Financial provisions
Article 20
1. By way of derogation from Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, the contribution from the EFF to operations financed in the context of the specific action set out in this Regulation shall be subject to a ceiling of 95 % of the total public expenditure and shall not be taken into account for the purposes of the ceilings referred to in Article 53(3) of the said Regulation. 2. By way of derogation from Article 55(1) and (3), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, the date of eligibility of expenditure for measures financed by this specific action shall be 31 July 2008. 3. By way of derogation from Article 81(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, a second pre-financing amount representing 7 % of the contribution from the EFF for the period 2007 to 2013 to the operational programme shall be paid by the Commission upon request by the Member State. For operational programmes adopted in 2007, the above request shall be submitted to the Commission at the latest by 31 October 2008. For operational programmes adopted in 2008, the above request shall be submitted to the Commission at the latest by 30 June 2009. It may be spread to two financial years in accordance with the available budget of the EFF. 4. By way of derogation from Article 81(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006, where the second pre-financing amount is paid in accordance with paragraph 2 of the said Article, the total amount paid as pre-financing shall be reimbursed to the Commission by the body designated by the Member State if no application for payment under the operational programme is sent within 24 months from the date on which the Commission paid the first instalment of the second pre-financing amount.