1.   This Regulation lays down:

1a.     Title I, Chapter I — Article 2- paragraph 4 a, Chapter II — Article 5, Title III, Chapter II — Articles 22 to 28 and Title IV — Chapter III — Section I- Articles 41 to 43 shall apply to aid measures financed by the EAFRD and Title I- Chapter 1 — Article 2- paragraphs 15 to 25 , as well as Title V- Chapter II — Section II — Articles 52 to 56 shall apply to financial instruments provided for in Article 74 of Regulation (EU) …/… [CAP Strategic Plans Regulation] and supported under the EAFRD. [Am. 432]

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

3.   Articles 4 and 10, Chapter III of Title II, Chapter II of Title III, and Title VIII shall not apply to the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI.

4.   Title VIII shall not apply to the EMFF.

5.   Article 11 of Chapter II and Article 15 of Chapter III of Title II, Chapter I of Title III, Articles 33 to 36 and Article 38(1) to (4) of Chapter I, Article 39 of Chapter II, Article 45 of Chapter III of Title IV, Articles 67, 71, 73 and 74 of Chapter II and Chapter III of Title VI shall not apply to Interreg programmes.

6.   The Fund-specific Regulations listed below may establish complementary rules to 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 EMFF shall support the following policy objectives:

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

3.   Member States shall ensure climate proofing for relevant operations through the entire planning and implementation process and shall provide information on the support for environment and climate objectives 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. [Am. 68]

4    In accordance with their respective responsibilities and in line with the principles of subsidiarity and multilevel governance, Member States and the Commission shall ensure the coordination, complementarity and coherence between the Funds and other Union instruments such as the Reform Support Programme, including the Reform Delivery Tool and the Technical Support Instrument. They shall optimise mechanisms for coordination between those responsible in order to avoid duplication during planning and implementation. [Am. 69]

4a.     Member States and the Commission shall ensure compliance with relevant State aid rules. [Am. 70]

1.   The Member States , in accordance with their institutional and legal framework, and the Commission shall implement the budget of the Union allocated to the Funds under shared management in accordance with Article [63] of Regulation (EU, Euratom) [number of the new financial regulation] (the ‘Financial Regulation’). [Am. 71]

2.   However, Without prejudice to Article 1(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 InvestEU (34) and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission under direct or indirect management in accordance with [points (a) and (c) of Article 62(1)] of the Financial Regulation. [Am. 72]

3.   The Commission may , with the agreement of the Member State and the region concerned, implement outermost regions’ cooperation under the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) under indirect management. [Am. 73]

1.    For the Partnership Agreement and each programme, each Member State shall , in accordance with its institutional and legal framework, organise a  fully -fledged, effective partnership with the competent regional and local authorities. That partnership shall include at least the following partners: [Am. 74]

2.   In accordance with the multi-level governance principle and following a bottom-up approach , the Member State shall involve those partners in the preparation of Partnership Agreements and throughout the preparation, and and evaluation implementation of programmes including through participation in monitoring committees in accordance with Article 34. In that context, Member States shall allocate an appropriate percentage of the resources coming from the Funds for the administrative capacity building of social partners and civil society organisations. For cross-border programmes, the Member States concerned shall include partners from all participating Member States. [Ams. 78 and 459]

3.   The organisation and implementation of partnership shall be carried out in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014 (35). The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 107, concerning amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 240/2014 in order to adapt that Delegated Regulation to this Regulation. [Am. 79]

4.   At least once a year, the Commission shall consult the organisations which represent the partners at Union level on the implementation of programmes , and shall report to the European Parliament and Council on the outcome . [Am. 80]

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 gender perspective are taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation and implementation of programmes, including in relation to monitoring, reporting and evaluation.

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 principle of sustainable development, taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals and with the Union’s promotion of the aim of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of environment and combating climate change, taking into account the polluter pays principle, as set out in Article 191(1) and (2) TFEU.

Member States and the Commission shall ensure that environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, energy efficiency first-principle, socially just energy transition, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, disaster resilience, and risk prevention and management are promoted in the preparation and implementation of programmes. They shall aim at avoiding investments related to production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels. [Am. 81]

1.   Each Member State shall prepare a Partnership Agreement which sets out arrangements for using the Funds in an effective and efficient way for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. Such Partnership Agreement shall be prepared in accordance with the code of conduct established by the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014. [Am. 82]

2.   The Member State shall submit the Partnership Agreement to the Commission before or at the same time as the submission of the first programme , but not later than 30 April 2021 . [Am. 83]

3.   The Partnership Agreement may be submitted together with the relevant annual National Reform Programme and the National Energy and Climate Plan . [Am. 84]

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

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

1.   The Commission shall assess the Partnership Agreement and its compliance with this Regulation and with the Fund-specific rules. In its assessment, the Commission shall, in particular, take into account the provisions of Article 4 and 6, the relevant country-specific recommendations , as well as the measures linked to integrated national energy and climate plans and the way they are addressed . [Am. 98]

2.   The Commission may make observations within three two months of the date of submission by the Member State of the Partnership Agreement. [Am. 99]

3.   The Member State shall review the Partnership Agreement taking into account the observations made by the Commission within one month of the date of their submission . [Am. 100]

4.   The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving the Partnership Agreement no later than four months after the date of the first submission of that Partnership Agreement by the Member State concerned. The Partnership Agreement shall not be amended. [Am. 101]

5.   If, pursuant to Article 7(4), the Partnership Agreement is included in a programme, the Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving that programme no later than six months after the date of submission of that programme by the Member State concerned.

1.    As of 1 January 2023, Member States , with the agreement of the managing authorities concerned, may allocate, in the Partnership Agreement or in the request for an amendment of a programme, the amount up to 2 % of ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFF to be contributed to InvestEU and delivered through budgetary guarantees. The amount to be contributed to InvestEU shall not exceed 5 % Up to 3 % of the total allocation of each Fund, except in duly justified cases may be further allocated to InvestEU under the mid-term review . Such contributions shall not constitute transfers of be available for investments in line with cohesion policy objectives and in the same category of regions targeted by the Funds of origin. Whenever an amount of ERDF, ESF+, Cohesion Fund is contributed to Invest EU, the enabling conditions as described in Article 11 and in Annexes III and IV to this Regulation shall apply. Only resources under Article 21 of future calendar years may be allocated . [Am. 428]

2.   For the Partnership Agreement, resources of the current and future calendar years may be allocated. For the request for an amendment of a programme, only resources of future calendar years may be allocated. [Am. 103]

3.   The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used for the provisioning of the part of the EU guarantee under the respective Member State compartment. [Am. 104]

4.   Where a contribution agreement, as set out in Article [9] of the [InvestEU Regulation], has not been concluded by 31 December 2021 2023 for an amount referred to in paragraph 1 allocated in the Partnership Agreement, the Member State shall submit a request for amendment of a programme or programmes to use the corresponding amount. [Am. 105]

The contribution agreement for an amount referred to in paragraph 1 allocated in the request of the amendment of a programme shall be concluded , or amended as the case may be, simultaneously with the adoption of the decision amending the programme. [Am. 106]

5.   Where a guarantee agreement, as set out in Article [9] of the [InvestEU Regulation], has not been concluded within nine months from the approval of the contribution agreement, the respective amounts paid into the common provisioning fund as a provisioning shall be transferred back to a the original programme or programmes and the Member State shall submit a corresponding request for a programme amendment. In this particular case, resources of past calendar years may be modified, as long as the commitments are not yet implemented. [Am. 107]

6.   Where a guarantee agreement, as set out in Article [9] of the [InvestEU Regulation], has not been fully implemented within four years from the signature of the guarantee agreement, the Member State may request that amounts committed in the guarantee agreement but not covering underlying loans or other risk bearing instruments shall be treated in accordance with paragraph 5.

7.   Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to InvestEU and delivered through budgetary guarantees shall be made available to the Member State and the local or regional authority concerned by the contribution and shall be used for support under the same objective or objectives in the form of financial instruments. [Am. 108]

8.   The Commission shall re-budget contributed amounts which have not been used for InvestEU for the year in which the corresponding programme amendment is approved. Such re-budgetisation may not go beyond the year 2027.

The decommitment time limit for the re-budgeted amount in accordance with Article 99 shall start from the year in which the contribution has been re-budgeted.

1.   For each specific objective, prerequisite conditions for its effective and efficient implementation (‘enabling conditions’) are laid down in this Regulation. Enabling conditions shall apply to the extent to which they contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives of the programme. [Am. 109]

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

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

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 where it considers that an enabling condition is fulfilled, it shall provide justification. On the request of a Member State, the EIB may contribute to the assessments of actions needed to fulfil the relevant enabling conditions. [Am. 110]

3.   Where an enabling condition is not fulfilled at the time of approval of the programme or the programme amendment, the Member State shall report to the Commission as soon as it considers the enabling condition fulfilled with justification.

4.   The Commission shall, within three two months of receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 3, perform an assessment and inform the Member State where it agrees with the fulfilment. [Am. 111]

Where the Commission disagrees with the assessment of the Member State, it shall inform the Member State accordingly and give it the opportunity to present its observations within one month maximum two months . [Am. 112]

5.   Expenditure related to operations linked to the specific objective cannot may be included in payment applications until before the Commission has informed the Member State of the fulfilment of the enabling condition pursuant to paragraph 4 , without prejudice to the suspension of the reimbursement itself until such time as the condition is fulfilled . [Am. 113]

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

6.   The Member State shall ensure that enabling conditions are fulfilled and applied 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 and give it the opportunity to present its observations within one month. Where the Commission concludes that the non-fulfilment of the enabling condition persists, expenditure related to the specific objective concerned cannot be included in payment applications as from the date the Commission informs the Member State accordingly.

7.   Annex IV shall not apply to programmes supported by the EMFF.

1.   The Member State , where appropriate, in cooperation with local and regional authorities, shall establish a performance framework which shall allow monitoring, reporting on and evaluating programme performance during its implementation, and contribute to measuring the overall performance of the Funds. [Am. 115]

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 Article [4(c)(vii)] [4(1) ( xi )] of the ESF+ Regulation. [Am. 116]

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 methodologies to establish the performance framework shall include:

2.   The Member State shall make those methodologies available upon request by the Commission.

1.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+ and the Cohesion Fund, the Member State and relevant managing authorities shall review each programme, taking into account the following elements: [Am. 117]

2.    In accordance with the outcome of the review, the Member State shall submit to the Commission by 31 March 2025 a request for the amendment of each programme in accordance with Article 19(1) or state that no amendment is requested . The Member State shall justify the amendment on the basis of the elements set out in paragraph 1 or, as appropriate, give reasons for not requesting the amendment of a programme . [Am. 121]

The revised programme shall include:

3.   Where as a result of the review a new programme is submitted, the financing plan under point (ii) of Article 17(3)(f) shall cover the total financial appropriation for each of the Funds as of the year of the programme approval.

3a.     The Commission shall, by 31 March 2026, adopt a report summarising the results of the review referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. The Commission shall communicate the report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. [Am. 124]

1.   The Commission may request a Member State to review and propose amendments to 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.

3.   The Member State shall submit its response to the request referred to in paragraph 1 within two 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 one month of the receipt of that response.

4.   The Member State shall submit a proposal to amend the relevant programmes within two 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 to the relevant programmes in accordance with the time limit set out in Article [19(4)].

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 suspend all or part of the payments for the programmes or priorities concerned in accordance with Article 91.

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 in the following cases:

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.

The Commission may, on grounds of exceptional economic circumstances or following a reasoned request by the Member State concerned addressed to the Commission within 10 days of adoption of the decision or recommendation referred to in the previous sub-paragraph, recommend that the Council cancel the suspension referred to in the same sub-paragraph.

8.   A proposal by the Commission for 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 one 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 decision to suspend.

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

9.   The scope and level of the suspension of commitments or payments to be imposed shall be proportionate, shall respect the equality of treatment between Member States and shall 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 of the Member State concerned in relation 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.

10.   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 case of persistent non-compliance, the suspension of commitments may exceed the maximum percentages set out in the first sub-paragraph.

11.   The Council shall lift the suspension of commitments on a proposal from the Commission, in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 8, 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 [8] of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) [ […] (MFF regulation) ].

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

The decommitment time limit for the re-budgeted amount in accordance with Article 99 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 sub-paragraph are fulfilled.

12.   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 7 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 of commitments.

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 sub-paragraph.

The Commission shall transmit the proposal for suspension of commitments or the proposal to lift such a suspension, to the European Parliament and to the Council.

13.   Paragraphs 1 to 12 shall not apply to priorities or programmes under Article [4(c)(v)(ii)] of ESF+ Regulation. [Am. 425/rev, 444/rev, 448 and 469]

1.   Member States in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 6 shall prepare programmes to implement the Funds for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. [Am. 140]

2.   Member States shall submit programmes to the Commission no later than 3 months after the submission of the Partnership Agreement.

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, the Member State shall prepare programmes in accordance with the programme template set out in Annex VI.

1.   Each programme shall set out a strategy for the programme’s contribution to the policy objectives and the communication of its results.

2.   A programme shall consist of priorities. Each priority shall correspond to a single one or several policy objective objectives or to technical assistance. 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. [Am. 141]

For programmes supported by the EMFF, each priority may correspond to one or more policy objectives. Specific objectives correspond to areas of support as defined in Annex [III] to the EMFF Regulation.

For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, a programme shall consist of specific objectives.

3.   Each programme shall set out:

Points (c) and (d) of this paragraph shall not apply to the specific objective set out in Article [4(c)(vii)] [4(1)(xi)] of the ESF+Regulation. [Am. 156]

An environmental report containing relevant information on the effects on the environment in accordance with Directive 2001/42/EC shall be annexed to the programme, taking into account climate change mitigation needs. [Am. 157]

4.   By way of derogation from point (d) 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 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+ and Cohesion Fund programmes submitted in accordance with Article 16, the table referred to in paragraph (3)(f)(ii) shall include the amounts for the years 2021 to 2025 only 2027 . [Am. 158]

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

1.   The Commission shall assess the programme and its compliance with this Regulation and with the Fund-specific Regulations, as well as its consistency with the Partnership Agreement. In its assessment, the Commission shall, in particular, take into account relevant country-specific recommendations , as well as relevant challenges identified in the implementation of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans and in the European Pillar of Social Rights and the way they are addressed . [Am. 160]

2.   The Commission may make observations within three two months of the date of submission of the programme by the Member State. [Am. 161]

3.   The Member State shall review the programme taking into account the observations made by the Commission within two months of their submission . [Am. 162]

4.   The Commission shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act approving the programme no later than six five months after the date of the first submission of the programme by the Member State. [Am. 163]

1.   The Member State may submit a motivated 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 three two months of the submission of the amended programme. [Am. 164]

3.   The Member State shall review the amended programme and take into account the observations made by the Commission within two months of their submission . [Am. 165]

4.   The Commission shall approve the amendment of a programme no later than six three months after its submission by the Member State. [Am. 166]

5.   The Member State may transfer during the programming period an amount of up to 5 % 7 % of the initial allocation of a priority and no more than 3 % 5 % of the programme budget to another priority of the same Fund of the same programme. In doing so the Member State shall respect the code of conduct established by the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 240/2014. For the programmes supported by the ERDF and ESF+, the transfer shall only concern allocations for the same category of region. [Am. 167]

Such transfers shall not affect previous years. They shall be considered to be not substantial and shall not require a decision of the Commission amending the programme. They shall however, comply with all regulatory requirements. The Member State shall submit to the Commission the revised table referred to under points (f)(ii), (f)(iii) or (f)(iv) of Article 17(3) as applicable.

6.   The approval of the Commission shall not be required for corrections of a purely clerical , technical or editorial nature that do not affect the implementation of the programme. Member States shall inform the Commission of such corrections. [Am. 168]

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

1.   The ERDF, the ESF+ and the Cohesion Fund 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 10 % 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. [Am. 169]

1.    For the purpose of ensuring flexibility, Member States may request , if agreed by the monitoring committee of the programme, the transfer of up to 5 % of programme financial allocations from any of the Funds to any other Fund under shared management or to any instrument under direct or indirect management the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, or the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund . [Am. 170]

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. [Ams 171 and 434]

3.   Requests under paragraph 1 shall set out the total amount transferred for each year by Fund and by category of region, where relevant, shall be duly justified with a view to the complementarities and impact to be achieved, and shall be accompanied by the revised programme or programmes, from which the resources are to be transferred in accordance with Article 19 indicating to which other Fund or instrument the amounts are transferred. [Ams 172, 433 and 434]

4.   The Commission may object to a request for transfer in the related programme amendment where this would undermine the achievement of the objectives of the programme from which the resources are to be transferred.

5.   Only resources of future calendar years may be transferred.

1.     The Commission shall appraise the major project on the basis of the information referred to in Article 21b in order to determine whether the requested financial contribution for the major project selected by the managing authority is justified. The Commission shall adopt a decision on the approval of the financial contribution to the selected major project, by means of an implementing act, no later than three months after the date of submission of the information referred to in Article 21b.

2.     The approval by the Commission under paragraph 1 shall be conditional on the first works contract being concluded, or, in the case of operations implemented under PPP structures, on the signing of the PPP agreement between the public body and the private sector body, within three years of the date of the approval.

3.     Where the Commission does not approve the financial contribution to the selected major project, it shall give in its decision the reasons for its refusal.

4.     Major projects submitted for approval under paragraph 1 shall be contained in the list of major projects in a programme.

5.     Expenditure relating to a major project may be included in a payment application after the submission for approval referred to in paragraph 1. Where the Commission does not approve the major project selected by the managing authority, the declaration of expenditure following the withdrawal of the application by the Member State or the adoption of the Commission decision shall be rectified accordingly. [Am. 176]

1.   Territorial strategies implemented pursuant to points (a) or (c) of Article 22 shall contain the following elements:

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

2.   Territorial strategies shall be drawn up prepared and endorsed under the responsibility of the relevant urban regional , local or and other public authorities. Pre-existing strategic documents concerning the covered areas may be updated and used for territorial authorities or bodies strategies . [Am. 181]

3.   Where the list of operations to be supported has not been included in the territorial strategy, the relevant urban regional , local or other territorial authorities or bodies shall select or shall be involved in the selection of operations. [Am. 182]

Selected operations shall comply with the territorial strategy.

3a.     When preparing territorial strategies, the authorities 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. [Am. 183]

4.   Where an urban a regional , local or other territorial public authority or other 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. [Am. 184]

The selected operations may be supported under more than one priority of the same programme. [Am. 185]

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

1.   Where a strategy implemented in accordance with Article 23 involves investments that receive support from one or more Funds than one Fund , from more than one programme or from more than one priority of the same programme, actions may be carried out as an integrated territorial investment (‘ITI’). Where appropriate, each ITI may be complemented by financial support from the EAFRD. [Am. 186]

2.   The managing authority shall ensure that the electronic system for the programme or programmes provides for the identification of operations and outputs and results contributing to an ITI.

2a.     Where the list of operations to be supported has not been included in the territorial strategy, the relevant regional, local, other public authorities or bodies shall be involved in the selection of operations. [Am. 187]

1.   The ERDF, the ESF+, and the EMFF may and the EAFRD shall support community-led local development. In the context of the EAFRD, such development shall be designated as LEADER local development. [Am. 188]

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

3.   Where support to strategies referred to in paragraph 2(c) 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 28(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. The type of measures and operations to be financed by each affected Fund may also be specified. [Am. 191]

5.   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 Lead Fund authority.

6.   The authorities 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 Regulation.

1.   The relevant managing authorities shall ensure that each strategy referred to in Article 25(2)(c) sets out the following elements:

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 27(3) within 12 months of the date of the approval of the relevant programme or, in the case of strategies supported by more than one Fund, within 12 months of the date of the approval of 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. Corresponding national public contributions shall be guaranteed upfront for the whole period. [Am. 194]

1.   Local action groups shall design and implement the strategies referred to in Article 25(2)(c).

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 , in order to implement tasks relating to the community-led local development strategy . [Am. 195]

3.   The local action groups, exclusively, shall carry out all of the following tasks:

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, those 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 , encouraging the separation of functions inside the local action group . [Am. 197]

1.    With a view to ensuring complementarities and synergies, the Member State shall ensure that support from the Funds for community-led local development covers: [Am. 198]

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.

1a.     The actions referred to in the first subparagraph may include in particular:

1b.     The Commission shall dedicate at least 15 % of the resources for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission to bring about 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 on 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. [Am. 202]

2.   Such actions may cover future and previous and future programming periods. [Am. 203]

2a.     In order to avoid situations where payments are suspended, the Commission shall ensure that Member States and regions which face compliance concerns due to a lack of administrative capacity receive adequate technical assistance to improve that administrative capacity. [Am. 204]

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

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

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 , for the capacity building of the partners referred to in Article 6, as well as to ensure functions such as preparation, training, management, monitoring, evaluation, visibility and communication . [Am. 205]

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

3.   Within each programme, technical assistance shall take the form of a priority relating to either one single Fund or several Funds . [Am. 206]

1.   Technical assistance to each programme shall be reimbursed as a flat-rate by applying the percentages set out in paragraph 2 to the eligible expenditure included in each payment application pursuant to Article 85(3)(a) or (c) as appropriate.

2.    On the basis of an agreement between the Commission and the Member States and taking into account the programme financial plan, the percentage of the Funds reimbursed for technical assistance shall be the following may be up to : [Am. 207]

For the outermost regions, for (a), (b), (c) the percentage shall be up to 1 % higher. [Am. 211]

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

1.   The Member State shall set up a committee to monitor the implementation of the programme (‘monitoring committee’) , after consultation with the managing authority, within three months of the date of notification to the Member State concerned of the decision approving the programme. [Am. 214]

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 , taking into account the need for full transparency . [Am. 215]

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

4.   The Member State shall publish the rules of procedures of the monitoring committee and all the data and information shared with the monitoring committee on the website referred to in Article 44(1).

5.   Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not apply to programmes under Article [4(c)(vi)] [4(1)(xi)] of the ESF+ Regulation and related technical assistance. [Am. 216]

1.   The 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 6 through a transparent process . [Am. 217]

Each member of the monitoring committee shall have a vote.

The Member State shall publish the list of the members of the monitoring committee on the website referred to in Article 44(1).

2.   Representatives of the Commission shall participate in the work of the monitoring committee in a monitoring and an advisory capacity. Representatives of the EIB may be invited to participate in the work of the monitoring committee, in an advisory capacity, where appropriate. [Am. 218]

2a.     For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, relevant decentralised agencies shall participate in the work of the monitoring committee in an advisory capacity. [Am. 219]

1.   The monitoring committee shall examine:

2.   The monitoring committee shall approve:

2a.     The monitoring committee may propose to the managing authority further functions of intervention. [Am. 226]

1.   An annual review meeting shall be organised between the Commission and each Member State to examine the performance of each programme. Managing authorities shall be duly involved in this process. [Am. 227]

The annual 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.   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+ and the Cohesion Fund, the Member State shall no later than one month before the annual review meeting provide the Commission with the information on the elements listed in Article 35(1).

For programmes under Article [4(1)(c)(vii)] of the ESF+ Regulation, the information to be provided shall be limited to points (a), (b), (e), (f) and (h) of Article 35(1).

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

5.   The Member State shall follow up issues raised by the Commission and inform the Commission within three months of the measures taken.

6.   For programmes supported by the EMFF, the AMF AMIF , the ISF and the BMVI, the Member State shall submit an annual performance report in accordance with the Fund-specific Regulations. [Am. 228]

1.   The managing authority shall electronically transmit to the Commission cumulative data for each programme by 31 January, 31 March, 31 May, 31 July, 30 September and 30 November of each year in accordance with the template set out in Annex VII.

The first transmission shall be due by 31 January 28 February 2022 and the last one by 31 January 28 February 2030. [Am. 229]

For programmes under Article 4(1)(c)(vii) 4(1) ( xi ) of the ESF+ Regulation, data shall be transmitted annually by 30 November. [Am. 230]

2.   The data shall be broken down for each priority by specific objective and by category of regions, 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 up-to-date as of the end of the month preceding the month of submission.

5.   The managing authority shall publish all the data transmitted to the Commission on the website referred to in Article 44(1).

6.   For programmes supported by the EMFF, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 109(2) in order to establish the template to be used for the implementation of this Article.

1.   For programmes supported by the ERDF, the ESF+ and the Cohesion Fund, 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 35(1) with the exception of the information provided under Article 35(1)(d).

3.   The Commission shall examine the final performance report and inform the managing authority of any observations within five 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 three months, of measures taken. The Commission shall inform the Member State of the acceptance of the report.

4.   The managing authority shall publish final performance reports on the website referred to in Article 44(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 108.

1.   The managing authority shall carry out evaluations of the programme. Each evaluation shall assess the programme’s inclusiveness, non-discriminatory nature, effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence , visibility and EU added value with the aim to improve the quality of the design and implementation of programmes. [Am. 233]

2.   In addition, the managing authority shall carry out an evaluation for each programme to assess its impact by 30 June 2029.

3.   The managing authority shall entrust evaluations to functionally independent experts.

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

5.   The managing authority or the Member State shall draw up an evaluation plan. That evaluation plan 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 managing authority shall submit the evaluation plan to the monitoring committee no later than one year after the approval of the programme.

7.   The managing authority shall publish all evaluations on the website referred to in Article 44(1).

1.   The Commission shall carry out a mid-term evaluation to examine the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU 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 EU added value of each Fund by 31 December 2031.

2a.     The evaluation referred to in paragraph 2 shall include an evaluation of the socio-economic impact and the funding needs under the policy objectives referred to in Article 4(1), within and among the programmes with a focus on a more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and a more connected Europe by enhancing mobility, including smart and sustainable mobility and regional ICT connectivity. The Commission shall publish the results of the 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. [Am. 234]

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 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 (‘programme communication officer’).

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

1.   The managing authority shall ensure that, within six months of the programme’s approval, there is a website where information on programmes under its responsibility is available, covering the programme’s objectives, activities, indicative timetable for calls for proposals, available funding opportunities and achievements. [Am. 236]

2.   The managing authority shall publish on the website referred to in paragraph 1, at the latest one month before the opening of a call for proposal, a short summary of planned and published calls for proposals with the following 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 Union and shall update that list at least every three months. Each operation shall have a unique code. The list shall contain the following data:

For data referred to in points (b), (c) and (k) of the first sub-paragraph, the data shall be removed after two years from the date of the initial publication on the website.

For programmes supported by the EMFF, the data referred to in points (b) and (c) of the first sub-paragraph shall only be published if such publication is in line with national law on the protection of personal data.

4.   The data referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be published on the website in open, machine-readable formats, as set out in Article 5(1) of the Directive 2003/98/EC (42) of the European Parliament and of the Council, 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 all communication and visibility material including at the level of beneficiaries is made available upon request to Union Institutions, bodies 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 VIII.

1.   Beneficiaries and bodies implementing financial instruments shall acknowledge support from the Funds, including resources reused in accordance with Article 56, to the operation by:

2.   For small project funds, the beneficiary shall ensure that final recipients comply with the requirements set out in paragraph 1.

For financial instruments, the beneficiary shall ensure 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 42 or paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the Member State shall apply a financial correction by cancelling up to 5 % 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:

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 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 the first sub-paragraph.

In addition, allowances and salaries paid to participants may be reimbursed in accordance with point (a) of the first sub-paragraph.

2.   The amounts for the forms of grants referred to under point (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 (43) or in Article 15 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (44).

For the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, any costs subject to public procurement and the direct staff costs of that operation shall be excluded from the basis for calculation of the flat rate.

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 contract for employment, 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 AMIF, the ISF, the BMVI, the ESF+ and the ERDF, 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 50(1).

1.   Managing authorities may provide a programme contribution, under one or more programmes, to financial instruments set up at national, regional, transnational or cross border level and managed 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 new investments expected to be financially viable, such as generating revenues or savings, and which do not find sufficient funding from market sources. Such support may target investments in both tangible and intangible assets as well as working capital, in compliance with applicable Union State aid rules. [Am. 250]

3.   Support from the Funds through financial instruments shall be based on an ex ante assessment drawn up under the responsibility of the managing authority. The ex ante assessment shall be completed before managing authorities decide to make programme contributions to financial instruments.

The ex ante assessment shall include at least the following elements:

The ex ante assessment may be reviewed or updated and may cover part or the entire territory of the Member State and may be based on existing or updated ex ante assessments.

4.   Support to final recipients may be combined with any form of Union contribution, including from the same Fund and may cover the same expenditure item. In that case, the Funds’ financial instrument support, which is part of a financial instrument operation, shall not be declared to the Commission for support under another form, another Fund or another Union instrument.

5.   Financial instruments may be combined with ancillary programme support in the form of grants as a single financial instrument operation, within a single funding agreement, where both distinct forms of support shall be provided by the body implementing the financial instrument. In such case Where the amount of the programme support in the form of grant is less than the amount of programme support in the form of a financial instrument, the rules applicable to financial instruments shall apply to that single financial instrument operation. [Am. 252]

6.   In the case of combined support under paragraphs 4 and 5, separate records shall be kept for each source of support.

7.   The sum of all forms of combined support shall not exceed the total amount of the expenditure item concerned. Grants shall not be used to reimburse support received from financial instruments. Financial instruments shall not be used to pre-finance grants.

1.   Financial instruments managed by the managing authority may only provide loans or guarantees. The managing authority shall set out the terms and conditions of the programme contribution to the financial instrument in a strategy document including all the elements set outin Annex IX.

2.   Financial instruments managed under the responsibility of the managing authority may be set up as either of the following:

The managing authority shall select the body implementing a financial instrument either through direct or indirect award of a contract . [Am. 253]

The managing authority may entrust implementation tasks through a direct award to:

When the body selected by the managing authority implements a holding fund, that body may further select other bodies to implement a specific fund.

3.   The terms and conditions of programme contributions to financial instruments implemented in accordance with paragraph 2, shall be set out in funding agreements between:

Those funding agreements shall include all the elements set out in Annex IX.

4.   The financial liability of the managing authority shall not exceed the amount committed by the managing authority to the financial instrument under the relevant funding agreements.

5.   The bodies implementing the financial instruments concerned, or in the context of guarantees, the body providing the underlying loans, shall select final recipients, taking due account of the programme objectives and the potential for the financial viability of the investment as justified in the business plan or an equivalent document. The selection process of final recipients shall be transparent, justified by the nature of the action and shall not give rise to a conflict of interest.

6.   National co-financing of a programme may be provided either by the managing authority or at the level of holding funds, or at the level of specific funds, or at the level of investments in final recipients, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. When the national co-financing is provided at the level of investments in final recipients, the body implementing financial instruments shall keep documentary evidence demonstrating the eligibility of the underlying expenditure.

7.   The managing authority, in managing the financial instrument pursuant to paragraph 2, or the body implementing the financial instrument, in managing the financial instrument pursuant to paragraph 3, shall keep separate accounts or maintain an accounting code per priority and per each category of region , or by type of intervention for the EAFRD, for each programme contribution and separately for resources referred to in Articles 54 and 56 respectively. [Am. 255]

7a.     Reporting requirements on the financial instrument’s use for the intended purposes shall be limited to the managing authorities and to financial intermediaries. [Am. 256]

1.   Support from the Funds paid to financial instruments shall be placed in interest-bearing accounts in financial institutions domiciled within Member States and shall be managed in line with active treasury management and sound financial management.

2.   Interest and other gains attributable to support from the Funds paid to financial instruments shall be used under the same objective or objectives as the initial support from the Funds, either within the same financial instrument; or, following the winding up of the financial instrument, in other financial instruments or other forms of support for further investments in final recipients; or , where applicable, to cover the losses in the nominal amount of the Funds contribution to the financial instrument that result from negative interest, if such losses occur despite active treasury management by the bodies implementing financial instruments , until the end of the eligibility period. [Am. 257]

3.   Interest and other gains referred to in paragraph 2 not used in accordance with that provision shall be deducted from the eligible expenditure.

1.   Support from the Funds to financial instruments invested in final recipients as well as any type of income generated by those investments, which are attributable to the support from the Funds, may be used for differentiated treatment of investors operating under the market economy principle , or for other forms of Union support, through an appropriate sharing of risks and profits profits taking into account the principle of sound financial management . [Am. 258]

2.   The level of such differentiated treatment shall not exceed what is necessary to create incentives for attracting private resources, established by either a competitive process or an independent the ex ante assessment performed in line with Article 52 of this Regulation . [Am. 259]

1.   Resources paid back, before the end of the eligibility period, to financial instruments from investments in final recipients or from the release of resources set aside as agreed in guarantee contracts, including capital repayments and any type of generated income that is attributable to the support from the Funds, shall be re-used in the same or other financial instruments for further investments in final recipients, under the same specific objective or objectives and for any management costs and fees associated to such further investments , taking into account the principle of sound financial management . [Am. 260]

Savings through more efficient operations shall not be considered to constitute generated income for the purposes of the first subparagraph. In particular, cost savings resulting from energy efficiency measures shall not result in a corresponding reduction in operating subsidies. [Am. 261]

2.   Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the resources referred to in paragraph 1 and paid back to financial instruments during a period of at least eight years after the end of the eligibility period, are re-used in accordance with the policy objectives of the programme or programmes under which they were set up, either within the same financial instrument or, following the exit of those resources from the financial instrument, in other financial instruments or in other forms of support.

1.   The eligibility of expenditure shall be determined on the basis of national rules, except where specific rules are laid down in, or on the basis of, this Regulation or the Fund-specific Regulations.

2.   Expenditure shall be eligible for a contribution from the Funds if it has been incurred by a beneficiary or the private partner of a PPP operation and paid in implementing operations, between the date of submission of the programme to the Commission or from 1 January 2021, whichever date is earlier, and 31 December 2029 2030 . [Am. 262]

For costs reimbursed pursuant to points (b) and (c) of Article 48(1), the actions constituting the basis for reimbursement shall be carried out between the date of submission of the programme to the Commission or from 1 January 2021, whichever is earlier, and 31 December 2029.

3.   For the ERDF, expenditure related to operations covering more than one category of region as set out in Article 102(2) within a Member State shall be allocated to the categories of regions concerned on a pro rata basis, based on objective criteria.

For the ESF+, expenditure related to operations shall contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives of the programme.

4.   All or part of an operation under the ERDF, the ESF+ or the Cohesion Fund may be implemented outside of a Member State, including outside the Union, provided that the operation falls under one of the five components of the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) as defined in Article 3 of the Regulation (EU) […] (‘the ETC Regulation’) and contributes to the objectives of the programme. [Am. 263]

5.   For grants taking the forms of points (b), (c) and (d) of Article 48(1), the expenditure which shall be eligible for a contribution from the Funds shall equal the amounts calculated in accordance with Article 48(2).

6.   Operations shall not be selected for support by the Funds where they have been physically completed or fully implemented before the application for funding under the programme is submitted to the managing authority, irrespective of whether all related payments have been made. This paragraph shall not apply to EMFF compensation for additional costs in outermost regions or expenditure financed by specific supplementary ERDF and ESF+ allocations for outermost regions. [Am. 264]

7.   Expenditure which becomes eligible as a result of a programme amendment shall be eligible from the date of the submission of the corresponding request to the Commission.

For the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund, that shall be the case where a new type of intervention referred to in Table 1 of Annex I or, for the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, in the Fund-specific Regulations is added in the programme.

Where a programme is amended in order to provide a response to natural disasters, the programme may provide that the eligibility of expenditure relating to such amendment starts from the date when the natural disaster occurred.

8.   Where a new programme is approved in the context of the mid-term review in accordance with Article 14, expenditure shall be eligible from the date of submission of the corresponding request to the Commission.

9.   An operation may receive support from one or more Funds or from one or more programmes and from other Union instruments. In such cases expenditure declared in a payment application for one of the Funds shall not be declared for either of the following:

The amount of expenditure to be entered into a payment application of a Fund may be calculated for each Fund and for the programme or programmes concerned on a pro rata basis, in accordance with the document setting out the conditions for support.

1.   The following costs shall not be eligible for a contribution from the Funds:

For point (b), the limits shall not apply to operations concerning environmental conservation.

The eligibility for value added tax (‘VAT’) operations shall be determined on a case-by-case approach, except for operations the total cost of which is below EUR 5 000 000, and for investments and expenditure by final recipients. [Am. 267]

2.   The Fund-specific Regulations may identify additional costs that are not eligible for a contribution from each Fund.

1.   The Member State shall repay the contribution from the Funds to an operation comprising investment in infrastructure or productive investment, if within five years of the final payment to the beneficiary or within the period of time set out in State aid rules, where applicable, that operation is subject to any of the following:

The Member State may reduce the time limit set out in the first subparagraph to three years in the duly justified cases referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) concerning the maintenance of investments or jobs created by SMEs. [Am. 268]

2.   Operations supported by the ESF+ shall repay the support from the ESF+ only when they are subject to an obligation for maintenance of investment under State aid rules.

3.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to programme contributions to or from financial instruments and any operation which undergoes cessation of a productive activity due to a non-fraudulent bankruptcy. [Am. 269]

1.   Expenditure supporting relocation as defined in Article 2(26) shall not be eligible for a contribution from the Funds.

2.   Where a contribution from the Funds constitutes State aid, the managing authority shall satisfy itself that the contribution does not support relocation in accordance with Article 14(16) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.

1.   Contributions in kind in the form of provision of works, goods, services, land and real estate for which no payment supported by invoices, or documents of equivalent probative value, has been made, may be eligible where the following conditions are fulfilled:

The value of the land or real estate referred to in point (d) of the first subparagraph of this Article shall be certified by an independent qualified expert or duly authorised official body and shall not exceed the limit laid down in Article 58(1)(b).

2.   Depreciation costs for which no payment supported by invoices has been made, may be considered as eligible where the following conditions are fulfilled:

1.   Eligible expenditure of a financial instrument shall be the total amount of programme contribution paid to, or, in the case of guarantees, set aside as agreed in guarantee contracts, by, the financial instrument within the eligibility period, where that amount corresponds to:

2.   For point (b) of paragraph 1, the multiplier ratio shall be established in a prudent ex ante risk assessment and agreed in the relevant funding agreement. The multiplier ratio may be reviewed, where justified by subsequent changes in market conditions. Such a review shall not have retroactive effect.

3.   For point (d) of paragraph 1, management fees shall be performance based . For the first twelve months of implementation of the financial instrument, base remuneration for management costs and fees shall be eligible . Where bodies implementing a holding fund and/or specific funds, pursuant to Article 53(3) 53(2) , are selected through a direct award of contract, the amount of management cost and fees paid to those bodies that can be declared as eligible expenditure shall be subject to a threshold of up to 5 % of the total amount of programme contributions disbursed to final recipients in loans, equity or quasi-equity investments or set aside as agreed in guarantee contracts. [Am. 270]

That threshold is not applicable Where the selection of bodies implementing financial instruments is made through a competitive tender in accordance with the applicable law and the competitive tender establishes the need for a higher level of management costs and fees which shall be performance-based . [Am. 271]

4.   Where arrangement fees, or any part thereof, are charged to final recipients, they shall not be declared as eligible expenditure.

5.   The eligible expenditure declared in accordance with paragraph 1 shall not exceed the sum of the total amount of support from the Funds paid for the purposes of that paragraph and the corresponding national co-financing.

1.   Member States shall have management and control systems for their programmes in accordance with this Title and ensure their functioning in accordance with sound financial management and the key requirements listed in Annex X.

2.   Member States shall ensure the legality and regularity of expenditure included in the accounts submitted to the Commission and shall take all required actions to prevent, detect and correct and report on irregularities including fraud. Member States shall fully cooperate with OLAF. [Am. 272]

3.   Member States shall, upon request of the Commission, take the actions necessary to ensure the effective functioning of their management and control systems and the legality and regularity of expenditure submitted to the Commission. Where that action is an audit, the Commission officials or their authorised representatives may take part.

4.   Member States shall ensure the quality , independence and reliability of the monitoring system and of data on indicators. [Am. 273]

5.   Member States shall have systems and procedures to ensure that all documents required for the audit trail asset out in Annex XI are kept in accordance with the requirements set out in Article 76.

6.   Member Stated shall make arrangements for ensuring the effective examination of complaints concerning the Funds. The scope, rules and procedures concerning those arrangements shall be the responsibility of Member States in accordance with their institutional and legal framework. They shall, upon request by the Commission in accordance with Article 64(4a) , examine complaints submitted to the Commission falling within the scope of their programmes and shall inform the Commission of the results of those examinations. [Am. 274]

For the purposes of this Article, complaints cover any dispute between potential and selected beneficiaries with regard to the proposed or selected operation and any disputes with third parties on the implementation of the programme or operations thereunder, irrespective of the qualification of means of legal redress established under national law.

7.   Member States shall ensure that all exchanges of information between beneficiaries and the programme authorities are carried out by means of user-friendly electronic data exchange systems in accordance with Annex XII. [Am. 275]

For programmes supported by the EMFF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the first sub-paragraph shall apply as from 1 January 2023 2022 . [Am. 276]

The first sub-paragraph shall not apply to programmes under Article [4(1)(c)(vii)] [4(1) ( xi)] of the ESF+ Regulation. [Am. 277]

8.   Member States shall ensure that all official exchanges of information with the Commission are carried out by means of an electronic data exchange system in accordance with Annex XIII.

9.   Each Member State shall draw up, after the approval of the programme and at the latest by the time of submission of the final payment application for the first accounting year and no later than 30 June 2023, a description of the management and control system in accordance with the template set out in Annex XIV. It shall keep that description updated to reflect any subsequent modifications.

10.   The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 107 to supplement paragraph 2 of this Article by setting out the criteria for determining the cases of irregularity to be reported and the data to be provided.

11.   The Commission shall adopt an implementing act setting out the format to be used for reporting of irregularities in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 109(2) in order to ensure uniform conditions and rules for the implementation of this Article. [Am. 278]

1.   The Commission shall satisfy itself that Member States have management and control systems that comply with this Regulation and that those systems function effectively and efficiently during the implementation of the programmes. The Commission shall draw up for Member States an audit strategy and an audit plan which shall be based on a risk-assessment. [Am. 279]

The Commission and the audit authorities shall coordinate their audit plans.

2.   Commission audits shall be carried out up to three two calendar years following the acceptance of the accounts in which the expenditure concerned was included. This period shall not apply to operations where there is a suspicion of fraud. [Am. 280]

3.   For the purpose of their audits, Commission officials or their authorised representatives shall have access to all necessary records, documents and metadata, irrespective of the medium in which they are stored, relating to operations supported by the Funds or to management and control systems and shall receive copies in the specific format requested.

4.   For on-the-spot audits, the following shall also apply:

The Commission may in duly justified cases extend the time limits referred in points (c) and (d) by an additional three two months. [Am. 284]

4a.     Without prejudice to paragraph 6 of Article 63, the Commission shall provide for a complaints handling system which shall be accessible to citizens and stakeholders. [Am. 285]

1.   For the purposes of Article [63(3)] of the Financial Regulation, the Member State shall identify for each programme a managing authority and an audit authority. Where a Member State makes use of the option referred to in Article 66(2), the body concerned shall be identified as a programme authority. Those same authorities may be responsible for more than one programme.

2.   The audit authority shall be a public or private authority, functionally independent from the auditees Management Authority and the bodies or entities to which functions have been entrusted or delegated . [Am. 286]

3.   The managing authority may identify one or more intermediate bodies to carry out certain tasks under its responsibility. Arrangements between the managing authority and intermediate bodies shall be recorded in writing.

4.   Member States shall ensure that the principle of separation of functions between and within the programme authorities is respected.

5.   The body implementing the programme co-fund as referred to in Article [11] of Regulation EU (…) [Horizon Europe Rules for Participation] shall be identified as an intermediate body by the managing authority of the relevant programme, in line with paragraph 3.

1.   The managing authority shall be responsible for managing the programme with a view to delivering the objectives of the programme. In particular, it shall have the following functions:

2.   The Member State may entrust the accounting function referred to in Article 70 to the managing authority or to another body.

3.   For programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the accounting function shall be carried out by the managing authority or under its responsibility.

4.   The Commission shall adopt an implementing act in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 109(2) in order to ensure uniform conditions for the electronic data to be recorded and stored referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 109(2).

1.   For the selection of operations, the managing authority shall establish and apply criteria and procedures which are non-discriminatory, transparent, ensure accessibility to persons with disabilities, gender equality and take account of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the principle of sustainable development and of the Union policy on the environment in accordance with Articles 11 and 191(1) of the TFEU. [Am. 288]

The criteria and procedures shall ensure the prioritisation of operations to be selected with a view to maximise the contribution of Union funding to the achievement of the objectives of the programme.

2.   Upon request of the Commission, the managing authority shall consult the Commission and take its comments into account prior to the initial submission of the selection criteria to the monitoring committee and before any subsequent changes to those criteria.

3.   In selecting operations, the managing authority shall:

4.   The managing authority shall ensure that the beneficiary is provided with a document setting out all the conditions for support for each operation including the specific requirements concerning the products or services to be delivered, the financing plan, the time-limit for its execution and where applicable, the method to be applied for determining the costs of the operation and the conditions for payment of the grant.

5.   For operations awarded a Seal of Excellence certification, or selected under the programme co-fund under Horizon Europe, the managing authority may decide to grant support from the ERDF or the ESF+ directly, provided that such operations are consistent with the objectives of the programme.

The co-financing rate of the instrument providing the Seal of Excellence certification or the programme co-fund shall apply and shall be set out in the document referred in paragraph 4.

5a.     The managing authority may also decide, in duly justified cases, to contribute up to 5 % of a programme’s financial allocation under the ERDF and ESF+ to specific projects within the Member State eligible under Horizon Europe, including those selected in the second phase, provided that those specific projects contribute to the programme’s objectives in that Member State. [Am. 294]

6.   When the managing authority selects an operation of strategic importance, it shall inform the Commission immediately within one month and shall provide all relevant information to the Commission about that operation , including a cost-benefit analysis . [Am. 295]

1.   The managing authority shall:

For point (b) of the first sub-paragraph, no amount shall be deducted or withheld and no specific charge or other charge with equivalent effect shall be levied that would reduce amounts due to beneficiaries.

For PPP operations, the managing authority shall carry out payments to an escrow account set up for that purpose in the name of the beneficiary for use in accordance with the PPP agreement.

2.   Management verifications referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be risk-based and proportionate to the risks identified as defined in a risk management strategy.

Management verifications shall include administrative verifications in respect of payment claims by beneficiaries and on-the-spot verifications of operations. They shall be carried out at the latest before preparation of the accounts in accordance with Article 92.

3.   Where the managing authority is also a beneficiary under the programme, arrangements for the management verifications shall ensure separation of functions.

4.   By way of derogation from paragraph 2, the ETC Regulation may establish specific rules on management verifications applicable to Interreg programmes.

1.   The accounting function shall consist of the following tasks:

2.   The accounting function shall not comprise verifications at the level of beneficiaries.

3.   By way of derogation from point (c) of paragraph 1, the ETC Regulation may establish a different method to convert the amounts of expenditure incurred in another currency into euro.

1.   The audit authority shall be responsible for carrying out system audits, audits on operations and audits of accounts in order to provide independent assurance to the Commission regarding the effective functioning of the management and control systems and the legality and regularity of the expenditure included in the accounts submitted to the Commission.

2.   Audit work shall be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted audit standards.

3.   The audit authority shall draw up and submit to the Commission:

4.   Where programmes are grouped for the purpose of audits of operations pursuant to Article 73(2), the information required under paragraph (3)(b) may be grouped in a single report.

Where the audit authority makes use of this option for programmes supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI, the information required under paragraph (3)(b) shall be reported by Fund.

5.   The audit authority shall transmit to the Commission system audit reports as soon as the contradictory procedure with the relevant auditees is concluded.

6.   The Commission and the audit authorities shall meet on a regular basis and at least once a year, unless otherwise agreed, to examine the audit strategy, the annual control report, the audit opinion, to coordinate their audit plans and methods and to exchange views on issues relating to the improvement of management and control systems.

6a.     The audit shall be carried out with reference to the applicable standard at the time of the convention of the audited operation, except when new standards are more favourable to the beneficiary. [Am. 299]

6b.     The finding of an irregularity, as part of the audit of an operation leading to a financial penalty, cannot lead to extending the scope of the control or to financial corrections beyond the expenditure covered by the accounting year of the audited expenditure. [Am. 300]

1.   The audit authority shall , after consulting the managing authority, prepare an audit strategy based on a risk assessment, taking account of the management and control system description provided for in Article 63(9), covering system audits and audits of operations. The audit strategy shall include system audits of newly identified managing authorities and authorities in charge of the accounting function . The audit shall be performed within nine months following their first year of functioning. The audit strategy shall be prepared in accordance with the template set out in Annex XVIII and shall be updated annually following the first annual control report and audit opinion provided to the Commission. It may cover one or more programmes. In the audit strategy, the audit authority may determine a limit for single account audits. [Am. 301]

2.   The audit strategy shall be submitted to the Commission upon request.

1.   Audits of operations shall cover expenditure declared to the Commission in the accounting year on the basis of a sample. That sample shall be representative and based on statistical sampling methods.

2.   Where the population consists of less than 300 sampling units, a non-statistical sampling method may be used on the professional judgement of the audit authority. In such cases, the size of the sample shall be sufficient to enable the audit authority to draw up a valid audit opinion. The non-statistical sampling method shall cover a minimum of 10 % of the sampling units in the population of the accounting year, selected randomly.

The statistical sample may cover one or more programmes receiving support from the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the ESF+ and, subject to stratification where appropriate, one or more programming periods according to the professional judgement of the audit authority.

The sample of operations supported by the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI and by the EMFF shall cover operations supported by each Fund separately.

3.   Audits of operations shall include on-the-spot verification of the physical implementation of the operation only where it is required by the type of operation concerned.

In case of a disagreement between the Commission and a Member State on audit findings, a settlement procedure shall be put in place. [Am. 302]

The ESF+ Regulation may set out specific provisions for programmes under Article [4(1)(c)(vii)] of the ESF+ Regulation.

4.   The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 107 to supplement this Article by setting out standardised off-the-shelf sampling methodologies and modalities to cover one or more programming periods.

1.   When carrying out audits, the Commission and the audit authorities shall take due account of the principles of single audit and proportionality in relation to the level of risk to the budget of the Union. They shall avoid duplication of audits of the same expenditure declared to the Commission with the objective of minimising the cost of management verifications and audits and the administrative burden on beneficiaries.

The Commission and audit authorities shall first use all information and records available in the electronic system systems referred to in Article 66(1)(e), including results of management verifications and only request and obtain additional documents and audit evidence from the beneficiaries concerned where, based on their professional judgement, this is required to support robust audit conclusions. [Am. 303]

2.   For programmes for which the Commission concludes that the opinion of the audit authority is reliable and the Member State concerned participates in the enhanced cooperation on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Commission’s own audits shall be limited to auditing the work of the audit authority.

3.   Operations for which the total eligible expenditure does not exceed EUR 400 000 for the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund, EUR 300 000 for the ESF+, EUR 200 000 for the EMFF, the AMIF, the ISF and the BMVI shall not be subject to more than one audit by either the audit authority or the Commission prior to the submission of the accounts for the accounting year in which the operation is completed.

Other operations shall not be subject to more than one audit per accounting year by either the audit authority or the Commission prior to the submission of the accounts for the accounting year in which the operation is completed. Operations shall not be subject to an audit by the Commission or the audit authority in any year where there has already been an audit in that year by the Court of Auditors, provided that the results of that Court of Auditors’ audit for such operations can be used by the audit authority or the Commission for the purpose of fulfilling their respective tasks.

4.   Nothwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3, any operation may be subject to more than one audit, if the audit authority concludes based on its professional judgment, that it is not possible to draw up a valid audit opinion.

5.   Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply where: