Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added(13) While ex post audits of expenditure on indirect action funded under Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 should continue to be performed in accordance with the relevant provisions of that Regulation, indirect actions funded under Horizon Europe should be audited in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/695.

Added(14) Regulation (EU) 2021/695 places an increased focus on access to the results and other action related information by the Commission for the purpose of developing, implementing and monitoring Union policies or programmes in the case of institutionalised European partnerships. Therefore, the PRIMA-IS should ensure that the Commission has access to all information related to the indirect actions it funds, including contributions and results of beneficiaries participating in indirect actions. To uphold their interest, the Participating States should also have access to information relating to proposals which include applicants established in their territories. Such access rights should comply with applicable confidentiality rules.

AddedThe Commission should assess on a regular basis the fulfilment of commitments undertaken by the Participating States and, following this assessment, should be authorised to take appropriate measures, involving Participating States and PRIMA-IS as necessary, before resorting to measures terminating, reducing or suspending the Union financial contribution.

Added(15) The extension of PRIMA requires monitoring and evaluation of this partnership in accordance with Horizon Europe related provisions. The Commission should conduct an interim evaluation of PRIMA by 31 December 2025 at the latest, and, a final evaluation by 31 December 2031 at the latest, that should feed into the overall interim and final evaluations of Horizon Europe. The evaluations should assess the quality and efficiency of PRIMA and the progress made towards achieving its objectives throughout its life-cycle, monitoring and evaluating this partnership in accordance with the relevant provisions of both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. The Commission should publish and disseminate the results and conclusions of those evaluations. In accordance with Article 10(2), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, PRIMA should have a clear life-cycle approach, be limited in time and include the conditions for phasing-out the funding under Horizon Europe.

Added(16) Decision (EU) 2017/1324 should therefore be amended accordingly,

AddedHAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

AddedDecision (EU) 2017/1324 is amended as follows:

Added(1) Article 1 is amended as follows:

Added(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Added‘1. The Union shall participate in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (‘PRIMA’), an institutionalised European partnership as referred to in Article 10(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council, jointly undertaken by Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey (‘Participating States’), in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Decision and upon notification of their participation in the activities of PRIMA by signing a letter of commitment.’;

Added(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

Added‘2. Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco shall continue to be Participating States for the purpose of the activities of PRIMA funded under Article 3(1), point (a). For the purpose of their participation in activities of PRIMA funded under Article 3(1), point (b), they shall only be considered Participating States subject to the conclusion of an agreement, in the form of exchange of letters, amending and supplementing the existing international agreements for scientific and technological cooperation with the Union and setting out the new terms and conditions of their participation in PRIMA.’;

Added(c) paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

Added‘3. Any Member State and any third country associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, other than those listed in paragraph 1 of this Article, may participate in PRIMA provided that they fulfil the condition laid down in Article 4(1), point (c) and comply, in particular, with Article 11(5). They shall sign a letter of commitment confirming the terms and conditions of their participation in PRIMA with regard to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe respectively.

AddedMember States and third countries associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe that fulfil the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be considered as Participating States for the purposes of this Decision.

Added4. Any third country not associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, other than those listed in paragraph 2, may participate in PRIMA provided that:

Added(a) they fulfil the condition laid down in Article 4(1), point (c) and comply, in particular, with Article 11(5);

Added(b) the implementation structure for PRIMA (‘PRIMA-IS’) approves their participation in PRIMA after examining the relevance of their participation to achieving the objectives of PRIMA; and

Added(c) they conclude an international agreement for scientific and technological cooperation with the Union setting out the terms and conditions of their participation in PRIMA.

AddedThird countries that fulfil the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be considered as Participating States for the purposes of this Decision.’;

Added(2) in Article 2, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Added‘1. PRIMA shall contribute to the general and specific objectives of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and in particular Article 3 thereof and shall deliver on the general objectives of building research and innovation capacities and developing knowledge and common innovative solutions for agro-food systems, making them sustainable, and for integrated water provision and management in the Mediterranean area, making those systems, their management and the provision more climate resilient, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally and socially sustainable, and contribute to solving water scarcity, food security, nutrition, health, well-being and migration problems upstream.’ ;

Added(3) Article 3 is amended as follows:

Added(a) paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:

Added‘1. The Union financial contribution, including EEA appropriations, shall equal the Participating States’ contributions to PRIMA. The Union contribution shall be up to EUR 325 000 000 and shall be distributed as follows:

Added(a) up to EUR 220 000 000 from Horizon 2020;

Added(b) up to EUR 105 000 000 from Horizon Europe.

AddedThe amount of the Union financial contribution from Horizon Europe may be increased by contributions from third countries associated to Horizon Europe in accordance with Article 16(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and provided that the total increase in the Union contribution is at least matched by the contribution from the Participating States referred to in Article 1(1).

Added2. The Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, point (a) of this Article shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the relevant parts of the specific programme implementing Horizon 2020, established by Council Decision 2013/743/EU, and in particular from Part II ‘Industrial leadership’ and Part III ‘Societal challenges’, in accordance with Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and Article 62(1), point (c)(vii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.’ ;

Addedb) the following paragraph 2a is inserted:

Added‘2a. The Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, point (b) of this Article shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the relevant parts of the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe, established by Council Decision 2021/764, and in particular from Pillar II ‘Global challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’, cluster (vi) ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment’, and in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c)(vii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.’ ;

Added(4) Article 4 is amended as follows:

Added(a) in paragraph 1, points (b)▌ and (d) are replaced by the following:

Added‘(b) the designation by the Participating States, or by organisations designated by the Participating States, of an entity with legal personality, as referred to in Article 62(1), point (c)(vii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046, as PRIMA-IS, which shall be responsible for implementing PRIMA efficiently, for receiving, allocating and monitoring the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) of this Decision as well as the Participating States' contributions, where appropriate, and for ensuring that all necessary actions are undertaken to achieve the objectives of PRIMA;

Added▌ (d) the demonstration by PRIMA-IS of its capacity to implement PRIMA, including receiving, allocating and monitoring the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) in the framework of indirect management of the Union budget in accordance with Articles 62 and 154 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.’ ;

Added(b) paragraph 2, point (c) is replaced by the following :

Added‘(c) the compliance by PRIMA-IS with the reporting requirements set out in Article 155 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046;’ ;

Added(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

Added‘The Commission shall assess on an ongoing basis the fulfilment of commitments undertaken by the Participating States and, following that assessment, may take appropriate measures, ▌ involving Participating States and PRIMA-IS as necessary, before resorting to the measures provided for in Article 9.’;

Added(5) Article 5 is amended as follows:

Added(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Added‘1. The Participating States shall make or arrange for their national funding bodies to make contributions, whether financial or in kind, of at least EUR 325 000 000 during the period from 7 August 2017 until 31 December 2031.’ ;

Added(b) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

Added‘6. Contributions referred to in paragraph 2, points (a), (b) and (c) counting as contributions from Participating States shall be made after the adoption of the annual work programme. Where the annual work programme is adopted during the reference year referred to in Article 6(2), the contributions referred to in paragraph 2, point (c), counting as contributions from Participating States included in the annual work programme, may include contributions made from 1 January of that year. However, the contributions referred to in paragraph 2, point (c), counting as contributions from Participating States included in the first annual work programme, may include contributions made after 7 August 2017.’;

Added(6) Article 6 is replaced by the following:

AddedActivities and implementation of PRIMA

Added‘1. PRIMA shall support a wide range of research and innovation activities, as described in its annual work programme, by means of:

Added(a) indirect actions within the meaning of Regulations (EU) No 1290/2013 and (EU) 2021/695 funded by PRIMA-IS in accordance with Article 7 of this Decision, mainly in the form of grants following transnational open, transparent and competitive calls for proposals organised by PRIMA-IS, including:

Added(i) research and innovation actions, as well as innovation actions;

Added(ii) coordination and support actions focusing on dissemination and outreach to promote PRIMA and maximise its impacts;

Added(b) activities funded by the Participating States without the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) that contribute to the objectives of PRIMA or that are directly linked to the uptake of results from projects under PRIMA and that consist of:

Added(i) activities selected following transnational open, transparent and competitive calls for proposals organised by PRIMA-IS, managed by the national funding bodies under the national programmes of the Participating States, providing financial support mainly in the form of grants;

Added(ii) activities under the national programmes of the Participating States including transnational projects.

Added2. PRIMA shall be implemented on the basis of annual work programmes covering activities to be undertaken for the period from 1 January to 31 December of a given year (‘reference year’). PRIMA-IS shall adopt the annual work programmes by 31 March of the reference year, after obtaining approval from the Commission. In adopting the annual work programmes, both PRIMA-IS and the Commission shall act without undue delay. PRIMA-IS shall make the annual work programme publicly available.

Added3. Activities referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 may be launched only in the reference year and only after the adoption of the annual work programme for that year.

Added4. If the annual work programme is adopted during the reference year, the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) may be used to reimburse the administrative costs of PRIMA-IS incurred from 1 January of that reference year in line with the annual work programme. However, the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) may reimburse administrative costs of PRIMA-IS incurred as from 7 August 2017 in line with the first annual work programme.

Added5. Activities may be funded under PRIMA only if they are set out in the annual work programme. The annual work programme shall distinguish between the activities referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), the activities referred to in paragraph 1, point (b) and the administrative costs of PRIMA-IS. It shall provide for their corresponding expenditure estimates as well as for the budget allocation to activities funded with the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) and to activities funded by the Participating States without the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1). The annual work programme shall also include the estimated value of the Participating States' in-kind contributions referred to in point (b) of Article 5(2).

Added6. Amended annual work programmes for a reference year and annual work programmes for subsequent reference years shall take into account the results of previous calls for proposals. They shall endeavour to address insufficient coverage of scientific topics, in particular, those initially addressed in activities under paragraph 1, point (b) that could not be adequately funded.

Added7. The final activities to be funded, including the final calls for proposals under the relevant annual work programmes shall be launched by 31 December 2027. In duly justified cases, they may be launched by 31 December 2028.

Added8. Activities to be funded by the Participating States without the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) may be included in the annual work programme only following the positive outcome of their external independent evaluation by international peer review with regard to the objectives of PRIMA, as organised by PRIMA-IS.