1.   This Regulation establishes Horizon Europe — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (‘the Programme’) and the rules for participation and dissemination in indirect actions under the Programme and determines the framework governing Union support to research and innovation activities .

2.   It lays down the objectives of the Programme, the budget for the period 2021 — 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

3.   The Programme shall be implemented through:

4.   The terms ‘Horizon Europe’, ‘the Programme’ and ‘specific programme’ used in this Regulation address matters relevant only to the specific programme described in paragraph 3(a), unless otherwise explicitly stated.

The EIT shall implement the Programme in line with its strategic objectives for the period 2021-2027, as laid down in the Strategic Innovation Agenda of the EIT, taking into account the strategic planning.

1.   The Programme’s general objective is to deliver scientific, technological , economic and societal impact from the Union’s investments in research and innovation so as to strengthen the scientific and technological bases of the Union and foster its competitiveness in all Member States including in its industry, deliver on the Union strategic priorities and contribute to the realisation of EU objectives and policies, contribute to tackling global challenges, including the Sustainable Development Goals by following the principles of the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, and to strengthen the European Research Area. The Programme shall thus maximise Union added value by focusing on objectives and activities that cannot be effectively realised by Member States acting alone, but in cooperation.

2.   The Programme has the following specific objectives:

1.   The Programme is structured in the following parts contributing to the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3:

2.   The broad lines of activities are set out in Annex I.

1.   Activities to be carried out under the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(b) and which are laid down in Regulation establishing the European Defence Fund, shall have an exclusive focus on defence research and development , with the following objectives and broad lines of activities:

2.   ▌This Regulation does not apply to the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(b), with the exception of this Article, Article 1 ▌and Article 9(1).

1.   The Programme shall be implemented in direct management in accordance with the Financial Regulation or in indirect management with funding bodies referred to in Article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation.

2.   The Programme may provide funding to indirect actions in any of the forms laid down in the Financial Regulation, in particular grants which shall be the main form of support in the programme . It may also provide financing through prizes, procurements and financial instruments within blending operations and equity support under the EIC Accelerator .

3.   The rules for participation and dissemination laid down in this Regulation shall apply to indirect actions.

4.   The main types of action to be used under the Programme are set out and defined in Article 2 . The forms of funding , referred to in paragraph 2, shall be used in a flexible manner across all objectives of the Programme with their use being determined on the basis of the needs and the characteristics of the particular objectives.

5.   The Programme shall also support direct actions undertaken by the JRC. Where these actions contribute to initiatives established under Article 185 or Article 187 TFEU, this contribution shall not be considered as part of the financial contribution allocated to those initiatives.

6.   The implementation of the specific programme and the EIT's KICs shall be supported by a transparent and strategic ▌ planning of research and innovation activities as laid down in the specific programme, in particular for the pillar ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ ▌and cover also relevant activities in other pillars and the Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area part.

The Commission shall ensure early involvement of the Member States and extensive exchanges with the European Parliament, complemented by consultation with stakeholders and the public at large.

The Strategic Planning shall ensure alignment with other relevant Union programmes and consistency with EU priorities and commitments and increase complementarity and synergies with national and regional funding programmes and priorities, thereby strengthening the ERA. Areas for possible missions and areas for possible institutionalised European Partnerships shall be established in Annex Va.

6a.     Where appropriate, in order to allow a faster access to funds for small collaborative consortia, a Fast Track to Research and Innovation Procedure (FTRI) may be proposed under some of the calls for proposals dedicated to select research and / or innovation actions Under the Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness and the European Innovation Council Pathfinder parts of the Framework Programme.

A call under the FTRI Procedure shall have the following cumulative characteristics:

The work programme shall identify the calls using the FTRI Procedure.

7.   Horizon Europe activities shall be ▌delivered through open, competitive calls for proposals, including within missions and European Partnerships , except for the activities referred to in Article 39 on Prizes .

▌

1.    Research and innovation activities carried out under the specific Programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) and under the EIT shall have an exclusive focus on civil applications. Budgetary transfers between the amount allocated to the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) and the EIT and the amount allocated to the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(b) shall not be allowed and unnecessary duplication between the two programmes shall be avoided.

2.     Horizon Europe shall ensure a multidisciplinary approach and shall foresee, where appropriate, the integration of social sciences and humanities across all clusters and activities developed under the Programme, including specific calls on SSH related topics.

3.     The collaborative parts of the Programme shall ensure a balance between lower and higher TRLs thereby covering the whole value chain.

3a.     The Programme shall ensure the effective promotion and integration of cooperation with third countries and international organisations and initiatives based on mutual benefits, EU interests, international commitments and, where appropriate, reciprocity.

4.     The Programme shall assist widening countries to increase participation in Horizon Europe and to promote broad geographical coverage in collaborative projects, including through spreading scientific excellence, boosting new collaborative links, stimulating brain-circulation as well as through the implementation of Articles 20(3) and 45(4). Those efforts shall be mirrored by proportional measures by Member States, including on setting attractive salaries for researchers, with the support of Union, national and regional funds. Particular attention shall be paid to geographical balance, subject to the situation in the field of research and innovation concerned, evaluation panels and in bodies such as boards and expert groups, without undermining the excellence criteria.

5.     The Programme shall ensure the effective promotion of equal opportunities for all, and the implementation of gender mainstreaming, and of the gender dimension in the research and innovation content and shall aim to address the causes of gender imbalance. Particular attention shall be paid to ensuring to the extent possible gender balance, in evaluation panels and in other relevant advisory bodies such as boards and expert groups.

5a.     Horizon Europe shall be implemented in synergy with other Union funding programmes while seeking maximal administrative simplification. A non-exhaustive list of synergies with other Union funding programmes is included in Annex IV.

5b.     The Programme contributes to increasing public and private investment in R&I in Member States thereby helping to reach an overall investment of at least 3 % of Union gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development.

6.     The Commission when implementing the programme shall aim at continuous administrative simplification and reduction of the burden for the applicants and beneficiaries.

7.     As part of the general Union objective of mainstreaming climate actions into EU sectoral policies and EU funds, actions under this Programme shall contribute at least 35 % of the expenditure to climate objectives where appropriate. Climate mainstreaming shall be adequately integrated in research and innovation content.

8.     The programme shall promote co-creation and co-design through engagement of citizens and civil society.

9.     The programme shall ensure transparency and accountability of public funding in research and innovation projects, thereby preserving the public interest.

10.     The Commission or the relevant funding body shall ensure that sufficient guidance and information is made available to all potential participants at the time of publication of the call for proposals, in particular the applicable model grant agreement.

1.   Missions shall be programmed within the pillar ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’, but may also benefit from actions carried out within other parts of the Programme as well as complementary actions carried out under other Union funding programmes. Missions shall allow for competing solutions, resulting in pan-European added value and impact.

2.   The missions shall be defined and implemented in accordance with the Regulation and the Specific Programme , ensuring the active and early involvement of the Member States and extensive exchanges with the European Parliament . The missions, their objectives, budget, targets, scope, indicators and milestones shall be identified in the Strategic R&I Plans or the Work Programmes as appropriate . Evaluation of proposals under the missions shall be carried out in accordance with Article 26.

2a.     During the first three years of the programme, a maximum of 10 % of the annual budget of Pillar II shall be programmed through specific calls for implementing the missions. For the remaining part of the programme, and only after a positive assessment of the mission selection and management process, this percentage may be increased. The Commission shall communicate the total budgetary share of each work programme dedicated to missions.

3.   Missions shall:

4.     The Commission shall monitor and evaluate each mission in accordance with Articles 45 and 47 and Annex V to this Regulation, including progress towards short, medium and long-term targets, covering implementation, monitoring and phasing-out of the missions. An assessment of the first missions established under Horizon Europe shall take place no later than 2023 and before any decision is taken on creating new missions, continuing, terminating or redirecting ongoing missions. The results of this assessment shall be made public and shall include, but not limited to, the analysis of their selection process and of their governance, budget, focus and progress to date.

1.     The Commission shall establish a European Innovation Council (EIC) as a centrally-managed ‘one stop shop’ for implementing actions under Pillar III ‘Innovative Europe’ which relate to the EIC. The EIC shall mainly focus on breakthrough and disruptive innovation, targeting especially market-creating innovation, while also supporting all types of innovation, including incremental. The EIC shall operate according to the following principles: clear EU added value, autonomy, ability to take risk, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability.

2.     The EIC shall be open to all types of innovators including from individuals to universities, research organisations and companies (SMEs including start-ups and, in exceptional cases, small mid-caps) and from single beneficiaries to multi-disciplinary consortia. At least 70 % of EIC budget shall be dedicated to SMEs, including start-ups.

3.     The EIC Board and management features of the EIC are defined in Decision (EU)… [Specific Programme] and its annexes.

1.   Parts of Horizon Europe may be implemented through European Partnerships. The involvement of the Union in European Partnerships may take any of the following forms:

The rules for such partnerships shall specify inter alia the objectives, key performance and impact indicators, and outputs to be delivered, as well as the related commitments for financial and/or in-kind contributions of the partners.

2.   European Partnerships shall:

2.a.     European Partnerships according to Article 8(1)(a and b) of this Regulation shall be identified in Strategic R&I Plans before being implemented in work programmes.

Provisions and criteria for their selection, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and phasing-out are set out in Annex III.

1.   The financial envelope for the implementation of the Framework Programme for the period 2021 — 2027 shall be EUR 120 000 000 000 in 2018 prices for the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) and, in addition, the amount for the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(b), as laid down in Regulation establishing the European Defence Fund.

2.   The indicative distribution of the amount referred to in paragraph 1, first half sentence, shall be:

3.   In order to respond to unforeseen situations or to new developments and needs, the Commission may, within the annual budgetary procedure, deviate from the amounts referred to in paragraph 2 up to a maximum of 10 %, including the allocation of the contributions from associated countries .

3c.     45 % of the budget of cluster ‘Inclusive and Creative Society’ shall support research on cultural and creative sectors, including the Union’s cultural heritage, that shall include EUR 300 million to be earmarked for the creation of a European Cultural Heritage Cloud, as set out in Annex I to the Specific Programme following an impact assessment to be presented to the European Parliament.

3d.     At least EUR 1 billion shall aim to be dedicated to Quantum Research under the ‘Digital, Industry and Space’ cluster under Pillar II.

4.   The amount referred to in paragraph 1 for the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) and for the EIT , may also cover expenses for preparation, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation and other activities and expenditures necessary for managing and implementing the Programme, including all administrative expenditure, as well as evaluating the achievement of its objectives. The administrative expenses related to indirect actions shall not exceed 5 % of the total amount under the Programme . It may moreover cover expenses relating to the studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions, in so far as they are related to the objectives of the Programme, as well as expenses linked to information technology networks focusing on information processing and exchange, including corporate information technology tools and other technical and administrative assistance needed in connection with the management of the Programme.

5.   If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the budget beyond 2027 to cover the expenses provided for in paragraph 4, to enable the management of actions not completed by 31 December 2027.

6.   Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years into annual instalments.

7.   Without prejudice to the Financial Regulation, expenditure for actions resulting from projects included in the first work programme may be eligible as from 1 January 2021.

▌

▌

1.     The programme shall encourage open science as an approach to the scientific process based on cooperative work and diffusing knowledge, in particular in line with the following elements:

These elements shall be ensured in accordance with Article 35(3) of this regulation. The latter shall also be in line with the principle ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’;

1a.     The principle of reciprocity in open science shall be promoted and encouraged in all association and cooperation agreements with third countries, including agreements signed by funding bodies entrusted for indirect management of the Programme.

2.   Responsible management of research data shall be ensured in line with the principles ‘Findability’, ‘Accessibility’, ‘Interoperability’ and ‘Reusability’ (FAIR). Attention shall also be paid to the long-term preservation of data.

3.    Other open science practices ▌shall be promoted and encouraged, including for the benefit of SMEs.

1.     Horizon Europe shall be implemented in synergy with other Union funding programmes while seeking maximal administrative simplification. A non-exhaustive list of synergies with other funding programmes is included in Annex IV. A The Horizon Europe single set of rules shall apply for an RDI co-funded action.

2.     The Seal of Excellence shall be awarded for all parts of the Programme. Actions awarded a Seal of Excellence certification, or which comply with the following cumulative, comparative, conditions:

may receive support from national or regional funds, including from the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund+ or the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article [67] of Regulation (EU) XX [Common Provisions Regulation] and Article [8] or Regulation (EU) XX [Financing, management and monitoring of the Common Agricultural Policy], without requiring any further application and evaluation and provided that such actions are consistent with the objectives of the programme concerned. With the exception of state aid rules, the rules of the Fund providing support shall apply.

2a.     In accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) XX [… Common Provisions Regulation], the managing authority, on a voluntary basis, may request the transfer of parts of its financial allocations to Horizon Europe. Transferred resources shall be implemented in accordance with the rules of Horizon Europe. In addition, the Commission shall ensure that such transferred funds are earmarked entirely for programmes and/or projects which will be implemented in the Member State or region, as applicable, they originated from.

2b.     With prior authorisation from the applicants, the Commission shall include the allocations referred to in this Article in the information system on selected projects in order to allow for a fast exchange of information and enable financing authorities to provide funding to the selected actions.

An action that has received a contribution from another Union programme may also receive a contribution under the Programme, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs.

1.   The Programme shall be open to association of the following third countries:

2.   The scope of association of each third country to the Programme shall take into account the objective of driving economic growth in the Union through innovation and shall avoid the brain drain from the Union . Accordingly, with the exception of EEA members, acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, mono-beneficiary parts of the Programme may be excluded from an association agreement for a specific country , in particular those dedicated to private entities .

3.   The association agreement shall, where appropriate, provide for and pursue reciprocal participation of legal entities established in the Union in equivalent programmes of associated countries in accordance with the conditions laid down therein.

4.   The association agreement conditions determining the level of financial contribution shall ensure an automatic correction , every two years of any significant imbalance compared to the amount that entities established in the associated country receive through participation in the Programme, taking into account the costs in the management, execution and operation of the Programme.

4a.     The contributions of all associated countries shall be included in the relevant parts of the Programme provided that the budget breakdown as specified in Article 9, paragraph 2 is respected. The Commission shall report to the Council and the Parliament during the annual budgetary procedure the total budget of each part of the Programme, identifying each of the associated countries, individual contributions and their financial balance.

1.   Funding bodies may depart from the rules set out in this Title , except from Articles 14, 15 and 16, in duly justified cases and only if this is provided for in the basic act setting up the funding body or entrusting budget implementation tasks to it or, for funding bodies under Article 62(1)(c)(ii), (iii) or (v) of the Financial Regulation, if it is provided for in the contribution agreement and their specific operating needs or the nature of the action so require.

2.   The rules set out in this Title shall not apply to direct actions undertaken by the JRC.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraphs 2 ▌of this Article, only actions implementing the objectives referred to in Article 3 shall be eligible for funding.

The following fields of research shall not be financed:

2.   Research on human stem cells, both adult and embryonic, may be financed, depending both on the contents of the scientific proposal and the legal framework of the Member States involved. No funding shall be granted , neither within nor outside the EU, for research activities that are prohibited in all the Member States. No activity shall be funded in a Member State where such activity is forbidden.

▌

1.   Actions carried out under the Programme shall comply with ethical principles and relevant national, Union and international legislation, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights and its Supplementary Protocols.

Particular attention shall be paid to the principle of proportionality, the right to privacy, the right to the protection of personal data, the right to the physical and mental integrity of a person, the right to non-discrimination, the need to ensure protection of the environment and high levels of human health protection.

2.   Entities participating in the action shall provide:

3.   Proposals shall be systematically screened to identify those actions raising complex or serious ethics issues and submit them to an ethics assessment. The ethics assessment shall be carried out by the Commission unless it is delegated to the funding body. For actions involving the use of human embryonic stem cells or human embryos, an ethics assessment shall be mandatory. Ethics screenings and assessments shall be carried out with the support of ethics experts. The Commission and the funding bodies shall ensure the transparency of the ethics procedures without prejudice to the confidentiality of the content of the procedure .

4.   Entities participating in the action shall obtain all approvals or other mandatory documents from the relevant national, local ethics committees or other bodies such as data protection authorities before the start of the relevant activities. Those documents shall be kept on file and provided to the Commission or funding body upon request.

5.   If appropriate, ethics checks shall be carried out by the Commission or funding body. For serious or complex ethics issues, the checks shall be carried out by the Commission unless it is delegated to the funding body.

Ethics checks shall be carried out with the support of ethics experts.

6.   Actions which do not fulfil the ethical requirements referred to in paragraphs 1-4 and are thus not ethically acceptable and therefore shall be rejected or terminated once the ethical unacceptability has been established .

1.   Actions carried out under the Programme shall comply with the applicable security rules and in particular rules on protection of classified information against unauthorised disclosure, including compliance with any relevant national and Union law. In case of research carried out outside the Union using and/or generating classified information, it is necessary that, in addition to the compliance with those requirements, a security agreement shall have to be concluded between the Union and the third country in which the research is conducted.

2.   Where appropriate, proposals shall include a security self-assessment identifying any security issues and detailing how these issues will be addressed in order to meet the relevant national and Union law.

3.   Where appropriate, the Commission or funding body shall carry out a security scrutiny for proposals raising security issues.

4.   Where appropriate, the actions shall comply with Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, and its implementing rules.

5.   Entities participating in the action shall ensure the protection against unauthorised disclosure of classified information used and/or generated by the action. They shall provide proof of personal and/or facility security clearance from the relevant national security authorities, prior to the start of the activities concerned.

6.   If external experts have to deal with classified information, the appropriate security clearance shall be required before those experts are appointed.

7.   Where appropriate, the Commission or funding body may carry out security checks.

▌Actions which do not comply with the security rules under this Article may be rejected or terminated at any time.

1.   Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisation may participate in actions under the Programme, provided that the conditions laid down in this Regulation have been met together with any conditions laid down in the work programme or call.

2.   Entities shall be part of a consortium that shall include at least three independent legal entities each established in a different Member State or associated country and with at least one of them established in a Member State, unless:

3.    European Research Council (ERC) frontier research actions, European Innovation Council (EIC) actions, training and mobility actions or programme co-fund actions may be implemented by one or more legal entities, one of which must be established in a Member State or associated country on the basis of an agreement concluded in accordance with Article 12 .

4.   Coordination and support actions may be implemented by one or more legal entities, which may be established in a Member State, or associated country or in another third country.

5.   For actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, the work programme may provide that the participation can be limited to those legal entities established in Member States only, or to those legal entities established in specified associated or other third countries in addition to Member States.

6.    Where appropriate and duly justified, the work programme may provide for eligibility criteria in addition to those set out in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 according to specific policy requirements or to the nature and objectives of the action, including the number of legal entities, the type of legal entity and the place of establishment.

7.   For actions benefiting from amounts under Article 11 , the participation shall be limited to a single legal entity established in the jurisdiction of the delegating Managing Authority, except if otherwise agreed with the Managing Authority and provided for in the work programme.

8.   Where indicated in the work programme, the JRC may participate in actions.

9.   The JRC , international European research organisations and legal entities created under Union law shall be deemed to be established in a Member State other than the ones in which other legal entities participating in the action are established.

10.   For European Research Council (ERC) frontier research actions, training and mobility actions and when provided for in the work programme , international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or associated country shall be deemed to be established in this Member State or associated country.

For other parts of the Programme, international organisations other than international European research organisations shall be deemed to be established in a non-associated third country.

1.   Entities are eligible for funding if they are established in a Member State or associated country as referred to in Article 12 .

For actions benefiting from amounts under Article 11(3) , only entities established in the jurisdiction of the delegating Managing Authority shall be eligible for funding out of these amounts.

1b.     Low to middle income countries and exceptionally for other non-associated third countries they could be eligible for funding in an action if:

2.   Entities established in other non-associated third country should ▌ bear the cost of their participation. R&D agreements between those non-associated third countries and the Union can be made wherever deemed useful, and co-funding mechanism similar to the ones agreed inside Horizon 2020 may be established. Those countries shall ensure reciprocal access for Union legal entities to those countries’ RDI funding programmes, as well as reciprocity in open access to scientific results and data and to fair and equitable terms for intellectual property rights.

▌

▌

3.   Affiliated entities are eligible for funding in an action if they are established in a Member State, or Associated country ▌.

3a.     The Commission shall report to the Parliament and the Council specifying, for each non-associated third country, the amount of the Union’s financial contributions provided to the participating entities and the amount of the financial contributions provided by the same country to Union entities participating in their activities.

1.   ▌The content of the calls for proposals for all actions shall be included in the work programme.

▌

3.   If necessary to achieve their objectives, calls may , in exceptional cases, be restricted to develop additional activities or to add additional partners to existing actions. In addition, the work programme may foresee the possibility for legal entities from low R&I performing Member States to join already selected collaborative R&I actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium and provided that legal entities from such Member States are not yet participating in it.

4.   A call for proposals is not required for coordination and support actions or programme co-fund actions which:

5.   The work programme shall specify calls for which ‘Seals of Excellence’ will be awarded. With prior authorisation from the applicant, information concerning the application and the evaluation may be shared with interested financing authorities, subject to the conclusion of confidentiality agreements.

1.   Actions may involve or have as their primary aim pre-commercial procurement or public procurement of innovative solutions that shall be carried out by beneficiaries which are contracting authorities or contracting entities as defined in Directives 2014/24/EU (28), 2014/25/EU (29) and 2009/81/EC (30).

2.   The procurement procedures:

3.   The contractor generating results in pre-commercial procurement shall own at least the attached intellectual property rights. The contracting authorities shall enjoy at least royalty-free access rights to the results for their own use and the right to grant, or require the participating contractors to grant, non-exclusive licences to third parties to exploit the results for the contracting authority under fair and reasonable conditions without any right to sub-license. If a contractor fails to commercially exploit the results within a given period after the pre-commercial procurement as identified in the contract, the contracting authorities, after having consulted the contractor on the reasons for the non-exploitation, can require it to transfer any ownership of the results to the contracting authorities.

▌

1.    In addition to the exceptions mentioned in Article 198(5) of the Financial Regulation, the financial capacity shall be verified only for the coordinator and only if the requested funding from the Union for the action is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000.

2.   However, if there are grounds to doubt the financial capacity or if there is a higher risk due to the participation in several ongoing actions funded by Union research and innovation programmes, the Commission or funding body shall verify also the financial capacity of other applicants or of coordinators below the threshold referred to in paragraph 1.

3.   If the financial capacity is structurally guaranteed by another legal entity, the financial capacity of the latter shall be verified.

4.   In case of weak financial capacity, the Commission or funding body may make participation of the applicant conditional on provision of a declaration on joint and several liability by an affiliated entity.

5.   The contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism set out in Article 33 shall be considered a sufficient guarantee under Article 152 of the Financial Regulation. No additional guarantee or security may be accepted from beneficiaries or imposed upon them.

1.   A proposal shall be evaluated on the basis of the following award criteria:

2.   Only the criterion referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall apply to proposals for ERC frontier research actions.

3.   The work programme shall lay down further details of the application of the award criteria laid down in paragraph 1 including any weighting, thresholds and where relevant rules for dealing with ex-aequo proposals, taking into consideration the objectives of the call for proposals . The conditions for dealing with ex-aequo proposals may include, but not limited to, the following criteria: SMEs, gender, geographical diversity.

3a.     The Commission and other funding bodies shall take into account the possibility of a two-stage submission procedure and where appropriate, anonymised proposals may be evaluated during the first stage of evaluation based on one or more of the award criteria referred to in paragraph 1.

1.   Proposals shall be evaluated by the evaluation committee which shall be composed of external independent experts.

For EIC activities, missions and in duly justified cases as set out in the work programme adopted by the Commission, the evaluation committee may be composed partially or, in the case of coordination and support actions, partially or fully of representatives of Union Institutions or bodies as referred to in Article 150 of the Financial Regulation.

▌

The evaluation process may be followed by independent observers .

2.   Wherever applicable, the evaluation committee shall rank the proposals having passed the applicable thresholds, according to:

For EIC activities, missions and in other duly justified cases as set out in the work programme adopted by the Commission in detail, the evaluation committee may also propose ▌adjustments to the proposals in as far as needed for the consistency of the portfolio approach. These adjustments shall be in conformity with the conditions for participation and comply with the principle of equal treatment. The Programme Committee shall be informed of such cases.

2a.     The evaluation process shall be designed to avoid conflict of interest and bias. The transparency of the evaluation criteria and of the proposal scoring method shall be guaranteed.

3.     In accordance with Article 200 (7) of the Financial Regulation, applicants shall receive feedback at all stages of the evaluation and, where applicable, the reasons for rejection.

4.     Legal entities established in low R&I performing Member States who have participated successfully in the component ‘Widening Participation and Sharing Excellence’ shall receive, upon request, a record of this participation that may accompany proposals to the collaborative parts of the programme that they coordinate.

1.   An applicant may request an evaluation review if it considers that the applicable evaluation procedure has not been correctly applied to its proposal (31).

2.   An evaluation review applies only to the procedural aspects of the evaluation, not to the evaluation of the merits of the proposal.

2a.     A request for review shall relate to a specific proposal and shall be submitted within 30 days after the communication of evaluation results.

An evaluation review committee shall provide an opinion on the procedural aspects, and shall be chaired by and include staff of the Commission or of the relevant funding body who were not involved in the evaluation of the proposals. The committee may recommend one of the following:

▌

▌

3.   An evaluation review shall not delay the selection process for proposals that are not the subject of review.

3a.     The Commission shall ensure the existence of a procedure for participants to make direct enquiries and complaints about their involvement in Horizon Europe. Information on how to register enquiries or complaints shall be made available on-line.

1.   By derogation from the first subparagraph of Article 194(2) of the Financial Regulation, the following periods shall apply:

▌

▌

2.   The work programme ▌ may establish shorter periods.

3.   In addition to the exceptions laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 194(2) of the Financial Regulation, the periods referred to in paragraph 1 may be exceeded for actions of the ERC, for missions and when actions are submitted to an ethics or security assessment.

1.   If a beneficiary fails to comply with its obligations regarding the technical implementation of the action, the other beneficiaries shall comply with those obligations without any additional Union funding, unless they are expressly relieved of that obligation. The financial responsibility of each beneficiary shall be limited to its own debt subject to the provisions relating to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

2.   The grant agreement may establish milestones and related pre-financing installments. If milestones are not met, the action may be suspended, amended or, if duly justified, be terminated.

3.   The action may also be terminated where expected results have lost their relevance for the Union due to scientific or technological reasons, or in the case of the EIC accelerator also due to economic reasons , or in the case of EIC and missions due to their relevance as part of a portfolio of actions. The Commission shall undergo a procedure with the action coordinator and if appropriate with external experts, before deciding to terminate an action, in accordance with Article 133 of the Financial Regulation.

1.     The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, draw up model grant agreements between the Commission or the relevant funding body and the beneficiaries in accordance with this Regulation. If a significant modification of a model grant agreement is required, inter alia in view of further simplification for beneficiaries, the Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, revise it as appropriate.

2.     The grant agreement shall establish the rights and obligations of the beneficiaries and of either the Commission or the relevant funding body in compliance with this Regulation. It shall also establish the rights and obligations of legal entities which become beneficiaries during the implementation of the action, as well as the role and tasks of a consortium coordinator.

1.   A single funding rate per action shall apply for all activities it funds. The maximum rate per action shall be fixed in the work programme.

2.   The Programme may reimburse up to 100 % of total eligible costs of an action, except for:

3.   The funding rates determined in this Article shall also apply for actions where flat rate, unit or lump sum financing is fixed for the whole or part of the action.

1.   Indirect eligible costs shall be determined by applying a flat rate of 25 % of the total direct eligible costs, excluding direct eligible costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs.

Where appropriate, indirect costs included in unit costs or lump sums shall be calculated using the flat rate set out in paragraph 1, except for unit costs for internally invoiced goods and services which shall be calculated on the basis of actual costs, in accordance with the beneficiaries' usual costs accounting practice .

2.   However, if provided for in the work programme, indirect costs may be declared in the form of a lump sum or unit costs.

1.   In addition to the criteria set out in Article 186 of the Financial Regulation, for beneficiaries with project-based remuneration, costs of personnel are eligible up to the remuneration that the person would be paid for work in R&I projects funded by national schemes including social security charges and other costs linked to the remuneration of personnel assigned to the action, arising from national law or from the employment contract .

Project-based remuneration means remuneration that is linked to the participation of a person in projects, is part of the beneficiary’s usual remuneration practices and is paid in a consistent manner.

2.   By derogation from Article 190(1) of the Financial Regulation, costs of resources made available by third parties by means of in-kind contributions shall be eligible, up to the direct eligible costs of the third party.

3.   By derogation from Article 192 of the Financial Regulation, income generated by the exploitation of the results shall not be considered as receipts of the action.

3a.     Beneficiaries may use their usual accounting practices to identify and declare the costs incurred in relation to an action in compliance with all terms and conditions set out in the grant agreement, in line with this Regulation and Article 186 of Financial regulation.

4.   By derogation from Article 203(4) of the Financial Regulation, a certificate on the financial statements shall be mandatory at payment of the balance, if the amount claimed as actual costs and unit costs calculated in accordance with usual cost accounting practices is equal to or greater than EUR 325 000.

Certificates on financial statements may be produced by an approved external auditor or, in the case of public bodies, issued by a competent and independent public officer in line with Article 203, Para 4 of Financial regulation .

4a.     Where appropriate, for MSCA training and mobility grants, the EU contribution shall take due account of any additional costs of the beneficiary related to maternity or parental leave, sick leave, special leave or change of recruiting host organisation or family status of researcher during the lifetime of the grant agreement.

4b.     Costs related to open access including data management plans shall be eligible for reimbursement as further stipulated in the grant agreement.

1.   A Mutual Insurance Mechanism (the ‘Mechanism’) is hereby established which shall replace and succeed the fund set up in accordance with Article 38 of Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013. The Mechanism shall cover the risk associated with non-recovery of sums due by the beneficiaries:

2.   The Mechanism shall be managed by the Union, represented by the Commission acting as executive agent. The Commission shall set up specific rules for the operation of the Mechanism .

3.   Beneficiaries shall make a contribution of 5 % of the Union funding for the action. On the basis of periodic transparent evaluations, this contribution may be raised by the Commission up to 8 % or may be reduced under 5 %. The beneficiaries' contribution to the Mechanism shall be offset from the initial pre-financing and be paid to the Mechanism on behalf of the beneficiaries , and shall in no circumstance exceed the amount of the initial pre-financing .

4.   The contribution of the beneficiaries shall be returned at the payment of the balance.

5.   Any financial return generated by the Mechanism shall be added to the Mechanism. If the return is insufficient, the Mechanism shall not intervene and the Commission or funding body shall recover directly from beneficiaries or third parties any amount owed.

6.   The amounts recovered shall constitute revenue assigned to the Mechanism within the meaning of Article 21( 5 ) of the Financial Regulation. Once all grants whose risk is covered directly or indirectly by the Mechanism are completed, any sums outstanding shall be recovered by the Commission and entered into the budget of the Union, subject to decisions of the legislative authority.

7.   The Mechanism may be extended to beneficiaries of any other directly managed Union programme. The Commission shall adopt modalities for participation of beneficiaries of other programmes.

1.   Beneficiaries shall own the results they generate. They shall ensure that any rights of their employees or any other parties in relation to the results can be exercised in a manner compatible with the beneficiaries’ obligations in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement.

Two or more beneficiaries shall own results jointly if:

The joint owners shall agree in writing on the allocation and terms of exercise of their joint ownership. Unless otherwise agreed in the Consortium Agreement or in the joint ownership agreement , each joint owner may grant non-exclusive licences to third parties to exploit the jointly-owned results (without any right to sub-license), if the other joint owners are given advance notice and fair and reasonable compensation. The joint owners may agree in writing to apply another regime than joint ownership.

2.   Beneficiaries having received Union funding shall adequately protect their results if protection is possible and justified, taking into account all relevant considerations, including the prospects for commercial exploitation and any other legitimate interests . When deciding on protection, beneficiaries shall also consider the legitimate interests of the other beneficiaries in the action.

1.    Each participant that has received Union funding shall use its best efforts to exploit the results it owns, or to have them exploited by another legal entity. Exploitation may be done directly by the beneficiaries or indirectly in particular through the transfer and licensing of results in accordance with Article 36.

The work programme may provide for additional exploitation obligations.

If despite a beneficiary's best efforts to exploit its results directly or indirectly no exploitation takes place within a given period as identified in the grant agreement, the beneficiary shall use an appropriate online platform as identified in the grant agreement to find interested parties to exploit those results. If justified on the basis of a request of the beneficiary, this obligation may be waived.

2.    Beneficiaries shall disseminate their results as soon as it is feasible, in a publicly available format, subject to any restrictions due to the protection of intellectual property, security rules or legitimate interests ▌.

The work programme may provide for additional dissemination obligations while safeguarding the Union’s economic and scientific interests .

3.   Beneficiaries shall ensure that open access to scientific publications applies under the terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement. In particular, the beneficiaries shall ensure that they or the authors retain sufficient intellectual property rights to comply with their open access requirements.

Open access to research data shall be the general rule under the terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement, ensuring the possibility of exceptions following the principle ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’ , taking into consideration the legitimate interests of the beneficiaries including commercial exploitation and any other constraints, such as data protection rules, privacy, confidentiality, trade secrets, Union competitive interests, security rules or intellectual property rights.

The work programme may provide for additional incentives or obligations to adhere to open science practices.

4.   Beneficiaries shall manage all research data generated in a Horizon Europe action in line with the FAIR principles and in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement and shall establish a Data Management Plan.

The work programme may provide , where justified, for additional obligations to use the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) for storing and giving access to research data.

5.   Beneficiaries that intend to disseminate their results shall give advance notice to the other beneficiaries in the action. Any other beneficiary may object if it can show that the intended dissemination would significantly harm its legitimate interests in relation to its results or background. In such cases, the dissemination may not take place unless appropriate steps are taken to safeguard these legitimate interests.

6.   Unless the work programme provides otherwise, proposals shall include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results. If the expected exploitation entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan shall include a strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation primarily in non-associated third countries, the legal entities shall explain how that exploitation is still in the Union interest.

The beneficiaries shall update the plan during and after the end of the action, in accordance with the grant agreement .

7.   For the purposes of monitoring and dissemination by the Commission or funding body, the beneficiaries shall provide any requested information regarding the exploitation and dissemination of their results , in accordance with the conditions laid down in the grant agreement . Subject to the legitimate interests of the beneficiaries, such information shall be made publicly available.

1.   Beneficiaries may transfer ownership of their results. They shall ensure that their obligations also apply to the new owner and that the latter has the obligation to pass them on in any subsequent transfer.

2.   Unless agreed otherwise in writing for specifically-identified third parties including Affiliated Entities or unless impossible under applicable law, beneficiaries that intend to transfer ownership of results shall give advance notice to any other beneficiary that still has access rights to the results. The notification must include sufficient information on the new owner to enable a beneficiary to assess the effects on its access rights.

Unless agreed otherwise in writing for specifically-identified third parties including Affiliated Entities , a beneficiary may object to the transfer if it can show that the transfer would adversely affect its access rights. In this case, the transfer may not take place until agreement has been reached between the beneficiaries concerned. The grant agreement shall lay down time limits in this respect.

3.   Beneficiaries may grant licences to their results or otherwise give the right to exploit them, including on an exclusive basis, if this does not affect compliance with their obligations. Exclusive licences for results may be granted subject to consent by all the other beneficiaries concerned that they will waive their access rights thereto.

4.   Where this is justified, the grant agreement shall lay down the right for the Commission or funding body to object to transfers of ownership of results, or to grants of an exclusive licence regarding results, if:

If the right to object applies, the beneficiary shall give advance notice. The right to object may be waived in writing regarding transfers or grants to specifically identified legal entities if measures safeguarding Union interests are in place.

1.   The following access rights principles shall apply:

2.   Beneficiaries shall grant access to:

3.   Unless otherwise agreed by the beneficiaries, they shall also grant access to their results and, subject to any restrictions referred to in paragraph 1(c), to their background to a legal entity that:

Access shall be granted under fair and reasonable conditions to be agreed upon.

4.   A request for access for exploitation purposes may be made up to one year after the end of the action, unless the beneficiaries agree on a different time-limit.

5.   Beneficiaries having received Union funding shall grant access to their results on a royalty-free basis to the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies for developing, implementing and monitoring Union policies or programmes. Access shall be limited to non-commercial and non-competitive use.

Such access rights shall not extend to the beneficiaries’ background.

In actions under the cluster ‘ Civil security for Society’, beneficiaries having received Union funding shall also grant access to their results on a royalty-free basis to Member States' national authorities, for developing, implementing and monitoring their policies or programmes in that area. Access shall be limited to non-commercial and non-competitive use and shall be granted upon bilateral agreement defining specific conditions aimed at ensuring that those rights will be used only for the intended purpose and that appropriate confidentiality obligations will be in place. The requesting Member State, Union institution, body, office or agency shall notify all Member States of such requests.

6.   The work programme may provide , where appropriate, for additional access rights.

1.   Prizes under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title IX of the Financial Regulation, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

2.   Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, may participate in a contest, unless otherwise provided in the work programme or rules of contests.

3.   The Commission or funding body may , where appropriate, organise prizes with:

4.   The work programme or rules of contest shall include obligations regarding communication, and where appropriate exploitation and dissemination , ownership and access rights including licensing provisions .

1.   Procurement under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VII of the Financial Regulation, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

2.   Procurement may also take the form of pre-commercial procurement or procurement of innovative solutions carried out by the Commission or the funding body on its own behalf or jointly with contracting authorities from Member States and associated countries. In this case, the rules set out in Article 22 shall apply.

1.   The grant and reimbursable advance components of Horizon Europe or EIC blended finance shall be subject to Articles 30 to 33.

2.   EIC blended finance shall be implemented in accordance with Article 43. The support under the EIC blended finance may be granted until the action can be financed as a blending operation or as a financing and investment operation fully covered by the EU guarantee under InvestEU. By derogation from Article 209 of the Financial Regulation, the conditions laid down in paragraph (2) and, in particular, paragraph (a) and (d), do not apply at the time of the award of EIC blended finance

3.   Horizon Europe blended finance may be awarded to a programme co-fund where a joint programme of Member States and associated countries provides for the deployment of financial instruments in support of selected actions. The evaluation and selection of such actions shall be made in accordance with Articles 11, 19, 20, 24, 25 , and 26 . The implementation modalities of the Horizon Europe blended finance shall comply with Article 29, by analogy Article 43(9) and with additional and justified conditions defined by the work programme.

4.   Repayments including reimbursed advances and revenues of Horizon Europe and EIC blended finance shall be considered as internal assigned revenues in accordance with Articles 21(3)(f) and 21(4) of Financial Regulation.

5.    Horizon Europe and EIC blended finance shall be provided in a manner that promotes the Union's competitiveness while not distorting competition in the internal market.

1.     The Pathfinder shall provide grants to high-risk cutting-edge projects, implemented by consortia or monobeneficiaries, aiming to develop radical innovations and new market opportunities. The Pathfinder shall provide support for the earliest stages of scientific, technological or deep-tech research and development, including proof of concept and prototypes for technology validation.

The Pathfinder shall be mainly implemented through an open call for bottom-up proposals with regular cut-off dates per year and shall also provide for competitive challenges to develop key strategic objectives calling for deep-tech and radical thinking.

2.     The Pathfinder's Transition activities shall help all types of researchers and innovators develop the pathway to commercial development in the Union, such as demonstration activities and feasibility studies to assess potential business cases, and support the creation of spin offs and start-ups.

3.     The award criteria as defined in Article 25 shall apply to the EIC Pathfinder.

1.   The EIC's Accelerator shall aim to support essentially market-creating innovation. It shall support only monobeneficiaries and mainly provide blended finance. Under certain conditions, it may also provide grant-only and equity-only supports.

The EIC Accelerator shall propose two types of support:

Equity-only support to non-bankable SMEs, including start-ups, which have already received a grant-only support, may also be provided.

Grant only support under the EIC Accelerator shall only be provided under the following cumulative conditions:

1a.    The beneficiary of the EIC Accelerator shall be a legal entity qualifying as a start-up, an SME or in exceptional cases as a  small mid-cap eager to scale-up, established in a Member State or associated country. The proposal may be submitted either by the beneficiary, or, subject to the prior agreement by the beneficiary , by one or more natural persons or legal entities intending to establish or support that beneficiary. In the latter case, the funding agreement will be signed with the beneficiary only.

2.   A single award decision shall cover and provide funding for all forms of Union contribution provided under EIC blended finance.

3.   Proposals shall be evaluated on their individual merit by external independent experts and selected in the context of a continuously open call with cut-off dates, based on Articles 24 to 26, subject to paragraph 4

4.   Award criteria shall be

5.   With the agreement of applicants concerned, the Commission or funding bodies implementing Horizon Europe (including EIT's KICs) may directly submit for evaluation under the last award criterion a proposal for an innovation and market deployment action which already fulfils the first two criteria, subject to the following cumulative conditions:

6.   A Seal of Excellence may be awarded subject to the following cumulative conditions:

7.   For a proposal having passed the evaluation, external independent experts shall propose a corresponding EIC Accelerator support , based on the risk incurred and the resources and time necessary to bring and deploy the innovation to the market.

The Commission may reject a proposal retained by external independent experts for justified reasons, including non- compliance with the objectives of Union policies. The Programme Committee shall be informed of the reasons for such rejections.

8.   The grant or the reimbursable advance component of the EIC Accelerator support shall not exceed 70 % of the total eligible costs of the selected innovation action.

9.   Implementation modalities of the equity and repayable support components of the EIC Accelerator support shall be detailed in Decision [Specific programme].

10.   The contract for the selected action shall establish specific measurable milestones and the corresponding pre-financing and payments by instalments of the EIC Accelerator support .

In the case of EIC blended finance, activities corresponding to an innovation action may be launched and first pre-financing of the grant or the reimbursable advance paid, prior to the implementation of other components of the awarded EIC blended finance. The implementation of those components shall be subject to the achievement of specific milestones established in the contract.

11.   In accordance with the contract, the action shall be suspended, amended or if duly justified be terminated if measurable milestones are not met. It may also be terminated where the expected market deployment especially in the Union cannot be met.

In exceptional cases and upon advice by the EIC board, the Commission may decide to increase the EIC Accelerator support subject to a project review by external independent experts. The Programme Committee shall be informed of such cases.

1.    Independent external experts shall be identified and selected on the basis of calls for applications from individuals and calls addressed to relevant organisations such as research agencies, research institutions, universities, standardisation organisations, civil society organisations or enterprises with a view to establishing a database of candidates.

By derogation from Article 237(3) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission or the relevant funding body may , exceptionally and in duly justified cases, select in a transparent manner any individual expert with the appropriate skills not included in the database provided that a call for expressions of interest has not identified suitable independent external experts.

Such experts shall declare their independence and capacity to support Horizon Europe objectives.

2.   In accordance with Article 237(2) and 237(3) of the Financial Regulation, independent external experts shall be remunerated based on standard conditions. If justified, and in exceptional cases an appropriate level of remuneration beyond the standard conditions based on relevant market standards, especially for specific high level experts, may be granted.

3.   In addition to paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 38 of the Financial Regulation, the names of independent external experts evaluating grant applications, who are appointed in a personal capacity shall be published, together with their area of expertise, at least once a year on the internet site of the Commission or the funding body. Such information shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with the EU data protection rules.

3a.     The Commission or the relevant funding body shall take the appropriate measures to prevent conflicts of interest as regards the involvement of independent external experts in line with Articles 61 and 150(5) of the Financial Regulation.

The Commission or the relevant funding body shall ensure that an expert faced with a conflict of interest in relation to a matter on which the expert is required to provide an opinion does not evaluate, advise or assist on the specific matter in question.

3-b.     When appointing independent external experts, the Commission or the relevant funding body shall take appropriate measures to seek a balanced composition within the expert groups and evaluation panels in terms of skills, experience, knowledge, including in terms of specialisation, in particular on SSH, geographical diversity and gender, taking into account the situation in the field of the action.

3b.     Where appropriate, an adequate number of independent experts shall be ensured for each proposal in order to guarantee the quality of the evaluation.

3c.     The level of remuneration of all independent and external experts shall be made available to the European Parliament and the Council. It shall be covered by the expenses of the Programme.

1.     The Commission shall monitor continuously the management and implementation of Horizon Europe, its specific programme and the activities of the EIT. In order to enhance transparency, this data shall also be made publicly available in an accessible manner on the Commission's webpage according to the latest update.

In particular, data for projects funded under ERC, European Partnerships, missions, EIC and EIT shall be included in the same database.

This shall include:

2.   The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 concerning amendments to Annex V to supplement or amend the impact pathway indicators, where considered necessary, and set baselines and targets.

3.   The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring programme implementation and results are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner without increasing the administrative burden for beneficiaries . To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on recipients of Union funds, including at the level of researchers involved in the actions in order to be able to track their career and mobility, and (where relevant) Member States (32).

3a.     Qualitative analysis from the Commission and Union or national funding bodies shall complement as much as possible quantitative data.

4.     The measures aimed at facilitating collaborative links in European research and innovation shall be monitored and reviewed within the context of the work programmes.

1.   The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin and ensure the visibility of the Union funding (in particular when promoting the actions and their results , including for prizes ) by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public.

2.   The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Programme, and its actions and results. In addition, it shall provide timely and thorough information to Member States and beneficiaries. Evidence-based matchmaking services informed by analytics and network affinities shall be provided to interested entities in order to form consortia for collaborative projects, with particular attention to identifying networking opportunities for legal entities from low R&I performing Member States. On the basis of such analysis, targeted match-making events may be organised in function of specific calls for proposals. Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.

3.   The Commission shall also establish a dissemination and exploitation strategy for increasing the availability and diffusion of the Programme’s research and innovation results and knowledge to accelerate exploitation towards market uptake and boost the impact of the Programme. Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union as well as information, communication, publicity, dissemination and exploitation activities as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.

1.   Programme evaluations shall be carried out in a timely manner to feed into the decision-making process on the programme, its successor and other initiatives relevant to research and innovation.

2.   The interim evaluation of the Programme shall be with the assistance of independent experts selected on the basis of a transparent process carried out once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the start of the programme implementation. It shall include a portfolio analysis and an assessment of the long-term impact of previous Framework Programmes and shall form the basis to adjust programme implementation and/or review the programme, as appropriate . It shall assess the Programme’s effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and Union added value.

3.   At the end of the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the end of the period specified in Article 1, a final evaluation of the Programme shall be completed by the Commission. It shall include an assessment of the long-term impact of previous Framework Programmes.

4.   The Commission shall publish and communicate the conclusions of the evaluations accompanied by its observations and shall present them to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

1.   The control system for the Programme shall ensure an appropriate balance between trust and control, taking into account administrative and other costs of controls at all levels, especially for beneficiaries. Audit rules shall be clear, consistent and coherent throughout the Programme.

2.   The audit strategy for the Programme shall be based on the financial audit of a representative sample of expenditure across the Programme as a whole. The representative sample shall be complemented by a selection based on an assessment of the risks related to expenditure. Actions that receive joint funding from different Union programmes shall be audited only once, covering all involved programmes and their respective applicable rules.

3.   In addition, the Commission or funding body may rely on combined systems reviews at beneficiary level. These combined reviews shall be optional for certain types of beneficiaries and shall consist in a systems and process audit, complemented by an audit of transactions, carried out by a competent independent auditor qualified to carry out statutory audits of accounting documents in accordance with Directive 2006/43/EC (33). They may be used by the Commission or funding body to determine overall assurance on the sound financial management of expenditure and for reconsideration of the level of ex-post audits and certificates on financial statements.

4.   In accordance with Article 127 of the Financial Regulation, the Commission or funding body may rely on audits on the use of Union contributions carried out by other independent and competent persons or entities, including by other than those mandated by the Union Institutions or bodies.

5.   Audits may be carried out up to two years after the payment of the balance.

5a.     The Commission shall publish audit guidelines, aiming to ensure a reliable and uniform application and interpretation of the audit procedures and rules throughout the duration of the programme.

1.   The Commission or its representatives, and the Court of Auditors, shall have the power of audit or, in the case of international organisations, the power of verification in accordance with agreements reached with them, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under this Regulation.

2.   The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out administrative investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with Union funding or budgetary guarantees under this Regulation.

3.   Competent authorities of third countries and international organisations may also be required to cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), in accordance with Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements, when it carries out investigations into criminal offences falling within its competence in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939.

4.   Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and other legal commitments, as well as agreements establishing a budgetary guarantee, resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits, on-the-spot checks and inspections, according to their respective competences. This shall include provisions to ensure that any third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds or of a financing operation supported, in whole or in part, by a budgetary guarantee grant equivalent rights.

1.   The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2.   The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 45(2) shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2028.

3.   The delegation of power referred to in Article 45(2) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.   Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5.   As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6.   A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 45(2) shall enter into force if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

1.   This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of the actions concerned, under Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013, which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure. Work plans and actions provided for in work plans adopted under Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 and under the corresponding funding bodies' basic acts shall also continue to be governed by Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 and those basic acts until their completion.

2.   The financial envelope for the Programme may also cover technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the Programme and the measures adopted under its predecessor Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013.