When developing their project and before applying for EU funding, participants must verify that they and their project respect the following criteria: admissibility, eligibility, exclusion, selection and award.

Admissibility criteria

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications as indicated in the call.

The applications must be readable and accessible.

Applications must be complete containing all parts and mandatory annexes. Only clerical errors can be corrected after the submission deadline upon request of the managing agency for duly justified cases.

For actions managed by the Executive Agency, applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided in the Submission System.

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

• Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
• Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
• Part C (to be filled in directly online, if any) containing additional project data

Applications (Part B) are limited to 40 pages for calls for low value grants (EUR 60 000 or below); 120 pages for calls with high value grants (EUR 4 000 000) and 70 for all other calls. The following actions make exception to this rule:  40 pages for “Capacity Building in Higher Education” (CBHE) and 70 pages for the action Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters. Evaluators will not consider any additional pages.

For actions managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, applications must be submitted electronically via the forms available in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps website.

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria are used to determine whether the applicant is allowed to participate in a call for proposals and to submit a proposal for an action. They apply to the applicants and to the projects/activities for which the grant is requested: (e.g. profile, number of participating organisations involved, type of project or/and activities, duration of the activities, profile and/or the number of participants involved).

To be eligible, the applicant and the project must meet all the eligibility criteria relating to the Action under which the proposal is submitted. If the project does not meet the eligibility criteria at application stage, it will be rejected without being further evaluated. If it appears at implementation or final report stage that these criteria have not been fulfilled, the activities may be considered ineligible with a consequent recovery of the EU grant initially awarded to the project.  

The eligibility criteria applying to each of the Actions implemented through the Erasmus+ Programme Guide are described in Part B of the Guide.

Exclusion criteria

In accordance with Article 137(2) of the Financial Regulation, in direct and indirect management, the early detection and exclusion system shall apply to:

• participants and recipients
• entities on whose capacity the candidate or tenderer intends to rely on or subcontractors of a contractor
• any person or entity receiving Union funds where the budget is implemented pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c), and to Article 157(4) on the basis of information notified in accordance with Article 158(7)
• guarantors
• sponsors as referred to in Article 26
• beneficial owners and any affiliate of the excluded entity as referred to in Article 138(6)
• natural persons as referred to in Article 138(5), first subparagraph, points (a) to (c)

This is without prejudice to Article 157(7) and the rules laid down in contribution agreements, in the case of persons or entities receiving Union funds where the budget is implemented pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c).

In accordance with Article 138 of the Financial Regulation, the authorising officer responsible shall exclude a person or entity referred to above from participating in award procedures under the Erasmus+ Programme or from implementing Union funds where that person or entity it is in one of the following exclusion situations: 

1. the person or entity is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with creditors, its business activities are suspended, or it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under Union or national law
2. it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision that the applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law
3. a final judgement or a final administrative decision has established that the person or entity is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:
   1. fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of the legal committment
   2. entering into agreement with other persons or entities with the aim of distorting competition
   3. violating intellectual property rights
   4. unduly influencing or attempting to unduly influence the decision-making process to obtain Union funds by taking advantage, through misrepresentation, of a conflict of interest involving any financial actors or other persons, referred to in Article 61(1) of the Financial Regulation
   5. attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure
   6. incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of persons or a member of a group or similar activities that are contrary to the values on which the Union is founded enshrined in Article 2 TEU, where such misconduct has an impact on the person or entity’s integrity which negatively affects or concretely risks affecting the performance of the legal commitment 
4. it has been established by a final judgement that the applicant is guilty of any of the following:
   1. fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹   and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995 ²
   2. corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or active corruption within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997 ³ , or conduct referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA ⁴ , or corruption as defined in other applicable laws
   3. conduct related to a criminal organisation as referred to in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA ⁵
   4. money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁶
   5. terrorist offences or offences related to terrorist activities as defined in Articles 3 to 12 of Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁶ , or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 14 of that Directive
   6. child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁷
5. the person or entitly has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the implementation of a legal committment financed by the budget which has:
   1. led to the early termination of the legal committment
   2. led to the application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or
   3. been discovered by an authorising officer, OLAFF, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), or the Court of Auditors following checks, audits or investigations
6. it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the person or entity has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 ⁸
7. it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the person or entity has created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal obligations in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business
8. it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that an entity has been created with the intent referred to in point (g)
9. the entity or person has intentionally and without proper justification resisted an investigation, check or audit carried out by an authorising officer or its representative or auditor, OLAF, the EPPO, or the Court of Auditors. It shall be considered that the person or entity resists an investigation, check or audit when it carries out actions with the goal or effect of preventing, hindering or delaying the conduct of any of the activities needed to perform the investigation, check or audit. Such actions shall include, in particular, refusing to grant the necessary access to its premises or any other areas used for business purposes, concealing or refusing to disclose information or providing false information.

In the absence of a final judgement or, where applicable, a final administrative decision in the cases referred to in points (c) to (i) above, the authorising officer responsible shall exclude a person or entity on the basis of a preliminary classification in law of a conduct as referred in those points, having regard to established facts or other findings contained in a recommendation of the panel referred to in Article 145 FR.

The facts and findings referred above shall include in particular:

1. facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by EPPO, in respect of those Member States participating in enhanced cooperation pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, the Court of Auditors, OLAF or the internal auditor, or any other check, audit or control performed under the responsibility of the authorising officer
2. non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of the application of standards of professional ethics
3. facts referred to in decisions of persons and entities implementing Union funds pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1)
4. decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of Union competition law or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or national competition law

The authorising officer responsible shall exclude a person or entity referred to in Article 137(2) FR where:

1. a natural or legal person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the person or entity referred to in Article 137(2) FR (see also above), or who has powers of representation, decision or control with regard to that person or entity, is in one or more of the situations referred to in points (c) to (i) above
2. a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability for the debts of the applicant referred to in Article 137(2) is in one or more of the situations referred to in point (a) or (b) above
3. a natural person who is essential for the award or for the implementation of the legal commitment is in one or more of the situations referred to in points (c) to (i) above

In the cases referred to in Article 138(3), the authorising officer responsible may exclude a person or entity provisionally without the recommendation of the panel referred to in Article 145 FR, where their participation in an award procedure or their selection for implementing Union funds would constitute a serious and imminent threat to the financial interest of the Union. In such cases, the authorising officer responsible shall immediately refer the case to the panel referred to in Article 145 FR and shall take a final decision no later than 14 days after having received the recommendation of the panel.  

The authorising officer responsible, having regard, where applicable, to the recommendation of the panel referred to in Article 145, shall not exclude a person or entity referred to in Article 137(2) from participating in an award procedure or from being selected for implementing Union funds where:

1. the person or entity has taken remedial measures, as specified in Article 138(10) FR to an extent that is sufficient to demonstrate its reliability. This point shall not apply in the case referred to in Article 138(1) point (d)
2. it is indispensable to ensure the continuity of service, for a limited duration and pending the adoption of remedial measures mentioned in Article 138(7) FR
3. such an exclusion would be disproportionate based on the criteria referred to in Article 138(3) FR

If the action is implemented by an applicant who has affiliated entities, they need to comply as well with the same exclusion criteria as the lead applicant.

The authorising officer responsible shall reject from an award procedure an applicant who 

1. is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with Article 138
2. has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure or has failed to supply that information
3. was previously involved in the preparation of documents used in the award procedure where this entails a breach of the principle of equality of treatment, including distortion of competition, that cannot be remedied otherwise

The National or Executive Agency may publish on their website the following information related to the exclusion and, where applicable, the financial penalty in the cases referred to in points (c) to (i) of paragraph 1 above:

1. the name of the person or entity concerned
2. the exclusion situation
3. the duration of the exclusion and/or the amount of the financial penalty

These exclusion criteria apply to applicants under all Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme. In line with Article 199(1)(b) FR, the grant application shall contain a declaration on the applicant’s honour in accordance with Article 139(1) FR (Declaration and evidence of absence of an exclusion situation) and on compliance with the eligibility (see above) and selection criteria (see below).In case of proposals submitted on behalf of a consortium, the exclusion criteria described above apply to all participating members involved in the project.  

In accordance with Articles 137(4) and 140 FR, financial penalties may be imposed on a recipient of EU funds with whom a legal commitment has been entered into and who is in an exclusion situation as referred to in Article 138(1), points (c) to (i).

Furthermore, the Commission considers that for the implementation of Actions covered by the Programme Guide, the following entities are or could be in a situation of conflict of interest and therefore are or could be ineligible to participate:

• National Authorities in charge of supervising National Agencies and the implementation of the Erasmus+ Programme in their country cannot apply or participate in any Action managed by National Agencies in any country, but may apply for participation (as applicants or partners) in Actions managed by the Executive Agency or by DG EAC unless that is explicitly excluded for the Action concerned (as indicated in Part B of the Guide);
• National Agencies (sole activity of their legal entity) or National Agencies departments of legal entities dealing with activities outside the remit of National Agencies cannot apply or participate in any Action implemented through this Guide;
• Structures and networks identified or designated in the Erasmus+ Programme or in any Annual Commission Work programme adopted for the implementation of the Erasmus+ Programme for specifically receiving a financial contribution from the Commission under the implementation of the Erasmus Programme+, which are hosted by the legal entity that also hosts the National Agency, cannot apply or participate in any Action managed by Erasmus+ National Agencies in any country, but may apply for participation (as applicants or partners) in Actions managed by the Executive Agency or by DG EAC unless that is explicitly excluded for the Action concerned (as indicated in Part B of the Guide); they should be able to demonstrate, before being awarded a grant or a contract, that they are not in a conflict of interest either because precautionary measures are taken by them or because their internal organisation is such that there is a clear separation of interests. Furthermore, costs and revenues of each action or activity for which the EU funds are awarded must be identified. The decision for admitting there is sufficient assurance they are not in an actual conflict of interest is taken by the Executive Agency or by DG EAC, under their own responsibility and accountability, to which they apply;
• Legal entities hosting the Erasmus+ National Agencies but dealing with other activities inside or outside the remit of the Erasmus+ Programme, as well as entities affiliated to these legal entities, cannot apply or participate in any Action managed by National Agencies in any country, but may in principle apply for participation in Actions managed by the Executive Agency or DG EAC unless that is explicitly excluded for the Action concerned (as indicated in Part B of the Guide). However, they have to demonstrate, before being awarded a grant or a contract, that they are not in a conflict of interest either because precautionary measures are taken by them or because their internal organisation is such that there is a clear separation of interests (e.g. a minimum separation of accounts, separation of reporting and decision making lines, measures to prevent access to privileged information). Furthermore, costs and revenues of each action or activity for which the EU funds are awarded must be identified. The decision for admitting there is sufficient assurance they are not in an actual conflict of interest is taken by the Institution, under their own responsibility and accountability, to which they apply.

EU restrictive measures

Special rules apply for certain entities (e.g. entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) ⁹ ). Such entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).  

Selection criteria

Through the selection criteria, the National or Executive Agency assesses the applicant's financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed project based on information requested in the application form. Regardless of the requested grant amount, the relevant agency may request that the applicant submit additional documents and information in line with the provisions below.

Financial capacity

Financial capacity means that the applicant has stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain its activity throughout the period for which the grant is awarded and to participate in its funding.

The verification of the financial capacity will normally be done for all coordinators (including sole project beneficiaries), except:

• natural persons in receipt of education support
• public bodies, including Member States organisations ¹⁰
• international organisations
• persons or entities applying for interest rate rebates and guarantee fee subsidies where the objective of those rebates and subsidies is to reinforce the financial capacity of a beneficiary or to generate an income
• public legal entities, and institutions and organisations in the fields of education and training, youth and sport that have received over 50% of their annual revenue from public sources over the last last two years¹¹
• if the project requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000

If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities.

In case of EU grant requests not exceeding EUR 60 000 and submitted by other types of entities than those mentioned above, applicants must provide a declaration on honour certifying that they have the financial capacity to implement the project. This declaration on honour constitutes a specific section of the application form. The relevant agency may request that the applicant submit additional documents and information.  

In case of EU grant requests exceeding EUR 60 000 and submitted by other types of entities than those mentioned above, the applicant must submit, in addition to the declaration on honour, the following documents through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Participant Register – “Financial capacity” tab) / Organisation Registration System:

• the coordinator’s profit and loss account
• the balance sheet and
• other documents, if requested

For the actions managed by the Executive Agency, for more information, see “Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment”.

Where the application concerns action grants for a project for which the amount exceeds 750 000 EUR, in addition to the above, an audit report produced by an approved external auditor may be requested where available, and always in cases where a statutory audit is required by Union or national law, certifying the accounts for up to the last three available financial years. In all other cases, the applicant shall provide a self-declaration signed by its authorised representative certifying the validity of its accounts for up to the last three available financial years.

For entities which cannot provide the above documents because they are newly created, a estimated financial data/financial declaration or an insurance declaration stating the applicant's financial risks may replace the above documents.

The coordinator must upload these documents in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Participant Register – “Financial capacity” tab) / Organisation Registration System only when contacted by the EU central validation services via Participant Register or by the relevant National Agency requesting the applicant to provide the necessary supporting documents. In case of actions managed directly by the Executive Agency, this request will be sent via the messaging system embedded in the respective system.

In case of proposals submitted on behalf of a consortium of partners, should the National Agency or the Executive Agency have doubts on the financial capacity of the consortium, it should carry out a risk-assessment based on which the same documents as indicated above may be requested from all the participating organisations in the consortium. This is applicable regardless the granted amount.

If, following the analysis of these documents, the National or Executive Agency conclude that the required financial capacity is weak, they may:

• request further information
• require an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility for all co-beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities
• decide to give pre-financing paid in instalments
• decide to give (one or more) pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee or
• decide not to give pre-financing

If the financial capacity is considered insufficient the corresponding proposal shall be rejected.

Operational capacity

Operational capacity means that the applicant has the necessary professional competencies and qualifications to carry out the proposed project, such as adequate resources in terms of skilled personnel, specific qualifications, professional experience and references in the field concerned, materials and equipment. The operational capacity assessment can also be extended to the partnership as a whole, as the quality of implementation will depend on the capacity of all partner organisations. The authorising officer responsible may, depending on a risk assessment, waive the obligation to verify the operational capacity of public bodies, Member State organisations or international organisations.

For applications submitted to National Agencies

Applicants will have to show their operational capacity via the information they provide in the application form, such as:

• general presentation of the organisation(s)
• general profile (qualifications and experience) of the staff responsible for managing and implementing the project
• description of the consortium composition (if applicable)

In addition, applicants must provide a declaration on honour certifying that they have the operational capacity to implement the project. In addition, if the grant exceeds 60 000 EUR, applicants must submit with the application:

• CVs of the key persons involved in the project to demonstrate their relevant professional experience
• a list of relevant publications of the participating organisations ¹²
• an exhaustive list of previous and ongoing projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field or to the specific action

In case of doubt ¹³ , the National Agency may also use other sources of information, such as findings of previous audits, feedback (including from other National Agencies) from the management of previous or current projects, reports of monitoring visits or information from the organisation’s website or social media profiles in order to assess the operational capacity and ability to obtain it. The National Agency may also ask for additional supporting documents and information to verify the information included in the application.

The National Agency may request and assess similar information on partner organisations.

In addition, applicants for accreditation in the fields of adult education, vocational education and training, school education and youth must have at least two years of experience implementing activities making them eligible as applicants for the accreditation. Experience preceding mergers or similar structural changes of public entities (e.g. schools or education centres) will be taken into account as relevant experience.

Mobility consortium coordinators must have the ability to coordinate the consortium according to the proposed Erasmus Plan, the purpose of the consortium, planned allocation of tasks, and Erasmus quality standards.

The above conditions will be verified based on the application (including information about the applicant’s past participation in the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 Erasmus+ programme) and the documents submitted in the Organisation Registration System. Applicants that do not complete the information requested in the application form or fail to provide additional information requested by the National Agency in a timely manner may be rejected.

If the operational capacity is considered insufficient, the application shall be rejected.

For applications submitted to the Executive Agency:

The operational capacity will be assessed in parallel to the ‘Quality’ award criterion, on the basis of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including operational resources (human, technical and other).

The applicants are considered to have sufficient operational capacity when the requirements referring to the operational capacity set in the present call for proposals are met.

Applicants will have to show their capacity via the following information in the Application Form (Part B):

• general profiles (qualifications and experiences) of the staff responsible for managing and implementing the project
• description of the consortium composition
• list of EU-funded projects for the last 4 years

The National Agency or the Executive Agency may ask for additional supporting documents to verify the information included in the application.

Award criteria

The award criteria allow the National or Executive Agency to evaluate the quality of the project proposals/accreditation submitted in light of the objectives and priorities set in the framework of the Key Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme and of the expected results:

• award grants/accreditations to projects which maximise the overall effectiveness of the Union funding
• evaluate the grant/accreditation applications

Proposals that pass the individual thresholds and the overall quality threshold will be considered for funding, within the limits of the available call budget. The rest of proposals will be either put on the reserve list or declared unsuccessful.

The award criteria applying to each of the Actions implemented through the Erasmus+ Programme Guide are described in Part B of the Guide.

Footnote

1. Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 29). ↩ back
2. OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 48. ↩ back
3. OJ C 195, 25.6.1997, p. 1. ↩ back
4. Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA of 22 July 2003 on combating corruption in the private sector (OJ L 192, 31.7.2003, p. 54). ↩ back
5. Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008 on the fight against organised crime (OJ L 300, 11.11.2008, p. 42). ↩ back
6. 6 a b Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73).
7. Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA (OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p. 1). ↩ back
8. Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1). ↩ back
9. Please note that the EU Official Journal contains the official list and, in case of conflict, its content prevails over that of the EU Sanctions Map ↩ back
10. Including schools, higher education institutions and organisations in the fields of education, training, youth and sport that have received over 50 % of their annual revenue from public sources over the last two years shall be considered as having the necessary financial, professional and administrative capacity to carry out activities under the Programme. ↩ back
11. Art 21(3) Erasmus Regulation (EU) 2021/817); national, European or other project grants shall not be considered public funds for the purposes of the financial capacity check ↩ back
12. This requirement is only applicable if the participating organisations have produced publications relevant to the policy field or to the specific action. ↩ back
13. This applies for any grant amount. ↩ back