Modulation of the co-financing rates
Article 121
The co-financing rate from the Funds to a priority axis may be modulated to take account of: (1) the importance of the priority axis for the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, having regard to the specific gaps to be addressed; (2) the protection and improvement of the environment, principally through the application of the precautionary principle, the principle of preventive action and the polluter pays principle; (3) the rate of mobilisation of private financing; (4) the coverage of areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps defined as follows: (a) island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, and other islands except those on which the capital of a Member State is situated or which have a fixed link to the mainland; (b) mountainous areas as defined by the national legislation of the Member State; (c) sparsely (i.e. less than 50 inhabitants per square kilometre) and very sparsely (less than 8 inhabitants per square kilometre) populated areas; (d) the inclusion of the outermost regions as referred to in Article 349 TFEU.