Union and Member States’ financial contributions
1. The Competence Centre shall be funded by the Union, while joint actions shall be funded by the Union and by voluntary contributions by the Member States.
2. The administrative and operational costs of joint actions shall be covered by the Union and by the Member States contributing to the joint actions, in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/694.
3. The Union’s contribution to the Competence Centre to cover administrative costs and operational costs shall comprise the following:
(a)
up to EUR 1 649 566 000 from the Digital Europe Programme, including up to EUR 32 000 000 for administrative costs;
(b)
an amount from Horizon Europe, including for administrative costs, for joint actions, such amount being equal to the amount contributed by Member States pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Article but not exceeding the amount determined in the strategic planning process of Horizon Europe to be carried out pursuant to Article 6(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, in the annual work programme or in the multiannual work programme;
(c)
an amount from the other relevant Union programmes, as needed for the implementation of the tasks or the achievement of the objectives of the Competence Centre, subject to decisions taken in accordance with the legal acts of the Union establishing those programmes.
4. The maximum Union contribution shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to Digital Europe Programme, the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe established by Decision (EU) 2021/764 and other programmes and projects falling within the scope of the Competence Centre or the Network.
5. The Competence Centre shall implement cybersecurity actions of the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe in accordance with point (c)(iv) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation.
6. Contributions from Union programmes other than those referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 that are part of the Union co-financing to a programme implemented by one of the Member States shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution referred to in those paragraphs.
7. Member States shall voluntarily take part in joint actions by means of voluntary financial and/or in-kind contributions. If a Member State takes part in a joint action, the financial contribution by that Member State shall cover administrative costs in proportion to its contribution to that joint action. The administrative costs of joint actions shall be met by financial contributions. The operational costs of joint actions may be met by financial or in-kind contributions, as provided for by Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme. Contributions from each Member State may take the form of support that the Member State provides in a joint action to beneficiaries established in that Member State. In-kind contributions by Member States consist of the eligible costs incurred by national coordination centres and other public entities when participating in projects funded through this Regulation, less any Union contribution to those costs. In the case of projects funded by Horizon Europe, eligible costs shall be calculated in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695. In the case of projects funded by the Digital Europe Programme, eligible costs shall be calculated in accordance with the Financial Regulation.
The envisaged amount of total Member State voluntary contributions to joint actions under Horizon Europe, including financial contributions for administrative costs, shall be determined in order to be taken into account in the strategic planning process of Horizon Europe to be carried out pursuant to Article 6(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, with input from the Governing Board. For actions under the Digital Europe Programme, notwithstanding Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694, the Member States may make a contribution to the costs of the Competence Centre that are co-financed from the Digital Europe Programme that is lower than the amounts specified in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article.
8. Member States’ national co-funding of actions supported by Union programmes other than Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme shall be considered to be Member States’ national contributions insofar as those contributions are parts of joint actions and are included in the Competence Centre’s work programme.
9. For the purpose of assessing the contributions referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and in point (b) of Article 22(2), costs shall be determined in accordance with the usual cost accounting practices of the Member State concerned, the applicable accounting standards of the Member State concerned, and the applicable international accounting standards and international financial reporting standards. Costs shall be certified by an independent external auditor appointed by the Member State concerned. The valuation method may be verified by the Competence Centre if there is any uncertainty arising from the certification.
10. If any Member State is in default of its commitments concerning its financial or in-kind contributions to joint actions, the Executive Director shall notify the Member State concerned thereof in writing and shall set a reasonable period within which such default is to be remedied. If the situation is not remedied within that period, the Executive Director shall convene a meeting of the Governing Board to decide whether the defaulting participating Member State’s right to vote is to be revoked or whether any other measures are to be taken until that Member State has met its obligations. The defaulting Member State’s right to vote concerning joint actions shall be suspended until the default of its commitments is remedied.
11. The Commission may terminate, proportionally reduce or suspend the Union’s financial contribution to joint actions if the contributing Member States do not contribute, contribute only partially or contribute late with regard to the contributions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3. The termination, reduction or suspension of the Union’s financial contribution by the Commission shall be proportionate in amount and time to the Member State’s failure to contribute, partial contribution or late contribution.
12. The contributing Member States shall report by 31 January of each year to the Governing Board on the value of the contributions referred to in paragraph 7 for joint action with the Union made in each of the previous financial year.
Costs and resources of the Competence Centre
1. The administrative costs of the Competence Centre shall in principle be covered by means of financial contributions from the Union on an annual basis. Additional financial contributions shall be made by contributing Member States in proportion to their voluntary contributions to joint actions. If part of the contribution for administrative costs is not used, it may be made available to cover the operational costs of the Competence Centre.
2. The operational costs of the Competence Centre shall be covered by means of:
(a)
the Union’s financial contribution;
(b)
voluntary financial or in-kind contributions from the contributing Member States in the case of joint actions.
3. The resources of the Competence Centre entered into its budget shall be composed of the following contributions:
(a)
the Union’s financial contributions to operational and administrative costs;
(b)
contributing Member States’ voluntary financial contributions to administrative costs in the case of joint actions;
(c)
contributing Member States’ voluntary financial contributions to operational costs in the case of joint actions;
(d)
any revenue generated by the Competence Centre;
(e)
any other financial contributions, resources or revenues.
4. Any interest yielded by the contributions paid to the Competence Centre by the contributing Member States shall be considered to be the revenue of the Competence Centre.
5. All resources of the Competence Centre and its activities shall be used to achieve its objectives.
6. The Competence Centre shall own all assets that are generated by it or are transferred to it for the fulfilment of its objectives. Without prejudice to the applicable rules of the relevant funding programme, the ownership of assets that are generated or acquired in joint actions shall be decided in accordance with point (b) of Article 15(3).
7. Except when the Competence Centre is wound up, any excess revenue over expenditure shall continue to be owned by the Competence Centre and shall not be paid to the contributing members of the Competence Centre.
8. The Competence Centre shall cooperate closely with other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, with due regard to their respective mandates and without duplicating existing cooperation mechanisms, in order to benefit from synergies with them and, where possible and appropriate, in order to reduce administrative costs.
Financial commitments
The financial commitments of the Competence Centre shall not exceed the amount of financial resources available or committed to its budget by its members.
Financial year
The financial year shall run from 1 January to 31 December.
Establishment of the budget
1. Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of the Competence Centre’s revenue and expenditure for the following financial year and shall forward it to the Governing Board, together with the draft establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3). Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance. The expenditure of the Competence Centre shall include the staff, administrative, infrastructure and operational expenses. Administrative expenses shall be kept to a minimum, including by means of redeployment of staff or posts.
2. Each year, the Governing Board shall, on the basis of the draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure referred to in paragraph 1, produce a statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Competence Centre for the following financial year.
3. The Governing Board shall, by 31 January of each year, send the statement of estimates referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, which shall be part of the draft single programming document referred to in Article 32(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715, to the Commission.
4. On the basis of the statement of estimates referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Commission shall enter in the draft budget of the Union the estimates it deems to be necessary for the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3) of this Regulation and the amount of the contribution to be charged to the general budget, which it shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
5. The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the contribution to the Competence Centre.
6. The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3).
7. Together with the annual work programme and the multiannual work programme, the Governing Board shall adopt the Competence Centre’s budget. It shall become final following the definitive adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where appropriate, the Governing Board shall adjust the Competence Centre’s budget and the annual work programme in accordance with the general budget of the Union.
Presentation of the Competence Centre’s accounts and discharge
The presentation of the Competence Centre’s provisional and final accounts and the discharge shall comply with the rules and timetable of the Financial Regulation and of the financial rules of the Competence Centre.
Operational and financial reporting
1. The Executive Director shall report annually to the Governing Board on the performance of his or her duties in accordance with the financial rules of the Competence Centre.
2. Within two months of the end of each financial year, the Executive Director shall submit to the Governing Board for approval an annual activity report on the progress made by the Competence Centre in the previous calendar year, in particular in relation to the annual work programme for that year and the fulfilment of its strategic goals and priorities. That report shall include information on the following matters:
(a)
operational actions carried out and the corresponding expenditure;
(b)
the actions submitted, including a breakdown by participant type, including SMEs, and by Member State;
(c)
the actions selected for funding, including a breakdown by participant type, including SMEs, and by Member State and indicating the contribution of the Competence Centre to the individual participants and actions;
(d)
the fulfilment of the mission and objectives laid down in this Regulation and proposals for further necessary work to fulfil that mission and those objectives;
(e)
the consistency of the implementation tasks with the Agenda and the multiannual work programme.
3. Once approved by the Governing Board, the annual activity report shall be made publicly available.
Financial rules
The Competence Centre shall adopt its specific financial rules in accordance with Article 70 of the Financial Regulation.
Protection of financial interests of the Union
1. The Competence Centre shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by regular and effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative penalties.
2. The Competence Centre shall grant Commission staff and other persons authorised by the Commission, as well as the Court of Auditors, access to the sites and premises of the Competence Centre and to all the information, including information in electronic format that is needed in order to conduct their audits.
3. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 17 ) and Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or a contract funded, directly or indirectly, in accordance with this Regulation.
4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, contracts and grant agreements resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Competence Centre, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations in accordance with their respective competences. Where the implementation of an action is outsourced or sub-delegated, in whole or in part, or where it requires the award of a procurement contract or financial support to a third party, the contract or grant agreement shall include the contractor’s or beneficiary’s obligation to impose on any third party involved explicit acceptance of those powers of the Commission, the Competence Centre, the Court of Auditors and OLAF.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
