Topics

 

A) FORMS

 

B) BENEFICIARIES

 

C) LEAD PARTNER

 

D) EXPENSES IN ADJACENT NUTS III AREAS

 

 

 

A) FORMS

 

A.1) I cannot work on the Excel spreadsheet of the financial plan. The file is protected and requires a password.

What do I have to do? 

A.2) Which forms of co-financing letter and letter of intent do we have to attach to the application form? 

  

B) BENEFICIARIES

 

B.1) Does the status of research organization have to be documented by specific ATECO classification, or is it sufficient to provide documented proof of significant experience in the curriculum of the organization?

 

C) LEAD PARTNER

 

C.1) Can a Non-Governmental Organization, in particular a non-profit association present a project as Lead Partner?

 

C.2) Is the Lead Partner of the project responsible for coordination?

 

C.3) Could a Regional Province be lead partner of a proposal?  

 

 

D) EXPENSES IN ADJACENT NUTS III AREAS

 

D.1) As for the 20% limit of the cost, if the Lead Partner is in the adjacent NUTS III zone and the activity is located in the cross-border NUTS III zone, does the 20% limit still apply to the Lead Partner?

 

D.2) The budget of the Lead Partner must be equal to a share of 30% - 45% of the budget presented with the application for funding, as specified in the eligibility requirements on page 42 of the manual. If the Lead Partner is from an adjacent NUTS III zone or cannot provide evidence of the location of their activities in a cross-border NUTS III zone, does the 20% limit make the project proposal inadmissible?

 

D.3) Which principle applies to all the management, administrative, staff and preparation costs for a Lead Partner in an adjacent NUTS III zone, who presents a project the activities of which are localized only in a cross-border NUTS III zone?

 

D.4) How does the 20% limit apply to the cost in adjacent NUTS III areas?

 

D.5) When does the principle of the location of the activities apply?

 

D.6) In the case of research organizations or University departments located in adjacent areas,  how are the costs for researchers’ fees calculated if the research concerns phenomena located in cross-border areas?

 

E) ELEGIBLE EXPENSES

 

E.1) Is Vat an eligible expenditure?

 

F) CO-FINANCING

 

F.1) Does the co-financing letter of private partners have to be signed by the Lead Partner?

 

F.2) For Italian private partners, the national co-financing share is entirely covered by the revolving fund. Which documentation certifying this must be provided?

 

 

 

G) PRIVATE PARTNERS

 

G.1) Are non-profit organisations operating in cultural tourism development and the associations of municipal authorities and public bodies admissible beneficiaries for priority axes 1 and 2?

 

G.2) Could the Maltese partnership of a project comprise private bodies only? 

 

G.3) In compliance with paragraph 2.3.7 of the manual, which section of the application form does the lead partner have to use for the declaration about the value added by the participation of the private partner? 

 

H) PARTNERSHIP

 

H.1) Is there a minimum number of subjects envisaged in the partnership?

 

H.2) Is it possible to participate in more than one project proposal as a partner and/or Lead Partner?

 

H.3) Is it necessary to involve SMEs in the establishment of partnerships for the submission of a project proposal referring to objective 1.1 and can they participate as individual companies or only as associations of several economic subjects?

 

H.4) Is a partner who has an office in the areas involved in the programme (Palermo) but whose administrative office is located out of them (Milan) considered eligible? 

 

H.5) Can newly established non-public organisations (included among those mentioned in paragraph 2.3.2 of the OP Implementation Manual) participate as partners of the project? 

 

H.6) Could a partner located outside the programme area be eligible? 

 

H.7) Under the drafting of the application form is it possible to change the partnership identified with the concept note and, consequently, the budget of the project?  

 

I) OBJECTIVES

 

I.1) How many programme’s specific objectives can a project refer to?   

 

I.2) How many eligible actions could a project proposal refer to?

 

 

L) IMPLEMENTATION

 

L.1) Who performs the first level control?

 

L.2) Who sends the accounting of expenditures of each partner to the Managing Authority? Each single partner or the Lead Partner for all?

 

 

 

   

A.1) I cannot work on the Excel spreadsheet of the financial plan. The file is protected and requires a password.

What do I have to do? 

Protected fields are those in grey, which must not be filled in since they provide the results automatically by making calculations based on the data inserted by users in the white fields, which are those to fill in and are not subject to any security restrictions.

A.2) Which forms of co-financing letter and letter of intent do we have to attach to the application form?

The forms of the co-financing letter and the letter of intent are attached to the call for strategic projects and you have to attach them to the application form when you present the proposal. The partners of a project have to fill in, sign and attach the following documents, depending on their private or public status. The documents have to be presented in original or fax or scanned copy with a copy of an identity paper of the signatory. 

Italian and Maltese Lead partner: Annex B doc 4 – Lead partner – Letter of intent and co-financing statement

Italian public/private partner and Maltese public partner: Annex B doc 3 – Public Project Partner  - Letter of intent and co-financing statement

Maltese private partner: Annex B doc 6 – Private Project Partner – Letter of intent and Annex B doc 7 Public Project Partner on behalf of the private partner – letter of co-financing

Italian and Maltese private partner: Annex B doc 8 – The minimis aid declaration

N.B. Annex B doc 7 has to be filled in and signed by a Maltese public partner using its headed paper, because the public partner assures the National Public Contribution (NPC) of the private partner.

 

B.1) Does the status of research organization have to be documented by specific ATECO classification, or is it sufficient to provide documented proof of significant experience in the curriculum of the organization?  

Research organizations and/or research institutes may be public subjects or private subjects in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EC) 800/08.

C.1) Is the Lead Partner of the project responsible for coordination?

Yes, the Lead Partner is responsible for coordinating the beneficiaries of the project and is responsible for the project with the Management Authority and the Certification Authority, cf. paragraph 2.3.4 of the Programme Manual.

 

C.2) Does the Lead Partner also have to manage the financial flow of the repayments?

Yes, the Lead Partner, Italian or Maltese, will reimburse the project ERDF to all the partners. Italian lead partners will reimburse also the NPC to the Italian partners. the Managing Authority will reimburse the National Public Contribution (NPC) to Italian beneficiaries, partners of projects leaded by Maltese bodies.

 

D.1) As for the 20% limit of the cost, if the Lead Partner is in the adjacent NUTS III zone and the activity is located in the cross-border NUTS III zone, does the 20% limit still apply to the Lead Partner?

The 20% limit can be passed if the Lead Partner intends to draw on the principle of the location of the activity in accordance with paragraph 2.3.6 of the OP implementation manual. However, a suitable reconstruction of the intended costs to be made in the adjacent NUTS III zone must be drawn up when presenting the project. In the assessment phase the Steering Committee Committee will check the justification of these costs. 

 

D.2) The budget of the Lead Partner must be equal to a share of 30% - 45% of the budget presented with the application for funding, as specified in the eligibility requirements on page 42 of the manual. If the Lead Partner is from an adjacent NUTS III zone or cannot provide evidence of the location of their activities in a cross-border NUTS III zone, does the 20% limit make the project proposal inadmissible?

For the budget of a Lead Partner coming from adjacent areas of the programme there is a departure to this percentage, which should be reduced up to a maximum of 20% of the available project ERDF resources (see application guide – section 1 point 5). This limit can be exceeded, and in any case up to 45%, only in the cases in which the applicant intends to have recourse to the rule of the location of activities in paragraph 2.3.6.

 

D.3) How does the 20% limit apply to the cost in adjacent NUTS III areas?

The 20% is calculated on the ERDF share of the project budget. This limit includes:

1) expenses of the partners in the adjacent areas of Palermo and Catania (case 4 paragraph 2.3.6 of the OP manual), unless they can clearly localize the expenses in the cross-border area (case 3 paragraph 2.3.6 of the OP manual;

2) expenses in adjacent areas (both if made by adjacent partners and cross-border partners) - case 1 and 5 paragraph 2.3.6 of the OP manual.

 

D.4) When does the principle of the location of the activities apply?

The principle of the location of the activities applies in case a partner does not spend funds in his own area. In this case, the cost of an activity must be reconstructed so the cost respects or fails to respect the limit of the 20% envisaged for expenses in adjacent areas.

D.5) In the case of research organizations or University departments located in adjacent areas,  how are the costs for researchers’ fees calculated if the research concerns phenomena located in cross-border areas?

As investigations are not clearly referable to a precise geographic localization and, as a result, they are not included among the clearly localizable activities, the localization of a research activity, properly justified by the lead partner, will be verified on a case by case basis during the examination of the project proposal. If the activity does not appear to be clearly localizable from the inspection, expenses exceeding the 20% limit will be considered inadmissible.

 

D.6) Which principle applies to all the management, administrative, staff and preparation costs for a Lead Partner in an adjacent NUTS III zone, who presents a project the activities of which are localized only in a cross-border NUTS III zone?

The principle of 20% of the project ERDF is applied to the management, administration, personnel and preparation costs born by the Lead Partner located in a NUTS III adjacent zone (case 4 par. 2.3.6 of the Application manual) as it is impossible to “reconstruct” the cost of this activity in a cross-border area so it cannot be localize.

E.1) Is Vat an eligible expenditure?

In accordance with Presidential Decree 196 – 03/10/2008, VAT is an eligible expenditure as long as it cannot be recovered. 

 

F.1) Does the co-financing letter of private partners have to be signed by the Lead Partner?

The co-financing letter has to be countersigned by the project Lead Partner for Italian partners only (Annex B doc 3). 

Maltese private partners have to fill in and sign the Letter of intent (Annex B doc 6) and to provide that a Maltese public partner fills and signs the letter of co-financing (Annex B doc 7) on its behalf. 

F.2) For Italian private partners, the national co-financing share is entirely covered by the revolving fund. Which documentation certifying this must be provided?

Italian partners will have to specify the coverage of the NC in the co-financing statement by quoting the sentence contained in the last paragraph of the Guidelines for Applicants, ‘Documents to be filled in’.

 

G.1) Can additional financial resources be obtained from private bodies, and the expenses relevant to the same be entered in accounts?

Without prejudice to the fact that additional financial resources can only and exclusively be provided by project partners, private parties can guarantee these resources which will be entered in accounts as part of project implementation. The 1st level control services will ratify the expenses for the budget corresponding to the approved ERDF + NC. 

 

G.2) Could the Maltese partnership of a project comprise private bodies only?  

No because it is necessary that a Maltese public body guarantees the National Public Contribution (NPC) of the private partners

 

G.3) In compliance with paragraph 2.3.7 of the manual, which section of the application form does the lead partner have to use for the declaration about the value added by the participation of the private partner? 

The Lead Partner  will justify the value added by the participation of the private partner in the Section 1 – Part B (Identification and quality of the partners) - Description of experiences and profile of institution of the private partner in question. The lead partner has to declare that in absence of the partner in question the project proposal could not achieve its stated objectives.

 

H.1) Is there a minimum number of subjects envisaged in the partnership?

Yes. In accordance with paragraph 2.3.3 of the manual, the partnership of strategic projects must have at least two partners, one from Italy and one from Malta. 

H.2) Is it possible to participate in more than one project proposal as a partner and/or Lead Partner?

Yes, there are no limits for presenting project proposals as a partner or Lead Partner. In the latter case, the Lead Partner beneficiaries should avoid applying for two projects in the same axis of programme reference.

 

H.3) Is it necessary to involve SMEs in the establishment of partnerships for the submission of a project proposal referring to objective 1.1 and can they participate as individual companies or only as associations of several economic subjects?

It is not necessary to involve SMEs in the establishment of partnerships for the submission of a project proposal referring to objective 1.1. However, they can participate both as individual companies and as associations, as long as they are referable to one of the subjects mentioned on paragraph 2.3 of the OP Implementation Manual.

 

H.4) Is a partner who has an office in the areas involved in the programme (Palermo) but whose administrative office is located out of them (Milan) considered eligible? 

In order to enter into a project partnership, the branch offices located in eligible areas, belonging to organisations residing in non-eligible areas, must have administrative and financial competence, meant both as budget autonomy and autonomy to take and make payments.

H.5) Can newly established non-public organisations (included among those mentioned in paragraph 2.3.2 of the OP Implementation Manual) participate as partners of the project? 

No, they can’t, as according to Article 8 of the call, those organizations which are not included in the category of public organizations (see paragraph 2.3.2 of the Manual) must present the latest two approved budgets. 

 

H.6) Could a partner located outside the programme area be eligible?

Yes, according with the O.P. Italia-Malta 2007/2013 and the art, 21 (1) of the Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006, the participation of a partner located outside the programme area is allowed if its added value is demonstrable, its absence would  compromise the realization of the project proposal and its activities will be to  the programme area exclusive benefit.

 

H.7) Under the drafting of the application form is it possible to change the partnership identified with the concept note and, consequently, the budget of the project?

Yes. In order to improve the quality of the project proposal, under the drafting of the application form, it is possible to change the partnership identified with the concept note. Each partner of the project will have its budget and its package of activities to carry out, in compliance with the call and the O.P. manual.

I.1) How many programme’s specific objectives can a project refer to?

Each  project proposal  should  fall within  one  of  the  specific  eligible  actions  identified in the call for each axis. We stress that in this call for strategic projects the priority objective of the Axis I is “Accessibility and eco-sustainable transport“, while the priority objectives of Axis II are “Promoting joint actions in the sphere of the prevention of risks resulting from both natural and man-made causes“, “Risk prevention methods related specifically to coastal territories and to the sea“ and  “Renewable energy and waste disposal“.

 

I.2) How many eligible actions could a project proposal refer to?

A project proposal has to refer to the realization of one of the eligible actions identified in the call for strategic project, among those foreseen under Axis I and II f the Programme 

 

L.1) Who performs the first level control?

In Italy, the Control Unit (CU) of the Regional Programming Department will assign a controller to each project approved for the Italia-Malta 2007-2013 OP. This controller will be selected from those previously acknowledged in the relevant “long-list of auditors for the Italia-Malta 2007-2013 OP”, and will audit the costs for the part of the operation of each single Italian beneficiary participating in the same. 

In Malta, the partners and the Lead Partner will choose an auditor. This auditor will be selected from the register of auditors provided by the national Maltese coordinating authority, and will audit the costs for the part of the operation of each single Maltese beneficiary participating in the operation. These audits will be done on the basis of the checklist duly signed by the Auditor on conclusion of the work. The beneficiaries, for the purpose of ratification in accordance with Art.16 of Reg. (EC) 1080/2006, will send the national Maltese coordinating authority the list of expenses with the signed checklists. 

L.2) Who sends the accounting of expenditures of each partner to the Managing Authority? Each single partner or the Lead Partner for all?

The Lead Partner, in accordance with article 20, letter d) of Regulation 1080/2006, checks the expenses, which have already been ratified by the controller, for each single partner participating in the project. Then, the Lead Partner collects all the expenses and the relevant ratification statements and send one single “reimbursement request” to the programme Managing Authority.

 

L.3) Is the funding of approved projects paid on the basis of states of progress or are sums paid in advance?

Yes, 20% of the approved budget is paid in advance. The MA shall proceed to reimburse expenses sustained by each partner and Lead Partner upon presentation of a reimbursement request, in accordance with the conditions described at the par. 4.2.1 of the Manual. The transfer of further intermediate payments, equal to 20% and up to 80% of the budget of each individual partner shall also be guaranteed. Subsequently, the Managing Authority pays the balance of the operations closed by the Lead Partner.

 

L.4) Is only the Lead Partner responsible for verifying expenses or does each partner check their own? 

The Lead Partner collects the statements for the expenses issued by the 1st level controllers and verifies the same in accordance with and by effect of article 20, letter d) of Regulation 1080/2006. Then the “reimbursement request” is sent to the Managing Authority.