Information Society and Media Directorate-General
Audiovisual, Media, Internet
MEDIA Programme and media literacy
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY-MEDIA PLUS PROGRAMME
established by Council Decision N°2000/821/EC ( OJ L13 of 17.01.2001)
PROMOTION : SUPPORT FOR MARKET ACCESS AND EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL FESTIVALS NETWORKS
GRANT AGREEMENT for an ACTION entitled […]
AGREEMENT NUMBER […]
The European Community (“the Community”), represented by the Commission of the European Communities (“the Commission”), itself represented for the purposes of signature of this agreement by Mr Gregory PAULGER, Director of “Audiovisual, Media & Internet”, within Directorate-General for Information Society and Media
of the one part,
and
[full official name]
[official legal form]
[official registration No]
[official address in full]
[VAT number],
(“the beneficiary”), represented for the purposes of signature of this agreement by [name, forename and function]
of the other part,
HAVE AGREED
the Special Conditions, General Conditions and Annexes below:
Annex I Description of the action
Annex II Estimated budget of the action
Annex III Technical implementation reports and financial statements to be submitted, which form an integral part of this agreement ("the agreement").
The terms set out in the Special Conditions shall take precedence over those in the other parts of the agreement.
The terms of the General Conditions shall take precedence over those in the Annexes.
I SPECIAL CONDITIONS
ARTICLE I.1 – PURPOSE OF THE GRANT
I.1.1 The Commission has decided to award a grant, under the terms and conditions set out in the Special Conditions, the General Conditions and the Annexes to the agreement, which the beneficiary hereby declares that he has taken note of and accepts, for the action entitled […] ("the action").
I.1.2 The beneficiary accepts the grant and undertakes to do everything in his power to carry out the action as described in Annex I, acting on his own responsibility.
ARTICLE I.2 DURATION
I.2.1 The agreement shall enter into force on the date when the last of the two parties signs.
I.2.2 The action shall run for [...] days from [date] (“the starting date of the action”) and shall end on [date] (“the closing date of the action”).
I 2.3 The period of eligibility of costs shall begin [3/10] months before the starting date of the action and end [2] months after the closing date of the action as defined in Article I.2.2.
ARTICLE I.3 FINANCING THE ACTION
I.3.1 The total cost of the action is estimated at EUR […], as shown in the estimated budget in Annex II. The estimated budget shall give a detailed breakdown of the costs that are eligible for Community funding under the terms of Article II.14, of any other costs that the action may entail, and of all receipts, so that receipts and costs balance.
I.3.2 The total eligible costs of the action for which the Commission grant is awarded are estimated at EUR […], as shown in the estimated budget in Annex II.
Indirect costs are eligible up to a maximum of 7% of the total direct costs eligible, subject to the conditions laid down in Article II.14.3.
I.3.3 The Commission shall contribute a maximum of EUR […], equivalent to […] % of the estimated total eligible costs indicated in paragraph 2 and to […] % of the estimated total costs indicated in paragraph 1. The final amount of the grant shall be determined as specified in Article II.17, without prejudice to Article II.19 and I.10.
The Community grant may not finance the entire costs of the action. The amounts and sources of cofinancing other than from Community funds shall be set out in the estimated budget referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission accepts that the external cofinancing referred to above could be partially made up of contributions in kind, provided that the conditions set out in Article II.14.5 are complied with.
I.3.4 By way of derogation from Article II.13, the beneficiary may, when carrying out the action, adjust the estimated budget by transfers between items of eligible costs, provided that this adjustment of expenditure does not affect implementation of the action and the transfer between items does not exceed 15% of the amount of each item of estimated eligible costs for which the transfer is intended, and without exceeding the total eligible costs indicated in paragraph 2. He shall inform the Commission in writing.
When the transfer between headings does exceed 15% of the amount of each budget heading of eligible costs as shown in the estimated budget, the beneficiary shall request the adjustment by registered letter, with advice of delivery or equivalent and obtain the written and prior authorisation from the Commission.
ARTICLE I.4 PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS
I.4.1 Prefinancing:
Within 45 days of the date when the last of the two parties signs the agreement, a prefinancing payment of EUR […] shall be made to the beneficiary, representing [75/40] % of the amount specified in Article I.3.3.
I.4.2 Further prefinancing payments:
Prefinancing may be paid in several instalments. In that case, payment of each further instalment may not be made until at least 100 % of the previous prefinancing payment has been used up.
Every request for payment of a further prefinancing instalment must be accompanied by the documents specified in Article II.15.2 and by a progress report on the action's implementation as detailed in Annex III and in accordance with Article I.5.
Within 45 days after the Commission receives the request for payment of a further instalment, together with the documents referred to in the previous subparagraph, a prefinancing payment of EUR […] shall be made to the beneficiary, equivalent to 40 % of the amount specified in Article I.3.3.
I.4.3 Payment of the balance
The request for payment of the balance shall be accompanied by the final technical implementation report and financial statement specified in Article II.15.4. The Commission shall have 45 days to approve or reject the technical implementation report or to request additional supporting documents or information under the procedure laid down in Article II.15.4. In that case, the beneficiary shall have 30 days to submit the additional information or a new report.
A payment representing the balance of the grant determined in accordance with Article II.17 shall be made to the beneficiary within 45 days following approval by the Commission of the technical implementation report accompanying the request for payment of the balance. The Commission may suspend the period for payment in accordance with the procedure in Article II.16.2.
ARTICLE I.5 SUBMISSION OF REPORTS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
The technical implementation reports, financial statements and other documents referred to in Article I.4 and contained in Annex III must be submitted in 2 copies in English or French on the following dates:
When applicable, a Progress report on the action's implementation and a detailed Mid-term Financial Statement in line with the structure of the estimated budget and explaining how the previous pre-financing has been used up: within 6 months following the starting date of the action specified in ArticleI.2.2. These documents must be certified by the beneficiary.
Final technical implementation report and Final Financial statement: within 5 months following the closing date of the action specified in Article I.2.2. These documents must be certified by the beneficiary and the Final Financial Statement must also be certified by an independent chartered accountant.
ARTICLE I.6 BANK ACCOUNT
Payments shall be made to the beneficiary's bank account or subaccount denominated in euro, as indicated below:
Name of bank: […]
Address of branch: […]
Precise denomination of the account holder: […]
Full account number (including bank codes): […]
IBAN account code: […]
This account or subaccount must identify the payments made by the Commission. If the funds paid to this account yield interest or equivalent benefits under the law of the State on whose territory the account is opened, such interest or benefits shall, if they are generated by prefinancing payments, be recovered by the Commission as specified in Article II.16.4.
ARTICLE I. 7 GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Any communication in connection with this agreement shall be in writing, indicating the number of the agreement, and shall be sent to the following addresses:
For the Commission:
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Information Society and Media
For the attention of Mr Costas DASKALAKIS,
Acting Head of Unit of the MEDIA Programme
Office: B-100, 04/27
B-1049 Brussels
Fax +32-2-299.92.14
Ordinary mail shall be considered to have been received by the Commission on the date on which it is formally registered by the Commission unit responsible referred to above.
For the Beneficiary:
[Mr/Ms] […]
[Function]
[Official denomination]
[Full official address]
ARTICLE I.8 LAW APPLICABLE AND COMPETENT COURT
The grant is governed by the terms of the agreement, the Community rules applicable and, on a subsidiary basis, by the law of Belgium relating to grants.
The beneficiary may bring legal proceedings regarding decisions by the Commission concerning the application of the provisions of the agreement and the arrangements for implementing it, before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities and, in the event of appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
ARTICLE I.9– DATA PROTECTION
All personal data contained in the agreement shall be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Such data shall be processed solely in connection with the implementation and followup of the agreement by the European Commission, without prejudice to the possibility of passing the data to the bodies responsible for inspection and audit in accordance with Community legislation.
Beneficiaries may, on written request, gain access to their personal data and correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete. They should address any questions regarding the processing of their personal data to the European Commission. Beneficiaries may lodge a complaint against the processing of their personal data with the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time.
ARTICLE I.10 SPECIAL CONDITIONS
I.10.1. Any communication or publication by the beneficiary about the action shall indicate that the action has received funding of the Community. Such acknowledgment shall be worded as follows: “with the support of the MEDIA Plus Programme of the European Community”. The beneficiary must use the logos, trademarks or items created by the Commission for these purposes.
I.10.2. By way of derogation from Article II.14.1 point 4, expenses are eligible if they have been generated during the period of eligible costs as specified in Article I.2.3.
I.10.3. The total of administrative costs under budget subheading 1.1 and under budget heading 3 shall not exceed 40% of the total actual costs of the action as approved by the Commission.
I.10.4. Without prejudice to Article II.14.5, the value of contributions in kind in the estimated budget may not exceed either the costs actually borne and duly supported by accounting documents; or the costs generally accepted on the market in question. Such contributions must be clearly separated from eligible costs in the estimated budget for the action. In any case, the valuation of these costs approved by the Commission within the estimated budget for the action can not be increased in the final budget of the action.
I.10.5. By way of derogation from Article II.14.4, all financial costs connected with the action including interest paid for cash facilities or bank charges on bank transfers are considered as eligible costs within the meaning of Article II.14.1.
I.10.6. With reference to Article II.16.1, for the purpose of the financial reports to be submitted to the Commission, any conversion of actual costs into euro shall be made at the monthly exchange rate established by the Commission and published on its website applicable on the month in which the financial report is drafted.
I.10.7. All and any reports, statements and documents referred to in Article I.4.2., II.15.2. (when applicable) and II. 15.4. must be certified by the beneficiary. The Final Financial Statement must also be certified by an independent chartered accountant.
I.10.8. Should the Actual Total Cost be lower than 50% of the amount set out in Article I.3.1, the Commission reserves the right to cancel the second instalment of the grant and/or ask for the immediate reimbursement of all sums already paid out under this Agreement.
I.10.9. The grant shall be used exclusively to cover part of the total eligible costs of the action approved by the Commission in the Financial Statement mentioned in Article II.15.4. It can not be used to cover costs represented by contributions in kind or other ineligible costs.
I.10.10.By way of derogation from Article II.17.3, the Commission shall provide a grant of a maximum of 50%/60%[1] of the actual total costs as approved by the Commission or of the maximum amount mentioned in article I.3.3, whichever is the lower.
I.10.11 Under the terms of this agreement, Article II.15.3. shall not apply.
I.10.12 In the event that, after the signature of this agreement, the beneficiary becomes ineligible with reference to the criteria set out in council Decision 2000/821/CE and specified in Call for Proposals 35/2004, whether as to matters of facts or law, the Commission reserves the right to terminate this agreement and ask the reimbursement of the grant already paid out.
I.10.13 Where applicable, the beneficiary undertakes that the action shall be carried out through a network of Festivals from at least 10 (ten) countries participating in the MEDIA Plus Programme.
Projects which enhance European linguistic and cultural diversity (.i.e. through a special focus upon works from countries with a low production capacity) may apply for a grant of 60% of the total costs. The final percentage of the financial contribution to be awarded will be determined by the European Commission in consideration of the nature of the project.
II GENERAL CONDITIONS
PART A: LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
ARTICLE II.1 LIABILITY
II.1.1 The beneficiary shall have sole responsibility for complying with any legal obligations incumbent on him.
II.1.2 The Commission shall not, in any circumstances or on any grounds, be held liable in the event of a claim under the agreement relating to any damage caused during the action's execution. Consequently, the Commission will not entertain any request for indemnity or reimbursement accompanying any such claim.