PROMAS
The European Commission has suspended the Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the Russian Federation concerning the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation programmes (ENI CBC). This means, among other things, that no further payments of programme funds to Russia can be made. This concerns payments from the Managing Authorities and money transfers from the Lead Partners in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Suspension of Financing Agreement does not prevent projects from communicating within the partner consortium or with the Managing Authority. The Managing Authority remains available for your questions.
On March 22nd, the Managing Authorities of the programmes with Russia and Belarus will have a meeting with the European Commission about the practical consequences of the suspension. After the meeting, we expect to be able to inform you about the schedules and eligibility of costs as well as about practicalities concerning the next steps with the implementation of projects and payments. The European Commission is searching for solutions to properly conclude planned activities in EU member states and Norway.
The Managing Authority wants to note that for the moment the projects should not plan or carry out any major activities, like large events or investments, before clear guidance for proceeding can be provided. Also, projects should not submit requests to change project plan or budget. Currently, the Managing Authority is not processing additional changes.
The Managing Authority also wants to underline that a prerequisite for any payments is, as until now, that costs and activities are reported (note that the EC decisions may affect the eligibility of costs). Please note that the MA continues checking the reported and audited costs of Russian partners and keeps record of the unpaid amounts, even though the payments cannot be made for the moment.