Recommendations on non-priority investments
Article 7
1. The investment proposals submitted by the beneficiary Member States as non-priority investments shall be assessed by the Investment Committee in the first biannual disbursement cycle of the calendar year, if submitted at least 10 weeks before the first biannual meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1). If submitted later than 10 weeks before the first biannual meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), but at least 10 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 10 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. At the latest two weeks before the meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), the EIB shall complete a technical and financial due diligence assessment of the proposal, including an assessment of the expected emission reductions. 3. The EIB may request from the beneficiary Member State any information or documents that it considers necessary to carry out the technical and financial due diligence assessment, 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 10 weeks before the meeting of the Investment Committee referred to in Article 11(1), the EIB may postpone the completion of the due diligence assessment to the next biannual disbursement cycle. 4. The financial due diligence assessment by the EIB 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. 5. The EIB shall carry out the due diligence assessment respecting the applicable Union law. 6. The due diligence assessment by the EIB shall be accompanied by a statement of the EIB representative regarding the endorsement of the financing of the investment proposal. The EIB shall forthwith transmit the due diligence assessment to the Investment Committee. 7. The Investment Committee may issue a recommendation on financing the investment proposal 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; (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 according to information specified in Article 6(10) and on the basis of the recommendations already issued in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article; (c) the share of the funds allocated to priority investments is at least 70 % of the total amount of funds used by the beneficiary Member State, including the following funds: — funds already disbursed for priority and non-priority investments, — funds still to be disbursed according to information specified in Article 6(10), — funds still to be disbursed in accordance with the recommendations already issued under paragraph 9, — funds requested for the investment proposal under the assessment; (d) the financing complies with the fourth sentence of the second subparagraph of Article 10d(6) of Directive 2003/87/EC; (e) the beneficiary Member State has provided evidence that the investment proposal fulfils any of the following requirements: — it has obtained State aid clearance in accordance with the Commission decision, — it is exempted from the State aid notification in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 651/2014, — it does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty; (f) the beneficiary Member State has confirmed in writing that the investment complies with any other applicable requirements of Union and national law; (g) 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 recommended for the financing by the Investment Committee in accordance with paragraph 9 prior to the first disbursement, the proposal shall not require carrying out of due diligence assessment by the EIB, and the assessment of the proposal by the Committee shall be limited to verification of compliance with the requirements specified in points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 7, provided that there have been no changes to the scheme. 9. The Investment Committee shall issue a recommendation on the investment proposal in the meeting referred to in Article 11(1), specifying the amount of the support from the Modernisation Fund, stating the reasons for its conclusion, and including any suggestions regarding appropriate financing instruments. 10. If the Investment Committee does not recommend financing the investment, it shall state the reasons for its conclusion. In such case, the investment shall not be supported from the Modernisation Fund. The concerned Member State may revise the investment proposal taking into consideration the findings of the Investment Committee and it may submit a new investment proposal in any subsequent biannual disbursement cycle.