No, the MA, the JS and the BOs cannot give a prior opinion on these issues
since they will be examined during the verification of eligibility. If further
information is needed on the eligibility of an organisation involved in a
project, the MA will send a request for clarification to the Applicant.
The obligation to provide an external audit report applies to Applicants and
partners but it does not concern public administrations, public bodies,
bodies governed by public law and international organisations. In the
report, the data concerning the financial capacity (i.e. for companies the
total annual income, net income – profit and loss -, current assets and
current liabilities, and, own funds and total liabilities) have to be pointed out
and/or highlighted (see par. 5.4.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants).
No. As per section 4.3.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, “associates may be
involved in the project but cannot receive funding from the grant”.
Therefore, the role of the associate is not compatible with that of sub-
contractor.
As per section 5.4.2 “Verification of the eligibility of Applicant and Partner organisations” of the Guidelines for Applicants, both Applicants and partners shall submit an external audit official report made by chartered auditors of the partners’ annual accounts for the last 2 financial years, if available. Those entities which are not requested by the national law to produce such official annual reports will have to provide the annual accounts for the last 2 financial years signed by the legal representative.
No. As stated in the Guidelines for Applicants (see par. 4.4.1, footnote n. 16), “One organisation can be represented by ONLY ONE legal person despite the functional independence of its departments or units”. The same organisation – with one legal representative and one single registration number – cannot be represented more than once within the same project.
International organisations can participate in this call following the rules set in section 4.3.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, in particular:
– pursuant to Article 156 of the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046 on the General Budget of the European Union, international organisation means international public-sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations
– these organisations may have a worldwide or regional scope. Organisations created under national law are not international organisations (e.g. national NGO with several regional/country offices);
– international organisations can participate only if they have an agreement with the government of the country in which they are going to carry out project activities;
– international organisations can participate as Applicants or Partners only if they have an operational office in the eligible area (see section 4.3.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants). The said office must have the capacity to undertake legal obligations (signing contracts) and assume financial liability.
Finally, international organisations cannot be taken into consideration in calculating the minimum number of countries within a partnership. As far as the 50% rule is concerned, if an international organisation is based in a Mediterranean Partner Country (MPC), its direct costs will be calculated as part of funds managed by MPCs.
The principle is that only legal entities can participate. Therefore, if a branch office is registered as a separate legal entity in a country different than the head office, it can be considered as a partner coming from that country. As a minimum requirement, a partnership shall represent 3 different eligible countries, of which at least one EU country and one Mediterranean Partner Country. However, situations, whereby this minimum requirement is satisfied for example by a partnership including the head office from Italy and branch offices from Spain, Lebanon and Egypt, should be avoided. Therefore, a partnership should comprise other eligible partners alongside with the branch offices if they participate in the project.
As per the Guidelines for Applicants, par. 4.3.2. the organizations participating in the Programme must be legal entities, therefore the participation in the first call for projects is only open to legal persons (i.e. organisations). Natural persons are not allowed to participate in calls for proposals as applicant or partner.
The eligibility criteria concerning the legal status of an organisation are defined in the Guidelines for Applicants (section 4.3.2). A “non-exhaustive” list is also contained in footnote n. 13 of the Guidelines for Applicants. Please note that since natural persons are not mentioned in the Joint Operational Programme, they are not allowed to participate in calls for proposals as Applicant or partner (see footnote n. 13 of the Guidelines for Applicants). As a consequence, only legal entities established in accordance with national legislation, laws and regulations can participate in calls for proposals. Please note that it is in the interest of the Applicant and of the whole partnership to know the correct legal status of an organization, since this is relevant to determine the financial capacity.
According to section 4.3.1 of the Guidelines, Applicants and partners shall come from one of the eligible territories of the countries participating in the Programme.
According to section 4.1 of the Guidelines for Applicants, all activities financed in the framework of the project should be implemented inside the Programme eligible area. Exceptionally, specific activities outside the eligible area may be included, provided that their added value to the Programme area is well justified. Their eligibility will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
According to section 4.4.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, there is no specific requirement concerning the maximum number of partners to be involved in a project. However, a maximum number of organisations in the partnership (from 5 to 7) is recommended. The partnership shall not include more than two (2) organisations from the same country.
According to the Guidelines for Applicants, the minimum number of countries to be represented in a partnership is 3, including at least one EU Mediterranean Country and one Mediterranean Partner Country).
Despite not recommended, there is no formal requirement that the location of activities must be restricted to the eligible regions of the countries where the Applicant and partners are registered. However, this must be clearly mentioned in the description of the project activities, together with the methodology and the reason why the project wants to implement activities in an eligible region not represented in the partnership.
In this case, the location of the event is something the Lead Partner and partners cannot influence. As long as the participation in such events (seminars, training, conferences, study trips, etc.) is relevant to the rationale of the project and is essential to achieve its objectives, it could be considered as eligible for financing (such participation will, however, have to be duly justified in the Application Form).
Yes, provided that the minimum partnership criterion is fulfilled (at least three different countries, representing at least one EU Mediterranean Country s and one Mediterranean Partner Country). However, please note that according to paragraph 4.4.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, the partnership shall not include more than two organisations from the same country.
Associates do not have to meet the criteria set in section 4.3.1 of the Guidelines for Applicants on geographical eligibility. This means that associates may also be established in countries other than those eligible under the Programme. Associates are not partners. Therefore, they cannot, in any case, contribute to reaching the minimum partnership requirement. They may not receive Programme funding. They can attend project meetings and events and their subsistence (per diem) and travel costs will be paid by the Lead Partner or by one or more of the partners. In the event they want to play a role in the implementation of the project activities, a description of their tasks will have to be included in the Application Form: this will be assessed during project evaluation, provided that associates have to implement the activities at their own costs. There is no maximum number of associates, however, all of them must sign the Associated Partner Declaration to be uploaded in the E-Application Form and they should also sign a memorandum of understanding with the Lead partner and partners in order to define their exact role as well as who will pay for their subsistence and travel costs. Associates do not need to sign the Partnership Agreement (compulsory only for the Lead Partner and project partners).
Yes, according to paragraph 4.3.1 of the Guidelines of Applicants, the participation of Applicants and partners not having their main headquarter but only a decentralised registered office or structure in the eligible regions is admitted. The said structure must have the capacity to undertake legal obligations (meaning that there must be a responsible person of this office who is independent in terms of being able to launch call for tenders, recruit temporary staff and sign contracts) and assume financial liability (for example the said person shall be able to sign payment orders referred to the contracts signed with contractors, etc.), provided that this office has been established for at least 2 years before the deadline set for the submission of the Application Form. These conditions must be proved by supporting documents (such as statutes, registration papers and/or other official documents). The supporting documents shall be provided only upon request of the MA as foreseen by section 5.4.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants. Since the possibility to comply with the above-mentioned conditions may vary depending on the national legislations, in case of doubt please refer to the concerned National Contact Point.
Yes, according to paragraph 4.3.1 of the Guidelines for Applicants, Ministries or National Public Administrations located in non-eligible areas of the participating countries can participate, as Applicant or partner, if not represented locally in the eligible areas or if they have a local office that cannot take legal or financial obligations, provided that they can demonstrate that the activities will be carried out in and for the full benefit of the eligible regions of the Programme. In case a Ministry or a National Authority is represented at the local level in an eligible territory, the project activities should be implemented by the local structure. During the verification of the eligibility within the evaluation process, the MA may require proof of the territorial competence of the institution.
There is no pre-defined list so Applicants and partners shall refer to the criteria mentioned by the EU Directive reported in par. 4.3.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants. Since the inclusion under this category may depend also from national legislations, in case of doubts please contact the respective National Contact Point of the concerned participating country.
No, as per par. 4.3.2 of the Guidelines for Applicants, “Private organisations are eligible under the Interreg NEXT MED CBC MED Programme, but they shall be established at least for 2 years from the launching date of the call to participate.” No derogation is foreseen for start-ups and any private organization must be established for 2 years before the 15.12.2023, date of the launching of this call for proposals.
‘EUMCs’ mean ‘EU Mediterranean Countries’ participating in the Programme and include: Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. ‘MPCs’ are ‘Mediterranean Partner Countries’ participating in the Programme and include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia and Türkiye. For the list of specific eligible regions pertaining to the EUMCs and MCPs, please refer to paragraph 4.1 of the Guidelines for Applicants.
There are no specific limitations regarding the type of organization that can submit a proposal under the youth strand. Please note that according to the section no. 2.3 of the Guidelines, the institution has to demonstrate at least two years of experience prior to the date of the launching of the call in leading or participating in projects addressing youth with similar managed budget as for the share of the requested grant.