The Fund Operator is provided with a high level of flexibility to reallocate funds within the Programme within the limits provided in Article 8.1 of the Programme Implementation Agreement. The Fund Operator can freely reallocate between outcomes, to and from calls and from pre-defined projects without prior approval from the FMO or the need to modify Programme Implementation Agreement.
Reallocating to pre-defined projects, thus increasing the amount of the pre-defined project always requires the prior approval of FMO and will result in the modification of the Programme Implementation Agreement.
The Fund Operator must always notify the FMO of its intention to reallocate funds according to Article 8.1. The FMO has two weeks to object if it does not agree with the reallocation. The two weeks will commence on the date of confirmation of receipt of the notification. If no objection is received within these two weeks, the Fund Operator is free to proceed with the reallocation. However, if FMO objects within these two weeks, the Fund Operator can only proceed with the reallocation if FMO has expressly agreed to it. Please note that it is the responsibility of the Fund Operators to ensure that the cumulative reallocations are kept within the limits referred to above.
The annexes to the Programme Implementation Agreement may contain further rules, in particular regarding the reallocation of insignificant amounts (i.e. a few euros), which do not even require notification.
The following unused funds may be reallocated freely by the Fund Operator:
- project grants that have not been fully utilised
- project grants that have been cancelled due to irregularities or for other reasons, and
- funds uncommitted upon closure of calls for proposals
These funds shall only be used for the below purposes:
- to be reallocated to future calls for proposals
- to support projects placed on a reserve list as a result of a previous selection process
- or to be reallocated to additional activities of already-approved projects; provided that these additional activities contribute to the project objectives
Reallocations of savings and uncommitted funds between outcomes, outputs, between other budget lines and/or to other purposes than those described above fall under the reallocation rules.
Any decision to reallocate project grants to additional activities of already approved projects must follow the general rules and principles of the selection procedure as described in section 9.4.1 of this Manual. The selection committee shall base its recommendations on transparent and objective criteria which shall be made available on the website of the Fund Operator, no later than one month prior to any decision to reallocate funds.
Reallocations between budget lines that fall outside the flexibilities described above, require a prior approval of the FMO.