Article 13U.K.Beneficiaries
1.Where there are two or more beneficiaries of an operation in a cooperation programme, one of them shall be designated by all the beneficiaries as the lead beneficiary.
2.The lead beneficiary shall:
(a)lay down the arrangements with other beneficiaries in an agreement comprising provisions that, inter alia, guarantee the sound financial management of the funds allocated to the operation, including the arrangements for recovering amounts unduly paid;
(b)assume responsibility for ensuring implementation of the entire operation;
(c)ensure that expenditure presented by all beneficiaries has been incurred in implementing the operation and corresponds to the activities agreed between all the beneficiaries, and is in accordance with the document provided by the managing authority pursuant to Article 12(5);
(d)ensure that the expenditure presented by other beneficiaries has been verified by a controller or controllers where this verification is not carried out by the managing authority pursuant to Article 23(3).
3.If not otherwise specified in the arrangements laid down in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 2 the lead beneficiary shall ensure that the other beneficiaries receive the total amount of the contribution from the funds as quickly as possible and in full. No amount shall be deducted or withheld and no specific charge or other charge with equivalent effect shall be levied that would reduce that amount for the other beneficiaries.
4.Lead beneficiaries shall be located in a Member State participating in the cooperation programme. However, Member States and third countries or territories participating in a cooperation programme may agree to the lead beneficiary being located in a third country or territory participating in that cooperation programme, provided that the managing authority is satisfied that the lead beneficiary can carry out the tasks set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 and that the requirements for management, verification and audit are fulfilled.
5.Sole beneficiaries shall be registered in a Member State participating in the cooperation programme. However, they may be registered in a Member State not participating in the programme, provided the conditions set out in Article 12(3) are satisfied.