Grants
Article 7
Grants under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation.
Regulation (EU) 2021/690 (SMP) CHAPTER II — GRANTS
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Eligible actions
Article 8
1. Only actions implementing the objectives referred in Article 3 shall be eligible for funding. 2. In particular, the following actions implementing the objectives referred in Article 3 shall be eligible for funding: (a) the creation of the right conditions to empower all actors of the internal market, including businesses, citizens, consumers, representatives of civil society and public authorities, through the transparent exchange of information and campaigns to raise awareness, particularly as regards applicable Union rules and the rights of businesses, citizens and consumers, as well as through the exchange and dissemination of good practices, expertise, knowledge and innovative solutions, including through actions implemented through the SOLVIT network and the European Consumer Centres Network; (b) provision of mechanisms for citizens, consumers, end-users and representatives of civil society, including representatives of the social partners and business representatives from the Union, in particular those representing SMEs, to contribute to political discussions, policies and decision making process, notably by supporting the functioning of representative organisations at national and Union level; (c) capacity building, facilitation and coordination of joint actions between Member States, between the competent authorities of Member States and between the competent authorities of Member States and the Commission, the decentralised Union agencies and third country authorities, including joint actions aimed at strengthening product safety; (d) support for the effective enforcement and modernisation of the Union legal framework and for its rapid adaptation to enable the Union to effectively face global competition, as well as support for efforts to resolve issues raised by digitalisation, including through the following: (i) data gathering and analyses; (ii) research on the functioning of the internal market, studies, evaluations and policy recommendations; (iii) the organisation of demonstration activities and pilot projects; (iv) communication activities; (v) the development of dedicated IT tools to ensure the transparent and efficient functioning of the internal market and to combat and prevent fraudulent practices on the internet. 3. Actions constituting activities referred to in Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and implementing the specific objectives referred to in Article 3(2)(a)(ii) of this Regulation shall be eligible for funding, in particular in respect of the following: (a) coordination and cooperation between market surveillance authorities and other relevant Member States authorities, in particular through the Union Product Compliance Network; (b) support for the development of joint actions and testing in the field of compliance including in relation to connected products and products sold online; (c) support for market surveillance strategies, knowledge and intelligence gathering, testing capabilities and facilities, peer reviews, training programmes, technical assistance and capacity building for market surveillance authorities. 4. Actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b) shall be eligible for funding, in particular in respect of the following: (a) providing various forms of support to SMEs, including information, mentoring, training, education, mobility, cross-border cooperation or advisory services; (b) facilitating, in coordination with Member States, the access of SMEs and clusters and business network organisations to markets within and outside the Union, supporting them, during their life-cycle, in addressing global environmental, economic and societal challenges and business internationalisation, and strengthening Union entrepreneurial and industrial leadership in global value chains; (c) supporting the work of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) in providing integrated business support services to Union SMEs, including helping those SMEs find business partners and funding, in particular from the InvestEU, Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme, facilitating their innovation uptake, their internationalisation and their green and digital transition and helping them access digital, environmental, climate, energy and resource efficiency expertise, in order to make it easier for them to explore opportunities in the internal market and in third countries, whilst avoiding duplication of activities by closely coordinating with the Member States in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and bearing in mind the need to ensure that when the EEN is being used to deliver services on behalf of other Union programmes, including advisory or capacity-building services, those services are to be funded by those other Union programmes; (d) addressing market barriers and the administrative burden and creating a favourable business environment to empower SMEs to benefit from the internal market; (e) facilitating the development and growth of businesses, including through promoting technical, digital and entrepreneurial skills, sustainable business management and product and process development in order to foster green and digital transformation across industrial ecosystems and throughout the value chains of the manufacturing and service sectors; (f) supporting the competitiveness and sustainability of enterprises and whole sectors of the economy, and supporting the uptake of creativity and all forms of innovation by SMEs, the enhancing of corporate social responsibility, the adoption of new business models and value chain collaboration, through strategically connecting ecosystems and clusters, including the Joint Cluster Initiatives; (g) fostering an entrepreneurial business environment and entrepreneurial culture, including through mentoring and mobility schemes to improve know-how, skills, technological capacity and enterprise management, as well as by supporting start-ups, business sustainability and scale-ups in particular projects, based on market-driven opportunities, paying special attention to the particular needs of potential new entrepreneurs, as well as those of the members of underrepresented groups. 5. Actions constituting activities referred to in Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 and implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(i) of this Regulation shall be eligible for funding. 6. The actions providing support for activities that aim to develop, apply, assess and monitor international standards in the fields of financial and non-financial reporting and auditing and to oversee their standard-setting processes and implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(ii) shall be eligible for funding. 7. In particular, the following actions implementing the specific objective referred in Article 3(2)(d)(i) shall be eligible for funding: (a) improving awareness, digital literacy and life-long education of consumers about their rights, including regarding issues raised by technological development and digitalisation, including addressing the particular needs of vulnerable consumers; (b) facilitating access for consumers and traders to quality out of court dispute resolution and online dispute resolution and to information on the possibilities of obtaining redress; (c) supporting stronger enforcement of consumer law by competent authorities, including in situations where traders are established in third countries, in particular through efficient cooperation and joint actions; (d) fostering sustainable consumption, in particular by raising consumer awareness of the environmental performance of products, such as their durability and eco-design features, as well as fostering the application of consumer rights and redress possibilities in relation to misleading practices. 8. The actions set out in Annex I implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e) shall be eligible for funding. 9. The actions set out in Annex II implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(f) shall be eligible for funding.
Eligible entities
Article 9
1. The eligibility criteria set out in paragraphs 2 to 7 of this Article shall apply in addition to the criteria set out in Article 197 of the Financial Regulation. 2. Subject to the eligibility conditions laid down in paragraphs 3 to 7, the following entities shall be eligible under the Programme: (a) legal entities established in any of the following: (i) a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to it; or (ii) a third country associated to the Programme in accordance with Article 5; (b) legal entities created under Union law or international organisations; (c) exceptionally, legal entities established in a third country which is not associated to the Programme, provided that the participation of those legal entities in the action falls within the objectives of the Programme and the activities outside the Union contribute to the effectiveness of interventions carried out in Member State territories to which the Treaties apply. 3. Legal entities established in a third country which is not associated to the Programme may participate in the following actions: (a) actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b); (b) actions supporting consumer protection implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i). The entities participating in the actions referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be entitled to receive Union financial contributions, except where their participation is essential for the Programme, in particular in terms of improving competitiveness and access to markets for Union enterprises or in terms of protecting consumers residing in the Union. That exception shall not apply to profit-making entities. 4. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(i) of this Regulation, the entities referred to in Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 shall be eligible. 5. Each Member State and each third country which is a member of the EEA shall designate, as the result of a transparent procedure, an entity as eligible for actions that support consumer protection by implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i) and that are related to the European Consumer Centres Network. That entity may be: (a) a non-profit-making body; (b) a public body. 6. Third countries shall be eligible for the following actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e): (a) protection measures taken in the case of a direct threat to the status of health in the Union as a result of the occurrence or development, in the territory of a third country or a Member State, of one of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed in Annex III or plant pests listed in the work programme referred to in Article 16; (b) protection measures or other relevant activities, taken in support of the health status of plants in the Union. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to amend Annex III where that is necessary in order to take account of the occurrence of new animal diseases and zoonoses which are not covered by Union legal acts referred to in that Annex. Except in the case of animal diseases and plant pests that have a substantial impact on the Union, in principle, third countries that are not associated to the Programme should finance their own participation in the actions referred to in the first subparagraph. 7. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(f), the following legal entities shall be eligible: (a) national statistical institutes and other national authorities as referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009; (b) for actions supporting collaborative networks, as referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, bodies operating in the field of statistics other than the authorities referred to in point (a) of this paragraph; (c) non-profit making entities, which are independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and support of the implementation of the European statistics Code of Practice referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 or the implementation of new methods of production of European statistics aiming at efficiency gains and quality improvements at Union level.
Designated beneficiaries
Article 10
1. The following entities may be awarded a grant under the Programme without a call for proposals: (a) for actions in the area of accreditation implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(a)(i) of this Regulation, the body recognised under Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 to carry out the activities referred to in Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; (b) for actions in the area of market surveillance implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(a)(ii) of this Regulation, the market surveillance authorities of the Member States referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; (c) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(i) of this Regulation, the entities referred to in Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012; (d) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(ii), the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB); (e) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i) that relate to the representation of consumers interests at Union level, the Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) and the European Association for the Coordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC) provided that they have no conflicts of interests and that each of them represents, through its members, the interests of Union consumers in at least two thirds of the Member States; (f) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(ii), Finance Watch and Better Finance subject to the following conditions, which are to be assessed annually: (i) the entities remain non-governmental, non-profit and independent of industry, commerce or business; (ii) they have no conflicting interests and represent through their members the interests of Union consumers and other end-users in the financial services area; (g) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e) of this Regulation: (i) the competent authorities of the Member States and their affiliated entities, the European Union reference laboratories referred to in Article 92 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the European Union reference centres referred to in Articles 95 and 97 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and in Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 61 ) , and the relevant international organisations, as well as the national plant health reference laboratories and the national animal health reference laboratories, without prejudice to the obligation for Member States to provide adequate financial resources for those national reference laboratories in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and on condition that the actions supporting the performance by those national reference laboratories of the official controls and other official activities within the meaning of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 can be clearly shown to represent Union added value, and that sufficient funding is available under the Programme to support those actions; (ii) in the case of actions described under Article 9(6)(a) and (b) of this Regulation, the competent authorities of third countries; (h) for actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(f) of this Regulation, the national statistical institutes and other national authorities referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. 2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to amend paragraph 1(e) of this Article with regard to the entities which may be awarded a grant under the Programme.
Evaluation of the proposal and award criteria
Article 11
1. The work of the evaluation committees shall be based on the general principles applicable to grants laid down in Article 188 of the Financial Regulation and in particular, on the principles of equal treatment and transparency, as well as on the principle of non-discrimination. 2. The evaluation committees shall evaluate proposals on the basis of award criteria, such as the relevance of the proposed actions in view of the objectives pursued, quality of the proposed actions, impact, including economic, social and environmental impact, budget and cost-effectiveness.
Co-financing rules
Article 12
1. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(a)(ii) of this Regulation with reference to market surveillance authorities of the Member States and of the third countries associated to the Programme and with reference to Union testing facilities as referred to in Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, the Programme may, by way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, finance up to 100 % of eligible costs of an action. 2. For grants for financial support actions in the context of the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b) of this Regulation, the Programme may, by way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, finance up to 100 % of the eligible costs for financial support to third parties and up to 90 % of the eligible costs for the other cost categories. For EEN actions in the context of the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b) of this Regulation, the Programme may, by way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, finance up to 100 % of the eligible costs for additional coordination and networking costs and up to 60 % of the eligible costs for the other cost categories. Moreover, eligible indirect costs shall be determined by applying a flat rate of 25 % of the total direct eligible costs, excluding direct eligible costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs. 3. For grants awarded to the PIOB implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(ii), if funding by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in a given year reaches more than two-thirds of the total annual funding, the annual contribution for that year shall be limited to a maximum amount specified in the work programme referred to in Article 16(1). 4. For grants awarded to ANEC under Article 10(1)(e), the Programme may finance up to 95 % of the eligible costs. 5. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e) of this Regulation, the Programme may, by way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, finance up to 100 % of the eligible costs. For the actions referred to in Annex I, points 1 and 2, the co-financing rate applied shall be 50 % of the eligible costs, with the following exceptions: (a) The rate shall be 75 % of the eligible costs, in respect of: (i) cross-border activities implemented together by two or more Member States in order to control, prevent or eradicate plant pests or animal diseases; (ii) Member States of which the gross national income per inhabitant based on the latest Eurostat data is less than 90 % of the Union average. (b) By way of derogation from Article 190 of the Financial Regulation, the rate shall be 100 % of the eligible costs, where the activities benefitting from the Union contribution concern the prevention and control of serious human, plant and animal health risks for the Union, and: (i) are designed to avoid human casualties or major economic disruptions for the Union as a whole; (ii) constitute specific tasks which are indispensable for the Union as a whole as laid down by the Commission in the work programme referred to in Article 16(4); or (iii) are implemented in third countries. (c) Where necessary on the grounds of lack of funds, insufficient implementation of the Programme or the emergency measure, or the phasing-out of the co-financing of actions against animal diseases or plant pests the co-financing rates shall be lower. For the purposes of point (c) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph, the amount of the reduction in the co-financing rates shall reflect the significance of the grounds for a lower rate. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing lower co-financing rates. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 21(6). 6. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(f) of this Regulation, the Programme may finance up to 95 % of the eligible costs of actions supporting collaborative networks as referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.
Eligible costs related to programmes and emergency measures
Article 13
1. In addition to the eligible costs criteria set out in Article 186 of the Financial Regulation, the costs incurred by the Member States for implementing the emergency measures referred to in Annex I, points 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e) of this Regulation: (a) shall be eligible prior to the date of submission of the grant application in accordance with Article 193(2), second subparagraph, point (b) of the Financial Regulation; (b) shall be eligible from the date of the suspected occurrence of an animal disease or the presence of a plant pest, provided that that occurrence or presence is subsequently confirmed. The submission of the grant application shall be preceded by the notification to the Commission of the occurrence of the animal disease in accordance with Article 19 or 20 and rules adopted on the basis of Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429, or the presence of the Union quarantine pest in accordance with Article 9, 10 or 11 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 62 ) . 2. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e) of this Regulation, eligible costs referred to in Annex I, points 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 as regards the execution of the programmes may qualify for grants, if they fulfil the criteria set out in Article 186 of the Financial Regulation.
Cumulative and alternative financing
Article 14
1. An action that has received a contribution from another Union programme may also receive a contribution under the Programme, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution to the action. The cumulative financing shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action. The support from the different Union programmes may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support. 2. Actions that have been attributed a Seal of Excellence label under this Programme may receive support from the European Regional Development Fund or the European Social Fund Plus, in accordance with Article 73(4) of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 if they comply with the following cumulative conditions: (a) they have been assessed in a call for proposals under the Programme; (b) they comply with the minimum quality requirements of that call for proposals; (c) it is not possible for them to be financed under that call for proposals due to budgetary constraints. 3. An operation may receive support from one or more Union programmes. When this occurs, expenditure declared in a payment application shall not be declared in a payment application for another programme. 4. The amount of expenditure to be entered into a payment application may be calculated for each programme concerned on a pro rata basis, in accordance with the document setting out the conditions for support.
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