Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK

Article 9 Financial envelope

1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 shall be EUR 104 918 000, in current prices.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.

2. Within the financial envelope for the Programme, indicative amounts shall be allocated to the eligible actions listed in Article 8, within the percentages set out in the Annex for each type of action. The Commission may depart from the indicative allocation of funds laid down in the Annex, but may not increase the allocated share of the financial envelope by more than 20 % for each type of action.

Should it prove necessary to exceed that 20 % limit, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to modify the indicative allocation of funds laid down in the Annex.

Article 10 Type of financial intervention and co-financing

1. The Commission shall implement the Programme in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

2. Financial support under the Programme for eligible actions listed in Article 8 shall take the form of any of the following:

(a) grants;

(b) public procurement;

(c) the reimbursement of costs for participation in activities under the Programme incurred by the representatives referred to in Article 7(3).

3. The purchase of equipment shall not be the sole component of the grant agreement.

4. The co-financing rate for grants awarded under the Programme shall not exceed 80 % of the eligible costs. In exceptional and duly justified cases, defined in the annual work programmes referred to in Article 11, such as cases concerning Member States exposed to a high risk in relation to the financial interests of the Union, the co-financing rate shall not exceed 90 % of the eligible costs.

Article 11 Annual work programmes

In order to implement the Programme, the Commission shall adopt annual work programmes. They shall ensure that the general, specific and operational objectives provided for in Articles 3, 4 and 5 respectively are implemented in a consistent manner and shall outline the expected results, the method of implementation and their total amount. In the case of grants, the annual work programmes shall include the actions financed, the selection and award criteria and the maximum co-financing rate.

Resources allocated to communication actions under the Programme shall also contribute to cover the corporate communication of the Union’s political priorities, as far as they are related to the general objective provided for in Article 3.

Article 12 Protection of the financial interests of the Union

1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties.

2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under the Programme.

3. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96(2) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract funded under the Programme.

4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to their respective competences.

(1)

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).

(2)

Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2).