1.   This Regulation lays down:

2.   This Regulation does not apply to the Employment and Social Innovation strand of the ESF+ or to the direct or indirect management components of the EMFAF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, except for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

3.   Articles 5, 14, 19, 28 to 34 and 108 to 112 do not apply to the AMIF, the ISF or the BMVI.

4.   Articles 108 to 112 do not apply to the EMFAF.

5.   Articles 14, 15, 18, 19, 21 to 27, 37 to 42, Article 43(1) to (4), Articles 44 and 50, Article 55(1) and Articles 73, 77, 80 and 83 to 85 do not apply to Interreg programmes.

6.   The Fund-specific Regulations listed below may establish rules to complement this Regulation which shall not be in contradiction with this Regulation:

In case of doubt about the application between this Regulation and Fund-specific Regulations, this Regulation shall prevail.

1.   The ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF shall support the following policy objectives:

The JTF shall support the specific objective of enabling regions and people to address the social, employment, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards the Union’s 2030 targets for energy and climate and a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050, based on the Paris Agreement.

The first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the resources of the ERDF and the ESF+ that are transferred to the JTF in accordance with Article 27.

2.   The ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF shall contribute to the actions of the Union, leading to the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in accordance with Article 174 TFEU, by pursuing the following goals:

3.   Member States and the Commission shall promote the coordination, complementarity and coherence between the Funds and other Union instruments and funds. They shall optimise mechanisms for coordination between those responsible to avoid duplication during planning and implementation. Accordingly, Member States and the Commission shall also take into account the relevant country-specific recommendations in the programming and implementation of the Funds.

1.   Member States shall provide information on support for environment and climate objectives by using a methodology based on types of intervention for each of the Funds. That methodology shall consist of assigning a specific weighting to the support provided at a level which reflects the extent to which such support makes a contribution to environmental objectives and to climate objectives. In the case of the ERDF, the ESF+ and the Cohesion Fund, weightings shall be attached to dimensions and codes for the types of intervention established in Annex I. The ERDF and the Cohesion Fund shall contribute with 30 % and 37 % respectively of the Union contribution to expenditure supported for the achievement of the climate objectives set for the Union budget.

2.   The climate contribution target for each Member State shall be established as a percentage of its total ERDF and Cohesion Fund allocation and included in programmes as a result of the types of intervention and the indicative financial breakdown pursuant to point (d)(viii) of Article 22(3). As provided for in Article 11(1), the preliminary climate contribution target shall be established in the Partnership Agreement.

3.   The Member State and the Commission shall regularly monitor respect of the climate contribution targets, based on the total eligible expenditure declared by the beneficiaries to the managing authority as broken down by types of intervention in accordance with Article 42 and on data submitted by the Member State. Where the monitoring shows insufficient progress towards reaching the climate contribution target, the Member State and the Commission shall agree on remedial measures in the annual review meeting.

4.   Where there is insufficient progress towards reaching the climate contribution target at national level by 31 December 2024, the Member State shall take this into account in its mid-term review in accordance with Article 18(1).

1.   The Member States and the Commission shall implement the budget of the Union allocated to the Funds under shared management in accordance with Article 63 of the Financial Regulation. Member States shall prepare and implement programmes at the appropriate territorial level in accordance with their institutional, legal and financial framework.

2.   The Commission shall implement the amount of support from the Cohesion Fund transferred to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the European Urban Initiative, Interregional Innovative Investments, the amount of support transferred from the ESF+ to transnational cooperation, the amounts contributed to the InvestEU Programme and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission under direct or indirect management in accordance with points (a) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation.

3.   The Commission may, with the agreement of the Member State and the regions concerned, implement outermost regions’ cooperation under the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) under indirect management.

1.   For the Partnership Agreement and each programme, each Member State shall organise and implement a comprehensive partnership in accordance with its institutional and legal framework and taking into account the specificities of the Funds. That partnership shall include at least the following partners:

2.   The partnership established under paragraph 1 of this Article shall operate in accordance with the multi-level governance principle and a bottom-up approach. The Member State shall involve partners referred to in paragraph 1 in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement and throughout the preparation, implementation and evaluation of programmes, including through participation in monitoring committees in accordance with Article 39.

In that context, Member States shall, where relevant, allocate an appropriate percentage of the resources coming from the Funds for the administrative capacity building of social partners and civil society organisations.

3.   For Interreg programmes, the partnership shall include partners from all participating Member States.

4.   The organisation and implementation of partnership shall be carried out in accordance with the European code of conduct on partnership established by Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014.

5.   At least once a year, the Commission shall consult organisations which represent partners at Union level on the implementation of programmes, and shall report to the European Parliament and Council on the outcome.

1.   Member States and the Commission shall ensure respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the implementation of the Funds.

2.   Member States and the Commission shall ensure that equality between men and women, gender mainstreaming and the integration of a gender perspective are taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of programmes.

3.   Member States and the Commission shall take appropriate steps to prevent any discrimination based on gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of programmes. In particular, accessibility for persons with disabilities shall be taken into account throughout the preparation and implementation of programmes.

4.   The objectives of the Funds shall be pursued in line with the objective of promoting sustainable development as set out in Article 11 TFEU, taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the "do no significant harm" principle.

The objectives of the Funds shall be pursued in full respect of the Union environmental acquis.

1.   Each Member State shall prepare a Partnership Agreement which sets out the strategic orientation for programming and the arrangements for using the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund, the JTF and the EMFAF in an effective and efficient way for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027.

2.   The Partnership Agreement shall be prepared in accordance with the European code of conduct on partnership. Where a Member State already provides for a comprehensive partnership during the preparation of its programmes, that requirement is considered to be complied with.

3.   The Member State shall submit the Partnership Agreement to the Commission before or at the same time as the submission of the first programme.

4.   The Partnership Agreement may be submitted together with the relevant annual National Reform Programme and the integrated national energy and climate plan.

5.   The Partnership Agreement shall be a strategic and concise document. It shall be no longer than 35 pages, unless the Member State, at its own initiative, decides to extend the length of the document.

6.   The Member State shall draw up the Partnership Agreement in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. The Member State may include the Partnership Agreement in one of its programmes.

7.   Interreg programmes may be submitted to the Commission before the submission of the Partnership Agreement.

8.   The EIB may, at the request of the Member State concerned, participate in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement, as well as in activities relating to the preparation of operations, financial instruments and PPPs.

1.   The Partnership Agreement shall contain the following elements:

As regards the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg), the Partnership Agreement shall only contain the list of planned programmes.

2.   The Partnership Agreement may also contain a summary of the assessment of the fulfilment of relevant enabling conditions referred to in Article 15 and Annexes III and IV.

1.   The Commission shall assess the Partnership Agreement and its compliance with this Regulation and with the Fund-specific rules while respecting the principle of proportionality, taking into account the strategic nature of the document, the number of programmes covered and the total amount of resources allocated to the Member State concerned. In its assessment, the Commission shall, in particular, take into account how the Member State intends to address relevant country-specific recommendations, its integrated national energy and climate plan as well as the European Pillar of Social Rights.

2.   The Commission may make observations within 3 months of the date of submission by the Member State of the Partnership Agreement.

3.   The Member State shall review the Partnership Agreement, taking into account the observations made by the Commission.

4.   The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving the Partnership Agreement no later than 4 months after the date of first submission of that Partnership Agreement by the Member State concerned.

5.   When the Partnership Agreement is included in a programme in accordance with Article 10(6), the Commission shall adopt a single decision by means of an implementing act approving both the Partnership Agreement and the programme no later than 6 months after the date of first submission of the programme by the Member State concerned.

1.   A Member State may submit to the Commission by 31 March 2025 an amended Partnership Agreement, taking into account the outcome of the mid-term review.

2.   The Commission shall assess the amendment and may make observations within 3 months of the submission of the amended Partnership Agreement.

3.   The Member State shall review the amended Partnership Agreement, taking into account the observations made by the Commission.

4.   The Commission shall approve the amendment of a Partnership Agreement no later than 6 months after its first submission by the Member State.

1.   Member States may allocate, in the Partnership Agreement, an amount of up to 2 % of the initial national allocation for the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF, respectively, to be contributed to the InvestEU Programme and delivered through the EU guarantee and the InvestEU Advisory Hub in accordance with Article 10 of the InvestEU Regulation. Member States, with the agreement of the managing authority concerned, may further allocate an amount of up to 3 % of the initial national allocation of each of those Funds after 1 January 2023 through one or more programme amendment requests.

Such amounts shall contribute to the achievement of the policy objectives selected in the Partnership Agreement or the programme and shall support investments essentially in the category of contributing regions.

Such contributions shall be implemented in accordance with the rules established in the InvestEU Regulation and shall not constitute transfers of resources under Article 26.

2.   Member States shall determine the total amount contributed for each year by Fund and by category of region, where applicable. For the Partnership Agreement, resources of the current and future calendar years may be allocated. Where a Member State requests an amendment of a programme, only resources of future calendar years may be allocated.

3.   The amounts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be used for the provisioning of the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment and for the InvestEU Advisory Hub upon conclusion of the contribution agreement in accordance with Article 10(3) of the InvestEU Regulation. The budgetary commitments of the Union in respect of each contribution agreement may be made by the Commission in annual instalments during the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2027.

4.   Notwithstanding Article 12 of the Financial Regulation, where a contribution agreement, as set out in Article 10(2) of the InvestEU Regulation, has not been concluded within 4 months of the date of the Commission decision adopting the Partnership Agreement, for an amount referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article allocated in the Partnership Agreement, the corresponding amount shall be allocated to a programme or programmes within the contributing Fund and category of region, where relevant following a request by the Member State.

The contribution agreement for the amounts referred to in paragraph 1 allocated in the request of the amendment of a programme shall be concluded simultaneously with the adoption of the decision amending the programme.

5.   In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 10(4) of the InvestEU Regulation, where a guarantee agreement has not been concluded within 9 months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement.

Where the participation of a Member State in the InvestEU Fund is discontinued, the amounts concerned paid into the common provisioning fund as a provisioning shall be recovered as internal assigned revenue pursuant to Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation. The Member State concerned shall submit a request for one or more programme amendments to use the amounts recovered and the amounts allocated to future calendar years according to paragraph 2 of this Article. The termination or amendment of the contribution agreement shall be concluded simultaneously with the adoption of the decisions amending the programme or programmes concerned.

6.   In accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 10(4) of the InvestEU Regulation, where a guarantee agreementhas not been duly implemented within 4 years from the conclusion of the guarantee agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The Member State may request that amounts contributed to the EU guarantee under paragraph 1 of this Article and committed in the guarantee agreement but not covering underlying loans, equity investments or other risk bearing instruments be treated in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Article.

7.   Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the EU guarantee shall be made available to the Member State in accordance with point (a) of Article 10(5) of the InvestEU Regulation and shall be used for support under the same objective or objectives in the form of financial instruments or budgetary guarantees.

8.   For the amounts to be reused in a programme in accordance with paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this Article, the decommitment time limit as set out in Article 105(1) shall start in the year in which the corresponding budgetary commitments are made.

1.   For the specific objectives, enabling conditions are laid down in this Regulation.

Annex III contains horizontal enabling conditions applicable to all specific objectives and the criteria necessary for the assessment of their fulfilment.

Annex IV contains thematic enabling conditions for the ERDF, the ESF+ and the Cohesion Fund and the criteria necessary for the assessment of their fulfilment.

The enabling condition regarding the tools and capacity for effective application of State aid rules shall not be applicable to programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF or the BMVI.

2.   When preparing a programme or introducing a new specific objective as part of a programme amendment, the Member State shall assess whether the enabling conditions linked to the selected specific objective are fulfilled. An enabling condition is fulfilled where all the related criteria are met. The Member State shall identify in each programme or in the programme amendment the fulfilled and non-fulfilled enabling conditions and shall provide a justification where it considers that an enabling condition has been fulfilled.

3.   Where an enabling condition is not fulfilled at the time of approval of the programme or the programme amendment, the Member State shall inform the Commission as soon as it considers that the enabling condition has been fulfilled with a justification of the fulfilment.

4.   The Commission shall, as soon as possible and no later than 3 months after receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 3, carry out an assessment and inform the Member State whether it agrees with the Member State regarding the fulfilment of the enabling condition.

Where the Commission disagrees with the Member State regarding the fulfilment of the enabling condition, it shall inform the Member State and set out its assessment.

Where the Member State disagrees with the Commission’s assessment, it shall present its observations within 1 month and the Commission shall proceed in accordance with the first subparagraph.

Where the Member State accepts the Commission’s assessment, it shall proceed in accordance with paragraph 3.

5.   Without prejudice to Article 105, expenditure related to operations linked to the specific objective may be included in payment applications but shall not be reimbursed by the Commission until the Commission has informed the Member State of the fulfilment of the enabling condition pursuant to the first subparagraph of paragraph 4 of this Article.

The first subparagraph shall not apply to operations that contribute to the fulfilment of the corresponding enabling condition.

6.   The Member State shall ensure that enabling conditions remain fulfilled and respected throughout the programming period. It shall inform the Commission of any modification impacting the fulfilment of enabling conditions.

Where the Commission considers that an enabling condition is no longer fulfilled, it shall inform the Member State setting out its assessment. Subsequently, the procedure set out in the second and third subparagraphs of paragraph 4 shall be followed.

Where the Commission concludes that the non-fulfilment of the enabling condition persists and without prejudice to Article 105, based on the observations of the Member State, expenditure related to the specific objective concerned may be included in payment applications but shall not be reimbursed by the Commission until the Commission has informed the Member State of the fulfilment of the enabling condition pursuant to the first subparagraph of paragraph 4 of this Article.

7.   Annex IV shall not apply to priorities supported by the JTF or to any ERDF and ESF+ resources transferred to the JTF in accordance with Article 27.

1.   Each Member State shall establish a performance framework to allow monitoring, reporting on and evaluating programme performance during implementation of the programme, and to contribute to measuring the overall performance of the Funds.

The performance framework shall consist of:

2.   Milestones and targets shall be established in relation to each specific objective within a programme, with the exception of technical assistance and of the specific objective addressing material deprivation set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation.

3.   Milestones and targets shall allow the Commission and the Member State to measure progress towards the achievement of the specific objectives. They shall meet the requirements set out in Article 33(3) of the Financial Regulation.

1.   The methodology to establish the performance framework shall include:

2.   The Member State shall make the methodology to establish the performance framework available to the Commission on request.

1.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF, the Member State shall review each programme, taking into account the following elements:

2.   The Member State shall submit an assessment for each programme on the outcome of the mid-term review, including a proposal for the definitive allocation of the flexibility amount referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 86(1), to the Commission by 31 March 2025.

3.   If deemed necessary following the mid-term review of the programme or in the event that new challenges are identified pursuant to point (a) of paragraph 1, the Member State shall submit to the Commission the assessment referred to in paragraph 2 together with the amended programme.

The revisions shall include:

The Commission shall approve the revised programme in accordance with Article 24, including a definitive allocation of the flexibility amount.

4.   Where, as a result of the mid-term review, the Member State considers that the programme does not need to be amended, the Commission shall either:

5.   Until the adoption of the Commission decision confirming the definitive allocation of the flexibility amount, this amount shall not be available for selection of operations.

6.   The Commission shall prepare a report about the outcome of the mid-term review and submit it to the European Parliament and to the Council by the end of 2026.

1.   The Commission may request a Member State to review and propose amendments of relevant programmes, where this is necessary to support the implementation of relevant Council Recommendations.

Such a request may be made for the following purposes:

2.   A request by the Commission to a Member State in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be justified, with reference to the need to support the implementation of the relevant recommendations, and shall indicate the programmes or priorities which it considers are concerned and the nature of the amendments expected. Such a request shall not be made before 2023 or after 2026, nor in relation to the same programmes in two consecutive years.

3.   The Member State shall submit its response to the request referred to in paragraph 1 within 2 months of its receipt, setting out the amendments it considers necessary in the relevant programmes, the reasons for such amendments, identifying the programmes concerned and outlining the nature of the amendments proposed and their expected effects on the implementation of recommendations and on the implementation of the Funds. If necessary, the Commission shall make observations within 1 month of the receipt of that response.

4.   The Member State shall submit a proposal to amend the relevant programmes within 2 months of the date of submission of the response referred to in paragraph 3.

5.   Where the Commission has not submitted observations or where it is satisfied that any observations submitted have been duly taken into account, it shall adopt a decision approving the amendments of the relevant programmes no later than 4 months after its submission by the Member State.

6.   Where the Member State fails to take effective action in response to a request made in accordance with paragraph 1, within the deadlines set out in paragraphs 3 and 4, the Commission may, within 3 months, following its observations under paragraph 3 or following the submission of the proposal of the Member State under paragraph 4, make a proposal to the Council to suspend part or all of the payments for the programmes or priorities concerned. In its proposal, the Commission shall set out the grounds for concluding that the Member State has failed to take effective action. In making its proposal, the Commission shall take account of all relevant information, and shall give due consideration to any elements arising from and opinions expressed through the structured dialogue under paragraph 14.

The Council shall decide on that proposal by means of an implementing act. That implementing act shall only apply with respect to payment applications submitted after the date of the adoption of that implementing act.

7.   The Commission shall make a proposal to the Council to suspend all or part of the commitments or payments for one or more of the programmes of a Member State where the Council decides in accordance with Article 126(8) or (11) TFEU that a Member State has not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit, unless it has determined the existence of a severe economic downturn in the euro area or in the Union as a whole within the meaning of Articles 3(5) and 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 (42).

8.   The Commission may make a proposal to the Council to suspend all or part of the commitments or payments for one or more of the programmes of a Member State in the following cases:

9.   Priority shall be given to the suspension of commitments. Payments shall be suspended only when immediate action is sought and in the case of significant non-compliance. The suspension of payments shall apply to payment applications submitted for the programmes concerned after the date of the decision to suspend.

10.   A proposal by the Commission for a decision to suspend commitments shall be deemed adopted by the Council unless the Council decides, by means of an implementing act, to reject such a proposal by qualified majority within 1 month of the submission of the Commission proposal.

The suspension of commitments shall apply to the commitments from the Funds for the Member State concerned from 1 January of the year following the adoption of the decision to suspend.

The Council shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on a proposal by the Commission referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 in relation to the suspension of payments.

11.   The scope and level of the suspension of commitments or payments to be imposed shall be proportionate, respect the equality of treatment between Member States and take into account the economic and social circumstances of the Member State concerned, in particular the level of unemployment, the level of poverty or social exclusion in the Member State concerned compared to the Union average and the impact of the suspension on the economy of the Member State concerned. The impact of suspensions on programmes of critical importance to address adverse economic or social conditions shall be a specific factor to be taken into account.

12.   The suspension of commitments shall be subject to a maximum of 25 % of the commitments relating to the next calendar year for the Funds or 0,25 % of nominal GDP, whichever is lower, in any of the following cases:

In the case of persistent non-compliance, the suspension of commitments may exceed the maximum percentages set out in the first subparagraph.

13.   The Council shall lift the suspension of commitments on a proposal from the Commission in the following cases:

After the Council has lifted the suspension of commitments, the Commission shall re-budget the suspended commitments in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093.

Suspended commitments may not be re-budgeted beyond the year 2027.

The decommitment time limit for the re-budgeted amount in accordance with Article 105 shall start from the year in which the suspended commitment has been re-budgeted.

A decision concerning the lifting of the suspension of payments shall be taken by the Council on a proposal by the Commission where the applicable conditions set out in in the first subparagraph are fulfilled. A proposal by the Commission for a decision to lift the suspension of commitments shall be deemed adopted by the Council unless the Council decides, by means of an implementing act, to reject such a proposal by qualified majority within 1 month of the submission of the Commission proposal.

14.   The Commission shall keep the European Parliament informed of the implementation of this Article. In particular, the Commission shall, when one of the conditions set out in paragraph 6, 7 or 8 is fulfilled for a Member State, immediately inform the European Parliament and provide details of the Funds and programmes which could be subject to a suspension.

The European Parliament may invite the Commission for a structured dialogue on the application of this Article, having regard to the transmission of the information referred to in the first subparagraph.

The Commission shall transmit the proposal for suspension or the proposal to lift such a suspension to the European Parliament and to the Council without delay after its adoption. The European Parliament may invite the Commission to explain the reasons for its proposal.

15.   By 31 December 2025, the Commission shall carry out a review of the application of this Article. To that end, the Commission shall prepare a report which it shall transmit to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied where necessary by a legislative proposal.

16.   Where there are major changes in the social and economic situation in the Union, the Commission may submit a proposal to review the application of this Article, or the European Parliament or the Council, acting in accordance with Article 225 or 241 TFEU respectively, may request the Commission to submit such a proposal.

17.   This Article shall not apply to the ESF+, the AMIF, the ISF, the BMVI or to Interreg programmes.

1.   Where after 1 July 2021 the Council has recognised the occurrence of an unusual event outside the control of one or more Member States, which has a major impact on the financial position of the general government or a severe economic downturn for the euro area or the Union as a whole as referred to in the tenth subparagraph of Article 5(1), the fourth subparagraph of Article 6(3), the tenth subparagraph of Article 9(1) and the fourth subparagraph of Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 (45) or the occurrence of unexpected adverse economic events with major unfavourable consequences for government finances as referred to in Articles 3(5) and 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97, the Commission may, by means of an implementing decision and for a period of a maximum of 18 months, adopt one or more of the following measures provided that they are strictly necessary to respond to such exceptional or unusual circumstances:

2.   The Commission shall keep the European Parliament and the Council informed of the implementation of this Article. When one of the conditions set out in paragraph 1 is fulfilled, the Commission shall immediately inform the European Parliament and the Council on its assessment of the situation and its envisaged follow-up.

3.   The European Parliament or the Council may invite the Commission for a structured dialogue on the application of this Article. When assessing the situation and envisaging a follow-up, the Commission shall give due consideration to the positions taken and views expressed through the structured dialogue.

4.   If after the period not exceeding 18 months, as referred to in paragraph 1, the specific circumstances that led to the adoption of these temporary measures persist, the Commission shall reassess the situation and put forward a legislative proposal, as appropriate, amending this Regulation, providing for the necessary flexibility to address these circumstances.

5.   The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the implementing decision adopted under paragraph 1 without delay, at the latest within 2 working days of its adoption.

1.   Member States shall prepare, in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 8(1), programmes to implement the Funds for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027.

2.   Member States shall submit programmes to the Commission no later than 3 months after the submission of the Partnership Agreement. For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, Member States shall submit programmes to the Commission no later than 3 months after the entry into force of this Regulation or the relevant fund-specific Regulation, whichever is later.

3.   Member States shall prepare programmes in accordance with the programme template set out in Annex V.

For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, Member States shall prepare programmes in accordance with the programme template set out in Annex VI.

4.   Where an environmental report is prepared in accordance with Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (46), it shall be published on the programme website referred to in Article 49(1) of this Regulation.

1.   Each programme shall set out a strategy for the contribution of the programme to the policy objectives or to the specific objective of the JTF and the communication of its results.

2.   A programme shall consist of one or more priorities. Each priority shall correspond to a single policy objective, the specific objective of the JTF, or to technical assistance implemented pursuant to Article 36(4) or Article 37. A priority may use support from one or more Funds unless it receives support from the JTF or concerns technical assistance implemented pursuant to Article 36(4) or Article 37. A priority corresponding to a policy objective shall consist of one or more specific objectives. More than one priority may correspond to the same policy objective or to the specific objective of the JTF.

For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, a programme shall use support from one Fund and consist of specific objectives and of technical assistance specific objectives.

3.   Each programme shall set out:

Points (a)(i), (ii) and (viii) of this paragraph shall not apply to programmes limited to supporting the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation. Point (d) of this paragraph shall not apply to the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation.

For the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund, the ESF+, the JTF and the EMFAF, the programme shall be accompanied for information purposes by a list of planned operations of strategic importance, with a timetable.

If, in accordance with point (k), more than one body is identified to receive payments from the Commission, the Member State shall set out the share of the reimbursed amounts between those bodies.

4.   By way of derogation from point (b) to (e) of paragraph 3, for each specific objective of programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the following shall be provided:

5.   Types of intervention shall be based on a nomenclature set out in Annex I. For programmes supported by the EMFAF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, types of intervention shall be based on a nomenclature set out in the Fund-specific Regulations.

6.   For ERDF, ESF+, Cohesion Fund and JTF programmes, the table referred to in point (g)(ii) of paragraph 3 shall include the amounts for the years 2021 to 2027, including the flexibility amount.

7.   The Member State shall communicate to the Commission any changes in the information referred to in point (k) of the first subparagraph of paragraph (3) without requiring a programme amendment.

8.   For programmes supported by the JTF, Member States shall submit to the Commission the territorial just transition plans as part of the programme or programmes or of a request for amendment.

1.   The Commission shall assess the programme and its compliance with this Regulation and with the Fund-specific Regulations, as well as, for the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund, the JTF and the EMFAF, its consistency with the relevant Partnership Agreement. In its assessment, the Commission shall, in particular, take into account relevant country-specific recommendations, relevant challenges identified in the integrated national energy and climate plan, and the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the way they are addressed.

2.   The Commission may make observations within 3 months of the date of submission of the programme by the Member State.

3.   The Member State shall review the programme, taking into account the observations made by the Commission.

4.   The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving the programme no later than 5 months after the date of the first submission of the programme by the Member State.

1.   The Member State may submit a reasoned request for an amendment of a programme, together with the amended programme, setting out the expected impact of that amendment on the achievement of the objectives.

2.   The Commission shall assess the amendment and its compliance with this Regulation and with the Fund-specific Regulations, including requirements at national level, and may make observations within 2 months of the submission of the amended programme.

3.   The Member State shall review the amended programme, taking into account the observations made by the Commission.

4.   The Commission shall adopt a decision approving the amendment of a programme no later than 4 months after its submission by the Member State.

5.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF, the Member State may transfer during the programming period an amount of up to 8 % of the initial allocation of a priority and no more than 4 % of the programme budget to another priority of the same Fund of the same programme. For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+ and the JTF, the transfer shall only concern allocations for the same category of region.

For programmes supported by the EMFAF, the Member State may transfer during the programming period an amount of up to 8 % of the initial allocation of a specific objective to another specific objective, including technical assistance implemented pursuant to Article 36(4).

For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the Member State may transfer during the programming period allocations between types of actions within the same priority and, in addition, an amount of up to 15 % of the initial allocation of a priority to another priority of the same Fund.

Such transfers shall not affect previous years. The transfers and related changes shall be considered to be not substantial and shall not require a decision of the Commission approving the amendment of the programme. They shall however, comply with all regulatory requirements and shall be approved by the monitoring committee in advance pursuant to point (d) of Article 40(2). The Member State shall submit to the Commission the amended table referred to under points (g)(ii), (iii) or (iv) of Article 22(3), as applicable, together with any related changes in the programme.

6.   The approval of the Commission shall not be required for corrections of a purely clerical or editorial nature that do not affect the implementation of the programme. Member States shall inform the Commission of such corrections.

7.   For programmes supported by the EMFAF, amendments of the programmes relating to the introduction of indicators shall not require the approval of the Commission.

1.   The ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the JTF may jointly provide support for programmes under the Investment for jobs and growth goal.

2.   The ERDF and the ESF+ may finance, in a complementary manner and subject to a limit of 15 % of support from those Funds for each priority of a programme, all or part of an operation for which the costs are eligible for support from the other Fund on the basis of eligibility rules applied to that Fund, provided that such costs are necessary for the implementation. That option shall not apply to any resources of the ERDF and the ESF+ that are transferred to the JTF in accordance with Article 27.

1.   Member States may request, in the Partnership Agreement or in a request for an amendment of a programme if agreed by the monitoring committee of the programme pursuant to point (d) of Article 40(2), the transfer of up to 5 % of the initial national allocation of each Fund to any other instrument under direct or indirect management, where such possibility is provided for in the basic act of such an instrument.

The sum of the transfers referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and the contributions in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) shall not exceed 5 % of the initial national allocation of each Fund.

Member States may also request in the Partnership Agreement or in the request for an amendment of a programme the transfer of up to 5 % of the initial national allocation of each Fund to another Fund or Funds, except for transfers which are set out in the fourth subparagraph.

Member States may also request in the Partnership Agreement or in the request for an amendment of a programme an additional transfer of up to 20 % of the initial national allocation by Fund between the ERDF, the ESF+ or the Cohesion Fund within the Member State’s global resources under the Investment for jobs and growth goal. The Member States whose average total unemployment rate for the period 2017-2019 is under 3 % may request such an additional transfer of up to 25 % of the initial national allocation.

2.   Transferred resources shall be implemented in accordance with the rules of the Fund or the instrument to which the resources are transferred and, in the case of transfers to instruments under direct or indirect management, for the benefit of the Member State concerned.

3.   Requests for an amendment of a programme shall set out the total amount transferred for each year by Fund and by category of region, where applicable, shall be duly justified with a view to the complementarities and impact to be achieved, and shall be accompanied by the amended programme or programmes in accordance with Article 24.

4.   After consultation with the Member State concerned, the Commission shall object to a request for transfer in the related programme amendment where such a transfer would undermine the achievement of the objectives of the programme from which the resources are to be transferred.

The Commission shall also object to the request where it considers that the Member State has not provided an adequate justification for the transfer with regard to the results to be achieved or the contribution to be made to the objectives of the receiving Fund or instrument in direct or indirect management.

5.   Where the request for transfer concerns an amendment of a programme, only resources of future calendar years may be transferred.

6.   JTF resources, including any resources transferred from the ERDF and the ESF+ in accordance with Article 27, shall not be transferable to other Funds or instruments pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 5 of this Article.

The JTF shall not receive transfers pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 5.

7.   Where the Commission has not entered into a legal commitment under direct or indirect management for resources transferred in accordance with paragraph 1, the corresponding uncommitted resources may be transferred back to the Fund from which they have been initially transferred and allocated to one or more programmes.

To this end, the Member State shall submit a request for a programme amendment in accordance with Article 24(1), at the latest 4 months before the time limit for commitments set out in the first subparagraph of Article 114(2) of the Financial Regulation.

8.   Resources transferred back to the Fund from which they have been initially transferred and allocated to one or more programmes shall be implemented in accordance with the rules set out in this Regulation and the Fund-specific Regulations as from the date of submission of the request for programme amendment.

9.   For the resources transferred back to the Fund from which they have been initially transferred and allocated to a programme in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, the decommitment time limit as defined in Article 105(1) shall start in the year in which the corresponding budgetary commitments are made.

1.   Member States may request on a voluntary basis that the amount of resources available for the JTF under the Investment for jobs and growth goal in accordance with Article 3 of theJTF Regulation be complemented with resources from the ERDF, the ESF+ or a combination thereof, of the category of region where the territory concerned is located. The total of the ERDF and the ESF+ resources transferred to the JTF shall not exceed three times the amount of the JTF allocation referred to in point (g) of Article 110(1). The resources transferred from either the ERDF or the ESF+ shall not exceed 15 % of the respective ERDF and ESF+ allocation to the Member State concerned. Member States shall set out in those requests the total amount transferred for each year by category of region.

2.   The respective transfers from the ERDF and the ESF+ resources to the priority or priorities supported by the JTF shall reflect the types of interventions in accordance with the information set out in the programme pursuant to point (d)(ix) of Article 22(3). Such transfers shall be considered to be definitive.

3.   The JTF resources, including the resources transferred from the ERDF and the ESF+, shall be implemented in accordance with the rules set out in this Regulation and in the JTF Regulation. The rules set out in the ERDF and CF Regulation and in the ESF+ Regulation shall not apply to the ERDF and ESF+ resources transferred in accordance with paragraph 1.

1.   Territorial strategies implemented pursuant to point (a) or (c) of Article 28 shall contain the following elements:

They may also contain a list of operations to be supported.

2.   Territorial strategies shall be under the responsibility of the relevant territorial authorities or bodies. Existing strategic documents concerning the covered areas may be used for territorial strategies.

3.   Where the list of operations to be supported has not been included in the territorial strategy, the relevant territorial authorities or bodies shall select or shall be involved in the selection of operations.

4.   When preparing territorial strategies, the authorities or bodies referred to in paragraph 2 shall cooperate with relevant managing authorities, in order to determine the scope of operations to be supported under the relevant programme.

Selected operations shall comply with the territorial strategy.

5.   Where a territorial authority or body carries out tasks falling under the responsibility of the managing authority other than the selection of operations, the authority shall be identified by the managing authority as an intermediate body.

6.   Support may be provided for the preparation and design of territorial strategies.

1.   Where a Member State considers it appropriate pursuant to Article 28, the ERDF, the ESF+, the JTF and the EMFAF shall support community-led local development.

2.   The Member State shall ensure that community-led local development is:

3.   Where support to strategies referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2 is available from more than one Fund, the relevant managing authorities shall organise a joint call for selection of those strategies and establish a joint committee for all the Funds concerned to monitor the implementation of those strategies. The relevant managing authorities may choose one of the Funds concerned to support all preparatory, management and animation costs referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 34(1) related to those strategies.

4.   Where the implementation of such a strategy involves support from more than one Fund, the relevant managing authorities may choose one of the Funds concerned as the Lead Fund.

5.   While respecting the scope and the eligibility rules of each fund involved in supporting the strategy, the rules of the Lead Fund shall apply to that strategy. The authorities of other funds shall rely on decisions and management verifications made by the competent authority of the Lead Fund.

6.   The authority of the Lead Fund shall provide the authorities of other Funds with information necessary to monitor and make payments in accordance with the rules set out in the Fund-specific Regulations.

1.   The relevant managing authorities shall ensure that each strategy referred to in point (c) of Article 31(2) sets out the following elements:

It may also contain types of measures and operations to be financed by each affected Fund.

2.   The relevant managing authorities shall define criteria for the selection of those strategies, set up a committee to carry out this selection and approve the strategies selected by that committee.

3.   The relevant managing authorities shall complete the first round of selection of strategies and ensure the local action groups selected can fulfil their tasks set out in Article 33(3) within 12 months of the date of the decision approving the programme or, in the case of strategies supported by more than one Fund, within 12 months of the date of the decision approving the last programme concerned.

4.   The decision approving a strategy shall set out the allocation of each Fund and programme concerned and set out the responsibilities for the management and control tasks under the programme or programmes.

1.   Local action groups shall design and implement the strategies referred to in point (c) of Article 31(2).

2.   The managing authorities shall ensure that the local action groups are inclusive, and that they either select one partner within the group as a lead partner in administrative and financial matters or come together in a legally constituted common structure.

3.   The following tasks shall be carried out exclusively by the local action groups:

4.   Where local action groups carry out tasks not covered by paragraph 3 that fall under the responsibility of the managing authority, or of the paying agency where the EAFRD is selected as a Lead Fund, these local action groups shall be identified by the managing authority as intermediate bodies in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.

5.   The local action group may be a beneficiary and may implement operations in accordance with the strategy, provided that the local action group ensures that the principle of separation of functions is respected.

1.   The Member State shall ensure that support from the Funds for community-led local development covers:

2.   The support referred to under point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be eligible regardless of whether the strategy is subsequently selected for funding.

The support referred to under point (c) of paragraph 1 shall not exceed 25 % of the total public contribution to the strategy.

1.   At the initiative of the Commission, the Funds may support preparatory, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation, communication including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union, visibility and all administrative and technical assistance actions necessary for the implementation of this Regulation and, where appropriate, with third countries.

2.   The actions referred to in paragraph 1 may include in particular:

3.   The Commission shall dedicate at least 15 % of the resources for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission to the delivery of greater efficiency in communication to the public and stronger synergies between the communication activities undertaken at the initiative of the Commission, by extending the knowledge base about results, in particular through more effective data collection and dissemination, evaluations and reporting, and especially by highlighting the contribution of the Funds to improving the lives of citizens, and by increasing the visibility of support from the Funds as well as by raising awareness about the results and the added value of such support. Information, communication and visibility measures on results and added value of support from the Funds, with particular focus on operations, shall be continued after the closure of the programmes, where appropriate. Such measures shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union as far as they are related to the general objectives of this Regulation.

4.   The actions referred to in paragraph 1 may cover previous and subsequent programming periods.

5.   The Commission shall set out its plans when a contribution from the Funds is envisaged in accordance with Article 110 of the Financial Regulation.

6.   Depending on the purpose, the actions referred to in this Article may be financed either as operational or administrative expenditure.

7.   In accordance with point (a) of the second subparagraph of Article 193(2) of the Financial Regulation, in duly justified cases specified in the financing decision and for a limited period, technical assistance actions at the initiative of the Commission supported under this Regulation in direct management and the underlying costs may be considered to be eligible from 1 January 2021, even if these actions were implemented and incurred before the grant application was submitted.

1.   At the initiative of a Member State, the Funds may support actions, which may concern previous and subsequent programming periods, necessary for the effective administration and use of those Funds, including for the capacity building of the partners referred to in Article 8(1), as well as to provide financing for carrying out, inter alia, functions such as preparation, training, management, monitoring, evaluation, visibility and communication.

The amounts for technical assistance under this Article and Article 37 shall not be taken into account for the purposes of thematic concentration in accordance with the fund-specific rules.

2.   Each Fund may support technical assistance actions eligible under any of the other Funds.

3.   The Union contribution for technical assistance in a Member State shall be made either pursuant to point (b) or (e) of Article 51.

The Member State shall indicate its choice of the form of Union contribution for technical assistance in the Partnership Agreement in accordance with Annex II. That choice shall apply to all programmes in the Member State concerned for the entire programming period and cannot be modified subsequently.

For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI and for Interreg programmes the Union contribution for technical assistance shall be made only pursuant to point (e) of Article 51.

4.   Where the Union contribution for technical assistance in a Member State is reimbursed pursuant to point (b) of Article 51, the following elements shall apply:

5.   Where the Union contribution for technical assistance is reimbursed pursuant to point (e) of Article 51, the following elements shall apply:

6.   Specific rules for technical assistance for Interreg programmes shall be set out in the Interreg Regulation.

1.   Each Member State shall set up a committee to monitor the implementation of the programme (‘monitoring committee’), after consulting the managing authority, within 3 months of the date of notification to the Member State concerned of the decision approving the programme.

The Member State may set up a single monitoring committee to cover more than one programme.

2.   Each monitoring committee shall adopt its rules of procedure, including provisions regarding the prevention of any conflict of interest and the application of the principle of transparency.

3.   The monitoring committee shall meet at least once a year and shall review all issues that affect the progress of the programme towards achieving its objectives.

4.   The rules of procedure of the monitoring committee and the data and information shared with the monitoring committee shall be published on the website referred to in Article 49(1), without prejudice to Article 69(5).

5.   Paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article shall not apply to programmes limited to the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation and related technical assistance.

1.   Each Member State shall determine the composition of the monitoring committee and shall ensure a balanced representation of the relevant Member State authorities and intermediate bodies and of representatives of the partners referred to in Article 8(1) through a transparent process.

Each member of the monitoring committee shall have a vote. The rules of procedures shall regulate the exercise of the voting right and the details on the procedure in the monitoring committee in accordance with the institutional, legal and financial framework of the Member State concerned.

The rules of procedure may allow non-members, including the EIB, to participate in the work of the monitoring committee.

The monitoring committee shall be chaired by a representative of the Member State or of the managing authority.

The list of the members of the monitoring committee shall be published on the website referred to in Article 49(1).

2.   Representatives of the Commission shall participate in the work of the monitoring committee in a monitoring and an advisory capacity.

3.   For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, relevant decentralised agencies may participate in the work of the monitoring committee.

1.   The monitoring committee shall examine:

As regards the programmes supported by the EMFAF, the monitoring committee shall be consulted and shall, if it considers it appropriate, give an opinion on any amendment of the programme proposed by the managing authority.

2.   The monitoring committee shall approve:

3.   The monitoring committee may make recommendations to the managing authority, including on measures to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries.

1.   Review meetings shall be organised once a year between the Commission and each Member State to examine the performance of each programme. Relevant managing authorities shall participate in the review meetings.

The review meeting may cover more than one programme.

The review meeting shall be chaired by the Commission or, if the Member State so requests, co-chaired by the Member State and the Commission.

2.   By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, for programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the review meeting shall be organised at least twice during the programming period.

3.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund, the JTF and the EMFAF, the Member State shall no later than 1 month before the review meeting provide the Commission with concise information on the elements listed in Article 40(1). That information shall be based on the most recent data available to the Member State.

For programmes limited to the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation, the information to be provided, based on the most recent data available, shall be limited to points (a), (b), (e), (f) and (h) of Article 40(1) of this Regulation.

4.   The Member State and the Commission may agree not to organise a review meeting. In such a case, the review may be carried out in writing.

5.   The outcome of the review meeting shall be recorded in agreed minutes.

6.   The Member State shall follow up issues raised during the review meeting which affect the implementation of the programme and shall inform the Commission within 3 months of the measures taken.

7.   For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the Member State shall submit an annual performance report in accordance with the Fund-specific Regulations.

1.   The Member State or the managing authority shall electronically transmit to the Commission cumulative data for each programme by 31 January, 30 April, 31 July, 30 September and 30 November of each year, with the exception of the data required in point (b) of paragraph 2 and in paragraph 3 that shall be electronically transmitted by 31 January and 31 July of each year, in accordance with the template set out in Annex VII.

The first transmission shall be due by 31 January 2022 and the last one by 31 January 2030.

For priorities supporting the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation, data shall be transmitted annually by 31 January.

The ESF+ Regulation may determine specific rules for the frequency of collecting and transmitting longer-term result indicators.

2.   The data shall be broken down for each priority by specific objective and, where applicable, by category of region and shall refer to:

3.   For financial instruments data shall also be provided on the following:

4.   The data submitted in accordance with this Article shall be reliable and reflect the data stored electronically as referred to in point (e) of Article 72(1) as at the end of the month preceding the month of submission.

5.   The Member State or the managing authority shall publish or provide a link to all the data transmitted to the Commission on the website portal referred to in point (b) of Article 46 or on the website referred to in Article 49(1).

1.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund, the JTF and the EMFAF, each managing authority shall submit to the Commission a final performance report of the programme by 15 February 2031.

2.   The final performance report shall assess the achievement of programme objectives based on the elements listed in Article 40(1) with the exception of the information provided under point (d) of that paragraph.

3.   The Commission shall examine the final performance report and inform the managing authority of any observations within 5 months of the date of receipt of the final performance report. Where such observations are made, the managing authority shall provide all necessary information with regard to those observations and, where appropriate, inform the Commission, within 3 months, of measures taken. The Commission shall inform the managing authority of the acceptance of the report, within 2 months of receiving all necessary information. Where the Commission does not inform the managing authority within those deadlines, the report shall be deemed to be accepted.

4.   The managing authority shall publish final performance reports on the website referred to in Article 49(1).

5.   The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt an implementing act establishing the template for the final performance report. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 115(2).

1.   The Member State or the managing authority shall carry out evaluations of the programmes related to one or more of the following criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and Union added value, with the aim to improve the quality of the design and implementation of programmes. Evaluations may also cover other relevant criteria, such as inclusiveness, non-discrimination and visibility, and may cover more than one programme.

2.   In addition, an evaluation for each programme to assess its impact shall be carried out by 30 June 2029.

3.   Evaluations shall be entrusted to internal or external experts who are functionally independent.

4.   The Member State or the managing authority shall ensure the necessary procedures are set up to produce and collect the data necessary for evaluations.

5.   The Member State or the managing authority shall draw up an evaluation plan which may cover more than one programme. For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, that plan shall include a mid-term evaluation to be completed by 31 March 2024.

6.   The Member State or the managing authority shall submit the evaluation plan to the monitoring committee no later than one year after the decision approving the programme.

7.   All evaluations shall be published on the website referred to in Article 49(1).

1.   The Commission shall carry out a mid-term evaluation to examine the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and Union added value of each Fund by the end of 2024. The Commission may make use of all relevant information already available in accordance with Article 128 of the Financial Regulation.

2.   The Commission shall carry out a retrospective evaluation to examine the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and Union added value of each Fund by 31 December 2031. In the case of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF, that evaluation shall focus in particular on the social, economic and territorial impact of those funds in relation to the policy objectives referred to in Article 5(1).

3.   The Commission shall publish the results of the retrospective evaluation on its website and communicate those results to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

1.   Each Member State shall identify a communication coordinator for visibility, transparency and communication activities in relation to the support from the Funds, including programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) where that Member State hosts the managing authority. The communication coordinator may be appointed at the level of the body defined under Article 71(6) and shall coordinate communication and visibility measures across programmes.

The communication coordinator shall involve in the visibility, transparency and communication activities the following bodies:

2.   Each managing authority shall identify a communication officer for each programme. A communication officer may be responsible for more than one programme.

3.   The Commission shall maintain the network comprising communication coordinators, communication officers and Commission representatives to exchange information on visibility, transparency and communication activities.

1.   The managing authority shall ensure that, within 6 months of the decision approving the programme, there is a website where information on programmes under its responsibility is available, covering the programme’s objectives, activities, available funding opportunities and achievements.

2.   The managing authority shall ensure the publication on the website referred to in paragraph 1, or on the single website portal referred to in point (b) of Article 46, of a timetable of the planned calls for proposals, that is updated at least three times a year, with the following indicative data:

3.   The managing authority shall make the list of operations selected for support by the Funds publicly available on the website in at least one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union and shall update that list at least every 4 months. Each operation shall have a unique code. The list shall contain the following data:

For data referred to in points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph, the data shall be removed 2 years from the date of the initial publication on the website.

4.   The data referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be published on the website referred to in paragraph 1, or on the single website portal referred to in point (b) of Article 46 of this Regulation, in open, machine-readable formats, as set out in Article 5(1) of the Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council (48), which allows data to be sorted, searched, extracted, compared and reused.

5.   The managing authority shall inform the beneficiaries that the data will be made public before the publication takes place in accordance with this Article.

6.   The managing authority shall ensure that communication and visibility material including at the level of beneficiaries is made available upon request to Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies and that a royalty-free, non-exclusive and irrevocable licence to use such material and any pre-existing rights attached to it is granted to the Union in accordance with Annex IX. This shall not require significant additional costs or a significant administrative burden for the beneficiaries or for the managing authority.

1.   Beneficiaries and bodies implementing financial instruments shall acknowledge support from the Funds, including resources reused in accordance with Article 62, to the operation by:

Where an ESF+ beneficiary is a natural person or for operations supported under the specific objective set out in point (m) of Article 4(1) of the ESF+ Regulation, the requirement set out in point (d) of the first subparagraph shall not apply.

By derogation from points (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph, for operations supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the document setting out the conditions for support may establish specific requirements for the public display of information on the support from the Funds where this is justified by reasons of security and public order in accordance with Article 69(5).

2.   For small project funds, the beneficiary shall comply with the obligations under Article 36(5) of the Interreg Regulation.

For financial instruments, the beneficiary shall ensure by means of the contractual terms that final recipients comply with the requirements set out in point (c) of paragraph 1.

3.   Where the beneficiary does not comply with its obligations under Article 47 or paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, and where remedial actions have not been put into place, the managing authority shall apply measures, taking into account the principle of proportionality, by cancelling up to 3 % of the support from the Funds to the operation concerned.

1.   Grants provided by Member States to beneficiaries may take any of the following forms:

2.   Where the total cost of an operation does not exceed EUR 200 000, the contribution provided to the beneficiary from the ERDF, the ESF+, the JTF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI shall take the form of unit costs, lump sums or flat rates, except for operations for which the support constitutes State aid. Where flat-rate financing is used, only the categories of costs to which the flat -rate applies may be reimbursed in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the managing authority may agree to exempt some operations in the area of research and innovation from the requirement set out in that subparagraph, provided that the monitoring committee has given prior approval for such an exemption. In addition, allowances and salaries paid to participants may be reimbursed in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1.

3.   The amounts for the forms of grants referred to under points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, shall be established in one of the following ways:

1.   Direct staff costs of an operation may be calculated at a flat rate of up to 20 % of the direct costs other than the direct staff costs of that operation, without there being a requirement for the Member State to perform a calculation to determine the applicable rate, provided that the direct costs of the operation do not include public works contracts or supply or service contracts which exceed in value the thresholds set out in Article 4 of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (49) or in Article 15 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (50).

Where a flat rate is applied in accordance with the first subparagraph for the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, that flat rate shall only be applied to the direct costs of the operation not subject to public procurement.

2.   For the purposes of determining direct staff costs, an hourly rate may be calculated in one of the following ways:

3.   When applying the hourly rate calculated in accordance with paragraph 2, the total number of hours declared per person for a given year or month shall not exceed the number of hours used for the calculation of that hourly rate.

4.   Where annual gross employment costs are not available, they may be derived from the available documented gross employment costs or from the employment document, duly adjusted for a 12-month period.

5.   Staff costs related to individuals who work on part-time assignment on the operation may be calculated as a fixed percentage of the gross employment costs, in line with a fixed percentage of time worked on the operation per month, with no obligation to establish a separate working time registration system. The employer shall issue a document for employees setting out that fixed percentage.

1.   A flat rate of up to 40 % of eligible direct staff costs may be used in order to cover the remaining eligible costs of an operation. The Member State shall not be required to perform a calculation to determine the applicable rate.

2.   For operations supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the JTF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, salaries and allowances paid to participants shall be considered additional eligible costs not included in the flat rate.

3.   The flat rate referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be applied to staff costs calculated on the basis of a flat rate as referred to in Article 55(1).

1.   Member States may provide grants under conditions to beneficiaries which are fully or partially repayable as specified in the document setting out the conditions for support.

2.   Repayments by the beneficiary shall be made under the conditions agreed by the managing authority and the beneficiary.

3.   Member States shall reuse resources paid back by the beneficiary for the same purpose or in accordance with the objectives of the programme concerned by 31 December 2030, in the form of grants under conditions or of a financial instrument or in another form of support. The amounts paid back and information about their reuse shall be included in the final performance report.

4.   Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the resources are kept in separate accounts or under appropriate accounting codes.

5.   Union resources paid back by beneficiaries at any time, but not reused by 31 December 2030, shall be repaid to the budget of the Union in accordance with Article 88.

1.   Managing authorities may provide a programme contribution, from one or more programmes to existing or newly created financial instruments set up at national, regional, transnational or cross border level and implemented directly by, or under the responsibility of, the managing authority which contribute to achieving specific objectives.

2.   Financial instruments shall provide support to final recipients only for investments in both tangible and intangible assets as well as working capital expected to be financially viable and which do not find sufficient funding from market sources. Such support shall be in compliance with applicable Union State aid rules.

Such support shall be provided only for the elements of the investments which are not physically completed or fully implemented at the date of the investment decision.