Confirmation of priority investments
Article 6
1. Investment proposals submitted by the beneficiary Member States as priority investments shall be assessed by the EIB in the first biannual disbursement cycle of the calendar year, if submitted at least six weeks before the first biannual meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1). If submitted later than six weeks before the first biannual meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), but at least six weeks before the second biannual meeting of the Committee, they shall be assessed in the second biannual disbursement cycle of the calendar year. If submitted later than six weeks before the second biannual meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), they shall be assessed in the first biannual disbursement cycle of the following calendar year. 2. The EIB may request from the beneficiary Member State any information or documents that it considers necessary to assess the investment, provided that such information or documents are required by Annex I. The EIB shall request the information or documents without undue delay. If the beneficiary Member State provides the requested information or documents less than six weeks before the meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), the EIB may postpone the assessment of the proposal to the next biannual disbursement cycle. 3. If the EIB is of the opinion that the proposal concerns a non-priority investment, the EIB shall inform thereof the beneficiary Member State not later than within four weeks from submission of the proposal, and state the reasons for its conclusion. In that case, the proposal shall be assessed in accordance with the requirements and timelines specified in Article 7. 4. If the proposal does not comply with Article 10d(1) of Directive 2003/87/EC or the requirements of this Regulation, the EIB shall return the proposal to the beneficiary Member State not later than within four weeks from submission of the proposal, and state the reasons for its conclusion. The EIB shall forthwith inform the Investment Committee. 5. The assessment of the proposal shall include verification of the costs of the proposed investment, unless the proportionality of the amount of aid received has been verified by the Commission under the relevant State aid procedure. 6. The EIB shall assess the proposal respecting the applicable Union law. 7. The EIB may confirm the proposal as a priority investment provided that the following conditions are met: (a) the beneficiary Member State has demonstrated that the investment complies with the requirements laid down in Article 10d(1) of Directive 2003/87/EC and that it falls into at least one area listed in Article 10d(2) of that directive; (b) the beneficiary Member State has sufficient funds available according to the statement of the available funds referred to in Article 5(1) and after deduction of any amounts to be disbursed for investments already confirmed in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article; (c) the beneficiary Member State has provided evidence that the investment proposal fulfils either of the following requirements: — obtained State aid clearance in accordance with the Commission decision, — is exempted from the State aid notification in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 ( 5 ) , — does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty; (d) the beneficiary Member State has confirmed in writing that the investment complies with any other applicable requirements of Union and national law; (e) according to the information provided by the beneficiary Member State about contributions from other Union and national instruments, the amounts requested from the Modernisation Fund are not intended to cover the same costs of the investment as those financed by another Union or national instrument. 8. Where a proposal concerns a subsequent disbursement for a scheme confirmed by the EIB in accordance with paragraph 9 prior to the first disbursement, the assessment of the proposal by the EIB shall be limited to verification of the available funds in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 7, provided that there have been no changes to the scheme. 9. The EIB shall decide on confirmation of the proposal as a priority investment at the latest two weeks before the meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1). The EIB shall forthwith inform the beneficiary Member State concerned and the Commission about the decision referred to in the first subparagraph. 10. At the latest one week before the meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), the EIB shall inform the Committee about the investment proposals of each beneficiary Member State confirmed as priority investments in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article and the amount to be disbursed to each investment.