programme; (j) the suitability of the procedures for monitoring the programme and for collecting the data necessary to carry out evaluations; (k) the suitability of the milestones selected for the performance framework; (l) the adequacy of planned measures to promote equal opportunities between men and women and to prevent any discrimination, in particular as regards accessibility for persons with disabilities; (m) the adequacy of planned measures to promote sustainable development; (n) measures planned to reduce the administrative burden on beneficiaries.
(a) assistance for project preparation and appraisal, including with the EIB; (b) support for institutional strengthening and administrative capacity-building for the effective management of the ESI Funds; (c) studies linked to the Commission's reporting on the ESI Funds and the cohesion report; (d) measures related to the analysis, management, monitoring, information exchange and implementation of the ESI Funds, as well as measures relating to the implementation of control systems and technical and administrative assistance; (e) evaluations, expert reports, statistics and studies, including those of a general nature, concerning the current and future operation of the ESI Funds, which may be carried out where appropriate by the EIB; (f) actions to disseminate information, support networking, carry out communication activities with particular attention to the results and added value of support from the ESI Funds, raise awareness and promote cooperation and exchange of experience, including with third countries; (g) the installation, operation and interconnection of computerised systems for management, monitoring, audit, control and evaluation; (h) actions to improve evaluation methods and the exchange of information on evaluation practices; (i) actions related to auditing; (j) the strengthening of national and regional capacity regarding investment planning, needs assessment, preparation, design and implementation of financial instruments, joint action plans and major projects, including joint initiatives with the EIB; (k) the dissemination of good practices in order to assist Member States to strengthen the capacity of the relevant partners referred to in Article 5 and their umbrella organisations; (l) actions financed under Regulation (EU) 2017/825 in order to contribute to delivering the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
(a) the EIB; (b) an international financial institution in which a Member State is a shareholder; (c) a publicly-owned bank or institution, as referred to in point (b)(iii) of the first subparagraph of Article 38(4).
(a) application of a flat rate net revenue percentage for the sector or subsector applicable to the operation as defined in Annex V or in any of the delegated acts referred to in the second, third and fourth subparagraphs; (aa) application of a flat rate net revenue percentage established by a Member State for a sector or subsector not covered by point (a). Before the application of the flat rate the responsible audit authority shall verify that the flat rate has been established according to a fair, equitable and verifiable method based on historical data or objective criteria; (b) calculation of the discounted net revenue of the operation, taking into account the reference period appropriate to the sector or subsector applicable to the operation, the profitability normally expected of the category of investment concerned, the application of the polluter-pays principle and, if appropriate, considerations of equity linked to the relative prosperity of the Member State or region concerned.
(a) operations or parts of operations supported solely by the ESF; (b) operations whose total eligible cost before application of paragraphs 1 to 6 does not exceed EUR 1000000 ;(c) repayable assistance subject to an obligation for full repayment and prizes; (d) technical assistance; (e) support to or from financial instruments; (f) operations for which public support takes the form of lump sums or standard scale unit costs; (g) operations implemented under a joint action plan; (h) operations for which amounts or rates of support are defined in Annex II to the EAFRD Regulation or in the EMFF Regulation.
(a) the public law body initiating the operation; or (b) a body governed by private law of a Member State (the "private partner") selected or to be selected for the implementation of the operation.
(a) the beneficiary has entered into a PPP agreement with a private partner; (b) the managing authority has verified that the expenditure declared by the beneficiary has been paid by the private partner and that the operation complies with applicable Union and national law, the programme and the conditions for support of the operation.
(a) technical assistance; (b) financial instruments; (c) repayable assistance subject to an obligation for full repayment; (d) prizes; (e) operations subject to the State aid rules; (f) operations for which public support takes the form of lump sums or standard scale unit costs provided that the net revenue has been taken into account ex ante; (g) operations implemented under a joint action plan provided that the net revenue has been taken into account ex ante; (h) operations for which amounts or rates of support are defined in Annex II to the EAFRD Regulation or in the EMFF Regulation with the exception of those operations for which reference is made to this paragraph in the EMFF Regulation; or (i) operations for which the total eligible cost does not exceed EUR 100000 .
(a) reimbursement of eligible costs actually incurred and paid, together with, where applicable, contributions in kind and depreciation; (b) standard scales of unit costs; (c) lump sums; (d) flat-rate financing, determined by the application of a percentage to one or more defined categories of costs; (e) financing which is not linked to costs of the relevant operations but is based on the fulfilment of conditions related to the realisation of progress in implementation or the achievement of objectives of programmes as set out in the delegated act adopted in accordance with paragraph 5a.
(a) a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method based on any of the following: (i) statistical data, other objective information or an expert judgement; (ii) the verified historical data of individual beneficiaries; (iii) the application of the usual cost accounting practices of individual beneficiaries;
(aa) a draft budget established on a case-by-case basis and agreed ex ante by the managing authority, or in the case of EAFRD the authority responsible for the selection of operations, where the public support does not exceed EUR100000 ;(b) in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding scales of unit costs, lump sums and flat rates applicable in Union policies for a similar type of operation and beneficiary; (c) in accordance with the rules for application of corresponding scales of unit costs, lump sums and flat rates applied under schemes for grants funded entirely by the Member State for a similar type of operation and beneficiary; (d) rates established by this Regulation or the Fund-specific rules; (e) specific methods for determining amounts established in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.
(a) a flat rate of up to 25 % of eligible direct costs, provided that the rate is calculated on the basis of a fair, equitable and verifiable calculation method or a method applied under schemes for grants funded entirely by the Member State for a similar type of operation and beneficiary; (b) a flat rate of up to 15 % of eligible direct staff costs without there being a requirement for the Member State to perform a calculation to determine the applicable rate; (c) a flat rate applied to eligible direct costs based on existing methods and corresponding rates, applicable in Union policies for a similar type of operation and beneficiary.
(a) the public support paid to the operation which includes contributions in kind does not exceed the total eligible expenditure, excluding contributions in kind, at the end of the operation; (b) the value attributed to contributions in kind does not exceed the costs generally accepted on the market in question; (c) the value and the delivery of the contribution can be independently assessed and verified; (d) in the case of provision of land or real estate, a cash payment, for the purposes of a lease agreement of a nominal amount per annum not exceeding a single unit of the currency of the Member State, may be made; (e) in the case of contributions in kind in the form of unpaid work, the value of that work is determined by taking into account the verified time spent and the rate of remuneration for equivalent work.
(a) the eligibility rules of the programme allow for it; (b) the amount of the expenditure is duly justified by supporting documents having equivalent probative value to invoices for eligible costs where reimbursed in the form referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1); (c) the costs relate exclusively to the period of support for the operation; (d) public grants have not contributed towards the acquisition of the depreciated assets.
(a) interest on debt, except in relation to grants given in the form of an interest rate subsidy or guarantee fee subsidy; (b) the purchase of land not built on and land built on in the amount exceeding 10 % of the total eligible expenditure for the operation concerned. For derelict sites and for those formerly in industrial use which comprise buildings, that limit shall be increased to 15 %. In exceptional and duly justified cases, the limit may be raised above the respective aforementioned percentages for operations concerning environmental conservation; (c) value added tax except where it is non-recoverable under national VAT legislation.
(a) the operation is for the benefit of the programme area; (b) the total amount from the ERDF, Cohesion Fund, EAFRD or EMFF allocated under the programme to operations located outside the programme area does not exceed 15 % of the support from the ERDF, Cohesion Fund, EAFRD or EMFF at the level of the priority at the time of adoption of the programme; (c) the monitoring committee has given its agreement to the operation or types of operations concerned; (d) the obligations of the authorities for the programme in relation to management, control and audit concerning the operation are fulfilled by the authorities responsible for the programme under which that operation is supported or they enter into agreements with authorities in the area in which the operation is implemented.
(a) a cessation or relocation of a productive activity outside the programme area; (b) a change in ownership of an item of infrastructure which gives to a firm or a public body an undue advantage; (c) a substantial change affecting its nature, objectives or implementation conditions which would result in undermining its original objectives.
(a) a description of the functions of each body involved in management and control, and the allocation of functions within each body; (b) compliance with the principle of separation of functions between and within such bodies; (c) procedures for ensuring the correctness and regularity of expenditure declared; (d) computerised systems for accounting, for the storage and transmission of financial data and data on indicators, for monitoring and for reporting; (e) systems for reporting and monitoring where the body responsible entrusts execution of tasks to another body; (f) arrangements for auditing the functioning of the management and control systems; (g) systems and procedures to ensure an adequate audit trail; (h) the prevention, detection and correction of irregularities, including fraud, and the recovery of amounts unduly paid, together with any interest on late payments.
(a) the draft audit report from the on-the-spot audit or check within three months of the end of that audit or check; (b) the final audit report within three months of the receipt of a complete reply from the competent national authority to the draft audit report from the on-the-spot audit or check concerned.
(a) following information provided by a national or Union audit body, there is clear evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control system; (b) the authorising officer by delegation has to carry out additional verifications following information that has come to that officer's attention alerting him or her that expenditure in a payment application is linked to an irregularity having serious financial consequences; (c) there is a failure to submit one of the documents required under Article 63(5), (6) and (7) of the Financial Regulation.
(a) the breach has affected the selection of an operation by the body responsible for support from the ESI Funds or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to establish that impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect; (b) the breach has affected the amount of expenditure declared for reimbursement by the budget of the Union or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to quantify its financial impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect.
(a) the operations are suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect; or (b) it has not been possible to make a payment application for reasons of force majeure seriously affecting implementation of all or part of the programme.
(a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and (b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF.
(a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-27; (b) transition regions, whose GDP per capita is between 75 % and 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27; (c) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is above 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27.
(a) 51,52 % (i.e., a total of EUR163359380738 ) for less developed regions;(b) 10,82 % (i.e., a total of EUR34319221039 ) for transition regions;(c) 16,33 % (i.e., a total of EUR51773321432 ) for more developed regions;(d) 20,89 % (i.e., a total of EUR66236030665 ) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund;(e) 0,44 % (i.e., a total of EUR1385591518 ) as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession.
2021: EUR 37500000000 ,2022: EUR 10000000000 .
(a) thematic concentration requirements including thresholds established for sustainable urban development as set out in this Regulation or the Fund-specific rules, by way of derogation from Article 18; (b) ex ante conditionalities, by way of derogation from Article 19 and the Fund-specific rules;(c) requirements on the performance reserve and application of the performance framework, by way of derogation from Articles 20 and 22, respectively; (d) Article 65(6) for operations that started from 1 February 2020 and that foster crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and prepare a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy supported under the thematic objective referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 of this Article;(e) requirements to prepare a communication strategy, by way of derogation from Article 116 and point (a) of Article 115(1).
(1) 'gross fixed capital formation' means all the resident producers' acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period and certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units, as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1 ).(2) 'fixed assets' means all tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from processes of production that are themselves used repeatedly, or continuously, in processes of production for more than one year; (3) 'general government' means the totality of institutional units which, in addition to fulfilling their political responsibilities and their role of economic regulation, produce principally non-market services (possibly goods) for individual or collective consumption and redistribute income and wealth; (4) 'public or equivalent structural expenditure' means the gross fixed capital formation of the general government.
(a) concern more than one category of region; (b) combine one or more complementary investment priorities from the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the ESF under one thematic objective; (c) in duly justified cases combine one or more complementary investment priorities from different thematic objectives in order to achieve the maximum contribution to that priority axis; (d) for the ESF, combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives set out in points (8), (9), (10) and (11) of the first paragraph of Article 9 in order to facilitate their contribution to other priority axes and in order to implement social innovation and transnational cooperation.
(a) a justification for the choice of thematic objectives, corresponding investment priorities and financial allocations having regard to the Partnership Agreement, based on an identification of regional and, where appropriate, national needs including the need to address the challenges identified in relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, taking into account the ex ante evaluation in accordance with Article 55; (b) for each priority axis other than technical assistance: (i) the investment priorities and corresponding specific objectives; (ii) in order to strengthen the result-orientation of the programming, the expected results for the specific objectives, and the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, where appropriate quantified in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported under each investment priority and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and where appropriate, the identification of main target groups, specific territories targeted, types of beneficiaries, the planned use of financial instruments and major projects; (iv) the output indicators, including the quantified target value, which are expected to contribute to the results, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, for each investment priority; (v) identification of implementation steps and financial and output indicators, and where appropriate, result indicators, to be used as milestones and targets for the performance framework in accordance with Article 21(1) and Annex II; (vi) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources; (vii) where appropriate, a summary of the planned use of technical assistance including, where necessary, actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and beneficiaries;
(c) for each priority axis concerning technical assistance: (i) specific objectives; (ii) the expected results for each specific objective, and, where objectively justified given the content of the actions, the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i); (iv) the output indicators which are expected to contribute to the results; (v) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources.
Point (ii) shall not apply where the Union contribution to the priority axis or axes concerning technical assistance in an operational programme does not exceed EUR 15000000 .(d) a financing plan containing the following tables: (i) tables specifying for each year, in accordance with Articles 60, 120 and 121, the amount of the total financial appropriation envisaged for the support from each of the Funds, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve; (ii) tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region. For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives.
Where the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing, the table shall give the indicative breakdown between the public and the private components. It shall show, for information purposes, the envisaged participation from the EIB; (e) a list of major projects for which the implementation is planned during the programming period. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the nomenclature referred to in points (b)(vi) and (c)(v)of the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).
(a) the approach to the use of community-led local development instruments and the principles for identifying the areas where it will be implemented; (b) the indicative amount of the ERDF support for integrated actions for sustainable urban development, to be implemented in accordance with Article 7(4) of the ERDF Regulation and the indicative allocation of ESF support for integrated actions; (c) the approach to the use of the ITI instrument other than in cases covered by point (b), and their indicative financial allocation from each priority axis; (d) the arrangements for interregional and transnational actions, within the operational programmes, with beneficiaries located in at least one other Member State; (e) where Member States and regions participate in macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies, subject to the needs of the programme area as identified by the Member State, the contribution of the planned interventions under the programme to such strategies.
(a) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, and persons with disabilities, and where relevant the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement; (b) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, as referred to in Article 174 TFEU and the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement to this end.
(a) the managing authority, the certifying authority, where applicable, and the audit authority; (b) the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission; (c) the actions taken to involve the relevant partners referred to in Article 5 in the preparation of the operational programme, and the role of those partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme.
(a) mechanisms to ensure coordination between the Funds, the EAFRD, the EMFF and other Union and national funding instruments, and with the EIB taking into account the relevant provisions laid down in the CSF; (b) for each ex ante conditionality, established in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI, which is applicable to the operational programme, an assessment of whether the ex ante conditionality is fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, and where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, a description of the actions to fulfil the ex ante conditionality, the bodies responsible and a timetable for such actions in accordance with the summary submitted in the Partnership Agreement; (c) a summary of the assessment of the administrative burden on beneficiaries and, where necessary, the actions planned, accompanied by an indicative timeframe, to reduce the administrative burden.
(a) the specific actions to take into account environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience and risk prevention and management, in the selection of operations; (b) the specific actions to promote equal opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation, design and implementation of the operational programme and in particular in relation to access to funding, taking account of the needs of the various target groups at risk of such discrimination and in particular the requirements to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities; (c) the contribution of the operational programme to the promotion of equality between men and women and, where appropriate, the arrangements to ensure the integration of gender perspective at operational programme and operation level.
(a) details concerning the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project, and its capacity; (b) a description of the investment and its location; (c) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (d) feasibility studies carried out, including the options analysis, and the results; (e) a cost-benefit analysis, including an economic and a financial analysis, and a risk assessment; (f) an analysis of the environmental impact, taking into account climate change adaptation and mitigation needs, and disaster resilience; (g) an explanation as to how the major project is consistent with the relevant priority axes of the operational programme or operational programmes concerned, and its expected contribution to achieving the specific objectives of those priority axes and the expected contribution to socio-economic development; (h) the financing plan showing the total planned financial resources and the planned support from the Funds, the EIB, and all other sources of financing, together with physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks; (i) the timetable for implementing the major project and, where the implementation period is expected to be longer than the programming period, the phases for which support from the Funds is requested during the programming period.
(a) the document referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3) setting out: (i) the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project; (ii) a description of the investment, its location, timetable and expected contribution of the major project to the specific objectives of the relevant priority axis or axes; (iii) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (iv) the financing plan, and the physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks;
(b) the quality review of the independent experts, providing clear statements on the investment's feasibility and the economic viability of the major project.
(a) where the independent quality review has not been notified to the Commission within three months of the expiry of the deadline referred to in the second subparagraph; (b) where the submission of the information is withdrawn by the Member State; or (c) where the relevant appraisal is negative.
(a) the operation consists of the second or subsequent phase of a major project under the previous programming period for which the preceding phase or phases are approved by the Commission not later than 31 December 2015 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006; or in the case of Member States which acceded to the Union after1 January 2013 , no later than31 December 2016 ;(b) the sum of the total eligible costs of all phases of the major project exceeds the respective levels set out in Article 100; (c) the major project application and assessment by the Commission under the previous programming period covered all the planned phases; (d) there are no substantial changes in the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101 of this Regulation for the major project compared to the information provided for the major project application submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, in particular as regards the total eligible cost; (e) the phase of the major project to be implemented under the previous programming period is or will be ready to be used for its intended purpose as specified in the Commission decision by the deadline of the submission of the closure documents for the relevant operational programme or programmes.
(1) a description of the objectives of the joint action plan and how it contributes to the objectives of the programme or to the relevant country-specific recommendations and the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union under Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations which the Member States are to take into account in their employment policies under Article 148(4) TFEU; (2) the framework describing the relationship between the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and the targets for outputs and results, and the projects or types of projects envisaged; (3) a description of the projects or types of projects envisaged, together with the milestones, where relevant, and the targets for outputs and results linked to the common indicators by priority axis, where relevant; (4) information on its geographic coverage and target groups; (5) its expected implementation period; (6) confirmation that it will contribute to the approach to promoting equality between men and women, as set out in the relevant programme or Partnership Agreement; (7) confirmation that it will contribute to the approach on sustainable development, as set out in the relevant programme or Partnership Agreement; (8) its implementing provisions, including the following: (a) information on the selection of the joint action plan by the managing authority in accordance with Article 125(3); (b) the arrangements for steering the joint action plan, in accordance with Article 108; (c) the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the joint action plan including arrangements ensuring the quality, collection and storage of data on the achievement of milestones, outputs and results;
(9) its financial arrangements, including the following: (a) the costs of achieving milestones, and targets for outputs and results, based, in the case of standard scales of unit costs and lump sums, on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation; (b) an indicative schedule of payments to the beneficiary linked to the milestones and targets; (c) the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure.
(a) review progress towards achieving the milestones, outputs and results of the joint action plan; (b) consider and approve any proposal to amend the joint action plan in order to take account of any issues affecting its performance.
(a) any issues that affect the performance of the operational programme; (b) progress made in implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to findings of evaluations; (c) implementation of the communication strategy, including information and communication measures, and of measures to enhance the visibility of the Funds; (d) implementation of major projects; (e) implementation of joint action plans; (f) actions to promote equality between men and women, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities; (g) actions to promote sustainable development; (h) where applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled at the date of the submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, progress on actions to fulfil the applicable ex ante conditionalities; (i) financial instruments.
(a) the methodology and criteria used for selection of operations, except where those criteria are approved by local action groups in accordance with point (c) of Article 34(3); (b) the annual and final implementation reports; (c) the evaluation plan for the operational programme and any amendment of the evaluation plan, including where either is part of a common evaluation plan pursuant to Article 114(1); (d) the communication strategy for the operational programme and any amendment of the strategy; (e) any proposal by the managing authority for any amendment to the operational programme.
(a) implementation of the operational programme in accordance with Article 50(2); (b) progress in preparation and implementation of major projects and joint action plans.
(a) progress in the implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to the findings of evaluations; (b) the results of the information and publicity measures of the Funds carried out under the communication strategy; (c) the involvement of the partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme.
(a) progress in the implementation of the integrated approach to territorial development, including development of regions facing demographic challenges and permanent or natural handicaps, sustainable urban development, and community-led local development under the operational programme; (b) progress in the implementation of actions to reinforce the capacity of Member State authorities and beneficiaries to administer and use the Funds; (c) progress in the implementation of any interregional and transnational actions; (d) where appropriate, the contribution to macro-regional and sea basin strategies; (e) the specific actions taken to promote equality between men and women and to prevent discrimination, in particular accessibility for persons with disabilities, and the arrangements implemented to ensure the integration of the gender perspective in the operational programme and operations; (f) actions taken to promote sustainable development in accordance with Article 8; (g) progress in the implementation of actions in the field of social innovation, where appropriate; (h) progress in the implementation of measures to address the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or of target groups at highest risk of poverty, discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities and persons with disabilities, long term unemployed and young people not in employment, including, where appropriate, the financial resources used.
(a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support; (b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority.
(a) a record of progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion, including the socio-economic situation and development of the regions, as well as the integration of the Union's priorities; (b) a record of the role of the Funds, EIB funding and the other instruments in, as well as the effect of other Union and national policies on, the progress made; (c) where appropriate an indication of future Union measures and policies necessary to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as to deliver the Union's priorities.
(a) drawing up communication strategies; (b) ensuring the establishment of a single website or a single website portal providing information on, and access to, all operational programmes in that Member State, including information about the timing of implementation of programming and any related public consultation processes; (c) informing potential beneficiaries about funding opportunities under operational programmes; (d) publicising to Union citizens the role and achievements of cohesion policy and of the Funds through measures to enhance the visibility of the results and impact of Partnership Agreements, operational programmes and operations.
(a) total eligible expenditure, including public and private expenditure; or (b) eligible public expenditure.
(a) 85 % for the Cohesion Fund; (b) 85 % for the less developed regions of Member States whose average GDP per capita for the period 2007 - 2009 was below 85 % of the EU-27 average during the same period and for the outermost regions including the additional allocation for outermost regions in accordance with point (e) of Article 92(1) and Article 4(2) of the ETC Regulation; (c) 80 % for the less developed regions of Member States other than those referred to in point (b), and for all regions whose GDP per capita used as an eligibility criterion for the 2007-2013 programming period was less than 75 % of the average of the EU-25 but whose GDP per capita is above 75 % of the GDP average of the EU-27, as well as for regions defined in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) 1083/2006 receiving transitional support for the 2007-2013 programming period; (d) 60 % for the transition regions other than those referred to in point (c); (e) 50 % for the more developed regions other than those referred to in point (c).
(a) the operations are selected by managing authorities in response to major or regional natural disasters as defined in Article 2(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3 ).(b) the operations are aimed at reconstruction in response to the natural disaster; and (c) the operations are supported under an ERDF investment priority.
(1) the importance of the priority axis for the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, having regard to the specific gaps to be addressed; (2) the protection and improvement of the environment, principally through the application of the precautionary principle, the principle of preventive action and the polluter pays principle; (3) the rate of mobilisation of private financing; (4) the coverage of areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps defined as follows: (a) island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, and other islands except those on which the capital of a Member State is situated or which have a fixed link to the mainland; (b) mountainous areas as defined by the national legislation of the Member State; (c) sparsely (i.e. less than 50 inhabitants per square kilometre) and very sparsely (less than 8 inhabitants per square kilometre) populated areas; (d) the inclusion of the outermost regions as referred to in Article 349 TFEU.
(a) cases where the irregularity consists solely of the failure to execute, in whole or in part, an operation included in the co-financed operational programme owing to the bankruptcy of the beneficiary; (b) cases brought to the attention of the managing authority or certifying authority by the beneficiary voluntarily and before detection by either authority, whether before or after the payment of the public contribution; (c) cases which are detected and corrected by the managing authority or certifying authority before inclusion of the expenditure concerned in a payment application submitted to the Commission.
(a) support the work of the monitoring committee referred to in Article 47 and provide it with the information it requires to carry out its tasks, in particular data relating to the progress of the operational programme in achieving its objectives, financial data and data relating to indicators and milestones; (b) draw up and, after approval by the monitoring committee, submit to the Commission annual and final implementation reports referred to in Article 50; (c) make available to intermediate bodies and beneficiaries information that is relevant to the execution of their tasks and the implementation of operations respectively; (d) establish a system to record and store in computerised form data on each operation necessary for monitoring, evaluation, financial management, verification and audit, including data on individual participants in operations, where applicable; (e) ensure that the data referred to in point (d) is collected, entered and stored in the system referred to in point (d), and that data on indicators is broken down by gender where required by Annexes I and II of the ESF Regulation.
(a) draw up and, once approved, apply appropriate selection procedures and criteria that: (i) ensure the contribution of operations to the achievement of the specific objectives and results of the relevant priority; (ii) are non-discriminatory and transparent; (iii) take into account the general principles set out in Articles 7 and 8;
(b) ensure that a selected operation falls within the scope of the EMFF, the Fund or Funds concerned and can be attributed to a category of intervention or, in the case of the EMFF, a measure identified in the priority or priorities of the operational programme; (c) ensure that the beneficiary is provided with a document setting out the conditions for support for each operation including the specific requirements concerning the products or services to be delivered under the operation, the financing plan, the time limit for execution, as well as the requirements regarding information, communication and visibility; (d) satisfy itself that the beneficiary has the administrative, financial and operational capacity to fulfil the conditions referred to in point (c) before approval of the operation; (e) satisfy itself that, where the operation has started before the submission of an application for funding to the managing authority, applicable law relevant for the operation has been complied with; (f) ensure that operations selected for support from the Funds or the EMFF do not include activities which were part of an operation which has been or should have been subject to a procedure of recovery in accordance with Article 71 following the relocation of a productive activity outside the programme area; (g) determine the categories of intervention or, in the case of the EMFF, the measures to which the expenditure of an operation shall be attributed.
(a) verify that the co-financed products and services have been delivered, that the operation complies with applicable law, the operational programme and the conditions for support of the operation and: (i) where costs are to be reimbursed pursuant to point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1), that the amount of expenditure declared by the beneficiaries in relation to those costs has been paid; (ii) in the case of costs reimbursed pursuant to points (b) to (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1), that the conditions for reimbursement of expenditure to the beneficiary have been met;
(b) ensure that beneficiaries involved in the implementation of operations reimbursed on the basis of eligible costs actually incurred maintain either a separate accounting system or an adequate accounting code for all transactions relating to an operation; (c) put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures taking into account the risks identified; (d) set up procedures to ensure that all documents regarding expenditure and audits required to ensure an adequate audit trail are held in accordance with the requirements of point (g) of Article 72; (e) draw up the management declaration and annual summary referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 63(5) and Article 63(6) and (7) of the Financial Regulation.
(a) administrative verifications in respect of each application for reimbursement by beneficiaries; (b) on-the-spot verifications of operations.
(a) drawing up and submitting payment applications to the Commission, and certifying that they result from reliable accounting systems, are based on verifiable supporting documents and have been subject to verifications by the managing authority; (b) drawing up the accounts referred to in point (a) of Article 63(5) and Article 63(6) of the Financial Regulation; (c) certifying the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the accounts and that the expenditure entered in the accounts complies with applicable law and has been incurred in respect of operations selected for funding in accordance with the criteria applicable to the operational programme and complying with applicable law; (d) ensuring that there is a system which records and stores, in computerised form, accounting records for each operation, and which supports all the data required for drawing up payment applications and accounts, including records of amounts recoverable, amounts recovered and amounts withdrawn following cancellation of all or part of the contribution for an operation or operational programme; (e) ensuring, for the purposes of drawing up and submitting payment applications, that it has received adequate information from the managing authority on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure; (f) taking account when drawing up and submitting payment applications of the results of all audits carried out by, or under the responsibility of, the audit authority; (g) maintaining, in a computerised form, accounting records of expenditure declared to the Commission and of the corresponding public contribution paid to beneficiaries; (h) keeping an account of amounts recoverable and of amounts withdrawn following cancellation of all or part of the contribution for an operation. Amounts recovered shall be repaid to the budget of the Union prior to the closure of the operational programme by deducting them from the subsequent payment application.
(a) an audit opinion in accordance with Article 63(7) of the Financial Regulation; (b) a control report setting out the main findings of the audits carried out in accordance with paragraph 1, including findings with regard to deficiencies found in the management and control systems, and the proposed and implemented corrective actions.
(a) the eligible public expenditure indicated in the payment applications for the priority; or (b) the contribution from the Funds or the EMFF for the priority laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the operational programme,
(a) the total amount of eligible expenditure incurred by beneficiaries and paid in implementing operations, as entered in the accounting system of the certifying authority; (b) the total amount of public expenditure incurred in implementing operations, as entered in the accounting system of the certifying authority.
(a) those advances are subject to a guarantee provided by a bank or other financial institution established in the Member State or are covered by a facility provided as a guarantee by a public entity or by the Member State; (b) those advances do not exceed 40 % of the total amount of the aid to be granted to a beneficiary for a given operation or, where Member States have decided that the beneficiary is the body granting the aid pursuant to point (10)(a) of Article 2, of the total amount of the aid to be granted to the body receiving the aid as part of a given operation; (c) those advances are covered by expenditure paid by the beneficiary or, where Member States have decided that the beneficiary is the body granting the aid pursuant to point (10)(a) of Article 2, expenditure paid by the body receiving the aid in implementing the operation, and supported by receipted invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value within three years of the year of the payment of the advance or on 31 December 2023 , whichever is earlier.
(a) the total amount paid from the operational programme as advances; (b) the amount which, within three years of the payment of the advance in accordance with point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 4, has been covered by expenditure paid by the beneficiary or, where Member States have decided that the beneficiary is the body granting the aid pursuant to point (10)(a) of Article 2, by the body receiving the aid; and (c) the amount which has not been covered by expenditure paid by the beneficiary or, where Member States have decided that the beneficiary is the body granting the aid pursuant to point (10)(a) of Article 2, by the body receiving the aid, and for which the three year period has not yet elapsed.
(a) the amount of the payment claim is not due or the appropriate supporting documents, including the documents necessary for management verifications under point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 125(4), have not been provided; (b) an investigation has been initiated in relation to a possible irregularity affecting the expenditure concerned.
(a) in 2014: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme or 1,5 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme when a Member State has been receiving financial assistance since 2010, in accordance with Articles 122 and 143 TFEU, or from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), or is receiving financial assistance on 31 December 2013 in accordance with Articles 136 and 143 TFEU;(b) in 2015: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme or 1,5 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme when a Member State has been receiving financial assistance since 2010, in accordance with Articles 122 and 143 TFEU, or from the EFSF, or is receiving financial assistance on 31 December 2014 in accordance with Articles 136 and 143 TFEU;(c) in 2016: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme.
2016: 2 % 2017: 2,625 % 2018: 2,75 % 2019: 2,875 % 2020: 3 % 2021 to 2023: 2 %.
(a) the total amount of eligible expenditure entered into the accounting systems of the certifying authority which has been included in payment applications submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 131 and Article 135(2) by 31 July following the end of the accounting year, the total amount of the corresponding public expenditure incurred in implementing operations, and the total amount of corresponding payments made to beneficiaries under Article 132(1); (b) the amounts withdrawn and recovered during the accounting year, the amounts to be recovered as at the end of the accounting year, the recoveries effected pursuant to Article 71, and the irrecoverable amounts; (c) the amounts of programme contributions paid to financial instruments under Article 41(1) and advances of State aid under Article 131(4); (d) for each priority, a reconciliation between the expenditure stated pursuant to point (a) and the expenditure declared in respect of the same accounting year in payment applications, accompanied by an explanation of any differences.
(a) the accounts, referred to in Article 137(1) of this Regulation, for the preceding accounting year; (b) the management declaration and the annual summary referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 125(4) of this Regulation, for the preceding accounting year; (c) the audit opinion and the control report referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 127(5) of this Regulation, for the preceding accounting year.
(a) the amounts in the accounts referred to in point (a) of Article 137(1) and to which the co-financing rate for each priority is to be applied; (b) the total amount of payments made by the Commission during that accounting year, consisting of: (i) the amount of interim payments paid by the Commission in accordance with Article 130(1) and Article 24; and (ii) the amount of the annual pre-financing paid under Article 134(2).
(a) there is a serious deficiency in the effective functioning of the management and control system of the operational programme, which has put at risk the Union contribution to the operational programme and for which corrective measures have not been taken; (b) expenditure in a payment application is linked to an irregularity having serious financial consequences which has not been corrected; (c) the Member State has failed to take the necessary action to remedy the situation giving rise to an interruption under Article 83; (d) there is a serious deficiency in the quality and reliability of the monitoring system or of the data on common and specific indicators; (e) there is a failure to complete actions to fulfil an ex ante conditionality subject to the conditions set out in Article 19; (f) there is evidence resulting from the performance review for a priority that there has been a serious failure in achieving that priority's milestones relating to financial and output indicators and key implementation steps set out in the performance framework subject to the conditions set out in Article 22.
(a) there is a serious deficiency in the effective functioning of the management and control system of the operational programme which has put at risk the Union contribution already paid to the operational programme; (b) the Member State has not complied with its obligations under Article 143 prior to the opening of the correction procedure under this paragraph; (c) expenditure contained in a payment application is irregular and has not been corrected by the Member State prior to the opening of the correction procedure under this paragraph.
(a) had been identified in the management declaration, annual control report or the audit opinion submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 63(5), (6) and (7) of the Financial Regulation, or in other audit reports of the audit authority submitted to the Commission and appropriate measures taken; or (b) had been the subject of appropriate remedial measures by the Member State.
(a) respect the principle of proportionality by taking account of the nature and gravity of the serious deficiency in the effective functioning of a management and control system and its financial implications for the budget of the Union; (b) for the purpose of applying a flat rate or extrapolated correction, exclude irregular expenditure previously detected by the Member State which has been the subject of an adjustment in the accounts in accordance with Article 139(10), and expenditure subject to an ongoing assessment of its legality and regularity under Article 137(2); (c) take into account flat rate or extrapolated corrections applied to the expenditure by the Member State for other serious deficiencies detected by the Member State when determining the residual risk for the budget of the Union.
(a) identify areas of intervention where the ESI Funds can be combined in a complementary manner to achieve the thematic objectives set out in this Regulation; (b) ensure in accordance with Article 4(6), the existence of arrangements for the effective coordination of the ESI Funds in order to increase the impact and effectiveness of the Funds including, where appropriate, through the use of multi-fund programmes for the Funds; (c) promote the involvement of managing authorities responsible for other ESI Funds and relevant ministries in the development of support schemes to ensure coordination and synergies and to avoid overlaps; (d) establish, where appropriate, joint monitoring committees for programmes implementing the ESI Funds, and the development of other joint management and control arrangements to facilitate coordination between authorities responsible for the implementation of the ESI Funds; (e) make use of available joint eGovernance solutions, which may assist applicants and beneficiaries, and make the widest possible use of "one-stop shops", including for advice on the opportunities of support available through each of the ESI Funds; (f) establish mechanisms to coordinate cooperation activities financed by the ERDF and the ESF with investments supported by the programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal; (g) promote common approaches between ESI Funds with regard to guidance for the development of operations, calls for proposals and selection processes or other mechanisms to facilitate access to Funds for integrated projects; (h) encourage cooperation between managing authorities of different ESI Funds in the areas of monitoring, evaluation, management and control, and audit.
(a) enhancing complementarities and synergies between different Union instruments at Union, national and regional level, both in the planning phase and during implementation; (b) optimise existing structures and where necessary, establish new structures that facilitate the strategic identification of priorities for the different instruments and structures for coordination at Union and national level that avoid duplication of effort and identify areas where additional financial support is needed; (c) make use of the potential to combine support from different instruments to support individual operations and work closely with those responsible for implementation at Union and national level to deliver coherent and streamlined funding opportunities for beneficiaries.
(a) "Upstream actions" to prepare regional R&I players to participate in Horizon 2020 ("stairways to excellence") to be developed, where necessary, through capacity- building. Communication and cooperation between Horizon 2020 national contact points and managing authorities of the ESI Funds shall be strengthened. (b) "Downstream actions" to provide the means to exploit and diffuse R&I results, stemming from Horizon 2020 and preceding programmes, into the market with particular emphasis on creating an innovation-friendly environment for business and industry, including SMEs and in line with the priorities identified for the territories in the relevant smart specialisation strategy.
(a) linking excellent research institutions and less developed regions as well as low- performing Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Member States and regions to create new or upgrade existing centres of excellence in less developed regions as well as in low-performing RDI Member States and regions; (b) building links in less developed regions as well as in low-performing RDI Member States and regions between innovative clusters of recognised excellence; (c) establishing "ERA Chairs" to attract outstanding academics, in particular to less developed regions and low-performing RDI Member States and regions; (d) supporting access to international networks for researchers and innovators who lack sufficient involvement in the European Research Area (ERA) or are from less developed regions or low-performing RDI Member States and regions; (e) contributing as appropriate to the European Innovation Partnerships; (f) preparing national institutions and/or clusters of excellence for participation in the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT); and (g) hosting high-quality international researcher mobility programmes with co-funding from the "Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions". Member States shall endeavour to use where appropriate, and in accordance with Article 70, the flexibility to support operations outside the programme area, with a level of investment sufficient to attain a critical mass, in order to implement the measures referred to in the first subparagraph as effectively as possible.
(a) directing investments towards the most resource-efficient and sustainable options; (b) avoiding investments that may have a significant negative environmental or climate impact, and supporting actions to mitigate any remaining impacts; (c) taking a long-term perspective when 'life-cycle' costs of alternative options for investment are compared; (d) increasing the use of green public procurement.
(a) support demographic renewal through better conditions for families and an improved balance between working and family life; (b) boost employment, raise productivity and economic performance through investing in education, ICT and research and innovation; (c) focus on the adequacy and quality of education, training and social support structures as well as where appropriate, on the efficiency of social protection systems; (d) promote cost-effective provision of health care and long-term care including investment in e-health, e-care and infrastructure.
(a) An analysis of the Member State's or region's characteristics, development potential and capacity, particularly in relation to the key challenges identified in the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the National Reform Programmes, where appropriate, relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and in relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4)TFEU; (b) An assessment of the major challenges to be addressed by the region or Member State, the identification of the bottlenecks and missing links, innovation gaps, including the lack of planning and implementation capacity that inhibit the long-term potential for growth and jobs. This shall form the basis for the identification of the possible fields and activities for policy prioritisation, intervention and concentration; (c) An assessment of the cross-sectoral, cross-jurisdictional or cross-border coordination challenges, particularly in the context of macro-regional and sea-basin strategies; (d) Identification of steps to achieve improved coordination across different territorial levels, taking account of the appropriate territorial scale and context for policy design as well as Member States' institutional and legal framework, and sources of funding to deliver an integrated approach linking the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth with regional and local actors.
(a) reflects the role of cities, urban and rural areas, fisheries and coastal areas, and areas facing specific geographical or demographic handicaps; (b) takes account of the specific challenges of the outermost regions, the northernmost regions with a very low population density and of island, cross-border or mountain regions; (c) addresses urban-rural linkages, in terms of access to affordable, high quality infrastructure and services, and problems in regions with a high concentration of socially marginalised communities.
(a) ensure that areas that share major geographical features (islands, lakes, rivers, sea basins or mountain ranges) support the joint management and promotion of their natural resources; (b) exploit the economies of scale that can be achieved, in particular with regard to investment related to the shared use of common public services; (c) promote coherent planning and development of cross-border network infrastructure, in particular missing cross-border links, and environmentally friendly and interoperable transport modes in larger geographical areas; (d) achieve critical mass, particularly in the field of research and innovation and ICT, education and in relation to measures improving the competitiveness of SMEs; (e) strengthen cross-border labour market services to foster the mobility of workers across borders; (f) improve cross-border governance.
| Priority | Indicator or, where appropriate, key implementation step and measurement unit | Milestone for 2018 | Target for 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(a) realistic, achievable, relevant, capturing essential information on the progress of a priority; (b) consistent with the nature and character of the specific objectives of the priority; (c) transparent, with objectively verifiable targets and the source data identified and, where possible, publicly available; (d) verifiable, without imposing a disproportionate administrative burden; (e) consistent across programmes, where appropriate.
(a) where the unemployment rate in the Member State for the year preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9) exceeds the average rate for the Union by more than two percentage points, the maximum level of suspension shall be reduced by 15 %; (b) where the unemployment rate in the Member State for the year preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9) exceeds the average rate for the Union by more than five percentage points, the maximum level of suspension shall be reduced by 25 %; (c) where the unemployment rate in the Member State for the year preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9) exceeds the average rate for the Union by more than eight percentage points, the maximum level of suspension shall be reduced by 50 %; (d) where the proportion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the Member State exceeds the average for the Union by more than 10 percentage points for the year preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9), the maximum level of suspension shall be reduced by 20 %; (e) where the Member State experiences a contraction of real GDP for two or more consecutive years preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9), the maximum level of suspension shall be reduced by 20 %; (f) where the suspension concerns commitments for the years 2018, 2019 or 2020, a reduction shall be applied to the level resulting from the application of Article 23(11) as follows: (i) for the year 2018, the level of suspension shall be reduced by 15 %; (ii) for the year 2019, the level of suspension shall be reduced by 25 %; (iii) for the year 2020, the level of suspension shall be reduced by 50 %.
(i) programmes or priorities which are already subject to a suspension decision adopted in accordance with Article 23(6); (ii) programmes or priorities whose resources are to be increased as a result of a reprogramming request addressed by the Commission in accordance with Article 23(1) in the year of the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9); (iii) programmes or priorities whose resources have been increased within the two years preceding the trigger event referred to in Article 23(9) as a result of a decision adopted in accordance with Article 23(5); (iv) programmes or priorities which are of critical importance to addressing adverse economic or social conditions. Such programmes or priorities shall cover programmes or priorities supporting investments of particular importance to the Union related to the YEI. Programmes or priorities may be considered of such critical importance when they support investments related to the implementation of recommendations addressed to the Member State concerned in the framework of the European Semester and aimed at structural reforms, or related to priorities supporting poverty reduction or to financial instruments for the competitiveness of SMEs.
(a) the investment strategy or policy including implementation arrangements, financial products to be offered, final recipients targeted, and envisaged combination with grant support (as appropriate); (b) a business plan or equivalent documents for the financial instrument to be implemented, including the expected leverage effect referred to in Article 37(2); (c) the target results that the financial instrument concerned is expected to achieve to contribute to the specific objectives and results of the relevant priority; (d) provisions for monitoring of the implementation of investments and of deal flows including reporting by the financial instrument to the fund of funds and/or the managing authority to ensure compliance with Article 46; (e) audit requirements, such as minimum requirements for documentation to be kept at the level of the financial instrument (and at the level of the fund of funds where appropriate), and requirements in relation to the maintenance of separate records for the different forms of support in compliance with Article 37(7) and (8) (where applicable), including provisions and requirements regarding access to documents by audit authorities of Member States, Commission auditors and the European Court of Auditors in order to ensure a clear audit trail, in accordance with Article 40; (f) requirements and procedures for managing the phased contribution provided by the programme in accordance with Article 41 and for the forecast of deal flows, including requirements for fiduciary/separate accounting as set out in Article 38(6) and the second subparagraph of Article 39a(5); (g) requirements and procedures for managing interest and other gains generated as referred to in Article 43, including acceptable treasury operations/investments, and the responsibilities and liabilities of the parties concerned; (h) provisions regarding the calculation and payment of management costs incurred or of the management fees of the financial instrument; (i) provisions regarding the re-use of resources attributable to the support from the ESI Funds until the end of the eligibility period in compliance with Article 44 and, where applicable, provisions regarding differentiated treatment as referred to in Article 43a; (j) provisions regarding the re-use of resources attributable to the support of the ESI Funds after the end of the eligibility period in compliance with Article 45 and a policy regarding the exit of those resources from the financial instrument; (k) conditions for a possible total or partial withdrawal of programme contributions from programmes to financial instruments, including the fund of funds where applicable; (l) provisions to ensure that bodies implementing financial instruments manage financial instruments with independence and in accordance with the relevant professional standards, and act in the exclusive interest of the parties providing contributions to the financial instrument; (m) provisions for the winding-up of the financial instrument.
(a) the investment strategy or policy of the financial instrument, general terms and conditions of envisaged loan or guarantees, target final recipients and actions to be supported; (b) a business plan or equivalent documents for the financial instrument to be implemented, including the expected leverage effect referred to in Article 37(2); (c) the use and re-use of resources attributable to the support of the ESI Funds in accordance with Articles 43, 44 and 45, and, where applicable, provisions regarding differentiated treatment as referred to in Article 43a; (d) monitoring and reporting of the implementation of the financial instrument to ensure compliance with Article 46.
| Sector | Flat rates | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROAD | |
| 2 | RAIL | |
| 3 | URBAN TRANSPORT | |
| 4 | WATER | |
| 5 | SOLID WASTE |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR, 2011 prices |
(a) determination of an absolute amount (in EUR) obtained by multiplying the population of the region concerned by the difference between that region's GDP per capita, measured in PPS, and the EU-27 average GDP per capita (in PPS); (b) application of a percentage to the above absolute amount in order to determine that region's financial envelope; this percentage shall be graduated to reflect the relative prosperity, measured in PPS, as compared to the EU-27 average, of the Member State in which the eligible region is situated, i.e.: (i) for regions in Member States whose level of GNI per capita is below 82 % of the EU-27 average: 3,15 %; (ii) for regions in Member States whose level of GNI per capita is between 82 % and 99 % of the EU-27 average: 2,70 %; (iii) for regions in Member States whose level of GNI per capita is over 99 % of the EU-27 average: 1,65 %;
(c) to the amount obtained in accordance with point (b) is added, if applicable, an amount resulting from the allocation of a premium of EUR 1300 per unemployed person per year, applied to the number of persons unemployed in that region exceeding the number that would be unemployed if the average unemployment rate of all the EU less developed regions applied.
(a) determination of the minimum and maximum theoretical aid intensity for each eligible transition region. The minimum level of support is determined by the average per capita aid intensity per Member State before the application of the regional safety net, allocated to the more developed regions of that Member State. If the Member State has no more developed regions, the minimum level of support will correspond to the initial average per capita aid intensity of all more developed regions, i.e. EUR 19,80 per head and per year. The maximum level of support refers to a theoretical region with a GDP per head of 75 % of the EU-27 average and is calculated using the method defined in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1. Of the amount obtained by this method, 40 % is taken into account; (b) calculation of initial regional allocations, taking into account regional GDP per capita (in PPS) through a linear interpolation of the region's relative GDP per capita compared to EU-27; (c) to the amount obtained in accordance with point (b) is added, if applicable, an amount resulting from the allocation of a premium of EUR 1100 per unemployed person per year, applied to the number of persons unemployed in that region exceeding the number that would be unemployed if the average unemployment rate of all the less developed regions applied.
(a) total regional population (weighting 25 %); (b) number of unemployed people in NUTS level 2 regions with an unemployment rate above the average of all more developed regions (weighting 20 %); (c) employment to be added to reach the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth target for regional employment rate (ages 20 to 64) of 75 % (weighting 20 %); (d) number of persons aged 30 to 34 with tertiary educational attainment to be added to reach the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth target of 40 % (weighting 12,5 %); (e) number of early leavers from education and training (aged 18 to 24) to be subtracted to reach the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth target of 10 % (weighting 12,5 %); (f) difference between the observed GDP of the region (measured in PPS), and the theoretical regional GDP if the region were to have the same GDP per head as the most prosperous NUTS level 2 region (weighting 7,5 %); (g) population of NUTS level 3 regions with a population density below 12,5 inhabitants/km 2 (weighting 2,5 %).
(a) calculation of the arithmetical average of that Member State's population and surface area shares of the total population and surface area of all the eligible Member States. If, however, a Member State's share of total population exceeds its share of total surface area by a factor of five or more, reflecting an extremely high population density, only the share of total population will be used for this step; (b) adjustment of the percentage figures so obtained by a coefficient representing one third of the percentage by which that Member State's GNI per capita (measured in purchasing power parities) for the period 2008-2010 exceeds or falls below the average GNI per capita of all the eligible Member States (average expressed as 100 %).
(a) EUR 1375000000 for the more developed regions of Greece;(b) EUR 1000000000 for Portugal, distributed as follows: EUR450000000 for more developed regions, of which EU150000000 for Madeira, EUR75000000 for the transition region and EUR475000000 for the less developed regions;(c) EUR 100000000 for the Border, Midland and Western region of Ireland;(d) EUR 1824000000 for Spain, of which EUR500000000 for Extremadura, EUR1051000000 for the transition regions and EUR273000000 for the more developed regions;(e) EUR 1500000000 for the less developed regions of Italy, out of which EUR500000000 for non-urban areas.
(a) for Belgium EUR 133000000 , out of which EUR66500000 for Limburg and EUR66500000 for the transition regions of the Region of Wallonia;(b) for Germany EUR 710000000 , out of which EUR510000000 for the former Convergence regions in the transition regions' category and EUR200000000 for the Leipzig region;(c) notwithstanding paragraph 10, the less developed regions of Hungary will be allocated an additional envelope of EUR 1560000000 , the less developed regions of the Czech Republic an additional envelope of EUR900000000 and the less developed region of Slovenia an additional envelope of EUR75000000 , under the Structural Funds.
1. Each Member State’s provisional share from the REACT-EU resources is determined as the weighted sum of the shares determined on the basis of the following criteria, weighted as indicated: (a) A factor of GDP (weighting of 2/3) obtained by applying the following steps: (i) share of each Member State of the total loss of real seasonally adjusted GDP expressed in EUR between the first semester of 2019 and the end of the applicable reference period for all Member States considered; (ii) adjustment of the shares obtained under point (i) by dividing them with the Member State’s GNI per capita expressed as a percentage of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 (average expressed as 100 %).
(b) A factor of unemployment (weighting of 2/9) expressed as the weighted average of: (i) the share of the Member State in the total number of unemployed (weighting of 3/4) for all Member States considered in January 2020; and (ii) the share of the Member State in the total increase in the number of persons unemployed (weighting of 1/4) between January 2020 and the end of the applicable reference period for all Member States considered.
(c) A factor of youth unemployment (weighting of 1/9) expressed as the average of: (i) the share of the Member State in the total number of young persons unemployed (weighting of 3/4) for all Member States considered in January 2020; and (ii) the share of the Member State in the total increase in the number of young persons unemployed (weighting of 1/4) between January 2020 and the applicable reference period for all Member States considered.
If the Member State’s real seasonally adjusted GDP expressed in EUR for the applicable reference period is higher than in the first semester of 2019, that Member State’s data shall be excluded from the calculations in point (a)(i). If the number of people unemployed (age group 15 to 74) or young people unemployed (age group 15 to 24) in the Member State for the applicable reference period is lower than in January 2020, that Member State’s data shall be excluded from the calculations in points (b)(ii) and (c)(ii). 2. The rules set out in paragraph 1 shall not result in allocations per Member State for the whole period 2021 to 2022 higher than: (a) for Member States whose average GNI per capita (in PPS) for the period 2015-2017 is above 109 % of the EU-27 average: 0,07 % of their real GDP of 2019; (b) for Member States whose average GNI per capita (in PPS) for the period 2015-2017 is equal to or below 90 % of the EU-27 average: 2,60 % of their real GDP of 2019; (c) for Member States whose average GNI per capita (in PPS) for the period 2015-2017 is above 90 % and equal to or below 109 % of the EU-27 average: the percentage is obtained through a linear interpolation between 0,07 % and 2,60 % of their real GDP of 2019 leading to a proportional reduction of the capping percentage in line with the increase in prosperity.
The amounts exceeding the level set out in points (a) to (c) per Member State are redistributed proportionally to the allocations of all other Member States whose average GNI per capita (in PPS) is under 100 % of the EU-27 average. The GNI per capita (in PPS) for the period 2015-2017 is the one used for cohesion policy in the MFF 2021-2027 negotiations. 3. For the purposes of calculating the distribution of the REACT-EU resources for the year 2021: (a) for the GDP the reference period shall be the first semester of 2020; (b) for the number of people unemployed and the number of young people unemployed the reference period shall be the average of June to August 2020; (c) the maximum allocation resulting from the application of paragraph 2 is multiplied by the share of the REACT-EU resources for the year 2021 in the total REACT-EU resources for the years 2021 and 2022.
Before the application of the method described in paragraphs 1 and 2 concerning the REACT-EU resources for the year 2021, an amount of EUR 100000000 and EUR50000000 shall be allocated to Luxembourg and Malta, respectively.In addition, an amount corresponding to an aid intensity of EUR 30 per inhabitant shall be allocated to the outermost NUTS level 2 regions from the allocation. That allocation will be distributed per region and Member State in a manner proportional to the total population of those regions. The additional allocation for the outermost regions shall be added to the allocation that every outermost region receives through the distribution of the national budget. The remaining amount for the year 2021 shall be distributed among Member States in accordance with the method described in paragraphs 1 and 2. 4. For the purposes of calculating the distribution of the REACT-EU resources for the year 2022: (a) for GDP the reference period shall be the first semester of 2021; (b) for the number of people unemployed and the number of young people unemployed the reference period shall be the average of June to August 2021; (c) the maximum allocation resulting from the application of paragraph 2 is multiplied by the share of the REACT-EU resources for the year 2022 in the total REACT-EU resources for the years 2021 and 2022.
1. The number of young unemployed persons between the ages of 15-24 shall be identified in the eligible NUTS level 2 regions as defined in Article 16 of the ESF Regulation, namely NUTS level 2 regions that have youth unemployment rates for young persons aged 15 to 24 of more than 25 % in 2012 and, for Member States where the youth unemployment rate has increased by more than 30 % in 2012, regions that have youth unemployment rates of more than 20 % in 2012 (the "eligible regions"). 2. The allocation corresponding to each eligible region shall be calculated on the basis of the ratio between the number of young unemployed persons in the eligible region and the total number of young unemployed persons referred to in point 1 in all eligible regions. 3. The allocation for each Member State shall be the sum of the allocations for each of its eligible regions.
where the employment rate is 65 % or less the share shall be increased by 1,7 percentage points; where the employment rate is above 65 % but not higher than 70 % the share shall be increased by 1,2 percentage points; where the employment rate is above 70 % but not higher than 75 % the share shall be increased by 0,7 percentage points; where the employment rate is above 75 %, no increase shall be required.
| Expenditure of the General Government as a share of GDP | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P51 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the General Government in the less developed regions as a share of GDP | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Thematic objectives | Investment priorities | Ex ante conditionality | Criteria for fulfilment |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||
| |||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
|
| Area | Ex ante conditionality | Criteria for fulfilment |
|---|---|---|
| The existence of administrative capacity for the implementation and application of Union anti-discrimination law and policy in the field of ESI Funds |
| |
| The existence of administrative capacity for the implementation and application of Union gender equality law and policy in the field of ESI Funds |
| |
| The existence of administrative capacity for the implementation and application of the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) in the field of ESI Funds in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC |
| |
| The existence of arrangements for the effective application of Union public procurement law in the field of the ESI Funds. |
| |
| The existence of arrangements for the effective application of Union State aid rules in the field of the ESI Funds. |
| |
| The existence of arrangements for the effective application of Union environmental legislation related to EIA and SEA. |
| |
|
beneficiary name (only of legal entities; no natural persons shall be named); operation name; operation summary; operation start date; operation end date (expected date for physical completion or full implementation of the operation); total eligible expenditure allocated to the operation; Union co-financing rate, as per priority axis; operation postcode; or other appropriate location indicator; country; name of category of intervention for the operation in accordance with point (b) (vi) of the first subparagraph of Article 96(2); date of last update of the list of operations.
(a) organising a major information activity publicising the launch of the operational programme or programmes, even prior to the approval of the relevant communication strategies; (b) organising one major information activity a year which promotes the funding opportunities and the strategies pursued and presents the achievements of the operational programme or programmes, including, where relevant, major projects, joint action plans and other project examples; (c) displaying the Union emblem at the premises of each managing authority; (d) publishing electronically the list of operations in accordance with Section 1 of this Annex; (e) giving examples of operations, in particular of operations where the added value of the intervention of the Funds is particularly visible, by operational programme, on the single website or on the operational programme’s website that is accessible through the single website portal; the examples shall be in a widely spoken official language of the Union other than the official language or languages of the Member State concerned; (f) updating information about the operational programme’s implementation, including its main achievements and results, on the single website or on the operational programme’s website that is accessible through the single website portal.
(a) the partners referred to in Article 5; (b) information centres on Europe, as well as Commission representation offices, and information offices of the European Parliament in the Member States; (c) educational and research institutions.
(a) the Union emblem in accordance with the technical characteristics laid down in the implementing act adopted by the Commission under Article 115(4), together with a reference to the Union; (b) a reference to the Fund or Funds supporting the operation.
(a) providing on the beneficiary's website, where such a website exists, a short description of the operation, proportionate to the level of support, including its aims and results, and highlighting the financial support from the Union; (b) placing, for operations not falling under points 4 and 5, at least one poster with information about the project (minimum size A3), including the financial support from the Union, at a location readily visible to the public, such as the entrance area of a building.
(a) the total public support to the operation exceeds EUR 500000 ;(b) the operation consists of the purchase of a physical object or of the financing of infrastructure or of construction operations.
(a) the funding opportunities and the launching of application calls; (b) the eligibility of expenditure conditions to be met in order to qualify for support under an operational programme; (c) a description of the procedures for examining applications for funding and of the time periods involved; (d) the criteria for selecting the operations to be supported; (e) the contacts at national, regional or local level that are able to provide information on the operational programmes; (f) the responsibility of beneficiaries to inform the public about the aim of the operation and the support from the Funds to the operation in accordance with subsection 2.2 as from the time the beneficiary is provided with the document setting out the conditions for support to the operation referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3). The managing authority may request that potential beneficiaries propose indicative communication activities to enhance the visibility of the Funds, proportional to the size of the operation, in the applications.
(a) a description of the approach taken, including the main information and communication measures to be taken by the Member State or the managing authority and aimed at potential beneficiaries, beneficiaries, multipliers and the wider public, having regard to the aims described in Article 115; (b) a description of materials that will be made available in formats accessible for people with disabilities; (c) a description of how beneficiaries will be supported in their communication activities; (d) the indicative budget for implementation of the strategy; (e) a description of the administrative bodies, including the staff resources, responsible for implementing the information and communication measures; (f) the arrangements for the information and communication measures referred to in point 2, including the website or website portal at which such data may be found; (g) an indication of how the information and communication measures shall be assessed in terms of visibility and awareness of policy, operational programmes and operations, and of the role played by the Funds and the Union; (h) where appropriate, a description of the use of the main results of the previous operational programme; (i) an annual update setting out the information and communication activities, including measures to enhance visibility of the Funds, to be carried out in the following year, based on, inter alia, lessons learnt on the effectiveness of such measures.
| Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 | This Regulation |
|---|---|
| Article 1 | Article 1 |
| Article 2 | Article 2 |
| Articles 3 and 4 | Article 89 |
| Articles 5, 6 and 8 | Article 90 |
| Article 7 | — |
| Article 9 | Articles 4 and 6 |
| Article 10 | Article 4(1) |
| Article 11 | Article 5 |
| Article 12 | Article 4(4) |
| Article 13 | Article 4(5) |
| Article 14 | Articles 4(7) and (8) and 73 |
| Article 15 | Article 95 |
| Article 16 | Article 7 |
| Article 17 | Article 8 |
| Article 18 | Article 91 |
| Articles 19 to 21 | Article 92 |
| Article 22 | Articles 93 and 94 |
| Article 23 | Article 92(6) |
| Article 24 | Article 91(3) |
| Article 25 | Articles 10 and 11 |
| Article 26 | Article 12 |
| Article 27 | Article 15 |
| Article 28 | Articles 14 and 16 |
| Article 29 | Article 52 |
| Article 30 | Article 53 |
| Article 31 | Article 113 |
| Article 32 | Articles 26, 29 and 96(9) and (10) |
| Article 33 | Articles 30 and 96(11) |
| Article 34 | Article 98 |
| Article 35 | Article 99 |
| Article 36 | Article 31 |
| Article 37 | Articles 27 and 96(1) to (8) |
| Article 38 | — |
| Article 39 | Article 100 |
| Article 40 | Article 101 |
| Article 41 | Articles 102 and 103 |
| Article 42 | Article 123(7) |
| Article 43 | — |
| Article 43a | Article 67 |
| Article 43b | Article 67 |
| Article 44 | Articles 37 to 46 |
| Article 45 | Articles 58 and 118 |
| Article 46 | Articles 59 and 119 |
| Article 47 | Article 54 |
| Article 48 | Articles 55, 56(1) to (3), 57 and 114(1) and (2) |
| Article 49 | Articles 56(4), 57 and 114(3) |
| Article 50 | Articles 20 to 22 |
| Article 51 | — |
| Article 52 | Article 121 |
| Articles 53 and 54 | Articles 60 and 120 |
| Article 55 | Article 61 |
| Article 56 | Articles 65 to 70 |
| Article 57 | Article 71 |
| Article 58 | Article 73 |
| Article 59 | Article 123 |
| Article 60 | Article 125 |
| Article 61 | Article 126 |
| Article 62 | Article 127 |
| Article 63 | Article 47 |
| Article 64 | Article 48 |
| Article 65 | Article 110 |
| Article 66 | Article 49 |
| Article 67 | Articles 50 and 111 |
| Article 68 | Articles 51 and 112 |
| Article 69 | Articles 115 to 117 |
| Article 70 | Articles 74 and 122 |
| Article 71 | Article 124 |
| Article 72 | Article 75 |
| Article 73 | Article 128 |
| Article 74 | Article 148 |
| Article 75 | Article 76 |
| Article 76 | Articles 77 and 129 |
| Article 77 | Articles 78 and 130 |
| Articles 78 and 78a | Article 131 |
| Article 79 | — |
| Article 80 | Article 132 |
| Article 81 | Articles 80 and 133 |
| Article 82 | Articles 81 and 134 |
| Article 83 | — |
| Article 84 | Article 82 |
| Articles 85 to 87 | Article 135 |
| Article 88 | — |
| Article 89 | Article 141 |
| Article 90 | Article 140 |
| Article 91 | Article 83 |
| Article 92 | Article 142 |
| Article 93 | Articles 86 and 136 |
| Article 94 | — |
| Article 95 | — |
| Article 96 | Article 87 |
| Article 97 | Article 88 |
| Article 98 | Article 143 |
| Article 99 | Articles 85 and 144 |
| Article 100 | Article 145 |
| Article 101 | Article 146 |
| Article 102 | Article 147 |
| Articles 103 and 104 | Article 150 |
| Article 105 | Article 152 |
| Article 105a | — |
| Article 106 | Article 151 |
| Article 107 | Article 153 |
| Article 108 | Article 154 |
i. appropriations which had been committed to programmes in relation to the performance reserve and which had to be decommitted as a result of priorities under these programmes not having attained their milestones and; ii. appropriations which had been committed in relation to dedicated programmes referred to under Article 39(4)b and which had to be de-committed because the participation of a Member State in the financial instrument had to be discontinued.
concerning the application of Articles 14(2), 15(1)(c), and 26 (2) of Regulation laying down common provisions for the European Structural and Investment Funds, the actions taken by the Member States to involve the partners referred to in Article 5(1) in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and the programmes referred to in Article 5 (2) include all actions taken on a practical level by the Member States irrespective of their timing as well as actions taken by them before the entry into force of that and before the day of the entry into force of the delegated act for a European code of conduct adopted in accordance with Article 5(3) of the same Regulation, during the preparatory phases of a Member State programming procedure, provided that the objectives of the partnership principle, laid down in that Regulation, are achieved. In this context, Member States, in accordance with their national and regional competences, will decide on the content of both, the proposed Partnership Agreement and proposed draft programmes, in accordance with the relevant provisions of that Regulation and the fund specific rules; the delegated act laying down a European code of conduct, adopted in accordance with Article 5(3), will under no circumstances and neither directly nor indirectly have any retroactive effect, especially concerning the approval procedure of the Partnership Agreement and the programmes, since it is not the intention of the EU legislature to confer any powers on the Commission to the effect that it could reject the approval of the Partnership Agreement and programmes solely and exclusively based on any kind of non-compliance with the European code of conduct, adopted in accordance with Article 5(3); the European Parliament and the Council invite the Commission to make available for them the draft text of the delegated act to be adopted under article 5(3) as early as possible, but not later than the date when the political agreement on the Regulation laying down common provisions for the European Structural and Investment Funds is adopted by the Council or the date when the draft report on that Regulation is voted at the plenary of the European Parliament, whichever date is the earliest.