Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Section 1 U.K. Financial instruments

Article 215 U.K. Rules and implementation

1. Notwithstanding Article 208(1), financial instruments may be established, in duly justified cases, without being authorised by means of a basic act, provided that such instruments are included in the draft budget in accordance with point (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 41(4).

2. Where financial instruments or budgetary guarantees are combined within a single agreement with ancillary support from the budget, including grants, this Title shall apply to the whole measure. The reporting shall be carried out in accordance with Article 250 and shall clearly identify which parts of the measure are financial instruments or budgetary guarantees.

3. The Commission shall ensure a harmonised and simplified management of financial instruments, in particular in the area of accounting, reporting, monitoring and financial risk management.

4. Where the Union participates in a financial instrument as a minority stakeholder, the Commission shall ensure compliance with this Title in accordance with the principle of proportionality, on the basis of the size and value of the participation of the Union in the instrument. However, irrespective of the size and value of the Union participation in the instrument, the Commission shall ensure compliance with Articles 129 and 155, Article 209(2) and (4), Article 250 and, insofar as the exclusion situations referred to in point (d) of Article 136(1) are concerned, Section 2 of Chapter 2 of Title V.

5. Where the European Parliament or the Council consider that a financial instrument has not achieved its objectives effectively, they may request that the Commission submit a proposal for a revised basic act with a view to winding down the instrument. In the event of the winding down of the financial instrument, any new amount paid back to that instrument pursuant to Article 209(3) shall be considered as general revenue and returned to the budget.

6. The purpose of the financial instruments or a grouping of financial instruments on a facility level and, where applicable, their specific legal form and place of registration shall be published on the Commission website.

7. Entities entrusted with the implementation of financial instruments may open fiduciary accounts within the meaning of Article 85(3) on behalf of the Union. Those entities shall send the corresponding account statements to the Commission’s responsible service. Payments to fiduciary accounts shall be made by the Commission on the basis of payment requests that are duly substantiated with disbursement forecasts, taking into account the balances available on the fiduciary accounts and the need to avoid excessive balances on such accounts.

Article 216 U.K. Financial instruments directly implemented by the Commission

1. Financial instruments may be directly implemented pursuant to point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) through any of the following:

(a) a dedicated investment vehicle in which the Commission participates together with other public or private investors with a view to increasing the leverage effect of the Union contribution;

(b) loans, guarantees, equity participations and other risk-sharing instruments other than investments in dedicated investment vehicles, provided directly to final recipients or through financial intermediaries.

2. Dedicated investment vehicles referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be established pursuant to the laws of a Member State. In the field of external actions, they may also be established pursuant to the laws of a country other than a Member State. The managers of such vehicles shall be obliged by law or contractually to act with the diligence of a professional manager and in good faith.

3. The managers of dedicated investment vehicles referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 and financial intermediaries or final recipients of financial instruments shall be selected with due account to the nature of the financial instrument to be implemented, the experience and the financial and operational capacity of the entities concerned, and the economic viability of projects of final recipients. The selection shall be transparent, justified on objective grounds and shall not give rise to a conflict of interests.

Article 217 U.K. Treatment of contributions from funds implemented under shared management

1. Separate records shall be kept for contributions to financial instruments established under this Section from funds implemented under shared management.

2. Contributions from funds implemented under shared management shall be placed in separate accounts and used in accordance with the objectives of the respective funds to actions and final recipients consistent with the programme or programmes from which contributions are made.

3. As regards contributions from funds implemented under shared management to financial instruments established under this Section, sector-specific rules shall apply. Notwithstanding the first sentence, managing authorities may rely on an existing ex ante evaluation, carried out in accordance with point (h) of the first subparagraph and the second subparagraph of Article 209(2), prior to contributing to an existing financial instrument.