General regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget: joint statement by Commissioners Hahn and Gabriel on the application of the Council Implementing Decision of 15 December 2022 in relation to Hungarian public interest trusts.
The Commission would like to spell out some elements on the practical implementation regarding the application of Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506 of 15 December 2022 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary. This Decision has been taken under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget.
The Decision prohibits to enter into new legal commitments with Hungarian public interest trusts and entities maintained by them when implementing the EU budget in direct and indirect management. This measure aims to protect the Union budget from possible conflicts of interest and to ensure the transparent use of EU support by public interest trusts.
As long as the measure is in place, no award may be granted and no new legal commitment involving EU budget may be signed with these entities.
In the meantime, Hungarian entities that are concerned by the Decision can still apply to calls for proposals and participate in the evaluation and selection procedures of the EU programmes in direct and indirect management, such as Erasmus+ or Horizon Europe.
Once the measure stemming from the Council Implementing Decision has been lifted, at the moment of the award, the entities would not be considered ineligible for this reason and it would become possible again to sign the legal commitment with them.
This information is made available to all stakeholders on the portals for Erasmus+ (Intensification of prior deep institutional transnational cooperation and Development of new deep institutional transnational cooperation) and Horizon Europe (FAQ).
Entities that are not organised in the form of or maintained by public interest trusts are not concerned by the measure.
Moreover, students on exchanges into Hungary ("incoming mobility") are not concerned as these mobilities are covered under grant agreements signed with organisations in the sending country, i.e. outside Hungary. The measure only regards legal commitments to be signed with Hungarian public interest trusts and entities maintained by them.
The Commission trusts that Hungary will take adequate and effective measures as soon as possible to remedy the situation that led to the adoption of this measures, in view of possibly starting the regulatory procedure for the lifting of the measures.
The Commission will continue monitoring the situation closely.
Source: EC
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