C 421/18
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
4.11.2022
Practical example A Member State decides to transfer part of the resources of a given ERDF programme for future calendar years to HE (14) by amending the programme in line with Article 24 CPR.
The Commission agrees that the transfer has been properly justified and is in line with the objectives of the programme from which the resources will be transferred.
The Commission approves the programme amendment, after the MC has given its agreement.
The Member States and the Commission also discuss the geographic scope (determined by the territory of the transferring programme), intended use of the transferred resources under HE (at the level of the HE component) and the amount to be transferred on the basis of the estimated ‘absorption capacity’ (for example, using historical statistics on participation for similar calls of that country/region).
The Member State intends to use the transferred resources to fund SME proposals under an EIC Accelerator HE call.
It intends to do this through grant agreements that are to be concluded at the latest by the end of year n+1 (i.e. the year following the year in which the resources are transferred to HE).
The resources are used to fund SME proposals submitted under the EIC Accelerator that have been evaluated after the Member State’s decision to transfer the money.
HE (at present) covers any additional administrative costs of executing the transfer.
An assessment of whether this approach can be maintained will be done as part of the programme’s mid-term review.
The Member State can ask to transfer uncommitted resources back to the ERDF up to 4 months before the end of year n+1 (i.e. by 31 August).
It does so by requesting an amendment to the programme(s) in which these resources will be included.
The request is subject to the Commission’s approval.
The decommitment rule will start to apply from the year in which the corresponding budgetary commitments are made.
3.
Cumulative funding
Cumulative funding means that an operation/project receives support from more than one fund, programme or instrument (including both shared and directly managed funds) for the same item of cost/expenditure.
As is the case for the other synergy mechanisms, cumulative funding is not automatic.
Rather, it is an option that can be explored by MAs for cohesion policy and the granting authority for directly managed EU programmes.
Cumulative funding can only be applied with the agreement of all parties involved (i.e. MAs and the granting authority for directly managed EU programmes).
Relevant legislation
Related legislation
CPR
Article 63(9)
HE
Article 15(4)
Digital Europe Programme
Article 23(1) (1)
(1) It should be noted that Article 23(1) of DEP Regulation, as well as e.g.
Article 19(1) of CEF.2 Regulation, contain provisions identical to Article 15(4) of HE Regulation.
This, in turn, allows for the alignment of the implementation arrangements concerning cumulative funding between these programmes.
Policy considerations/potential benefits Cumulative funding makes it possible to spread the financial burden of an operation and to address possible budgetary constraints (e.g. those stemming from an instrument’s lower funding rates) because it can allow up to 100 % of a synergy project to be funded from the EU’s budget, provided relevant State aid rules are complied with.
It also makes it possible to support national contributions, particularly in less developed Member States and regions.
Cumulative funding can also pool resources from different EU instruments under both direct and shared management, and it makes 100 % financing from EU resources possible.
Cumulative funding therefore provides an opportunity to strengthen the links between the complementary R&I priorities of HE calls and ERDF programmes (and related S3).
(14) Within the limits of Article 26(1) CPR.