1. The financial contribution of the Union to the Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme BONUS (‘BONUS’) undertaken jointly by Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Sweden (the Participating States), shall be provided under the conditions set out in this Decision.
2. The Union shall make a financial contribution not exceeding EUR 50 million for the entire duration of BONUS in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1906/2006 during the strategic phase and in accordance with Article 54(2)(c) of the Financial Regulation during the implementation phase. Within that ceiling, the Union financial contribution shall match the contribution of the Participating States.
3. The Union financial contribution shall be paid jointly from the budget appropriations allocated to all the relevant themes of the Specific Programme Cooperation.
Article 2 -
Implementation of BONUS
1. BONUS shall be implemented by the Baltic Organisations’ Network for Funding Science (BONUS EEIG).
2. BONUS shall be implemented in two phases, namely, a strategic phase followed by an implementation phase in accordance with Annex I.
3. The strategic phase of BONUS shall last up to 18 months. It shall prepare the implementation phase. During the strategic phase, BONUS EEIG shall carry out the following tasks:
(a)
preparation of the Strategic Research Agenda defining the part on scientific content of BONUS focusing on calls for proposals, in conformity with the objectives set in the Seventh Framework Programme;
(b)
setting up of the Stakeholder Consultation Platforms with the aim of strengthening and institutionalising the involvement of stakeholders from all relevant sectors;
(c)
preparation of the implementation modalities, including legal and financial rules and procedures, provisions governing the intellectual property rights arising from BONUS activities, human resources and communication aspects.
4. The implementation phase shall last for a minimum period of 5 years. During the implementation phase the calls for proposals shall be published with a view to funding projects which address the objectives of BONUS. Those calls for proposals shall be targeted at multi-partner and trans-national projects, encouraging an adequate participation of small and medium-sized enterprises, and include research, technological development, training and dissemination activities. Projects shall be selected according to the principles of equal treatment, transparency, independent evaluation, co-financing, no-profit, non-retroactivity and financing not cumulated with other Union sources. The grant and payment of financing to participants in BONUS shall comply with common rules in line with the Seventh Framework Programme.
Article 3 -
Conditions for the Union financial contribution
1. The Union financial contribution for the strategic phase shall not exceed EUR 1,25 million and match, within that limit, the contribution of the Participating States. The commitment of the Union to contribute to the strategic phase shall be conditional upon an equivalent commitment from the Participating States.
2. The Union financial contribution for the implementation phase shall not exceed EUR 48,75 million and match, within that limit, the contribution of the Participating States. That ceiling may be increased by any amount remaining after the implementation of the strategic phase. During the implementation phase, up to 25 % of the contribution from the Participating States may consist in providing in-kind infrastructure contribution.
3. The Union financial contribution for the implementation phase shall be conditional upon:
(a)
the establishment by the Participating States of the Strategic Research Agenda, Stakeholders Consultation Platforms and the implementation modalities referred to in Article 2(3), as well as the progress made towards the achievement of objectives and deliverables set out in Annex I, section 2. The Commission may, if appropriate, make recommendations for improving the Strategic Research Agenda;
(b)
demonstration by BONUS EEIG of its capacity to implement BONUS, including receiving, allocating and monitoring the Union financial contribution under indirect centralised management in accordance with Articles 54(2)(c) and 56 of the Financial Regulation and Articles 35, 38(2) and 41 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management;
(c)
the maintenance and application of an appropriate and efficient governance model for BONUS in conformity with Annex II;
(d)
the efficient carrying out of the activities relating to the implementation phase of BONUS set out in Annex I by BONUS EEIG, which entails the launch of calls for proposals for the award of grants;
(e)
a commitment by each Participating State to contribute its share of the financing to BONUS and the effective payment of their financial contribution, in particular the funding of participants in BONUS projects selected following the calls for proposals;
(f)
compliance with the State aid rules of the Union, and in particular with the Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation (13);
(g)
ensuring a high level of scientific excellence, observance of ethical principles in accordance with the general principles of the Seventh Framework Programme, and adherence to the principles of gender mainstreaming and gender equality, and to the principle of sustainable development.
Article 4 -
Participation of the Joint Research Centre
1. The Joint Research Centre shall be eligible for funding by BONUS under the same conditions as those for eligible entities of the Participating States.
2. The own resources of the Joint Research Centre, which are not covered by funding from BONUS, shall not be considered as part of the Union financial contribution within the meaning of Article 1.
Article 5 -
Agreements between the Union and BONUS EEIG
1. The detailed arrangements for the management and control of funds and the protection of the Union’s financial interests during the strategic phase shall be laid down in a grant agreement to be concluded between the Commission on behalf of the Union and BONUS EEIG in accordance with the rules set out in this Decision and in Regulation (EC) No 1906/2006.
2. The detailed arrangements for the management and control of funds and the protection of the Union’s financial interests during the implementation phase shall be laid down in an implementation agreement and annual financial agreements to be concluded between the Commission on behalf of the Union and BONUS EEIG.
The implementation agreement shall in particular include the following:
(a)
a definition of the tasks delegated;
(b)
provision for the protection of Union funds;
(c)
the conditions and detailed arrangements for performing the tasks, including funding rules and upper funding limits applicable to BONUS projects, appropriate provisions for demarcating responsibilities and implementing controls;
(d)
rules on reporting to the Commission on how the tasks are performed;
(e)
the conditions under which the performance of tasks ceases;
(f)
detailed arrangements for Commission scrutiny;
(g)
conditions governing the use of a separate bank account and the treatment of the interest yielded;
(h)
provisions ensuring the visibility of Union action in relation to the other activities of BONUS EEIG;
(i)
an undertaking to refrain from any act that may give rise to a conflict of interests within the meaning of Article 52(2) of the Financial Regulation;
(j)
provisions governing the intellectual property rights arising from the implementation of BONUS as referred to in Article 2;
(k)
the criteria to be used in the interim and final evaluations, including those referred to in Article 13.
3. The Commission shall make an ex-ante assessment of BONUS EEIG in order to obtain evidence of the existence and proper operation of the procedures and systems referred to in Article 56 of the Financial Regulation.
Article 6 -
Interest generated from contributions
The interest accrued on the financial contributions allocated to BONUS shall be considered as revenue of BONUS EEIG and shall be assigned to BONUS.
Article 7 -
Reduction, withholding or termination of the Union financial contribution
Where BONUS is not implemented or is implemented inadequately, partially or late, the Union may reduce, withhold or terminate its financial contribution, taking into account the progress in the implementation of BONUS.
Where the Participating States do not contribute or contribute only partially or late to the financing of BONUS, the Union may reduce its financial contribution, taking into account the amount of public funding allocated by the Participating States under the terms of the grant agreement referred to in Article 5(1).
Article 8 -
Protection of the Union’s financial interests by the Participating States
In implementing BONUS, the Participating States shall take the legislative, regulatory, administrative or other measures necessary for protecting the Union’s financial interests. In particular, the Participating States shall take the necessary measures to ensure full recovery of any amounts due to the Union in accordance with the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.
Article 9 -
Control by the Commission and the Court of Auditors
The Commission and the Court of Auditors of the European Union shall be entitled to carry out all the checks and inspections necessary to ensure the proper management of the Union funds and to protect the Union’s financial interest against any fraud or irregularity. To this end, the Participating States and BONUS EEIG shall make available all the relevant documents to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.
Article 10 -
Mutual information
The Commission shall communicate all relevant information to the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors. The Participating States shall be invited to submit to the Commission, through BONUS EEIG, any additional information requested by the European Parliament, the Council or the Court of Auditors concerning the financial management of BONUS EEIG that is consistent with the overall reporting requirements set out in Article 13.
Article 11 -
Participation of other Member States and associated countries
Any Member State and any country associated with the Seventh Framework Programme may join BONUS in accordance with the criteria set out in Article 3(1) and Article 3(3)(e) and (f). Member States and associated countries that have joined BONUS shall be regarded as Participating States for the purposes of this Decision.
Article 12 -
Participation of other countries
The Participating States and the Commission may agree to the participation of any other country subject to the criteria set out in Article 3(1) and Article 3(3)(e) and (f), provided that such participation is provided for by the relevant international agreement.
The Participating States and the Commission shall define the conditions under which legal entities established or resident in such country shall be eligible for BONUS funding.
Article 13 -
Annual reporting and evaluation
The Commission shall include a report of the activities of BONUS in the annual report on the Seventh Framework Programme presented to the European Parliament and the Council pursuant to Article 190 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The Commission shall carry out an interim evaluation of BONUS no later than 31 December 2014. That evaluation shall cover progress towards the objectives set out in Article 2 and Annex I, as well as the recommendations of BONUS on the most appropriate ways to further enhance integration and the quality and efficiency of the implementation, including scientific, management and financial integration and whether the level of the financial contributions of the Participating States is appropriate, given the potential demand from their national research communities. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of its interim evaluation, accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament and the Council.
At the end of Union participation in BONUS but no later than 31 December 2017, the Commission shall conduct a final evaluation of BONUS. The Commission shall submit the results of that evaluation to the European Parliament and the Council.
Article 14 -
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
