INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Crossborder Cooperation Programme 2007-2013Part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Legal framework:

Subsidy contract & Partnership agreement

Seminar for the projects approved in the seventh call for proposalsJTS INTERREG IV A 2 SeasLille, 1st July 2011

Signatories

Subsidy Contract

The Subsidy Contract is signed by the Managing Authority and the Lead Partner

Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement is signed by the Lead Partner and the Project Partners

Purpose

Subsidy Contract

The Subsidy Contract determines the ERDF granting conditions for the whole partnership as represented by the Lead Partner

Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement defines the relations within the partnership in order to implement the project as indicated in the approved Application Form and in the Subsidy Contract.

Annexes

Subsidy Contract

• The approved Application Form and its annexes (Letters of support, organization chart)

• The Steering Committee decision

Partnership Agreement

• The approved Application Form and its annexes (Letters of support, organization chart)• The Subsidy Contract

General presentation

Subsidy Contract

• Trilingual document• Contains 16 articles• Is issued in 3 copies• 1 original signed copy is kept by

the Lead Partner, the 2 other originals are to be returned once signed to the JTS

• Data pre-filled by the JTS (Article 2 and Article 5) in accordance with data provided in the application form: reporting dates, the ERDF requested amount (per 6 months period), the total project budget, the breakdown of the approved budget at Partner level.

Partnership Agreement

• Trilingual document• Contains 27 articles• To be signed by each Partner

who is to keep a copy of the agreement (a copy must be sent to the JTS before any payment can be made)

• Is composed of 2 parts:– Part A: part that cannot be

amended– Part B: part that is to be

defined and detailed and tailored to the partnership

Content: legal framework

Subsidy Contract

• Defined by Article 1

– EC Regulations– Community rules regarding

competition, state aid, equal opportunities

– National rules– The Operational Programme– The Programme Guidance

Partnership Agreement

• Defined in the Preamble• Its implementation is

requested by EC Regulation and also stipulated in the Subsidy Contract (Article 6 (3), 7, 12 (7),

Content:Duration

Subsidy Contract

• Defined in Article 2

The contract enters in force on the date of the last signature and shall terminate on the date on which the Partners have collected their share of the final transfer of ERDF Funds from the Lead Partner; however, the obligations arising from community and national legislation will still apply (particularly concerning archiving and audit trail requirements)

Start date for running the project: 01/08/2009

End date of the project as set in the AF + 2 extra months (+1 if necessary) to close final report

Partnership Agreement

• Defined in Article 3

This Partnership Agreement will enter into force retrospectively from [the date of the approval decision of the Steering Committee or the start date of the project, whichever is the earlier]

Better from 01/08/2009, start date of the eligibility of the costs, in case of doubts

It shall terminate on the date on which the Partners have collected their share of the final transfer of ERDF funds from the Lead Partner intended to settle up the grant awarded within the context of the project (with exception of archiving and audit trail requirements: December 2025)

Content: eligibility of the expenditure

Subsidy Contract

• Defined by Article 4– Listed in the approved

Application Form– In compliance with Article 1– Incurred, invoiced and paid

in the eligibility period– No deviation from the

annual forecast and detailed budget breakdown as set out in the Application Form unless approved by the MA/JTS major modification request

Partnership Agreement

• Defined in Article 10« the eligibility of the

expenditure will be determined in compliance with the documents mentioned in the Subsidy Contract, Article 1… »

Content:ReportingSubsidy Contract

• Defined by Article 5 which describes the monitoring process

• The Lead Partner has to present a progress report (activity report and financial report validated by a First level controller) as indicated in Article 4 and in Article 5(2). The progress report shall be accompanied by the individual partners’ signed validation of expenditure

• Payments not requested in time, in full or not complying with the eligibility rules might be lost

• Reporting is to be provided in English

Partnership Agreement

• Referred to in Article 4 (2) for the LP:– « draw up and present progress

reports as defined in the Subsidy Contract, Article 5 »

– « request payments according to the procedure set in the Subsidy Contract, Article 5 »

– « receive payment from the Certifying Authority and transfer portions of it to the partners as soon as possible »

• Referred to in Article 4 (3) for the Partners:– « have its share of expenditure

verified by a first level controller»– « support the Lead Partner in drawing

up and presenting progress reports as defined in the Subsidy Contract, Article 5 »

– « support the Lead Partner in preparing the payment requests according to the procedure set in the Subsidy Contract, Article 5 » 

Content: Lead Partner’s Obligations

Subsidy Contract

• Article 6: defines the Lead Partner’s obligations–To be responsible for the

implementation and management of the project in compliance with the approved Application Form

–To be liable to the Managing Authority in the event of a demand for full or partial return payment

–To represent the Project Partners–To implement a Partnership

Agreement establishing mutual responsibilities

–To keep the JTS informed if any change occurs (at activity or finance level)

–To ensure that all Partners comply with the regulations referred to in Article 1

Partnership Agreement

• Article 4 (2): defines the Lead Partner’s obligations in terms of project implementation

« The Lead Partner shall fulfill all obligations arising from the Subsidy Contract… »

• Article 11: defines the LP’s obligations in terms of budgetary and financial management

Content: Project Partners’ Obligations

Subsidy Contract

• Article 11 states the Project Partners’ obligations in terms of budgetary and financial management (accounting system, first level control, traceability of the expenditure, respect of schedule…)

Partnership Agreement

• Article 4 (2): defines the Lead Partner’s obligations

« The Lead Partner shall fulfill all obligations arising from the Subsidy Contract… »

Waterfall effect…

• Article 4 (3): defines the Project Partners’ obligations

« every partner shall fulfill all obligations arising from the Subsidy Contract… »

Content: Publicity

Subsidy Contract

• Defined by Article 8–Any notice or publication

by the project have to indicate the Programme’s support and display the European flag and Programme logo

–A copy of any communication material shall be produced to the JTS/MA

Partnership Agreement

• Defined by Article 15:

« All Partners must comply with the requirements set in Article 8 of the Subsidy Contract »

Content: Archiving

Subsidy Contract

• Defined by Article 11–Any files, documents and

data are to be kept for audit purposes on a customary data storage media until December 2025.

–The Lead Partner is obliged to guarantee that the whole partnership fulfills this requirement.

Partnership Agreement

• Stipulated in Article 4 (2): the Lead Partner shall fulfill the following obligation:

« properly archive documentation, as required by the Subsidy Contract, Article 11 »

• Stipulated in Article 4 (3): Every Partner shall fulfill the following obligation:

« properly archive documentation, as required by the Subsidy Contract, Article 11 »