Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

**Council of the**
**European Union**

**Interinstitutional File:**

**2018/0224 (COD)**

**PROPOSAL**

**Brussels, 8 June 2018**
**(OR. en)**

**9865/18**

**RECH 272**
**COMPET 421**
**IND 156**
**MI 436**
**EDUC 245**
**TELECOM 170**
**ENER 224**
**ENV 413**
**REGIO 38**
**AGRI 271**
**TRANS 248**
**SAN 181**
**CADREFIN 79**
**CODEC 998**
**IA 189**

From: Secretary-General of the European Commission,
signed by Mr Jordi AYET PUIGARNAU, Director

date of receipt: 7 June 2018

To: Mr Jeppe TRANHOLM-MIKKELSEN, Secretary-General of the Council of
the European Union

No. Cion doc.: COM(2018) 435 final

Subject: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
OF THE COUNCIL establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for
participation and dissemination

Delegations will find attached document COM(2018) 435 final.

Encl.: COM(2018) 435 final

9865/18 SD/MI/lv

## DG G 3 C EN

EUROPEAN

COMMISSION

Brussels, 7.6.2018
COM(2018) 435 final

2018/0224 (COD)

Proposal for a

**REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL**

**establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and**

**Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination**

(Text with EEA relevance)

{SEC(2018) 291 final} - {SWD(2018) 307 final} - {SWD(2018) 308 final} 
{SWD(2018) 309 final}

# **EN EN**

**EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM**

**1.** **CONTEXT** **OF** **THE** **PROPOSAL**

**•** **Reasons and objectives**

The ‘Horizon Europe’ proposal is fully in line with the Commission’s proposal on the next
long-term Union budget for 2021 to 2027 as well as the Commission’s priorities as set out in
its Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change and global policy priorities
(the Sustainable Development Goals). It supports the agenda of the Union post-2020 as
agreed in the Rome Declaration of 25 March 2017.

The proposal is framed by the premise that research and innovation (R&I) delivers on
citizens’ priorities, boosts the Union’s productivity and competitiveness, and is crucial for
sustaining our socio-economic model and values, and enabling solutions that address
challenges in a more systemic way.

The Horizon Europe package consists of proposals for:

1. a Framework Programme for Research and Innovation entitled ‘Horizon Europe’,
including laying down its rules for participation and dissemination (as per Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union – ‘TFEU’),

2. a specific programme to implement ‘Horizon Europe’ (‘TFEU’),

3. a Research and Training Programme under the Euratom Treaty complementing
Horizon Europe, along with the

4. associated impact assessment and legal financial statements.

A specific programme on defence research is proposed to be established by Regulation
…/…/EU of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the European Defence
Fund for the period 2021-2027.

The package merges two current legal acts (the Framework Programme and the Rules for
Participation and Dissemination) into a single legal act and makes a number of improvements
in terms of simplification along the way.

Specifically, Horizon Europe will strengthen the Union’s scientific and technological bases in
order to help tackle the major global challenges of our time and contribute to achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, the programme will boost the
Union’s competitiveness, including that of its industries. Horizon Europe will help deliver on
the Union’s strategic priorities and support the development and implementation of Union
policies. In a swiftly changing world, Europe’s success increasingly depends on its ability to
transform excellent scientific results into innovation that have a real beneficial impact on our
economy and quality of life, and create new markets with more skilled jobs.

To achieve this aim and build on the success of its predecessor, Horizon Europe continues to
support the whole R&I cycle in an integrated manner.

The principle of a single set of rules for participation and dissemination is maintained, while
this proposal improves further on these rules.

# EN 1 EN

This proposal provides for a date of application as of 1 January 2021 and is presented for a
Union of 27 Member States, in line with the notification by the United Kingdom of its
intention to withdraw from the European Union and Euratom based on Article 50 of the
Treaty on European Union received by the European Council on 29 March 2017.

**•** **Consistency with existing policy provisions**

The Framework Programme is the Union’s flagship programme to support R&I from concept
to market uptake. It aims to complement national and regional funding. The framework
programme has already provided unique European added value in supporting continent-wide
competition and collaboration for the very best science and innovation. This has resulted in
scientific breakthroughs, increased competitiveness, and solutions to societal challenges. The
new proposed framework programme, Horizon Europe, will aim to have an even greater
impact than the current one, Horizon 2020 which is a widely acknowledged asset towards
achieving Europe’s ambitions. The rapidly evolving nature of research and innovation in a
context of global competition makes public support for R&I more essential than ever, in
particular at Union level where its added value is undisputed. The proposal is fully in line
with the Commission’s agenda for R&I, including the headline target of investing 3% of the
Union’s GDP on research and development, as well as with the Communication “A renewed
European agenda for Research and Innovation – Europe’s chance to shape its future“ (the
European Commission’s contribution to the informal leaders’ meeting on 16-17 May 2018).

**•** **Consistency with other Union policies**

The proposal is fully consistent with existing Union policies. Horizon Europe was developed
taking into account the current Commission’s priorities, the Budget for Results policy (which
demands that Union spending programmes must – more than ever – deliver value for money),
the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development, the implementation of
the Union Global Strategy and the Commission’s proposal on the next long-term Union
budget.

In areas like health, digital technologies, industrial transformation, inclusive and democratic
societies, natural resources, energy, mobility, environment, food, low-carbon economy, space
and security, R&I is critical to the successful delivery on Union priorities: in particular jobs
and growth, the Digital Single Market, the Energy Union and climate action. R&I is at the
core of productivity and the competitiveness of an advanced economy like the Union’s.

R&I investment will be complementary and mutually reinforcing with that of other Union
programmes. R&I results will be exploited in synergy with other Union programmes to foster
their uptake at national and regional level, thereby maximising the European innovation
potential. This will be complemented by effective R&I communication and outreach
campaigns targeting the general public. Complementarity and synergy of R&I support and
exploitation across the Union's long-term budget will be maximised through a strategic R&I
planning process, which will be sufficiently flexible to allow the Commission and Union
institutions to swiftly react to urgent needs and new priorities.

The proposal is also fully consistent with the approach taken under the European Semester
process of economic policy co-ordination. Those links should be continued and reinforced,
building on the relevant contributions already made under Horizon 2020 in support of
structural reforms to improve the quality and efficiency of national research and innovation

# EN 2 EN

systems at three levels: firstly, through substantial investment in scientific and technological
research and innovation; secondly, by making the business environment more innovationfriendly and less risk-averse; and thirdly, by ensuring that European citizens get supported
through what will be a fast and, for some, turbulent transition driven by innovation,
digitisation and global megatrends such as artificial intelligence and the circular economy.

The Programme's actions should be used to address market failures or sub-optimal investment
situations, in a proportionate manner, without duplicating or crowding out private financing
and have a clear European added value. This will ensure consistency between the actions of
the programme and EU State aid rules, avoiding undue distortions of competition in the
internal market.

**2.** **LEGAL** **BASIS,** **SUBSIDIARITY** **AND** **PROPORTIONALITY**

**•** **Legal basis**

‘Horizon Europe’ is based on the TFEU Titles ‘Industry’ and ‘Research and technological
development and space’ (Articles 173, 182, 183 and 188).

Due to its strong support to innovation, the Specific Programme implementing Horizon
Europe is now based on the TFEU Titles ‘Industry’ and ‘Research and technological
development and space’(Articles 173 and 182), as is the specific programme on defence
research ( _ibid_ ).

The European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) derives from the ‘Industry’ title
and will continue to be funded by a financial contribution from Horizon Europe.

The proposal for the Euratom research and training programme is based on Article 7 of the
Euratom Treaty.

**•** **Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)**

The Union has a shared (parallel) competence in this area based on Article 4(3) TFEU. In
order to address the challenges Europe is currently facing, the Union needs to invest in R&I in
order to reach economies of scale, scope and speed. Union-funded R&I activities produce
demonstrable benefits compared to national and regional R&I support: they create critical
mass to address global challenges; strengthen the Union's scientific excellence through
competitive funding; create cross-border, multidisciplinary networks; reinforce human capital;
structure national R&I systems; increase the Union’s competitiveness; and create new market
opportunities.

**•** **Proportionality**

Actions at Union level will enable trans-national collaboration and world-wide competition to
ensure the best proposals are selected. This raises levels of excellence and provides visibility
for leading R&I, but also supports trans-national mobility and attracts the best talents. A
Union-level programme is best placed to take on high-risk and long-term R&I, thereby
sharing the risk and generating a breadth of scope and economies of scale that could not
otherwise be achieved. Interlinkages with national initiatives will be sought, in particular in
the area of innovation.

Similarly, it can leverage additional public and private investments in R&I; contribute to
further strengthening the European R&I landscape; and accelerate the commercialisation and

# EN 3 EN

diffusion of innovation. Union-level programmes can also support policy-making and policy
objectives.

The proposed actions do not go beyond what is required for Union objectives.

**•** **Choice of the instrument**

As in the past, the legal act is in a form of a regulation since it creates rights for and
obligations on beneficiaries, binding in their entirety and directly applicable in all Union
Member States and countries associated to the Framework Programme.

**3.** **RESULTS** **OF** **RETROSPECTIVE** **EVALUATIONS,** **STAKEHOLDER**
**CONSULTATIONS** **AND** **IMPACT** **ASSESSMENTS**

**•** **Retrospective evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation**

Union Framework Programmes have generated significant and long-lasting impacts as has
been shown by successive evaluations since the Union started investing in R&I in 1984.

This proposal is built on the feedback from stakeholders, findings of the interim evaluations
of the current programmes, the ex-post evaluations of previous programmes, and foresight
activities.

The Communication on the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 identified several areas for
improvement. In addition to an in-depth analysis, the findings of the interim evaluation of
Horizon 2020 were based on extensive stakeholder feedback and the strategic
recommendations of the independent High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU R&I
Programmes (the ‘Lamy’ High Level Group). In a nutshell, these conclusions could be
summarised as to:

(a) continue simplification;

(b) support breakthrough innovation;

(c) create more impact by being focused around missions and by citizen involvement;

(d) increase synergies with other Union funding programmes and Union policies;

(e) strengthen international cooperation;

(f) reinforce openness; and

(g) rationalise the funding landscape.

**•** **Stakeholder consultations**

Through open consultations, the Commission sought feedback on the key elements of the
design of the post-2020 Union programme for R&I. The results of these consultations fed into
the Impact Assessment for the programme and helped shape the drafting of the present legal
proposal.

Consultations were run at different times to ensure systematic account of stakeholder views in
the design and formulation of the Horizon Europe programme. To take account of different
information needs, consultations ranged from stakeholder conferences and events, to expert

# EN 4 EN

groups, online consultations, workshops, meetings and seminars and analyses of position

papers.

Fostering R&I in the Union emerged as the most important policy challenge by 97% of
respondents to the cluster-based open public consultation on the Union’s next long-term
budget in the areas of investment, R&I, SMEs and the single market.

Stakeholders’ key messages can be summarised as follows:

    - The three-pillar structure of Horizon 2020 should be kept, though better links between
the pillars are needed;

    - Successful individual researchers’ schemes (ERC, MSCA) need increased budgets;

    - Grants should remain the main funding model, complemented with dedicated financial
instruments, when appropriate;

    - Support should be provided to activities that help spread or share excellence;

    - Smaller-scale collaborative projects are important for widening participation;

    - Missions have all the hallmarks of being an impactful way forward;

    - Citizens should be made more involved with the Framework Programme;

    - The European Innovation Council should be an European accelerator of innovation;

    - There is a need to boost international cooperation to tackle global challenges;

    - Data and knowledge produced from Union-funded projects should be accessible by all;

    - There is a marked need to make the R&I landscape simpler;

    - Synergies with other Union programmes are difficult to achieve but are a must;

    - The programming process for the calls and missions needs to be enhanced;

    - The drive for simplification needs to continue; and

    - Being able to measure and communicate impact is key.

**•** **External expertise**

The Commission has relied extensively on external expertise. This includes in particular the
recommendations and findings of the High Level Group chaired by Pascal Lamy, presented in
the report ‘ _LAB – FAB – APP: Investing in the European future we want, Report of the_
_independent High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU Research & Innovation_
_Programmes_ ’, adopted in July 2017.

The _European Innovation Council High Level Group of Innovators_ was set up in January
2017 and mandated to support the European Commission in developing the European
Innovation Council. The report ‘ _Europe is back: Accelerating breakthrough innovation_ ’ with
14 recommendations was adopted in January 2018.

Following the recommendations of the Lamy report on missions, an external expert was
appointed to advise the Commission on the mission-oriented approach. In February 2018,
Professor Mariana Mazzucato presented a report ‘ _Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in_
_the European Union - A problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth_ ’ [1] in which
she recommended five key criteria for the selection of missions at Union level.

Furthermore, the High-Level Strategy Group on industrial technologies, chaired by Professor
Jürgen Rüttgers, proposed a redefinition of key enabling technologies and made

1 [https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/bold-science-meet-big-challenges-independent-report-calls-mission-oriented-eu-](https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/bold-science-meet-big-challenges-independent-report-calls-mission-oriented-eu-research-and-innovation-2018-feb-22_en)
[research-and-innovation-2018-feb-22_en](https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/bold-science-meet-big-challenges-independent-report-calls-mission-oriented-eu-research-and-innovation-2018-feb-22_en)

# EN 5 EN

recommendations for ways to maximise their contribution to inclusive growth and democracy,
prosperity, more equality and better jobs.

An extensive list of reports from high level groups and studies are given in the annex to the
impact assessment.

**•** **Impact assessment**

This proposal is supported by an impact assessment. The opinion of the Regulatory Scrutiny
Board was “positive with reservations”, recommending to better describe (i) the balance
between the Programme pillars, (ii) the rationale and value added of the EIC and R&I
Missions, and (iii) the streamlined delivery mechanisms [2] .

In a globally competitive, increasingly knowledge-based economy, R&I determine the
productivity and competitiveness of an advanced economy like Europe’s: about two-thirds of
Europe’s economic growth over the last decades has been driven by innovation. They drive
and support the creation of new and better jobs, and the development of knowledge-intensive
activities, which account for more than 33% of total employment in Europe. Europe must
maintain and even step up its technological, industrial and innovation capacities in a
sustainable way, in strategic areas that underpin our society, economy and international
commitments.

More must be done to stimulate widespread innovation in Europe, which is at the basis of
maintaining Europe's socio-economic model and values. The expected impacts of continuing
the Programme were analysed in the impact assessment. Compared to the ongoing
Programme, Horizon Europe is expected to generate:

    - **new and more knowledge and technologies, promoting scientific excellence and**
**significant scientific impact.** The Programme will continue to facilitate cross-border
collaboration between top scientists and innovators, allowing for trans-national and
cross-sector coordination between public and private R&I investment. Horizon 2020
has already attracted the world’s best research institutions and researchers, supported
340 000 researchers, and developed Europe’s skilled human capital. Scientific
publications from Horizon 2020 are world class (cited more than twice the world
average) and have contributed to major scientific breakthroughs.

    - **positive effects on growth, trade and investment** flows, and on quality jobs and
international mobility for researchers in the European Research Area. The
Programme is expected to increase GDP on average by 0.08% to 0.19% over 25
years, which means that each euro invested can potentially generate a return of up to
11 euro of GDP over the same period. Union investments in R&I are expected to
directly generate an estimated gain of up to 100 000 jobs in R&I activities in the
‘investment phase’ (2021-2027). The economic activity generated by the Programme
is expected to foster an indirect gain of up to 200 000 jobs over 2027-2036, of which
40% will be highly skilled.

    - **significant social and environmental impact** . This impact will be created by
disseminating, exploiting and taking up scientific results and translating them into
new products, services and processes, which in turn will help successfully deliver on
political objectives, as well as social and eco-innovation.

2 A detailed analysis of how these recommendations were addressed is annexed to the Impact
Assessment.

# EN 6 EN

These impacts mean that **the potential cost of discontinuing the Union R&I Programme**
**(i.e. the cost of non-Europe) is substantial** . Discontinuation could result in a decline of
competitiveness and growth (up to EUR 720 billion of GDP loss over 25 years [3] ), sharp
reductions in the private and national investments that are currently leveraged by Union-level
co-investments, and significant losses of social, environmental and economic impacts.

Moreover, the new Programme will further simplify rules, increase legal certainty and reduce
administrative burden for beneficiaries and programme administrators.

**•** **Simplification**

Simplification is key to reaching the objectives of Horizon Europe. To attract the best
researchers and the most innovative entrepreneurs, the administrative burden of participating
must be kept to a minimum.

The main simplification features set out, for the most part, in the rules for participation and
dissemination are (further details further below):

–
**Continuity** in the simplification measures applied to Horizon 2020 which were
appreciated by participants, such as the three-pillar programme structure, the simple
funding model and the Participant Portal;

–
**Simplification of the funding landscape** : the approach to partnership, for example,
is streamlined, with only three types and a clear set of criteria for their selection and
implementation, to ensure that they contribute to the general and specific objectives
of Horizon Europe;

–
**Further simplification of the current real cost reimbursement system**, in
particular as regards personnel costs;

–
**Broader acceptance of beneficiaries’ usual accounting practice**, in particular for
internal invoicing and services which would also cover the equivalent to Horizon
2020 large research infrastructures;

–
**Increased use of simplified cost options**, as provided for by the new Financial
Regulation, in particular of lump-sum project funding in appropriate areas and taking
account of the lessons from the pilot under Horizon 2020;
– **An increased cross-reliance on audits** to reduce the audit burden for beneficiaries
taking part in several Union funding programmes;

–
**Extending the Participants’ Guarantee Fund (renamed Mutual Insurance**
**Mechanism)** to beneficiaries of any directly managed Union programme, and for
actions not covered by the fund under Horizon 2020 (Article 185 Initiatives);

– An acceptance of the **seal of excellence**, for which proposals may receive support
from the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European
Social Fund+ or the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development;

–
Maintaining **key elements of the proposal evaluation** and selection process,
throughout all parts of Horizon Europe. A broader range of expertise will however be
sought, in function of the scope of the calls, including expertise from user groups and
civil society organisations [4] . The novelty of the missions-based approach will be to go
from assessing excellence and impact only at the level of individual proposals, to
also assessing how excellent proposals fit together as a portfolio. While the main

3 Based on the NEMESIS model, which corresponds to the highest impact of the Programme.
4 Network Analysis of Civil Society Organisations’ participation in the EU Framework Programmes

# EN 7 EN

principles are spelled out in advance in the rules, the work programmes will provide
further details on the application of the award criteria depending on the objectives of
the calls and instruments (e.g. the aspects to be taken into account in the evaluation
procedures).

Beyond the Horizon Europe basic legal acts, steps will be taken to simplify the
implementation of the Programme, starting with the model grant agreements and covering all
processes, documentation, helpdesks, support services, and IT systems, alleviating further the
administrative burden for participants and accelerating the granting process. The Commission
will develop such improved implementation tools in parallel with the legislative process, in
consultation with stakeholders.

**•** **Fundamental rights**

This Regulation respects fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

**4.** **BUDGETARY** **IMPLICATIONS**

The budget of all proposals is presented in current prices. The Commission may continue, on
the basis of a cost-benefit analysis, to use executive agencies to implement of Horizon
Europe.

**5.** **OTHER** **ELEMENTS**

**•** **Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements**

The Commission may increase the share of the budget delegated to **executive agencies**,
subject to the outcome of the mandatory cost-benefit analysis. Given the new elements in the
remit of the new Framework Programme (e.g. missions and the European Innovation Council)
and the increased budget to be delegated, changes to agencies’ mandates will be needed [5] .

This approach will help reduce of administrative costs, improve synergies with other
programmes and help focus more on performance.

Activities with a particularly substantial policy content are in principle excluded from
delegation to executive agencies, but the feedback of R&I data and results from these
agencies to the Commission will be stepped up in line with the dissemination and exploitation
strategy, in order to strengthen the evidence-base for policy-making.

Evaluations will be carried out in line with paragraphs 22 and 23 of the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 13 April 2016 [6], where the three institutions confirmed that evaluations of
existing legislation and policy should provide the basis for impact assessments of options for
further action. The evaluations will assess the programme's effects on the ground based on the
programme indicators/targets and a detailed analysis of the degree to which the programme

5 Further elements can be found in the Annex to the Impact Assessment
6 Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and
the European Commission on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016; OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1–14

# EN 8 EN

can be deemed relevant, effective, efficient, provides enough Union added value and is
coherent with other Union policies. They will include lessons learnt to identify any
deficiencies/problems or any potential to further improve the actions or their results and to
help maximise their exploitation/impact.

In order to be able to better track and communicate the Programme’s impact, the Horizon
Europe **monitoring and evaluation system** will have three main building blocks:

    - Annual monitoring of the programme performance: tracking of performance
indicators in the short, medium and longer-term according to key impact pathways
towards Programme objectives, based on baselines and targets where possible;

    - Continuous collection of programme management and implementation data;

    - Two fully-fledged (meta)-evaluations of the programme at mid-term and ex-post
(upon completion). These evaluations will build on the coordinated evaluations of
each programme part, type of actions and delivery mechanism according to common
evaluation criteria and standard methodologies and will inform adaptations to be
made to the programme.

Impact pathways, and related key impact pathway indicators, will structure the annual
monitoring of the programme performance towards its objectives. These pathways reflect
three complementary impact categories, reflecting the non-linear nature of R&I investment:

1. Scientific impact: related to supporting the creation and diffusion of high-quality new
knowledge, skills, technologies and solutions to global challenges;

2. Societal impact: related to strengthening the impact of research and innovation in
developing, supporting and implementing Union policies, and support the uptake of
innovative solutions in industry and society to address global challenges;

3. Economic impact: related to fostering all forms of innovation, including
breakthrough innovation, and strengthening market deployment of innovative
solutions.

For each of these impact categories, proxy indicators will be used to track on progress
distinguishing between the short, medium and longer term.

Management and implementation data [7] for all parts of the Programme and all delivery
mechanisms will continue to be collected in close to real-time. This data will be collected in a
centrally managed and harmonised way. It will also continue to be publicly available on a
dedicated on-line portal in close to real-time allowing extraction per programme parts, types
of actions and types of organisations (including specific data for SMEs). This will include
inter alia proposals, applications, participations and projects (number, quality, Union
contribution etc.); success rates; profiles of evaluators, applicants and participants (partly
based on unique identifiers, and including country, gender, turnover, role in project etc.);
implementation (including time-to-grant, error rate, satisfaction rate and the rate of risk taking
etc.); communication, dissemination and exploitation activities; and contribution to Union
climate and environmental objectives. In order to better track investments towards a
knowledge-based society, information on the Union funding allocated to the exploitation and
deployment of R&I results, notably from the Framework Programmes, may be collected over
the course of the programmes.

7 Further elements can be found in the Annex to the Impact Assessment.

# EN 9 EN

**•** **Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal**

Horizon Europe is a new framework programme designed for maximum impact in the context
of the evolving nature of research and innovation, with an architecture designed for enhanced
coherence and performance. It is proposed to use a three-pillar structure, with each pillar
interconnected with the others and complemented by underpinning activities, to strengthen the
European Research Area.

_**The three-pillar structure**_

**The first pillar on Open Science will ensure strong continuity with Horizon 2020 in**
**supporting excellent science** within a bottom-up approach in order to reinforce the Union’s
scientific leadership, high-quality knowledge and skills development, through the European
Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and research infrastructures. The
principles and practices of open science will be mainstreamed across the entire Programme.

**The second pillar on Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness will take**
**forward the societal challenges and industrial technologies** in a more ‘top down’ directed
approach addressing Union and global policy and competitiveness challenges and
opportunities These are integrated into five clusters (‘health’; ‘inclusive and secure society’;
‘digital and industry’; ‘climate, energy and mobility’; and ‘food and natural resources’),
aligned with Union and global policy priorities (the Sustainable Development Goals) and
having cooperation and competitiveness as key drivers. The integration in clusters, each
having a number of intervention areas, is designed to incentivise cross-disciplinary, crosssectoral, cross-policy and international collaboration, thereby achieving higher impact and
better seizing the innovation potential that is often greatest at the intersection of disciplines
and sectors.

Alongside the regular calls for proposals, **a limited set of highly visible missions will be**
**introduced** . These will be designed in the context of a strategic planning process. Missions,
with ambitious but time-bound and achievable goals, should speak to the public and engage it
where relevant. They will be co-designed with Member States, the European Parliament,
stakeholders and citizens.

The second pillar embodies industry’s essential role in achieving all the Programme’s
objectives. To ensure industrial competitiveness and the capacity to address the global
challenges ahead, the Union needs to reinforce and maintain its technological and industrial
capacities in key areas that underpin the transformation of our economy and society. Priority
will be given to investments in the key enabling technologies of the future.

The second pillar will also provide scientific evidence and technical support to Union
policies, including through the activities of the Joint Research Centre. This pillar will help
realise Union policy objectives within the spirit of the Innovation Principle as put forward in
the European Commission's Communication of 15 May 2018 on Research and Innovation: a
renewed European agenda. Particular attention should be given to increasing the share of
participation in research and funding of entities from low-to-mid income third countries.

While innovation will be supported throughout the whole programme, the **third pillar on**
**Open Innovation will essentially focus on scaling up breakthrough and market-creating**
**innovation by establishing a European Innovation Council**, support the enhancement of
European ecosystems of innovation and continued support to the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology (EIT). The European Innovation Council will offer a one-stopshop to high-potential innovators **.** Activities will be defined mainly bottom-up. This should
significantly simplify and streamline current support, and fill any gap between the grant

# EN 10 EN

funding in other parts of Horizon Europe and the financial instruments of InvestEU. Support
will also be provided for collaboration with and between national and regional innovation
agencies but also any other public or private and general or sectoral actor of the European
innovation landscape.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology will complement the European
Innovation Council by promoting sustainable innovation ecosystems and developing
entrepreneurial and innovation skills in priority areas through its Knowledge and Innovation
Communities. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology will contribute to the
entrepreneurial transformation of EU universities, and its activities will maximise synergies
and complementarities with actions under the Global Challenges and Industrial
Competitiveness Pillar.

Europe’s economic and social prosperity, the quality of life and jobs, and of the environment,
depend on its ability to create knowledge and to innovate. The bottom-up approaches in the
first and third pillars aim primarily at reinforcing excellence, creating knowledge and
innovation and encouraging greater investment especially in new, fast-growing areas of
cutting-edge science and breakthrough innovation with the potential to scale up. These are
essential to address the knowledge and innovation gap and strengthen the Union’s scientific
and technological bases, thereby supporting Union strategic objectives and policy priorities
and contributing to long-term growth and competiveness.

The three pillars will be underpinned by **activities to strengthening the European Research**
**Area**, specifically: sharing excellence to fully exploit the potential in less R&I performing
countries so that they attain high Union standards of excellence (e.g., via teaming, twinning,
ERA chairs); and reforming and enhancing the European R&I system, covering the next
generation Policy Support Facility.

This part will also include activities on: foresight activities; monitoring and evaluating the
Framework Programme and disseminating and exploiting results; modernising European
universities; supporting enhanced international cooperation; and science, society and citizens.

The three-pillar structure will reinforce the **internal coherence of the different programme**
**parts** towards achieving programme level objectives. The clearly defined and complementary
rationales for intervention will enhance their interconnectivity, with open science and open
innovation being common threads. It will ensure a systemic, **impact-based approach** that
cuts across disciplines and silos for better impact. For example, missions will have a pull
effect on activities in the open science and open innovation pillars, while innovations with
rapid scale-up potential arising from collaborative research, the European Research Council's
proof of concept or the EIT’s _Knowledge and Innovation Communities_ will be rapidly
signposted to the European Innovation Council. Strategic planning will reinforce the
programme's internal coherence even more.

_**Cross-cutting elements**_

Horizon Europe will significantly **strengthen international cooperation** which is crucial to
ensure access to talent, knowledge, know-how, facilities and markets worldwide, to
effectively tackle global challenges and to implement global commitments. The Framework
Programme will intensify cooperation and extend association agreements to include countries
with excellent science, technology and innovation capacities. The Programme will continue to
fund entities from low-to-mid income countries, and to fund entities from industrialised and
emerging economies only if they possess essential competence or facilities.

# EN 11 EN

**The principle of open science** will become the modus operandi of the new Programme. It
will go beyond the open access policy of Horizon 2020 and require open access to
publications and data (with robust opt-outs for the latter), and to research data management
plans. The Programme will foster the widespread use of FAIR (findable, accessible,
interoperable, and re-usable) data; and activities that enhance researchers’ skills in open
science and support reward systems that promote open science. Research integrity and citizen
science will play a central role, as will the development of a new generation of research
assessment indicators.

Horizon Europe will take a **new and more impact-focussed** approach **to partnerships** . The
current plethora of European Partnerships will be rationalised, so that they can continue in
simplified forms that are open to all (such as academia, industry, Member States, and
philanthropic foundations), while ensuring that they can effectively contribute to the general
and specific objectives of Horizon Europe. They will be designed on the basis of Union added
value, transparency, openness, impact, leverage effect, the long-term financial commitment of
all the involved parties, flexibility, coherence and complementarity with Union, national and
regional initiatives. This approach aims at a consolidated and rationalised number of
partnerships that avoid overlaps and duplication and that are better aligned with Union policy
priorities.

There will be three levels of partnerships:

(a) co-programmed, based on memoranda of understanding or contractual arrangements
with partners;

(b) co-funded, based on a single, flexible programme co-fund action;

(c) institutionalised partnerships (based on Articles 185 or 187 TFEU, and the EIT
Regulation for the _Knowledge and Innovation Communities_ ).

The areas for partnerships, including the possible continuation of existing ones, will be
identified during the strategic planning process (the proposed legal basis sets out only the
instruments and criteria that will guide their use). Proposals for future EIT Knowledge and
Innovation Communities (KICs) will be indicated in the EIT Strategic Innovation Agenda
(SIA), and will take into account the outcomes of the strategic planning process. Themes will
be identified and selected in a way that maximises complementarities and synergies with
actions under the 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness' Pillar.

The Commission proposal for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework set a more
ambitious goal for climate **mainstreaming** across all EU programmes, with an overall target
of 25% of EU expenditure contributing to climate objectives. The contribution of this
programme to the achievement of this overall target will be tracked through an EU climate
marker system at an appropriate level of disaggregation, including the use of more precise
methodologies where these are available. The Commission will continue to present the
information annually in terms of commitment appropriations in the context of the annual draft
budget.

To support the full utilisation of the potential of the programme to contribute to climate
objectives, the Commission will seek to identify relevant actions throughout the programme
preparation, implementation, review and evaluation processes.

# EN 12 EN

_**Synergies**_

**Synergies** between different Union programmes will be highly encouraged and enhanced
through the strategic planning process, which will act as a reference framework for R&I
support across the Union's budget. Effective and operational synergies will thus be ensured
with other Union programmes, notably to develop a more effective science-policy interface
and address policy needs, as well as promote faster dissemination and uptake of research and
innovation results and to enable the pursuit of common objectives and common areas for
activities (such as partnership areas or mission areas).

These programmes would include, among others, the common agricultural policy (CAP); the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); the European Social Fund (ESF+); the
European Space Programme; the Single Market Programme; the Programme for Environment
& Climate Action (LIFE); the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF); the Digital Europe
Programme (DEP); the Erasmus Programme; the InvestEU Fund; and the external action
instruments (Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument
(NDICI) and Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III)). Particular attention will be
paid to links with the European Semester and the Reform Delivery Tool, including via the
Policy Support Facility.

In full complementarity with Horizon Europe, these programmes may provide support for
research and innovation activities, including demonstration of solutions tailored to specific
national/regional contexts/needs, as well as bilateral and interregional initiatives. In particular,
the European Regional Development Fund will support the building of research and
innovation eco-systems in the Member States in terms of infrastructures, human resources,
modernisation of the public and private sectors, and (inter)regional cooperation networks,
such as clusters structures.

Programmes such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Digital Europe Programme
(DEP), the European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, or LIFE will make use of public procurement as a
key instrument to deploy physical infrastructures and innovative technologies and solutions
that can originate from Framework Programme activities and beyond.

_**The rules for participation and dissemination**_

The following main new features have been introduced in the **rules for participation and**
**dissemination** :

    - **The principle of a single set of rules will continue, but with further**
**improvements.** In line with the corporate approach towards a single-rule book and
the preparation of the MFF, the new Union Financial Regulation [8 ] will be used as a
common reference under which the rules applicable to all Union funding
programmes will be aligned.

    - **Horizon 2020 funding rates will be maintained.** The funding rate will be a
maximum that can be reduced when justified for implementing specific actions. This
will ensure the programme remains attractive.

8 European Commission (2017), Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the Union and
its rules of application, available at:
[http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/documents/regulations/financial_regulation_2017_en.pdf](http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/documents/regulations/financial_regulation_2017_en.pdf)

# EN 13 EN

    - **The cost reimbursement scheme will be further simplified,** in particular in what
concerns the actual costs scheme for personnel costs: the distinction between basic
and additional remuneration will be removed and the Horizon 2020 cap on the
additional remuneration abolished.

    - **Broader acceptance of the usual cost accounting practice** : the unit cost for
internally invoiced goods and services will make it possible to cover actual indirect
costs calculated in accordance with the usual cost accounting practices.

    - **A wider cross-reliance on audits and assessments – including with other Union**
**programmes – is envisaged** . This should reduce the administrative burden on
beneficiaries of Union funds by further aligning the rules. The rules explicitly
provide for cross-reliance by considering also other elements of assurance resulting
in a need for fewer financial audits on beneficiaries that have positive results on their
systems audits. Moreover, cross-reliance can be part of the conditions for lifting the
obligation for the beneficiary to submit a certificate on the financial statement.

    - The **Participant Guarantee Fund (renamed Mutual Insurance Mechanism) will**
**be extended** to all forms of institutionalised partnerships, including Article 185
initiatives not covered under Horizon 2020, and to beneficiaries from other directly
managed Union programmes.

    - **Dissemination and exploitation** : most provisions of the Horizon 2020 rules for
participation and dissemination are maintained, with further improvements where
appropriate. This includes reinforcing the focus on exploitation, in particular within
the Union and the role of the plan for the dissemination and exploitation during and
after the end of the project. Moreover, the Commission will provide dedicated
support to dissemination, exploitation and knowledge diffusion and put more
emphasis on promoting the exploitation of R&I results.

    - **Communication by the** **beneficiaries of Union funds** : in line with the
recommendations of the Lamy report, the Rules underline the role of beneficiaries in
providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple
audiences, including the media and the public. Building on experience in Horizon
2020, guidance to beneficiaries will show how they can become principal
communicators of all aspects of their project activities.

    - **Fostering open science** will ensure better exploitation of R&I results within the
Union. This will assist market uptake, boost impact, maximise synergies with other
Union initiatives and increase the innovation potential of results generated by Union
funding.

The following actions are in particular envisaged:

    - Supporting R&I stakeholders in fully endorsing the principle of the open access and
working with them to make the European Open Science Cloud a reality;

    - Strengthening the European data space [9] that allows for unrestricted and constant
knowledge and data circulation and creating the necessary incentives for programme
beneficiaries and innovators to share their results and data for reuse.

9 EC Communication “Towards a common European data space”, COM(2018)232 final

# EN 14 EN

    - Putting in place incentives for the exploitation of Programme results by helping
beneficiaries to find the most appropriate instruments and channels for market uptake
of their innovation;

    - Putting in place a strategy for increasing the availability of R&I results and
accelerating their uptake, including for policy, thereby boosting the overall impact of
the programme and the European innovation potential;

    - Providing holistic support throughout the dissemination and exploitation lifecycle to
ensure a constant stream of innovation coming from the programme.

For Horizon Europe, the **award criteria** will be excellence; impact; and quality and
efficiency of the implementation. These are the same criteria as for previous Framework
Programmes.

The proposed Regulation specifies excellence as the sole criterion for the European Research
Council (ERC), in line with the objective of advancing the frontiers of knowledge. This
provision does not represent a deviation from the agreed need to boost impact in the
Programme. In fact, impact can refer to scientific, technological, socio-economic or other
types of impact. In the case of the ERC, the emphasis is on scientific impact, which is the
foundation for many other types of impact, including socio-economic impact. The ERC will
continue to set a clear and inspirational ambition for European science by creating panEuropean competition for ideas and talent.

_**The European Institute for Innovation and Technology**_

The **European Institute for Innovation and Technology**, primarily through its _Knowledge_
_and Innovation Communities_ (KICs) will aim at strengthening innovation ecosystems that
tackle global challenges, by fostering the integration of business, research, higher education
and entrepreneurship. While the EIT's focus on innovation ecosystems make it naturally fit
within the Open Innovation pillar of Horizon Europe, the cross-pillar nature of the EIT can
bring an additional targeted approach towards the global challenges highlighted in the
programme. Proposals for future EIT KICs in compliance with the EIT Regulation will be
indicated in the EIT Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) and will take into account the
outcome of the strategic planning process and the priorities of the Global Challenges and
Industrial Competitiveness pillar.

_**The Joint Research Centre (JRC)**_

While the **Joint Research Centre** will contribute broadly to other parts of Horizon Europe,
the JRC will play a strong supporting role in the Global Challenges and Industrial
Competitiveness pillar. In this context, it will continue to provide scientific advice and
support to Union policy throughout the policy cycle.

# EN 15 EN

2018/0224 (COD)

Proposal for a

**REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL**

**establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and**
**Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination**

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular
Article 173(3), Article 182(1), Article 183, and the second paragraph of Article 188 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee [10],

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions [11],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure [12],

Whereas:

(1) It is the Union's objective to strengthen its scientific and technological bases and
encourage its competitiveness, including in its industry, while promoting all research
and innovation activities to deliver on the Union's strategic priorities, which ultimately
aim at promoting peace, the Union's values and the well-being of its peoples.

(2) To deliver scientific, economic and societal impact in pursuit of this general objective,
the Union should invest in research and innovation through Horizon Europe - a
Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2021-2027 (the ‘Programme’) to
support the creation and diffusion of high-quality knowledge and technologies, to
strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and
implementing Union policies, to support the uptake of innovative solutions in industry
and society to address global challenges and promote industrial competitiveness; to
foster all forms of innovation, including breakthrough innovation, and strengthen
market deployment of innovative solutions; and optimise the delivery of such
investment for increased impact within a strengthened European Research Area.

(3) The promotion of research and innovation activities deemed necessary to help realise
Union policy objectives should take into account the innovation principle as put
forward in the Commission Communication of 15 May 2018 'A renewed European

10
OJ C […], […], p. […].
11
OJ C […], […], p. […].
12 Position of the European Parliament of … [(not yet published in the Official Journal)] and decision of
the Council of ….

# EN 16 EN

Agenda for Research and Innovation - Europe's chance to shape its future'
(COM(2018)306) _._

(4) Open Science, Open Innovation, Open to the World constitute general principles,
which should ensure excellence and impact of the Union's investment in research and
innovation. They should be adhered in the implementation of the Programme, in
particular for the strategic planning in respect of the pillar 'Global Challenges and
Industrial Competitiveness'.

(5) Open science, including open access to scientific publications and research data, has
the potential to increase the quality, impact and benefits of science and to accelerate
the advancement of knowledge by making it more reliable, more efficient and
accurate, better understandable by society and responsive to societal challenges.
Provisions should be laid down to ensure that beneficiaries provide open access to
peer-reviewed scientific publications, research data and other research outputs in an
open and non-discriminatory manner, free of charge and as early as possible in the
dissemination process, and to enable their widest possible use and re-use. More
emphasis should in particular be given to the responsible management of research
data, which should comply with the FAIR principles of ‘Findability’, ‘Accessibility’,
‘Interoperability’ and ‘Reusability’, notably through the mainstreaming of Data
Management Plans. Where appropriate, beneficiaries should make use of the
possibilities offered by the European Open Science Cloud and adhere to further open
science principles and practices.

(6) The conception and design of the Programme should respond to the need for
establishing a critical mass of supported activities, throughout the EU Union and
through international cooperation, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Programme implementation should reinforce the pursuit of this aim.

(7) Activities supported under the Programme should contribute towards the achievement
of the Union's objectives and priorities, the monitoring and assessment of progress
against those objectives and priorities and for the development of revised or new
priorities.

(8) The Programme should maintain a balanced approach between bottom-up
(investigator or innovator driven) and top-down (determined by strategically defined
priorities) funding, according to the nature of the research and innovation communities
that are engaged, the types and purpose of the activities carried out and the impacts
that are sought. The mix of these factors should determine the choice of approach for
the respective parts of the Programme, all of which contribute to all of the
Programme’s general and specific objectives.

(9) Research activities carried out under the pillar 'Open Science' should be determined
according to the needs and opportunities of science. The research agenda should be set
in close liaison with the scientific community. Research should be funded on the basis
of excellence.

(10) The pillar 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness' should be established
through clusters of research and innovation activities, in order to maximise integration
across the respective work areas while securing high and sustainable levels of impact
in relation to the resources that are expended. It will encourage cross-disciplinary,
cross-sectoral, cross-policy and cross-border collaboration in pursuit of the UN SDGs
and the competitiveness of the Union's industries therein.

# EN 17 EN

(11) Full engagement of industry in the Programme, at all levels from the individual
entrepreneur and small and medium-sized enterprises to large scale enterprises, should
constitute one of the main channels through which the Programme's objectives are to
be realised, specifically towards the creation of sustainable jobs and growth. Industry
should contribute to the perspectives and priorities established through the strategic
planning process which should support the development of work programmes. Such
engagement by industry should see its participation in the actions supported at levels
at least commensurate with those under the previous framework programme Horizon
2020 established by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and
the Council [13] ('Horizon 2020').

(12) It is important to support industry to stay or become world leader in innovation,
digitisation and decarbonisation, notably through investments in key enabling
technologies that will underpin tomorrow's business. The Programme's actions should
be used to address market failures or sub-optimal investment situations, in a
proportionate manner, without duplicating or crowding out private financing and have
a clear European added value. This will ensure consistency between the actions of the
programme and EU State aid rules, avoiding undue distortions of competition in the
internal market.

(13) The Programme should support research and innovation in an integrated manner,
respecting all relevant provisions of the World Trade Organisation. The concept of
research, including experimental development should be used in accordance with the
Frascati Manual developed by the OECD, whereas the concept of innovation should
be used in accordance with the Oslo Manual developed by the OECD and Eurostat,
following a broad approach that covers social innovation. The OECD definitions
regarding Technological Readiness Level (TRL) should continue, as in the previous
Framework Programme Horizon 2020, to be taken into account in the classification of
technological research, product development and demonstration activities, and the
definition of types of action available in calls for proposals. In principle grants should
not be awarded for actions where activities go above TRL 8. The work programme for
a given call under the pillar 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness' could
allow grants for large-scale product validation and market replication.

(14) The Commission's Communication on the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020
(COM(2018) 2 final) has provided a set of recommendations for this Programme,
including its Rules for participation and dissemination, building on the lessons learnt
from the previous Programme as well as input from EU institutions and stakeholders.
Those recommendations include to invest more ambitiously in order to reach critical
mass and maximise impact; to support breakthrough innovation; to prioritise Union
research and innovation (R&I) investments in areas of high added value, notably
through mission-orientation, citizen involvement and wide communication; to
rationalise the Union funding landscape, including by streamlining the range of
partnership initiatives and co-funding schemes; the development of more and concrete
synergies between different Union funding instruments, notably with the aim of
helping to mobilise under-exploited R&I potential across the Union; to strengthen
international cooperation and reinforce openness to third countries' participation; and
to continue simplification based on implementation experiences from Horizon 2020.

13

# EN 18 EN

(15) The Programme should seek synergies with other Union programmes, from their
design and strategic planning, to project selection, management, communication,
dissemination and exploitation of results, to monitoring, auditing and governance.
With a view to avoiding overlaps and duplication and increasing the leverage of Union
funding, transfers from other Union programmes to Horizon Europe activities can take
place. In such cases they will follow Horizon Europe rules.

(16) In order to achieve the greatest possible impact of Union funding and the most
effective contribution to the Union's policy objectives, the Programme should enter
into European Partnerships with private and/or public sector partners. Such partners
include industry, research organisations, bodies with a public service mission at local,
regional, national or international level, and civil society organisations such as
foundations that support and/or carry out research and innovation, provided that
desired impacts can be achieved more effectively in partnership than by the Union
alone.

(17) The Programme should strengthen cooperation between European Partnerships and
private and/or public sector partners at the international level including by joining up
research and innovation programmes and cross-border investment in research and
innovation bringing mutual benefits to people and businesses while ensuring that the
EU can uphold its interests in strategic areas. [14]

(18) The Joint Research Centre (JRC) should continue to provide Union policies with
independent customer-driven scientific evidence and technical support throughout the
whole policy cycle. The direct actions of the JRC should be implemented in a flexible,
efficient and transparent manner, taking into account the relevant needs of the users of
the JRC and the needs of Union policies, and ensuring the protection of the financial
interests of the Union. The JRC should continue to generate additional resources.

(19) The pillar 'Open Innovation' should establish a series of measures for integrated
support to the needs of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship aiming at realising and
accelerating breakthrough innovation for rapid market growth. It should attract
innovative companies with potential for scaling up at international and at Union level
and offer fast, flexible grants and co-investments, including with private investors.
These objectives should be pursued through the creation of a European Innovation
Council (EIC). This Pillar should also support the European Institute of Innovation
and Technology (EIT) and European innovation ecosystems at large, notably through
co-funding partnerships with national and regional innovation support actors.

(20) The policy objectives of this Programme will be also addressed through financial
instruments and budgetary guarantee under the policy windows of the InvestEU Fund.
Financial support should be used to address market failures or sub-optimal investment
situations, in a proportionate manner and actions should not duplicate or crowd out
private financing or distort competition in the Internal market. Actions should have a
clear European added value.

(21) The EIC through its instruments – Pathfinder and Accelerator – should aim at
identifying, developing and deploying breakthrough market creating innovations and
supporting their rapid scale-up to EU and international levels. Through coherent and
streamlined support to breakthrough innovation the EIC should fill the current vacuum

14 See e.g. the Commission's proposal for a regulation establishing a framework for screening Foreign
Direct Investment into the EU (COM (2017)487).

# EN 19 EN

in public support and private investment for breakthrough innovation. The instruments
of the EIC call for dedicated legal and management features in order to reflect its
objectives, in particular market deployment activities.

(22) Through EIC blended finance, the Accelerator should bridge the “valley of death”
between research, pre-mass commercialisation and the scaling-up of companies. In
particular, the Accelerator should provide support to operations presenting such
technological or market risks that they are not considered as bankable and cannot
leverage significant investments from the market, hence complementing the InvestEU
programme established by Regulation … [15] ..

(23) The EIT, primarily through its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs),
should aim at strengthening innovation ecosystems that tackle global challenges, by
fostering the integration of business, research, higher education and entrepreneurship.
The EIT should foster innovation in its activities and should support the integration of
higher education within the innovation ecosystem, in particular by: stimulating
entrepreneurial education, fostering strong non-disciplinary collaborations between
industry and academia; and identifying prospective skills for future innovators to
address global challenges, which includes advanced digital and innovation skills.
Support schemes provided by the EIT should benefit to EIC beneficiaries, while startups emerging from EIT KICs should have access to EIC actions. While the EIT’s
focus on innovation ecosystems should make it naturally fit within the pillar 'Open
Innovation', the planning of its KICs should be aligned through the strategic planning
process with the pillar 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness'.

(24) Ensuring and preserving a level playing field for companies that compete in a given
market should be a key requirement for breakthrough or disruptive innovation to
flourish thereby enabling in particular small and medium-size innovators to reap the
benefits of their investment and to capture a share of the market.

(25) The Programme should promote and integrate cooperation with third countries and
international organisations and initiatives based on common interest, mutual benefit
and global commitments to implement the UN SDGs. International cooperation should
aim to strengthen the Union's research and innovation excellence, attractiveness and
economic and industrial competitiveness, to tackle global challenges, as embodied in
the UN SDGs, and to support the Union's external policies. An approach of general
opening for international participation and targeted international cooperation actions
should be followed, including through appropriate eligibility for funding of entities
established in low to middle income countries. At the same time, association of third
countries to the Programme should be promoted.

(26) With the aim of deepening the relationship between science and society and
maximising benefits of their interactions, the Programme should engage and involve
citizens and civil society organisations in co-designing and co-creating responsible
research and innovation agendas and contents, promoting science education, making
scientific knowledge publicly accessible, and facilitating participation by citizens and
civil society organisations in its activities. It should do so across the Programme and
through dedicated activities in the part 'Strengthening the European Research Area'.
The engagement of citizens and civil society in research and innovation should be
coupled with public outreach activities to generate and sustain public support for the
Programme. The programme should also seek to remove barriers and boost synergies

15

# EN 20 EN

between science, technology, culture and the arts to obtain a new quality of sustainable
innovation.

(27) Pursuant to Article 349 of the TFEU, the Union's outermost regions are entitled to
specific measures (taking into account their structural, social and economic situation)
regarding access to horizontal Union programmes. The Programme should therefore
take into account the specific characteristics of those regions in line with the
Commission's Communication on 'A stronger and renewed strategic partnership with
the EU's outermost regions' (COM (2017) 623 final) as endorsed by the Council on 12
April 2018.

(28) The activities developed under the Programme should aim at eliminating gender
inequalities and promoting equality between women and men in research and
innovation, in compliance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union and
Article 8 of the TFEU. The gender dimension should be adequately integrated in
research and innovation content and followed through at all stages of the research
cycle.

(29) In light of the specificities of the defence industry sector, the detailed provisions for
Union funding to defence research projects should be fixed in the Regulation …
establishing the European Defence Fund [16] which defines the rules of participation for
defence research. Research and innovation activities carried out under the European
Defence Fund should have an exclusive focus on defence applications.

(30) This Regulation lays down a financial envelope for the Programme. The amount
indicated for the specific programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) is to constitute the
prime reference amount, within the meaning of [ _reference to be updated as_
_appropriate according to the new inter-institutional agreement:_ point 17 of the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary
matters and on sound financial management [17] ], for the European Parliament and the
Council during the annual budgetary procedure.

(31) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No [the new FR] (the ‘Financial Regulation’) applies to this
Programme, unless otherwise specified. It lays down rules on the implementation of
the Union budget, including the rules on grants, prizes, procurement, indirect
implementation, financial assistance, financial instruments and budgetary guarantees.

(32) In accordance with the Financial Regulation, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013
of the European Parliament and of the Council [18], Council Regulation (Euratom, EC)
No 2988/95 [19],Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 [20] and Council

16

17 _-_
Reference to be updated: OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. The agreement is available at: _[http://eur](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2013.373.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ:C:2013:373:TOC)_

_-_
_lex.europa.eu/legal_
_[content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2013.373.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ:C:2013:373:TOC](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2013.373.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ:C:2013:373:TOC)_
18 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 L248, 18.9.2013, p. 1.
19 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European
Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.95, p.1).
20 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 L292,15.11.96, p.2).

# EN 21 EN

Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 [21], the financial interests of the Union are to be protected
through proportionate measures, including the prevention, detection, correction and
investigation of irregularities, including fraud, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid
or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, the imposition of administrative sanctions.
In particular, in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and
Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may
carry out administrative investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections,
with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other
illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union. In accordance with
Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) may
investigate and prosecute fraud and other criminal offences affecting the financial
interests of the Union as provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European
Parliament and of the Council [22] . In accordance with the Financial Regulation, any
person or entity receiving Union funds is to fully cooperate in the protection of the
Union’s financial interests, to grant the necessary rights and access to the Commission,
OLAF, the EPPO and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and to ensure that any
third parties involved in the implementation of Union funds grant equivalent rights.

(33) Pursuant to [reference to be updated as appropriate according to a new decision on
OCTs: Article 94 of Council Decision 2013/755/EU [23] ], persons and entities
established in overseas countries and territories (OCTs) are eligible for funding subject
to the rules and objectives of the Programme and possible arrangements applicable to
the Member State to which the relevant overseas country or territory is linked.

(34) Pursuant to paragraph 22 and 23 of the Inter-institutional agreement for Better LawMaking of 13 April 2016, there is a need to evaluate this Programme on the basis of
information collected through specific monitoring requirements, while avoiding
overregulation and administrative burdens, in particular on Member States. These
requirements, where appropriate, can include measurable indicators, as a basis for
evaluating the effects of the Programme on the ground.

(35) In order to be able to supplement or amend the impact pathway indicators, where
considered necessary, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the
Commission. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate
consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those
consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016. In particular, to
ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European
Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States'
experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission
expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(36) Coherence and synergies between Horizon Europe and the EU's Space Programme
will foster a globally competitive and innovative European space sector; reinforce
Europe’s autonomy in accessing and using space in a secure and safe environment;

21 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the
establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) (OJ L283, 31.10.2017, p.1).
22 Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight
against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29).
23 Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and
territories with the European Union (Overseas Association Decision) (OJ L 344, 19.12.2013, p. 1).

# EN 22 EN

and strengthen Europe’s role as a global actor. Breakthrough solutions in Horizon
Europe will be supported by data and services made available by the Space
Programme.

(37) The rules for participation and dissemination should adequately reflect the needs of the
Programme taking into account the concerns raised and the recommendations made by
various stakeholders.

(38) Common rules across the Programme should ensure a coherent framework which
facilitates participation in programmes financially supported by the budget of the
Programme, including participation in programmes managed by funding bodies such
as the EIT, joint undertakings or any other structures under Article 187 TFEU, and
participation in programmes undertaken by Member States pursuant to Article 185
TFEU. Flexibility to adopt specific rules should be ensured when justified.

(39) Actions which fall within the scope of the Programme should respect fundamental
rights and observe the principles acknowledged in particular by the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Such actions should be in conformity
with any legal obligation including international law and with any relevant
Commission decisions such as the Commission notice of 28 June 2013 [24], as well as
with ethical principles, which include avoiding any breach of research integrity.
Article 13 TFEU should also be taken into account in research activities, and the use
of animals in research and testing should be reduced, with a view ultimately to
replacing their use.

(40) In line with the objectives of international cooperation as set out in Articles 180 and
186 TFEU, the participation of legal entities established in third countries and of
international organisations should be promoted. The implementation of the
Programme should be in conformity with the measures adopted in accordance with
Articles 75 and 215 TFEU and should be in compliance with international law. For
actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, the
participation to specific actions of the Programme may be limited to entities
established in Member States only, or to entities established in specified associated or
other third countries in addition to Member States.

(41) Reflecting the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union's
commitments to implement the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals, this Programme will contribute to mainstream climate actions
and to the achievement of an overall target of 25 % of the EU budget expenditures
supporting climate objectives.

(42) Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the
basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to
this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine
in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through
grants, procurement, prizes, indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the
responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also
concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as
regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an
essential precondition for sound financial management and effective EU funding.

24 OJ C 205, 19.7.2013, p. 9.

# EN 23 EN

(43) Use of sensitive background information or access by unauthorized individuals to
sensitive results may have an adverse impact on the interests of the Union or of one or
more of the Member States. Thus handling of confidential data and classified
information should be governed by all relevant Union law, including the Institutions'
internal rules, such as Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, which lays
down the provisions on security rules for protecting EU classified information.

(44) It is necessary to establish the minimum conditions for participation, both as a general
rule where the consortium should include at least one legal entity from a Member
State, and with regard to the specificities of particular type of actions under the
Programme.

(45) It is appropriate to establish the terms and conditions for providing Union funding to
participants in actions under the Programme. Grants should be implemented taking
into account all forms of contribution set out in the Financial Regulation, including
lump sums, flat rates or unit costs, with the view to further simplification.

(46) The funding rates in this Regulation are referred to as maximums in order to comply
with the co-financing principle.

(47) In accordance with the Financial Regulation, the Programme should provide the basis
for a wider acceptance of the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiaries as
regards personnel costs and unit costs for internally invoiced goods and services.

(48) The current system of reimbursement of actual personnel costs should be further
simplified building on the project-based remuneration approach developed under
Horizon 2020 and further aligned to the Financial Regulation.

(49) The participant Guarantee Fund set up under Horizon 2020 and managed by the
Commission has proved to be an important safeguard mechanism which mitigates the
risks associated with the amounts due and not reimbursed by defaulting participants.
Therefore, the Beneficiary Guarantee Fund, renamed Mutual Insurance Mechanism
("the Mechanism") should be continued and enlarged to other funding bodies in
particular to initiatives pursuant to Article 185 of the TFEU. The Mechanism should
be opened to beneficiaries of any other directly managed Union programme.

(50) Rules governing the exploitation and dissemination of results should be laid down to
ensure that beneficiaries protect, exploit, disseminate and provide access to those
results as appropriate. More emphasis should be given to exploiting the results, in
particular in the Union. Beneficiaries should update their plans regarding the
exploitation and dissemination of their results during and after the end of the action.

(51) The key elements of the proposal evaluation and selection system of the predecessor
programme Horizon 2020 with its particular focus on excellence should be
maintained. Proposals should continue to be selected based on the evaluation made by
independent experts. Where relevant, the necessity to ensure the overall coherence of
the portfolio of projects should be taken into account.

(52) A wider cross-reliance on audits and assessments – including with other Union
programmes – should be envisaged, in order to reduce administrative burden for
beneficiaries of Union funds. Cross reliance should be explicitly provided for by
considering also other elements of assurance such as systems and processes audits.

(53) Specific challenges in the area of research of innovation should be addressed by
prizes, including through common or joint prizes where appropriate, organised by the

# EN 24 EN

Commission or funding body with other Union bodies, third countries, international
organisations or non-profit legal entities.

(54) The types of financing and the methods of implementation under this Regulation shall
be chosen on the basis of their ability to achieve the specific objectives of the actions
and to deliver results, taking into account, in particular, the costs of controls, the
administrative burden, and the expected risk of non-compliance. For grants, this shall
include consideration of the use of lump sums, flat rates and scales of unit costs.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

TITLE I

**GENERAL PROVISIONS**

_Article 1_

**Subject matter**

1. This Regulation establishes Horizon Europe - the Framework Programme for
Research and Innovation (‘the Programme’) and the rules for participation and
dissemination in indirect actions under the Programme.

2. It lays down the objectives of the Programme, the budget for the period 2021 – 2027,
the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

3. The Programme shall be implemented through:

(a) the specific programme established by Decision …/…/EU [25], which includes a
financial contribution to the EIT;

(b) the specific programme on defence research established by Regulation
…/…/EU.

4. The terms 'Horizon Europe', 'the Programme' and 'specific programme' used in this
Regulation address matters relevant only to the specific programme described in
paragraph 3(a), unless otherwise explicitly stated.

_Article 2_

**Definitions**

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) 'research infrastructures' mean facilities that provide resources and services for the
research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. This
definition includes the associated human resources, and it covers major equipment or
sets of instruments; knowledge-related facilities such as collections, archives or
scientific data infrastructures; computing systems, communication networks, and any
other infrastructure, of a unique nature and open to external users, essential to
achieve excellence in research and innovation. Where relevant, they may be used

25

# EN 25 EN

beyond research, for example for education or public services and they may be
'single sited', 'virtual' or 'distributed';

(2) 'smart specialisation strategy' has the same meaning as smart specialisation strategy
as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the
Council [26] and fulfilling the enabling conditions set out in Regulation (EU) XX

[Common Provisions Regulation];

(3) 'European Partnership' means an initiative where the Union, together with private
and/or public partners (such as industry, research organisations, bodies with a public
service mission at local, regional, national or international level or civil society
organisations including foundations), commit to jointly support the development and
implementation of a programme of research and innovation activities, including
those related to market, regulatory or policy uptake;

(4) 'open access' means the practice of providing online access to research outputs
resulting from actions funded under the Programme, in particular scientific
publications and research data, free of charge to the end-user;

(5) 'mission' means a portfolio of actions intended to achieve a measurable goal within a
set timeframe, and impact for science and technology and/or society and citizens
that could not be achieved through individual actions;

(6) 'pre-commercial procurement' means the procurement of research and development
services involving risk-benefit sharing under market conditions, and competitive
development in phases, where there is a clear separation of the research and
development services procured from the deployment of commercial volumes of endproducts;

(7) 'public procurement of innovative solutions' means procurement where contracting
authorities act as a launch customer for innovative goods or services which are not
yet available on a large-scale commercial basis, and may include conformity testing.

(8) “access rights” means rights to use results or background;

(9) “background” means any data, know-how or information whatever its form or nature,
tangible or intangible, including any rights such as intellectual property rights, that
is: (i) held by beneficiaries prior to their accession to the action; (ii) identified by the
beneficiaries in writing in any manner as needed for implementing the action or for
exploiting its results;

(10) “dissemination” means the public disclosure of the results by appropriate means
(other than resulting from protecting or exploiting the results), including by scientific
publications in any medium;

(11) “exploitation” means the use of results in further research and innovation activities
other than those covered by the action concerned, or in developing, creating,
manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a
service, or in standardisation activities;

26 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013
laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social
Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional
Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and
Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006.

# EN 26 EN

(12) “fair and reasonable conditions” means appropriate conditions, including possible
financial terms or royalty-free conditions, taking into account the specific
circumstances of the request for access, for example the actual or potential value of
the results or background to which access is requested and/or the scope, duration or
other characteristics of the exploitation envisaged;

(13) “funding body” means a body or organisation, other than the Commission, as
referred to in point (c) of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation, to which the
Commission has entrusted budget implementation tasks under the Programme;

(14) “international European research organisation” means an international organisation,
the majority of whose members are Member States or associated countries, and
whose principal objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in
Europe;

(15) 'legal entity' means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under
national law, Union law or international law, which has legal personality and which
may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an
entity without a legal personality in accordance with Article 197(2)(c) of the
Financial Regulation;

(16) “non-profit legal entity” means a legal entity which by its legal form is non-profitmaking or which has a legal or statutory obligation not to distribute profits to its
shareholders or individual members;

(17) “mid-cap” means a company that is not a micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise
(‘SME’) as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC [27], and that has a
number of employees of up to 3000 where the staff headcount is calculated in
accordance with Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Title I of the Annex of that
Recommendation;

(18) “results” means any tangible or intangible effect of the action, such as data, knowhow or information, whatever its form or nature, whether or not it can be protected,
as well as any rights attached to it, including intellectual property rights;

(19) “seal of excellence” means a certified label which shows that a proposal submitted to
a call for proposals exceeded all of the thresholds set out in the work programme, but
could not be funded due to lack of budget available to that call in the work

programme;

(20) “work programme” means the document adopted by the Commission for the
implementation of the specific programme [28] in accordance with its Article 12 or the
equivalent document in content and structure adopted by a funding body.

(21) "reimbursable advance" means the part of a Horizon Europe or EIC blended finance
corresponding to a loan under Title X of the Financial Regulation, but that is directly
awarded by the Union on a non-profit basis to cover the costs of activities
corresponding to an innovation action, and to be reimbursed by the beneficiary to the
Union under the conditions provided for in the contract;

(22) “contract” means the agreement concluded between the Commission or a funding
body with a legal entity implementing an innovation and market deployment action
and supported by a Horizon Europe or EIC blended finance.

27

28 OJ ….

# EN 27 EN

(23) “classified information” means EU classified information ad defined in Article 3 of
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 as well as classified information of
Member States, classified information of third countries with which the Union has a
security agreement and classified information of international organisation with
which the Union has a security agreement;

(24) 'Blending operation' means actions supported by the EU budget, including within
blending facilities pursuant to Article 2(6) of the Financial Regulation, combining
non-repayable forms of support and/or financial instruments from the EU budget
with repayable forms of support from development or other public finance
institutions, as well as from commercial finance institutions and investors.

(25) “Horizon Europe or EIC blended finance” means a single financial support to an
innovation and market deployment action, consisting in a specific combination of a
grant or a reimbursable advance with an investment in equity;

_Article 3_

**Programme objectives**

1. The Programme’s general objective is to deliver scientific, economic and societal
impact from the Union’s investments in research and innovation so as to strengthen
the scientific and technological bases of the Union and foster its competitiveness,
including in its industry, deliver on the Union strategic priorities, and contribute to
tackling global challenges, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

2. The Programme has the following specific objectives:

(a) to support the creation and diffusion of high-quality new knowledge, skills,
technologies and solutions to global challenges;

(b) to strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting
and implementing Union policies, and support the uptake of innovative
solutions in industry and society to address global challenges;

(c) to foster all forms of innovation, including breakthrough innovation, and
strengthen market deployment of innovative solutions;

(d) to optimise the Programme's delivery for increased impact within a
strengthened European Research Area.

_Article 4_

**Programme structure**

1. The Programme is structured in the following parts contributing to the general and
specific objectives set out in in Article 3:

(1) Pillar I 'Open Science', pursuing the specific objective set out in Article 3(2)(a)
and also supporting specific objectives set out in Article 3(2)(b) and (c), with
the following components:

(a) the European Research Council (ERC);

(b) Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA);

(c) research infrastructures.

# EN 28 EN

(2) Pillar II 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness', pursuing the
specific objective set out in Article 3(2)(b) and also supporting the specific
objectives set out in Article 3(2)(a) and (c), with the following components:

(a) cluster 'Health';

(b) cluster 'Inclusive and Secure Society';

(c) cluster 'Digital and Industry';

(d) cluster 'Climate, Energy and Mobility';

(e) cluster 'Food and Natural Resources';

(f) non-nuclear direct actions of the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

(3) Pillar III 'Open Innovation', pursuing the specific objective set out in Article
3(2)(c) and also supporting the specific objectives set out in Article 3(2)(a) and
(b), with the following components:

(a) the European Innovation Council (EIC);

(b) European innovation ecosystems;

(c) the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

(4) Part 'Strengthening the European Research Area', pursuing the specific
objective set out in Article 3(2)(d) and also supporting the specific objectives
set out in Article 3(2)(a), (b) and (c), with the following components:

(a) sharing excellence;

(b) reforming and enhancing the European R&I System.

2. The broad lines of activities are set out in Annex I.

_Article 5_

**Defence research**

1. Activities to be carried out under the specific programme referred to in Article
1(3)(b) and which are laid down in Regulation …. establishing the European Defence
Fund, shall be research with an exclusive focus on defence applications, with the
objective to foster the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation of defence
industry.

2. This Regulation does not apply to the specific programme referred to in Article
1(3)(b), with the exception of this Article, Article 1(1) and (3) and Article 9(1).

_Article 6_

**Implementation and forms of EU funding**

1. The Programme shall be implemented in direct management in accordance with the
Financial Regulation or in indirect management with funding bodies referred to in
Article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation.

2. The Programme may provide funding to indirect actions in any of the forms laid
down in the Financial Regulation, in particular grants (including operating grants),
prizes and procurements It may also provide financing in the form of financial
instruments within blending operations.

# EN 29 EN

3. The rules for participation and dissemination laid down in this Regulation shall apply
to indirect actions.

4. The main types of action to be used under the Programme are set out and defined in
Annex II. All forms of funding shall be used in a flexible manner across all
objectives of the Programme with their use being determined on the basis of the
needs and the characteristics of the particular objectives.

5. The Programme shall also support direct actions undertaken by the JRC. Where these
actions contribute to initiatives established under Article 185 or Article 187 TFEU,
this contribution shall not be considered as part of the financial contribution allocated
to those initiatives.

6. The implementation of the specific programme [29] shall be based on a transparent and
strategic multiannual planning of research and innovation activities, in particular for
the pillar 'Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness', following consultations
with stakeholders about priorities and the suitable types of action and forms of
implementation to use. This shall ensure alignment with other relevant Union

programmes.

7. Horizon Europe activities shall be primarily delivered through calls for proposals,
some of which organised as parts of missions and European Partnerships.

8. Research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon Europe shall have a
focus on civil applications.

9. The Programme shall ensure the effective promotion of gender equality and the
gender dimension in research and innovation content. Particular attention shall be
paid to ensuring gender balance, subject to the situation in the field of research and
innovation concerned, in evaluation panels and in bodies such as expert groups.

_Article 7_

**Missions**

1. Missions shall be programmed within the pillar 'Global Challenges and Industrial
Competitiveness', but may also benefit from actions carried out within other parts of
the Programme.

2. The missions shall be implemented in accordance with Article 5 of the Specific
Programme. Evaluation shall be carried out in accordance with Article 26.

3. Missions shall:

(a) have a clear EU-added value and contribute to reaching Union priorities;

(b) be bold and inspirational, and hence have wide societal or economic relevance;

(c) indicate a clear direction and be targeted, measurable and time-bound;

(d) be centered on ambitious but realistic research and innovation activities;

(e) spark activity across disciplines, sectors and actors;

(f) be open to multiple, bottom-up solutions.

29

…

# EN 30 EN

_Article 8_

**European Partnerships**

1. Parts of Horizon Europe may be implemented through European Partnerships. The
involvement of the Union in European Partnerships may take any of the following
forms:

(a) participation in partnerships set up on the basis of memoranda of understanding
and/or contractual arrangements between the Commission and the partners
referred to in Article 2(3), specifying the objectives of the partnership, related
commitments for financial and/or in-kind contributions of the partners, key
performance and impact indicators, and outputs to be delivered. They include
the identification of complementary research and innovation activities that are
implemented by the partners and by the Programme (Co-programmed
European Partnerships);

(b) participation in and financial contribution to a programme of research and
innovation activities, based on the commitment of the partners for financial and
in-kind contributions and integration of their relevant activities using a
Programme co-fund action (Co-funded European Partnerships);

(c) participation in and financial contribution to research and innovation
programmes undertaken by several Member States in accordance with Article
185 TFEU, or by bodies established pursuant to Article 187 TFEU, such as
Joint Undertakings, or by the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities in
compliance with the [EIT Regulation] (Institutionalised European
Partnerships), to be implemented only where other forms of European
Partnerships would not achieve the objectives or would not generate the
necessary expected impacts, and if justified by a long-term perspective and
high degree of integration including central management of all financial
contributions.

2. European Partnerships shall:

(a) Be established in cases where they will more effectively achieve objectives of
Horizon Europe than the Union alone;

(b) Adhere to the principles of Union added value, transparency, openness, impact,
leverage effect, long-term financial commitment of all the involved parties,
flexibility, coherence and complementarity with Union, local, regional national
and international initiatives;

(c) Be time limited and include conditions for phasing-out the Programme
funding.

Provisions and criteria for their selection, implementation, monitoring, evaluation
and phasing-out are set out in Annex III.

_Article 9_

**Budget**

1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Framework Programme for the
period 2021 – 2027 shall be EUR 94 100 000 000 in current prices for the specific
programme referred to in Article 1(3)(a) and, in addition, the amount for the specific

# EN 31 EN

programme referred to in Article 1(3)(b), as laid down in Regulation…. establishing
the European Defence Fund.

2. The indicative distribution of the amount referred to in paragraph 1, first half
sentence, shall be:

(a) EUR 25 800 000 000 for Pillar I 'Open Science' for the period 2021-2027, of
which

(1) EUR 16 600 000 000 for the European Research Council;

(2) EUR 6 800 000 000 for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions;

(3) EUR 2 400 000 000 for research infrastructures;

(b) EUR 52 700 000 000 for Pillar II 'Global Challenges and Industrial
Competitiveness' for the period 2021-2027, of which

(1) EUR 7 700 000 000 for cluster 'Health';

(2) EUR 2 800 000 000 for cluster 'Inclusive and Secure Society';

(3) EUR 15 000 000 000 for cluster 'Digital and Industry';

(4) EUR 15 000 000 000 for cluster 'Climate, Energy and Mobility';

(5) EUR 10 000 000 000 for cluster 'Food and Natural Resources';

(6) EUR 2 200 000 000 for the non-nuclear direct actions of the Joint
Research Centre (JRC);

(c) EUR 13 500 000 000 for Pillar III 'Open Innovation' for the period 2021-2027,
of which

(1) EUR 10 500 000 000 for the European Innovation Council, including up
to EUR 500 000 000 for European Innovation Ecosystems;

(2) EUR 3 000 000 000 for the European Institute of Innovation and
Technology (EIT);

(d) EUR 2 100 000 000 for Part 'Strengthening the European Research Area' for
the period 2021-2027, of which

(1) EUR 1 700 000 000 for 'sharing excellence';

(2) EUR 400 000 000 for 'reforming and enhancing the European R&I
System'.

3. In order to respond to unforeseen situations or to new developments and needs, the
Commission may, within the annual budgetary procedure, deviate from the amounts
referred to in paragraph 2 up to a maximum of 10%. No such deviation shall be
allowed in respect of the amounts referred to in points (b) (6) of paragraph 2 of this
Article and the total amount set out for Part 'Strengthening the European Research
Area' of paragraph 2 of this Article.

4. The amount referred to in paragraph 1, first half sentence, may also cover expenses
for preparation, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation and other activities and
expenditures necessary for managing and implementing the Programme, including
all administrative expenditure, as well as evaluating the achievement of its
objectives. It may moreover cover expenses relating to the studies, meetings of
experts, information and communication actions, in so far as they are related to the
objectives of the Programme, as well as expenses linked to information technology

# EN 32 EN

networks focusing on information processing and exchange, including corporate
information technology tools and other technical and administrative assistance
needed in connection with the management of the Programme.

5. If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the budget beyond 2027 to cover the
expenses provided for in paragraph 4, to enable the management of actions not
completed by 31 December 2027.

6. Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may
be broken down over several years into annual instalments.

7. Without prejudice to the Financial Regulation, expenditure for actions resulting from
projects included in the first work programme may be eligible as from 1 January
2021.

8. Resources allocated to Member States under shared management and transferrable in
accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) XX […Common Provisions
Regulation] may, at their request, be transferred to the Programme. The Commission
shall implement those resources directly in accordance with point (a) of Article 62(1)
of the Financial Regulation or indirectly in accordance with point (c) of that Article.
Where possible, those resources shall be used for the benefit of the Member State
concerned.

9. Horizon Europe is designed to be implemented in synergy with other Union funding
programmes. A non-exhaustive list of synergies with other Union funding
programmes is included in Annex IV.

_Article 10_

**Open access and open data**

1. Open access to scientific publications resulting from research funded under the
Programme shall be ensured in accordance with Article 35(3). Open access to
research data shall be ensured in line with the principle 'as open as possible, as closed
as necessary'. Open access to other research outputs shall be encouraged.

2. Responsible management of research data shall be ensured in line with the principles
‘Findability’, ‘Accessibility’, ‘Interoperability’ and ‘Reusability’ (FAIR).

3. Open science practices beyond open access to research outputs and responsible
management of research data shall be promoted.

_Article 11_

**Complementary and combined funding**

Actions awarded a Seal of Excellence certification, or which comply with the following
cumulative, comparative, conditions:

(a) they have been assessed in a call for proposals under the Programme;

(b) they comply with the minimum quality requirements of that call for proposals;

(c) they may not be financed under that call for proposals due to budgetary constraints,

may receive support from the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the
European Social Fund+ or the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, in

# EN 33 EN

accordance with paragraph 5 of Article [67] of Regulation (EU) XX [Common Provisions
Regulation] and Article [8] or Regulation (EU) XX [Financing, management and monitoring
of the Common Agricultural Policy], provided that such actions are consistent with the
objectives of the programme concerned. The rules of the Fund providing support shall apply.

_Article 12_

**Third countries associated to the Programme**

1. The Programme shall be open to association of the following third countries:

(a) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members which are members of the
European Economic Area (EEA), in accordance with the conditions laid down
in the EEA agreement;

(b) acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance
with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the
participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the
respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions, or
similar agreements, and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in
agreements between the Union and those countries;

(c) countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy, in accordance with
the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of
those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework
agreements and Association Council decisions, or similar agreements, and in
accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the
Union and those countries;

(d) third countries and territories that fulfil all of the following criteria:

i. a good capacity in science, technology and innovation;

ii. commitment to a rules-based open market economy, including fair and
equitable dealing with intellectual property rights, backed by democratic
institutions;

iii. active promotion of policies to improve the economic and social wellbeing of citizens.

Association to the Programme of each of the third countries under point(d)
shall be in accordance with the conditions laid down in a specific agreement
covering the participation of the third country to any Union programme,
provided that the agreement:

–
ensures a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the
third country participating in the Union programmes;

–
lays down the conditions of participation in the programmes, including
the calculation of financial contributions to individual programmes and
their administrative costs. These contributions shall constitute assigned
revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation;

–
does not confer to the third country a decisional power on the

programme;

–
guarantees the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management
and to protect its financial interests.

# EN 34 EN

2. The scope of association of each third country to the Programme shall take into
account the objective of driving economic growth in the Union through innovation.
Accordingly, with the exception of EEA members, acceding countries, candidate
countries and potential candidates, parts of the Programme may be excluded from an
association agreement for a specific country.

3. The association agreement shall, where appropriate, provide for the participation of
legal entities established in the Union in equivalent programmes of associated
countries in accordance with the conditions laid down therein.

4. The conditions determining the level of financial contribution shall ensure an
automatic correction of any significant imbalance compared to the amount that
entities established in the associated country receive through participation in the
Programme, taking into account the costs in the management, execution and
operation of the Programme.

_TITLE II_

_**RULES FOR PARTICIPATION AND DISSEMINATION**_

_CHAPTER I_

_**General provisions**_

_Article 13_

**Funding bodies and direct actions of JRC**

1. Funding bodies may depart from the rules set out in this Title only if this is provided
for in the basic act setting up the funding body or entrusting budget implementation
tasks to it or, for funding bodies under Article 62(1)(c)(ii), (iii) or (v) of the Financial
Regulation, if it is provided for in the contribution agreement and their specific
operating needs or the nature of the action so require.

2. The rules set out in this Title shall not apply to direct actions undertaken by the JRC.

_Article 14_

**Eligible actions**

1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, only actions implementing
the objectives referred to in Article 3 shall be eligible for funding.

The following fields of research shall not be financed:

(a) activities aiming at human cloning for reproductive purposes;

(b) activities intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could
make such changes heritable [30] ;

(c) activities intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research
or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell
nuclear transfer.

30 Research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads can be financed.

# EN 35 EN

2. Research on human stem cells, both adult and embryonic, may be financed,
depending both on the contents of the scientific proposal and the legal framework of
the Member States involved. No funding shall be granted for research activities that
are prohibited in all the Member States. No activity shall be funded in a Member
State where such activity is forbidden.

3. The fields of research set out in paragraph 1 may be reviewed within the context of
the interim evaluation referred to in Article 47(2) in the light of scientific advances.

_Article 15_

**Ethics**

1. Actions carried out under the Programme shall comply with ethical principles and
relevant national, Union and international legislation, including the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human
Rights and its Supplementary Protocols.

Particular attention shall be paid to the principle of proportionality, the right to
privacy, the right to the protection of personal data, the right to the physical and
mental integrity of a person, the right to non-discrimination and the need to ensure
high levels of human health protection.

2. Entities participating in the action shall provide:

(a) an ethics self-assessment identifying and detailing all the foreseeable ethics
issues related to the objective, implementation and likely impact of the
activities to be funded, including a confirmation of compliance with paragraph
1, and a description of how it will be ensured;

(b) a confirmation that the activities will comply with the European Code of
Conduct for Research Integrity published by All European Academies and that
no activities excluded from funding will be conducted;

(c) for activities carried out outside the Union, a confirmation that the same
activities would have been allowed in a Member State; and

(d) for activities making use of human embryonic stem cells, as appropriate,
details of licensing and control measures that shall be taken by the competent
authorities of the Member States concerned as well as details of the ethics
approvals that shall be obtained before the activities concerned start.

3. Proposals shall be systematically screened to identify those actions raising complex
or serious ethics issues and submit them to an ethics assessment. The ethics
assessment shall be carried out by the Commission unless it is delegated to the
funding body. For actions involving the use of human embryonic stem cells or
human embryos, an ethics assessment shall be mandatory. Ethics screenings and
assessments shall be carried out with the support of ethics experts. The Commission
and the funding bodies shall ensure the transparency of the ethics procedures as
much as possible.

4. Entities participating in the action shall obtain all approvals or other mandatory
documents from the relevant national, local ethics committees or other bodies such as
data protection authorities before the start of the relevant activities. Those documents
shall be kept on file and provided to the Commission or funding body upon request.

# EN 36 EN

5. If appropriate, ethics checks shall be carried out by the Commission or funding body.
For serious or complex ethics issues, the checks shall be carried out by the
Commission unless it is delegated to the funding body.

Ethics checks shall be carried out with the support of ethics experts.

6. Actions which are not ethically acceptable may be rejected or terminated at any
time.

_Article 16_

**Security**

1. Actions carried out under the Programme shall comply with the applicable security
rules and in particular rules on protection of classified information against
unauthorised disclosure, including compliance with any relevant national and Union
law. In case of research carried out outside the Union using and/or generating
classified information, it is necessary that, in addition to the compliance with those
requirements, a security agreement shall have to be concluded between the Union
and the third country in which the research is conducted.

2. Where appropriate, proposals shall include a security self-assessment identifying any
security issues and detailing how these issues will be addressed in order to meet the
relevant national and Union law.

3. Where appropriate, the Commission or funding body shall carry out a security
scrutiny for proposals raising security issues.

4. Where appropriate, the actions shall comply with Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444,
and its implementing rules.

5. Entities participating in the action shall ensure the protection against unauthorised
disclosure of classified information used and/or generated by the action. They shall
provide proof of personal and/or facility security clearance from the relevant national
security authorities, prior to the start of the activities concerned.

6. If external experts have to deal with classified information, the appropriate security
clearance shall be required before those experts are appointed.

7. Where appropriate, the Commission or funding body may carry out security checks.

8. Actions which do not comply with security rules may be rejected or terminated at
any time.

_CHAPTER II_

_**Grants**_

_Article 17_

**Grants**

Grants under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of
the Financial Regulation, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

# EN 37 EN

_Article 18_

**Entities eligible for participation**

1. Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, or international
organisation may participate in actions under the Programme, provided that the
conditions laid down in this Regulation have been met together with any conditions
laid down in the work programme or call.

2. Entities shall be part of a consortium that shall include at least three independent
legal entities each established in a different Member State or associated country and
with at least one of them established in a Member State, unless:

(a) the work programme provides otherwise, if justified;

(b) the action is one referred to in paragraphs 3 or 4.

3. European Research Council (ERC) frontier research actions, European Innovation
Council (EIC) actions, training and mobility actions or programme co-fund actions
may be implemented by one or more legal entities, one of which must be established
in a Member State or associated country.

4. Coordination and support actions may be implemented by one or more legal entities,
which may be established in a Member State, associated country or in another third
country.

5. For actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, the
work programme may provide that the participation can be limited to those legal
entities established in Member States only, or to those legal entities established in
specified associated or other third countries in addition to Member States.

6. The work programme may provide for eligibility criteria in addition to those set out
in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 according to specific policy requirements or to the nature
and objectives of the action, including the number of legal entities, the type of legal
entity and the place of establishment.

7. For actions benefiting from amounts under Article 9(8), the participation shall be
limited to a single legal entity established in the jurisdiction of the delegating
Managing Authority, except if otherwise agreed with the Managing Authority and
provided for in the work programme.

8. Where indicated in the work programme, the Joint Research Centre may participate
in actions.

9. The Joint Research Centre, international European research organisations and legal
entities created under Union law shall be deemed to be established in a Member State
other than the ones in which other legal entities participating in the action are
established.

10. For European Research Council (ERC) frontier research actions and training and
mobility actions, international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
associated country shall be deemed to be established in this Member State or
associated country.

# EN 38 EN

_Article 19_

**Entities eligible for funding**

1. Entities are eligible for funding if they are established in a Member State or
associated country.

For actions benefiting from amounts under Article 9(8), only entities established in
the jurisdiction of the delegating Managing Authority shall be eligible for funding
out of these amounts.

2. Entities established in a non-associated third country should in principle bear the cost
of their participation. However, for low to middle income countries and
exceptionally for other non-associated third countries they could be eligible for
funding in an action if:

(a) the third country is identified in the work programme adopted by the
Commission ; or

(b) the Commission or funding body consider that its participation is essential for
implementing the action;

3. Affiliated entities are eligible for funding in an action if they are established in a
Member State, Associated country, or in a third country identified in the work
programme adopted by the Commission.

_Article 20_

**Calls for proposals**

1. For all actions, except for EIC Pathfinder transition activities, the content of the calls
for proposals shall be included in the work programme.

2. For EIC Pathfinder transition activities:

(a) the launch and the content of the calls for proposals shall be determined with
regard to objectives and budget established by the work programme in relation
with the concerned portfolio of actions;

(b) grants for a fixed amount not exceeding EUR 50,000 may be awarded without
a call for proposals to carry out urgent coordination and support actions for
reinforcing the portfolio’s community of beneficiaries or assessing possible
spin-offs or potential market creating-innovation.

3. If necessary to achieve their objectives, calls may be restricted to develop additional
activities or to add additional partners to existing actions.

4. A call for proposals is not required for coordination and support actions or
programme co-fund actions which:

(a) are to be carried out by the Joint Research Centre or legal entities identified in
the work programme and

(b) do not fall within the scope of a call for proposals.

5. The work programme shall specify calls for which "Seals of Excellence" will be
awarded. With prior authorisation from the applicant, information concerning the
application and the evaluation may be shared with interested financing authorities,
subject to the conclusion of confidentiality agreements.

# EN 39 EN

_Article 21_

**Joint calls**

The Commission or funding body may issue a joint call for proposals with:

(a) third countries, including their scientific and technological organisations or
agencies;

(b) international organisations;

(c) non-profit legal entities.

In the case of a joint call, joint procedures shall be established for selection and evaluation of
proposals. The procedures shall involve a balanced group of experts appointed by each party.

_Article 22_

**Pre-commercial procurement and procurement of innovative solutions**

1. Actions may involve or have as their primary aim pre-commercial procurement or
public procurement of innovative solutions that shall be carried out by beneficiaries
which are contracting authorities or contracting entities as defined in Directives
2014/24/EU [31], 2014/25/EU [32] and 2009/81/EC [33] .

2. The procurement procedures:

(a) shall comply with the principles of transparency, non- discrimination, equal
treatment, sound financial management, proportionality and competition rules;

(b) for pre-commercial procurement, may provide for specific conditions such as
the place of performance of the procured activities being limited to the territory
of the Member States and of associated countries;

(c) may authorise the award of multiple contracts within the same procedure
(multiple sourcing); and

(d) shall provide for the award of the contracts to the tender(s) offering best value
for money while ensuring absence of conflict of interest.

3. The contractor generating results in pre-commercial procurement shall own at least
the attached intellectual property rights. The contracting authorities shall enjoy at
least royalty-free access rights to the results for their own use and the right to grant,
or require the participating contractors to grant, non-exclusive licences to third
parties to exploit the results for the contracting authority under fair and reasonable
conditions without any right to sub-license. If a contractor fails to commercially
exploit the results within a given period after the pre-commercial procurement as
identified in the contract, the contracting authorities can require it to transfer any
ownership of the results to the contracting authorities.

31 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public
procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC. (OJ L 94, 28.03.2014, p. 65).
32 Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on
procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and
repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.03.2014, p. 243).
33 Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the
coordination of procedures for the award of certain works contracts, supply contracts and service
contracts by contracting authorities or entities in the fields of defence and security, and amending
Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC (OJ L 216, 20.08.2009, p.76).

# EN 40 EN

_Article 23_

**Cumulative funding**

An action that has received a contribution from another Union programme may also receive a
contribution under the Programme, provided that the contributions do not cover the same
costs. The rules of each contributing Union programme shall apply to its respective
contribution to the action. The cumulative funding shall not exceed the total eligible costs of
the action and the support from different Union programmes may be calculated on a pro-rata
basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.

_Article 24_

**Selection criteria**

1. By derogation from Article 198 of the Financial Regulation, the financial capacity
shall be verified only for the coordinator and only if the requested funding from the
Union for the action is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000.

2. However, if there are grounds to doubt the financial capacity or if there is a higher
risk due to the participation in several ongoing actions funded by Union research and
innovation programmes, the Commission or funding body shall verify also the
financial capacity of other applicants or of coordinators below the threshold referred
to in paragraph 1.

3. If the financial capacity is structurally guaranteed by another legal entity, the
financial capacity of the latter shall be verified.

4. In case of weak financial capacity, the Commission or funding body may make
participation of the applicant conditional on provision of a declaration on joint and
several liability by an affiliated entity.

5. The contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism set out in Article 33 shall be
considered a sufficient guarantee under Article 152 of the Financial Regulation. No
additional guarantee or security may be accepted from beneficiaries or imposed upon
them.

_Article 25_

**Award criteria**

1. A proposal shall be evaluated on the basis of the following award criteria:

(a) excellence;

(b) impact;

(c) quality and efficiency of the implementation.

2. Only the criterion referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall apply to proposals for
ERC frontier research actions.

3. The work programme shall lay down further details of the application of the award
criteria laid down in paragraph 1, and may specify weightings and thresholds.

# EN 41 EN

_Article 26_

**Evaluation**

1. Proposals shall be evaluated by the evaluation committee which may be :

–
fully or partially composed of external independent experts,

–
composed of representatives of Union Institutions or bodies as referred to in
Article 150 of the Financial Regulation.

### The evaluation committee may be assisted by independent experts .

2. Where necessary, the evaluation committee shall rank the proposals having passed
the applicable thresholds, according to:

–
the evaluation scores,

–
their contribution to the achievement of specific policy objectives, including
the constitution of a consistent portfolio of projects.

The evaluation committee may also propose any substantial adjustments to the
proposals in as far as needed for the consistency of the portfolio.

_Article 27_

**Evaluation review procedure**

1. An applicant may request an evaluation review if it considers that the applicable
evaluation procedure has not been correctly applied to its proposal.

2. An evaluation review applies only to the procedural aspects of the evaluation, not to
the evaluation of the merits of the proposal.

3. An evaluation review shall not delay the selection process for proposals that are not
the subject of review.

_Article 28_

**Time to grant**

1. By derogation from the first subparagraph of Article 194(2) of the Financial
Regulation, the following periods shall apply:

(a) for informing all applicants of the outcome of the evaluation of their
application, a maximum period of five months from the final date for
submission of complete proposals;

(b) for signing grant agreements with applicants, a maximum period of eight
months from the final date for submission of complete proposals.

2. The work programme for the EIC may establish shorter periods.

3. In addition to the exceptions laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 194(2)
of the Financial Regulation, the periods referred to in paragraph 1 may be exceeded
for actions of the ERC, for missions and when actions are submitted to an ethics or
security assessment.

# EN 42 EN

_Article 29_

**Implementation of the grant**

1. If a beneficiary fails to comply with its obligations regarding the technical
implementation of the action, the other beneficiaries shall comply with those
obligations without any additional Union funding, unless they are expressly relieved
of that obligation. The financial responsibility of each beneficiary shall be limited to
its own debt subject to the provisions relating to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

2. The grant agreement may establish milestones and related pre-financing installments.
If milestones are not met, the action may be suspended, amended or terminated.

3. The action may also be terminated where expected results have lost their relevance
for the Union due to scientific, technological or economic reasons, including in the
case of EIC and missions, their relevance as part of a portfolio of actions.

_Article 30_

**Funding rates**

1. A single funding rate per action shall apply for all activities it funds. The maximum
rate shall be fixed in the work programme.

2. The Programme may reimburse up to 100 % of total eligible costs of an action,
except for:

(a) innovation actions: up to 70 % of the total eligible costs, except for non-profit
legal entities where the Programme may reimburse up to 100 % of the total
eligible costs;

(b) programme co-fund actions: at least 30 % of the total eligible costs, and in
identified and duly justified cases up to 70 %.

3. The funding rates determined in this Article shall also apply for actions where flat
rate, unit or lump sum financing is fixed for the whole or part of the action.

_Article 31_

**Indirect costs**

1. Indirect eligible costs shall be determined by applying a flat rate of 25 % of the total
direct eligible costs, excluding direct eligible costs for subcontracting, financial
support to third parties and any unit costs or lump sums which include indirect costs.

Where appropriate, indirect costs included in unit costs or lump sums shall be
calculated using the flat rate set out in paragraph 1, except for unit costs for
internally invoiced goods and services which shall be calculated on the basis of
actual costs, in accordance with the beneficiaries' usual costs accounting practices.

2. However, if provided for in the work programme, indirect costs may be declared in
the form of a lump sum or unit costs.

_Article 32_

**Eligible costs**

1. In addition to the criteria set out in Article 197 of the Financial Regulation, for
beneficiaries with project-based remuneration, costs of personnel are eligible up to

# EN 43 EN

the remuneration that the person is paid for work in similar projects funded by
national schemes.

Project-based remuneration means remuneration that is linked to the participation of
a person in projects, is part of the beneficiary’s usual remuneration practices and is
paid in a consistent manner.

2. By derogation from Article 190(1) of the Financial Regulation, costs of resources
made available by third parties by means of in-kind contributions shall be eligible, up
to the direct eligible costs of the third party.

3. By derogation from Article 192 of the Financial Regulation, income generated by the
exploitation of the results shall not be considered as receipts of the action.

4. By derogation from Article 203(4) of the Financial Regulation, a certificate on the
financial statements shall be mandatory at payment of the balance, if the amount
claimed as actual costs and unit costs calculated in accordance with usual cost
accounting practices is equal to or greater than EUR 325 000.

_Article 33_

**Mutual Insurance Mechanism**

1. A Mutual Insurance Mechanism (the 'Mechanism') is hereby established which shall
replace and succeed the fund set up in accordance with Article 38 of Regulation (EC)
No 1290/2013. The Mechanism shall cover the risk associated with non-recovery of
sums due by the beneficiaries:

(a) to the Commission under Decision No 1982/2006/EC,

(b) to the Commission and Union bodies under "Horizon 2020",

(c) to the Commission and funding bodies under the Programme.

The coverage of the risk regarding funding bodies referred to in point (c) of the first
subparagraph may be implemented through an indirect coverage system set out in the
applicable agreement and taking into account the nature of the funding body.

2. The Mechanism shall be managed by the Union, represented by the Commission
acting as executive agent. The Commission shall set up specific rules for the
operation of the Fund.

3. Beneficiaries shall make a contribution of 5 % of the Union funding for the action.
On the basis of periodic evaluations, this contribution may be raised by the
Commission up to 8% or may be reduced under 5%. The beneficiaries' contribution
to the Mechanism may be offset from the initial pre-financing and be paid to the
Fund on behalf of the beneficiaries.

4. The contribution of the beneficiaries shall be returned at the payment of the balance.

5. Any financial return generated by the Mechanism shall be added to the Mechanism.
If the return is insufficient, the Mechanism shall not intervene and the Commission
or funding body shall recover directly from beneficiaries or third parties any amount
owed.

6. The amounts recovered shall constitute revenue assigned to the Mechanism within
the meaning of Article 21(4) of the Financial Regulation. Once all grants whose risk
is covered directly or indirectly by the Mechanism are completed, any sums

# EN 44 EN

outstanding shall be recovered by the Commission and entered into the budget of the
Union, subject to decisions of the legislative authority.

7. The Mechanism may be opened to beneficiaries of any other directly managed Union
programme. The Commission shall adopt modalities for participation of beneficiaries
of other programmes.

_Article 34_

**Ownership and protection**

1. Beneficiaries shall own the results they generate. They shall ensure that any rights of
their employees or any other parties in relation to the results can be exercised in a
manner compatible with the beneficiaries’ obligations in accordance with the terms
and conditions laid down in the grant agreement.

Two or more beneficiaries shall own results jointly if:

(a) they have jointly generated them; and

(b) it is not possible to:

(i) establish the respective contribution of each beneficiary,

or

(ii) separate them when applying for, obtaining or maintaining their
protection.

The joint owners shall agree in writing on the allocation and terms of exercise of
their joint ownership. Unless otherwise agreed, each joint owner may grant nonexclusive licences to third parties to exploit the jointly-owned results (without any
right to sub-license), if the other joint owners are given advance notice and fair and
reasonable compensation. The joint owners may agree in writing to apply another
regime than joint ownership.

2. Beneficiaries having received Union funding shall adequately protect their results if
protection is possible and justified, taking into account all relevant considerations,
including the prospects for commercial exploitation. When deciding on protection,
beneficiaries shall also consider the legitimate interests of the other beneficiaries in
the action.

_Article 35_

**Exploitation and dissemination**

1. Beneficiaries having received Union funding shall use their best efforts to exploit
their results, in particular in the Union. Exploitation may be done directly by the
beneficiaries or indirectly in particular through the transfer and licensing of results in
accordance with Article 36.

The work programme may provide for additional exploitation obligations.

If despite a beneficiary's best efforts to exploit its results directly or indirectly no
exploitation takes place within a given period as identified in the grant agreement,
the beneficiary shall use an appropriate online platform as identified in the grant
agreement to find interested parties to exploit those results. If justified on the basis of
a request of the beneficiary, this obligation may be waived.

# EN 45 EN

2. Subject to any restrictions due to the protection of intellectual property, security rules
or legitimate interests, beneficiaries shall disseminate their results as soon as
possible.

The work programme may provide for additional dissemination obligations.

3. Beneficiaries shall ensure that open access to scientific publications applies under the
terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement. In particular, the
beneficiaries shall ensure that they or the authors retain sufficient intellectual
property rights to comply with their open access requirements.

Open access to research data shall be the general rule under the terms and conditions
laid down in the grant agreement, but exceptions shall apply if justified, taking into
consideration the legitimate interests of the beneficiaries and any other constraints,
such as data protection rules, security rules or intellectual property rights.

The work programme may provide for additional obligations to adhere to open
science practices.

4. Beneficiaries shall manage all research data in accordance with the terms and
conditions laid down in the grant agreement and shall establish a Data Management
Plan.

The work programme may provide for additional obligations to use the European
Open Science Cloud for storing and giving access to research data.

5. Beneficiaries that intend to disseminate their results shall give advance notice to the
other beneficiaries in the action. Any other beneficiary may object if it can show that
the intended dissemination would significantly harm its legitimate interests in
relation to its results or background. In such cases, the dissemination may not take
place unless appropriate steps are taken to safeguard these legitimate interests.

6. Unless the work programme provides otherwise, proposals shall include a plan for
the exploitation and dissemination of the results. If the expected exploitation entails
developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in
creating and providing a service, the plan shall include a strategy for such
exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation primarily in non-associated third
countries, the legal entities shall explain how that exploitation is still in the Union
interest.

The beneficiaries shall further develop the plan during and after the end of the action.

7. For the purposes of monitoring and dissemination by the Commission or funding
body, the beneficiaries shall provide any requested information regarding the
exploitation and dissemination of their results. Subject to the legitimate interests of
the beneficiaries, such information shall be made publicly available.

_Article 36_

**Transfer and licensing**

1. Beneficiaries may transfer ownership of their results. They shall ensure that their
obligations also apply to the new owner and that the latter has the obligation to pass
them on in any subsequent transfer.

2. Unless agreed otherwise in writing for specifically-identified third parties or unless
impossible under applicable law, beneficiaries that intend to transfer ownership of
results shall give advance notice to any other beneficiary that still has access rights to

# EN 46 EN

the results. The notification must include sufficient information on the new owner to
enable a beneficiary to assess the effects on its access rights.

Unless agreed otherwise in writing for specifically-identified third parties, a
beneficiary may object to the transfer if it can show that the transfer would adversely
affect its access rights. In this case, the transfer may not take place until agreement
has been reached between the beneficiaries concerned.

3. Beneficiaries may grant licences to their results or otherwise give the right to exploit
them, if this does not affect compliance with their obligations.

4. Where this is justified, the grant agreement shall lay down the right to object to
transfers of ownership of results, or to grants of an exclusive licence regarding
results, if:

(a) the beneficiaries generating the results have received Union funding;

(b) the transfer or licence is to a legal entity established in a non-associated third
country; and

(c) the transfer or licence is not in line with Union interests.

If the right to object applies, the beneficiary shall give advance notice. The right to
object may be waived in writing regarding transfers or grants to specifically
identified legal entities if measures safeguarding Union interests are in place.

_Article 37_

**Access rights**

1. The following access rights principles shall apply:

(a) a request to exercise access rights or any waiving of access rights shall be made
in writing;

(b) unless otherwise agreed with the grantor, access rights do not include the right
to sub-license;

(c) the beneficiaries shall inform each other before their accession to the grant
agreement of any restrictions to granting access to their background;

(d) if a beneficiary is no longer involved in an action, it shall not affect its
obligations to grant access;

(e) if a beneficiary defaults on its obligations, the beneficiaries may agree that it no
longer has access rights.

2. Beneficiaries shall grant access to:

(a) their results on a royalty-free basis to any other beneficiary in the action that
needs it to implement its own tasks;

(b) their background to any other beneficiary in the action that needs it to
implement its own tasks, subject to any restrictions referred to in paragraph
1(c); that access shall be granted on a royalty-free basis, unless otherwise
agreed by the beneficiaries before their accession to the grant agreement;

(c) their results and, subject to any restrictions referred to in paragraph 1(c), to
their background to any other beneficiary in the action that needs it to exploit

# EN 47 EN

its own results; that access shall be granted under fair and reasonable
conditions to be agreed upon.

3. Unless otherwise agreed by the beneficiaries, they shall also grant access to their
results and, subject to any restrictions referred to in paragraph 1(c), to their
background to a legal entity that:

(a) is established in a Member State or associated country;

(b) is under the direct or indirect control of another beneficiary, or is under the
same direct or indirect control as that beneficiary, or is directly or indirectly
controlling that beneficiary; and

(c) needs the access to exploit the results of that beneficiary.

Access shall be granted under fair and reasonable conditions to be agreed upon.

4. A request for access for exploitation purposes may be made up to one year after the
end of the action, unless the beneficiaries agree on a different time-limit.

5. Beneficiaries having received Union funding shall grant access to their results on a
royalty-free basis to the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies for
developing, implementing and monitoring Union policies or programmes. Access
shall be limited to non-commercial and non-competitive use.

In actions under the cluster ‘Inclusive and secure Society’, area of intervention
‘Protection and Security’, beneficiaries having received Union funding shall also
grant access to their results on a royalty-free basis to Member States' national
authorities, for developing, implementing and monitoring their policies or
programmes in that area. Access shall be limited to non-commercial and noncompetitive use and shall be granted upon bilateral agreement defining specific
conditions aimed at ensuring that those rights will be used only for the intended
purpose and that appropriate confidentiality obligations will be in place. The
requesting Member State, Union institution, body, office or agency shall notify all
Member States of such requests.

6. The work programme may provide for additional access rights.

_Article 38_

**Specific provisions on exploitation and dissemination**

Specific rules on ownership, exploitation and dissemination, transfer and licensing as well as
access rights may apply for ERC actions, training and mobility actions, pre-commercial
procurement actions, public procurement of innovative solutions actions, programme co-fund
actions and coordination and support actions.

These specific rules shall not change the obligations on open access.

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_CHAPTER III_

_**Prizes**_

_Article 39_

**Prizes**

1. Prizes under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title
IX of the Financial Regulation, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

2. Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, may participate in a contest,
unless otherwise provided in the work programme or rules of contests.

3. The Commission or funding body may organise prizes with:

(a) other Union bodies;

(b) third countries, including their scientific and technological organisations or
agencies;

(c) international organisations; or

(d) non-profit legal entities.

4. The work programme or rules of contest may include obligations regarding
communication, exploitation and dissemination.

_CHAPTER IV_

_**Procurement**_

_Article 40_

**Procurement**

1. Procurement under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance
with Title VII of the Financial Regulation, unless otherwise specified in this Chapter.

2. Procurement may also take the form of pre-commercial procurement or procurement
of innovative solutions carried out by the Commission or the funding body on its
own behalf or jointly with contracting authorities from Member States and associated
countries. In this case, the rules set out in Article 22 shall apply.

_CHAPTER V_

_**Blending operations and blended finance**_

_Article 41_

**Blending operations**

Blending operations decided under this Programme shall be implemented in accordance with
the InvestEU Programme and Title X of the Financial Regulation.

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_Article 42_

**Horizon Europe and EIC Blended finance**

1. The grant and reimbursable advance components of Horizon Europe or EIC blended
finance shall be subject to Articles 30 to 33.

2. EIC blended finance shall be implemented in accordance with Article 43. The
support under the EIC blended finance may be granted until the action can be
financed as a blending operation or as a financing and investment operation fully
covered by the EU guarantee under InvestEU. By derogation from Article 209 of the
Financial Regulation, the conditions laid down in paragraph (2) and, in particular,
paragraph (a) and (d), do not apply at the time of the award of EIC blended finance

3. Horizon Europe blended finance may be awarded to a programme co-fund where a
joint programme of Member States and associated countries provides for the
deployment of financial instruments in support of selected actions. The evaluation
and selection of such actions shall be made in accordance with Articles 19, 20, 23,
24, 25 and 26. The implementation modalities of the Horizon Europe blended
finance shall comply with Article 29, by analogy Article 43(9) and with additional
conditions defined by the work programme.

4. Repayments including reimbursed advances and revenues of Horizon Europe and
EIC blended finance shall be considered as internal assigned revenues in accordance
with Articles 21(3)(f) and 21(4) of Financial Regulation.

5. Horizon Europe and EIC blended finance shall be provided in a manner that does not
distort competition.

_Article 43_

**EIC’s Accelerator**

1. The beneficiary of the EIC Accelerator shall be a legal entity qualifying as a startup, an SME or as a mid-cap, established in a Member State or associated country.
The proposal may be submitted by the beneficiary, or by one or more natural persons
or legal entities intending to establish or support that beneficiary.

2. A single award decision shall cover and provide funding for all forms of Union
contribution provided under EIC blended finance.

3. Proposals shall be evaluated on their individual merit by independent experts and
selected in the context of an annual open call with cut-off dates, based on Articles 24
to 26, subject to paragraph 4.

4. Award criteria shall be:

–
excellence;

–
impact;

–
the level risk of the action and the need for Union support.

5. With the agreement of applicants concerned, the Commission or funding bodies
implementing Horizon Europe may directly submit for evaluation under the last
evaluation criterion a proposal for an innovation and market deployment action
which already fulfils the first two criteria, subject to the following cumulative
conditions:

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–
the proposal shall stem from any other action funded by Horizon 2020 or this
Programme, or from a national programme similar to the EIC's Pathfinder and
acknowledged as such by the Commission;

–
be based on a previous project review assessing the excellence and the impact
of the proposal and subject to conditions and processes further detailed in the
work programme.

6. A Seal of Excellence may be awarded subject to the following cumulative
conditions:

–
the beneficiary is a start-up or an SME,

–
the proposal was eligible and has passed applicable thresholds for the first two
award criteria referred to in paragraph 4,

–
for those activities that would be eligible under an innovation action.

7. For a proposal having passed the evaluation, independent experts shall propose a
corresponding EIC blended finance, based on the risk incurred and the resources and
time necessary to bring and deploy the innovation to the market.

The Commission may reject a proposal retained by independent experts for justified
reasons, including compliance with the objectives of Union policies.

8. The grant or the reimbursable advance component of the blended finance shall not
exceed 70% of the costs of the selected innovation action.

9. Implementation modalities of the equity and repayable support components of the
EIC blended finance shall be detailed in Decision [Specific programme].

10. The contract for the selected action shall establish specific milestones and the
corresponding pre-financing and payments by instalments of the EIC blended
finance.

Activities corresponding to an innovation action may be launched and first prefinancing of the grant or the reimbursable advance paid, prior to the implementation
of other components of the awarded EIC blended finance. The implementation of
those components shall be subject to the achievement of specific milestones
established in the contract.

11. In accordance with the contract, the action shall be suspended, amended or
terminated if milestones are not met. It may also be terminated where the expected
market deployment cannot be met.

The Commission may decide to increase the EIC blended finance subject to a project
review by external independent experts.

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_Chapter VI_

_**Experts**_

_Article 44_

**Appointment of external experts**

1. By derogation from Article 237(3) of the Financial Regulation, external experts may
be selected without a call for expressions of interest, if justified and the selection is
carried out in a transparent manner.

2. In accordance with Article 237(2) and 237(3) of the Financial Regulation, external
experts shall be remunerated based on standard conditions. If justified, an appropriate
level of remuneration beyond the standard conditions based on relevant market
standards, especially for specific high level experts, may be granted.

3. In addition to paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 38 of the Financial Regulation, the
names of external experts evaluating grant applications, who are appointed in a
personal capacity shall be published, together with their area of expertise, at least
once a year on the internet site of the Commission or the funding body. Such
information shall be collected, processed and published in accordance with the EU
data protection rules.

TITLE III

**PROGRAMME MONITORING, COMMUNICATION, EVALUATION AND**
**CONTROL**

_Article 45_

**Monitoring and reporting**

1. Indicators to report on progress of the Programme towards the achievement of the
objectives established in Article 3 are set in Annex V along impact pathways.

2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50
concerning amendments to Annex V to supplement or amend the impact pathway
indicators, where considered necessary, and set baselines and targets.

3. The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring programme
implementation and results are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely
manner. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on
recipients of Union funds and (where relevant) Member States.

_Article 46_

**Information, communication, publicity and dissemination and exploitation**

1. The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin and ensure the
visibility of the Union funding (in particular when promoting the actions and their
results) by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to
multiple audiences, including the media and the public.

2. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to
the Programme, and its actions and results. Financial resources allocated to the

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Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political
priorities of the Union, as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in
Article 3.

3. The Commission shall also establish a dissemination and exploitation strategy for
increasing the availability and diffusion of the Programme’s research and innovation
results and knowledge to accelerate exploitation towards market uptake and boost the
impact of the Programme. Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also
contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union as
well as information, communication, publicity, dissemination and exploitation
activities as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.

_Article 47_

**Programme evaluation**

1. Programme evaluations shall be carried out in a timely manner to feed into the
decision-making process on the programme, its successor and other initiatives
relevant to research and innovation.

2. The interim evaluation of the Programme shall be carried out once there is sufficient
information available about the implementation of the Programme, but no later than
four years after the start of the programme implementation. It shall include an
assessment of the long-term impact of previous Framework Programmes and shall
form the basis to adjust programme implementation, as appropriate.

3. At the end of the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after
the end of the period specified in Article 1, a final evaluation of the Programme shall
be completed by the Commission. It shall include an assessment of the long-term
impact of previous Framework Programmes.

4. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations accompanied
by its observations, to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

_Article 48_

**Audits**

1. The control system for the Programme shall ensure an appropriate balance between
trust and control, taking into account administrative and other costs of controls at all
levels, especially for beneficiaries.

2. The audit strategy for the Programme shall be based on the financial audit of a
representative sample of expenditure across the Programme as a whole. The
representative sample shall be complemented by a selection based on an assessment
of the risks related to expenditure. Actions that receive joint funding from different
Union programmes shall be audited only once, covering all involved programmes
and their respective applicable rules.

3. In addition, the Commission or funding body may rely on combined systems reviews
at beneficiary level. These combined reviews shall be optional for certain types of
beneficiaries and shall consist in a systems and process audit, complemented by an
audit of transactions, carried out by a competent independent auditor qualified to

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carry out statutory audits of accounting documents in accordance with Directive
2006/43/EC [34] . They may be used by the Commission or funding body to determine
overall assurance on the sound financial management of expenditure and for
reconsideration of the level of ex-post audits and certificates on financial statements.

4. In accordance with Article 127 of the Financial Regulation, the Commission or
funding body may rely on audits on the use of Union contributions carried out by
other persons or entities, including by other than those mandated by the Union
Institutions or bodies.

5. Audits may be carried out up to two years after the payment of the balance.

_Article 49_

**Protection of financial interests of the Union**

1. The Commission or its representatives, and the Court of Auditors, shall have the
power of audit or, in the case of international organisations, the power of verification
in accordance with agreements reached with them, on the basis of documents and onthe-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have
received Union funds under this Regulation.

2. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out administrative
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 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC)
No 2185/96, 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 Union funding or budgetary guarantees under this Regulation.

3. Competent authorities of third countries and international organisations may also be
required to cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), in
accordance with Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements, when it carries out
investigations into criminal offences falling within its competence in accordance
with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939.

4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, cooperation agreements with third countries
and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and other legal
commitments, as well as agreements establishing a budgetary guarantee, resulting
from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly
empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such
audits, on-the-spot checks and inspections, according to their respective
competences. This shall include provisions to ensure that any third parties involved
in the implementation of Union funds or of a financing operation supported, in whole
or in part, by a budgetary guarantee grant equivalent rights.

34 Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory
audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directive 78/660/EEC and
83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 87)

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_Article 50_

**Exercise of the delegation**

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the
conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 45(2) shall be conferred on
the Commission until 31 December 2028.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 45(2) may be revoked at any time by
the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to
the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day
following the publication of the decision in the _Official Journal_ of the European
Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any
delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by
each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to
the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 45(2) shall enter into force if no
objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council
within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament
and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and
the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That
period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament
or of the Council.

TITLE IV

**TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS**

_Article 51_

**Repeal**

Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 are repealed with effect
from 1 January 2021.

_Article 52_

**Transitional provisions**

1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of the actions
concerned, under Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 and Regulation (EU) No
1290/2013, which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure. Work
plans and actions provided for in work plans adopted under Regulation (EU)
No1290/2013 and under the corresponding funding bodies' basic acts shall also
continue to be governed by Regulation (EU) No1290/2013 and those basic acts until
their completion.

2. The financial envelope for the Programme may also cover technical and
administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the

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Programme and the measures adopted under its predecessor Regulation (EU) No
1291/2013.

_Article 53_

**Entry into force**

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
the _Official Journal of the European Union_ .

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

_For the European Parliament_ _For the Council_
_The President_ _The President_

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