General principles
Article 4
1. Cooperation under the Facility shall be needs-based and shall promote the development effectiveness principles, namely ownership of development priorities by the beneficiaries, a focus on clear conditionality and tangible results, inclusive partnerships, transparency and mutual accountability. That cooperation shall be based on an effective and efficient allocation and use of resources. The Facility shall strive to ensure an appropriate geographical balance of investment projects. 2. The provision of macro-financial assistance shall not fall within the scope of this Facility. 3. Support from the Facility shall be additional and complementary to the support provided under other Union programmes and instruments. Activities eligible for funding under this Regulation may receive support from other Union programmes and instruments provided that such support does not cover the same cost and that appropriate oversight and budget control is ensured. The Commission shall ensure complementarities and synergies between the Facility and other Union programmes, with a view to avoiding the duplication of assistance and double funding. There shall be no overlap between support provided under this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2021/1529. 4. In order to promote the complementarity, coherence and efficiency of their actions, the Commission and the Member States shall cooperate and shall strive to avoid duplication and ensure synergies between assistance under this Regulation and other forms of assistance, including integrated financial packages composed of both export and development financing provided by the Union, Member States, third countries, multilateral and regional organisations and entities, such as international organisations and the relevant international financial institutions, agencies and non-Union donors, in line with the established principles for strengthening operational coordination in the field of external assistance, including through enhanced coordination with Member States at local level. Such coordination at local level shall involve regular and timely consultations and frequent exchanges of information throughout the implementation of the Facility. 5. Activities under the Facility shall mainstream and promote democracy, human rights and gender equality, progressively align with the social, climate and environmental standards of the Union, mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation, where relevant, disaster risk reduction, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation, including through, where appropriate, environmental impact assessments, and shall support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting integrated actions that can create co-benefits and meet multiple objectives in a coherent way. Those activities shall avoid stranded assets, and shall be guided by the principles of ‘do no significant harm’ and of ‘leaving no one behind’, as well as by the sustainability mainstreaming approach underpinning the European Green Deal. 6. Beneficiaries and the Commission shall ensure that gender equality, gender mainstreaming and the integration of a gender perspective are taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation of the Reform Agendas and the implementation of the Facility. Beneficiaries and the Commission shall take appropriate steps to prevent any discrimination based upon gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. The Commission shall report on these measures in the context of its regular reporting under the Gender Action Plans. 7. The Facility shall not support activities or measures which are incompatible with the beneficiaries’ Energy and Climate Plans, their Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, and the ambition to reach climate-neutrality by 2050 at the latest or that promote investments in fossil fuels, or that cause significant adverse effects on the environment, the climate or biodiversity. 8. In line with the principle of inclusive partnership, the Commission shall strive to ensure, as appropriate, democratic scrutiny in the form of consultation by a beneficiary’s government of its respective parliament as well as of relevant stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, social partners and civil society, including vulnerable groups, all minorities and communities, as relevant, so as to allow them to participate in shaping the design and the implementation of activities eligible for funding under the Facility and in the related monitoring, scrutiny and evaluation processes, as relevant. That consultation shall seek to represent the pluralism of the beneficiary’s society. 9. The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States and beneficiaries, shall ensure the implementation of Union commitments to increased transparency and accountability in the delivery of support, including by promoting the implementation and reinforcement of internal control systems and anti-fraud policies. The Commission shall make information on the volume and allocation of support publicly available through the Scoreboard referred to in Article 26. The beneficiaries shall publish up-to-date data on final recipients receiving Union funds for the implementation of reforms and investments under this Facility, as described in Article 22.