Decision (EU) 2017/1324 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 on the participation of the Union in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) jointly undertaken by several Member States

The Union shall participate in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), an institutionalised European partnership as referred to in Article 10(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽¹⁾ (Horizon Europe), jointly undertaken by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey (Participating States), in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Decision and upon notification of their participation in the activities of PRIMA by signing a letter of commitment.

Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco shall continue to be Participating States for the purposes of the activities of PRIMA funded under Article 3(1), point (a) For the purpose of their participation in activities of PRIMA funded under Article 3(1), point (b), they shall be considered to be Participating States only upon the conclusion of an agreement, in the form of Exchange of Letters, amending and supplementing the existing international agreements for scientific and technological cooperation with the Union and setting out the new terms and conditions of their participation in PRIMA.

Any Member State and any third country associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, other than those listed in paragraph 1 of this Article, may participate in PRIMA, provided that they fulfil the condition laid down in Article 4(1), point (c) and comply, in particular, with Article 11(5). They shall sign a letter of commitment confirming the terms and conditions of their participation in PRIMA with regard to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe as applicable.

Member States and third countries associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe that fulfil the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be considered to be Participating States for the purposes of this Decision.

Any third country not associated to Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, other than those listed in paragraph 2 of this Article, may participate in PRIMA provided that:

1. it fulfils the condition laid down in Article 4(1), point (c) and complies, in particular, with Article 11(5);

2. the implementation structure for PRIMA (PRIMA-IS) approves its participation in PRIMA after examining the relevance of its participation towards achieving the objectives of PRIMA; and

3. it concludes an international agreement for scientific and technological cooperation with the Union setting out the terms and conditions of its participation in PRIMA.

Third countries that fulfil the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be considered to be Participating States for the purposes of this Decision.

PRIMA shall contribute to the general and specific objectives of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, and in particular Article 3 thereof, and shall deliver on the general objectives of building research and innovation capacities and developing knowledge and common innovative solutions for agro-food systems, making them sustainable, and for integrated water provision and management in the Mediterranean area, in order to make them, their management and their provision more climate resilient, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally and socially sustainable, and to enhance their contribution to solving water scarcity, food security, nutrition, health, well-being and migration problems upstream.

In order to contribute to the general objectives set out in paragraph 1, PRIMA shall fulfil the following specific objectives:

1. the formulation of a long-term, common, strategic agenda in the area of agro-food systems, to make them sustainable, and in the area of integrated water provision and management;

2. the orientation of relevant national research and innovation programmes towards the implementation of the strategic agenda;

3. the involvement of all relevant public and private sector actors in implementing the strategic agenda by pooling knowledge and financial resources to achieve the necessary critical mass;

4. the strengthening of the research and innovation funding capacities and of the implementation capabilities of all actors involved including SMEs, academia, non-governmental organisations and local research centres.

The Union financial contribution to PRIMA, including EEA appropriations, shall be equal to the Participating States’ contributions. The Union financial contribution shall be up to EUR 325 000 000 and shall be distributed as follows:

1. up to EUR 220 000 000 from Horizon 2020;

2. up to EUR 105 000 000 from Horizon Europe.

The amount of the Union financial contribution from Horizon Europe may be increased by contributions from third countries associated to Horizon Europe in accordance with Article 16(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, provided that the total increase in the Union financial contribution is at least matched by the contribution from the Participating States referred to in Article 1(1) of this Decision.

The Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), of this Article shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the relevant parts of the specific programme implementing Horizon 2020, established by Council Decision 2013/743/EU, and in particular from Part II ‘Industrial leadership’ and Part III ‘Societal challenges’, in accordance with Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and Article 62(1), point (c)(vii), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽²⁾.

The Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), of this Article shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the relevant parts of the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe, established by Council Decision (EU) 2021/764⁽³⁾, specifically from Pillar II ‘Global challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’, cluster (vi) ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment’, in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c)(vii), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be used by PRIMA-IS to:

1. fund the activities referred to in point (a) of Article 6(1);

2. cover PRIMA-IS administrative costs, up to a maximum of 6 % of the Union financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

The Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) shall be conditional upon the following:

1. the demonstration by the Participating States that PRIMA is set up in accordance with this Decision;

2. the designation by the Participating States, or by organisations designated by the Participating States, of an entity with legal personality, as referred to in Article 62(1), point (c)(vii), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, as PRIMA-IS, which shall be responsible for implementing PRIMA efficiently, for receiving, allocating and monitoring the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) of this Decision as well as the Participating States’ contributions, where appropriate, and for ensuring that all necessary actions are undertaken to achieve the objectives of PRIMA;

3. the commitment by the Participating States to contribute to the financing of PRIMA with a contribution from national resources relevant to the objectives of PRIMA that is at least equal to the Union financial contribution;

4. the demonstration by PRIMA-IS of its capacity to implement PRIMA, including receiving, allocating and monitoring the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) of this Decision in the framework of indirect management of the Union budget in accordance with Articles 62 and 154 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046;

5. the establishment of an efficient governance model for PRIMA in accordance with Article 12;

6. the adoption by PRIMA-IS, after obtaining approval from the Commission, of the common principles referred to in Article 6(9).

During the implementation of PRIMA, the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 3(1) shall also be conditional upon the following:

1. the implementation by PRIMA-IS of the objectives set out in Article 2, and of the activities referred to in Article 6;

2. the maintenance of an appropriate and efficient governance model in accordance with Article 12;

3. the compliance by PRIMA-IS with the reporting requirements set out in Article 155 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046;

4. the fulfilment by the Participating States of the commitments referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article.

The Commission shall assess, on an ongoing basis, the fulfilment of commitments undertaken by the Participating States and, following that assessment, may involve Participating States and PRIMA-IS as necessary and take appropriate measures including those provided for in Article 9.

The Participating States shall make, or arrange for their national funding bodies to make, contributions, whether financial or in kind, of at least EUR 325 000 000 from 7 August 2017 until 31 December 2031.

The Participating States' contributions shall consist of the following:

1. where appropriate, financial contributions to PRIMA-IS in view of funding indirect actions referred to in point (a) of Article 6(1);

2. financial or in-kind contributions in implementing activities referred to in point (b) of Article 6(1); and

3. financial or in-kind contributions to the administrative budget of PRIMA-IS not covered by the Union financial contribution as set out in point (b) of Article 3(3).

In-kind contributions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2 of this Article shall consist of costs incurred by the Participating States in implementing activities referred to in point (b) of Article 6(1), less any direct or indirect Union financial contribution to those costs.

In-kind contributions referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2 shall consist of costs incurred by the Participating States in relation to the administrative budget of PRIMA-IS, less any direct or indirect Union financial contribution to those costs.

For the purpose of valuing the in-kind contributions referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 2, the costs shall be determined in accordance with the usual accounting practices of the Participating States or the national funding bodies concerned, the applicable accounting standards of the Participating State where the national funding bodies concerned are established and the applicable International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards. The costs shall be certified by an independent auditor appointed by the Participating States or the national funding bodies concerned. Should there be any uncertainty arising from the certification, the valuation method may be verified by PRIMA-IS. In the event of remaining uncertainties, the valuation method may be audited by PRIMA-IS.

The Participating States’ contributions referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be made after the adoption of the annual work programme. Where the annual work programme is adopted during the reference year referred to in Article 6(2), the contributions referred to in paragraph 2, point (c), of this Article that count as contributions from Participating States included in the annual work programme may include contributions made from 1 January of that year. However, the contributions referred to in paragraph 2, point (c), of this Article that count as contributions from Participating States included in the first annual work programme may include contributions made after 7 August 2017.