Criteria for the selection of bodies implementing financial instruments
Article 7
1. When selecting a body to implement a financial instrument in accordance with Article 38(4)(a) and 38 (4) (b)(ii) and (b)(iii) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the managing authority shall satisfy itself that this body fulfils the following minimum requirements: (a) entitlement to carry out relevant implementation tasks under Union and national law; (b) adequate economic and financial viability; (c) adequate capacity to implement the financial instrument, including organisational structure and governance framework providing the necessary assurance to the managing authority; (d) existence of an effective and efficient internal control system; (e) use of an accounting system providing accurate, complete and reliable information in a timely manner; (f) agreement to be audited by Member State audit bodies, the Commission and the European Court of Auditors. 2. When selecting a body referred to in paragraph 1, the managing authority shall take due account of the nature of the financial instrument to be implemented, the body's experience with the implementation of similar financial instruments, the expertise and experience of proposed team members, and the body's operational and financial capacity. The selection shall be transparent and justified on objective grounds and shall not give rise to a conflict of interest. At least the following selection criteria shall be used: (a) robustness and credibility of the methodology for identifying and appraising financial intermediaries or final recipients as applicable; (b) the level of management costs and fees for the implementation of the financial instrument and the methodology proposed for their calculation; (c) terms and conditions applied in relation to support provided to final recipients, including pricing; (d) the ability to raise resources for investments in final recipients additional to programme contributions; (e) the ability to demonstrate additional activity in comparison to present activity; (f) in cases where the body implementing the financial instrument allocates its own financial resources to the financial instrument or shares the risk, proposed measures to align interests and to mitigate possible conflicts of interest. 3. Where a body that implements a fund of funds, including the EIB, further entrusts implementation tasks to a financial intermediary, it shall ensure that the requirements and criteria referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are met in respect of that financial intermediary.