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 indicated in the call.

The applications must be readable and accessible.

Applications must be complete containing all required 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 European Education and Culture 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)
• Application Form 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 pages for all other calls. The following actions make exception to this rule:  40 pages for “Capacity Building in Higher Education” (CBHE), 40 pages for “Capacity Building in Vocational Education and Training” (CBVET), 40 pages for Virtual Exchanges in Higher Education and Youth (VIRT-EXCH) 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

Eligibilty 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.

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. Note that eligibility conditions must be fulfilled not only at grant signature, but also throughout project duration. If it appears at implementation or final report stage that these criteria have not been fulfilled or were no longer complied with, the activities carried out may be considered ineligible, and the EU grant initially awarded to the project may have to be returned to the granting authority.

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

Reasons for rejection

An application can be rejected on different grounds, as detailed in this guide or a specific call document, if applicable. In general, the authorising officer responsible shall reject from an award procedure an applicant who:

• is in an exclusion situation (see the Exclusion section below)
• has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure or has failed to supply that information ¹
• 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 ²

Furthermore, an application can be rejected on other grounds, including, but not limited to:

• non-admissibility (submission after the deadline, invalid OID, incomplete application form, lack of necessary documentation…)
• non-compliance with the eligibility criteria of the action
• application of sanctions or restrictive measures
• insufficient financial capacity
• insufficient operational capacity
• failure to meet the award criteria
• non-compliance of the proposed action with the principles of non-retroactivity or prohibition of double funding ³

EU restrictive measures

Special restrictions and sanctions may apply for certain entities (e.g. entities subject to EU restrictive measures adopted under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)). Entities named on a sanctions list and/or subject to restrictive measures as listed on www.sanctionsmap.eu ⁴ 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). Other entities which fall under the Regulation No 833/2014 ⁵ may only participate if permitted by the call conditions and provided they are granted an exception under Article 5l, paragraph 2, point e) by the granting authority with the objective of supporting mobility exchanges for individuals and people-to-people contacts.

Conflict of interest at the level of financial actors

A conflict of interests exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a financial actor or other person, as referred to below, is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or indirect personal interest. Financial actors within the meaning of the EU Financial Regulation and other persons, including national authorities at any level, involved in budget implementation under direct, indirect and shared management, including acts preparatory thereto, audit or control, shall not take any action which may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the Union. They shall also take appropriate measures to prevent a conflict of interests from arising in the functions under their responsibility and to address situations which may objectively be perceived as a conflict of interests.

The Commission considers that the following entities are or could be in a situation of conflict of interest and therefore are or could be ineligible to participate in the implementation of programme actions:

• 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 or, where the National Agency does not have a distinct legal personality, legal entities of which the National Agency is part ⁶ , 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 which are hosted by the legal entity that also hosts the National Agency, cannot apply or participate in any Action managed by National Agencies in any country, but may apply (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 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 confirming they are not in an actual conflict of interest is taken by the Executive Agency or by DG EAC.
• 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. However, they 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). In this case they have to demonstrate 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, the 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 to which they apply, under its own responsibility and accountability.

Exclusion criteria

The early detection and exclusion system (EDES)

The early detection and exclusion system (EDES) established by the Commission to reinforce the protection of the Union's financial interests and to ensure sound financial management applies to all who would like to participate in any of the actions in this guide. The system is designed to ensure the integrity and proper use of EU funds by individuals or organisations participating in the programme. Detailed rules set out for EDES in the Financial Regulation apply.

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 with the National Agencies, in the case of persons or entities receiving Union funds where the budget is implemented pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c).

For actions managed by National Agencies, it is for the National Agency to consider whether an exclusion situation as described in Article 138 of the EU Financial Regulation exists. When the National Agency ascertains that an exclusion situation exists, either based on EDES registration or in accordance with its national law where the exclusion situation is based on a final judgment or final administrative decision, it shall reject the applicant from the award procedure. The applicant should be given the opportunity to submit observations in response to such a decision rejecting it from an award procedure and be informed of the available means of administrative and judicial redress for challenging it. Such information may also be used by the Commission to initiate a registration of the entity in the Early Detection and Exclusion System in accordance with the EU Financial Regulation.

The National Agencies will also notify the Commission of cases of established fraud and irregularities and their follow-up as well as any information relating to suspected cases of fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union without delay.

Exclusion situations and decisions on exclusions

Applicants who are subject to an EU exclusion decision or are in one of the following exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding cannot participate in programme actions ⁷

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 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
   2. corruption
   3. conduct related to a criminal organisation
   4. money laundering or terrorist financing
   5. terrorist offences or offences related to terrorist activitiesor inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences
   6. child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings
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 ⁹ an investigation, check or audit carried out by an authorising officer or its representative or auditor, OLAF, the EPPO, or the Court of Auditors.

Furthermore, the authorising officer responsible shall exclude a person or entity if ¹⁰ :

• 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), 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 Article 138, paragraph 1, points (c) to (i)
• 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 Article 138, paragraph 1, point (a) or (b)
• 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 Article 138, paragraph 1, points (c) to (i).

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, 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 and shall take a final decision no later than 14 days after having received the recommendation of the panel.

The National or Executive Agency may publish the following information related to the exclusion and, where applicable, the financial penalty in the cases referred to in points (c) to (i) of Article 138 paragraph 1 above:

• the name of the person or entity concerned
• the exclusion situation
• the duration of the exclusion and/or the amount of the financial penalty

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

General provisions

Exclusion criteria apply to all participating organisations under all actions of the Erasmus+ Programme.

All applicants are required to declare whether they are currently in one or more exclusion situations and whether they have already taken remedial measures to rectify such situation ¹¹ . For this purpose, they need to submit together with the grant application a Declaration on Honour on the absence of an exclusion situation, as well as on compliance with the eligibility and selection criteria ¹² . In addition to the declaration provided by the lead applicant (coordinator), the co-beneficiaries (if any) also need to submit the required declaration. For actions managed by the National Agencies, the declaration on honour of co-beneficiaries is incorporated in the Accession form.

Whenever requested by the authorising officer responsible and where this is necessary to ensure the proper conduct of the procedure, the applicant shall provide evidence of absence of an exclusion situation. The authorising officer may accept as appropriate evidence, depending on the exclusion situation in question ¹³ , a recent extract from the judicial record or an equivalent document recently issued by a judicial or administrative authority in its country of establishment, a recent certificate issued by the competent authority of the country of establishment, a sworn statement made before a judicial authority or notary, or a solemn statement made before an administrative authority or a qualified professional body in the country of the applicant’s establishment.
 

Selection criteria

Through selection criteria, the National or Executive Agency assesses the applicant's financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed project. The financial and operational capacity will be verified based on an analysis of the information in the grant application, the Declaration on Honour annexed with the application, and supporting documents, if required ¹⁴ .

Financial capacity

Financial capacity means that the applicants have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain activities throughout the period for which the grant is awarded and to participate in their funding. The grant application, therefore, needs to contain the information necessary to demonstrate the applicant’s’ financial capacity to carry out the proposed action or work programme.

Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient capacity to implement all projects. If needed, the verification of financial capacity may also be done for affiliated entities.  
Financial capacity verification will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in previous years. Entities which are subject to findings related to serious irregularities or fraud are automatically considered as having insufficient financial capacity and shall be rejected.

Financial capacity will not be verified if a proposal is rejected on any other ground or did not pass any other mandatory criteria.

Exempt entities

Verification of financial capacity shall not apply to the following entities ¹⁵ :

• natural persons in receipt of education support
• natural persons most in need, such as unemployed persons and refugees, and in receipt of direct support
• public bodies, including Member States organisations
• 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
• persons or entities applying for very low value grants (up to EUR 15 000) ¹⁶

Furthermore, 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 years, shall be considered as having the necessary financial, professional and administrative capacity to carry out activities under the Programme and they shall not be required to present further documentation to demonstrate that capacity ¹⁷ .

Required documents

All applicants must provide a declaration on honour certifying, among other things, that they have the financial capacity to implement the project. This declaration on honour constitutes a specific section of the application form.  

In case of EU grant requests exceeding EUR 60 000 and submitted by entities which are not exempt from undergoing the verification of their financial capacity as outlined above, in addition to the declaration on honour, the applicants must submit, but only upon request, the following documents ¹⁸ 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 and official verifications, if requested ¹⁹

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 a grant for an action for which the amount exceeds EUR 750 000, 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. If an audit report is not available and not required, 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 ²⁰ .

For entities which cannot provide the above documents because they are newly created, an 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 on 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 function of the respective system.

Where an application is submitted by multiple applicants (consortium), the National Agency or the Executive Agency may, following a risk assessment, decide to check the financial capacity of only the lead applicant (coordinator). In case of doubts about the financial capacity, the National Agency or Executive Agency may request the same documents as above from any of the other participating organisations for the purposes of verification.

The financial assessment is normally valid in principle valid for 18 months after the closure date of the most recent assessed accounting period. If during this period the participant applies for another grant during this period, the financial documents will not be requested again. However, if there are justified grounds to doubt the financial capacity or, for the actions managed by the Executive Agency, if the Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment  change in the meantime, a new assessment may be triggered even before the end of the 18 months.

Regardless of the grant amount, the National or Executive Agency can always request the applicant to provide missing information or clarify supporting documents.)

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

• require an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility for all co-beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities
• ask the consortium to replace the coordinator/beneficiary
• decide to give pre-financing paid in instalments
• lower the prefinancing
• decide to require a bank/financial institution guarantee for (one or more) pre-financing payments 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 applicants have the necessary professional competencies and qualifications (quantity and quality) 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)
• profiles (qualifications and experience) of the staff responsible for managing and implementing the project
• description of the consortium composition (if applicable)

This information may also be relevant for and assessed in parallel under the ‘Quality’ award criterion of certain actions which will be assessed in the context of the specific project application. Therefore, if relevant under the call provisions, the applicants should also include information about previous projects and activities and publications, if any, in the application form.

Operational capacity will not be verified if a proposal is rejected on any other ground or did not pass any other mandatory criteria.

Supporting documents

All applicants must provide a declaration on honour certifying, among other things, that they have the operational capacity to implement the project. 

For indirectly managed actions, applicants  for grants over EUR 60 000 (except for accredited applicants in Key Action 1 actions) are recommended to submit, if available and relevant to the policy field and the specific action, together with the application to the National Agency:

• a list of publications of the participating organisations, if any
• an exhaustive list of previous and ongoing projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field or to the specific action over the past four years

For both publications and projects, it is up to the applicants to determine and present the relevant list in support of their application.

If the grant exceeds EUR 60 000, additional supporting documents can also be requested from the applicant and the partners, if needed to confirm their operational capacity.

In case of doubt ²¹ , 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, (such as CVs of the key persons involved in the project to demonstrate their relevant professional experience).

Entities for which the obligation to verify their operational capacity has been waived, either in accordance with the Erasmus+ Regulation ²² or by the authorising officer responsible under Article 201(5) FR, will be considered to have a good operational capacity when the selection criteria for the consortium are being analysed.

In the case of a consortium organised around a coordinator, that entity will be required to provide evidence of the administrative and managerial skills in the relevant programme field as these will be necessary for the coordination, monitoring and reporting of the action. If the entity designated as coordinator for the proposal fails to show that it possesses these skills, the proposal may be rejected.

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.

Regardless of the grant amount, the National Agency can always request the applicant to provide missing information or clarify supporting documents.

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

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

Award criteria will not be assessed if a proposal is rejected on any other ground or did not pass any other mandatory criteria. Proposals which are not rejected on other grounds and that passed the individual thresholds, and the overall quality threshold will be considered for funding, within the limits of the available call budget. The rest of the eligible 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. For example, if an applicant claims to have a certain level of financial health or backing that is not true, such as inflating revenue figures or misrepresenting the availability of funds or falsely claims experience or expertise in a relevant field or sector to meet the eligibility criteria. ↩ back
2. For example, if an applicant previously participated in drafting the call for proposals, or if the applicant employs/has other link with a person who acted as an expert evaluating its grant application and who did not declare a conflict of interest. ↩ back
3. See the section on Principles applying to EU grants below as well as Art 191 of the Financial Regulation. ↩ back
4. 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: https://www.sanctionsmap.eu ↩ back
5. See Article 5l of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20250720):

   (1) It shall be prohibited to provide direct or indirect support, including financing and financial assistance or any other benefit under a Union, Euratom or Member State national programme and contracts within the meaning of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council, to: 

   (a) a legal person, entity or body established in Russia; (b) a legal person, entity or body whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50 % by an entity referred to in point (a) of this paragraph.

   (2) The prohibition in paragraph 1 shall not apply to: e) mobility exchanges for individuals and people-to-people contacts. ↩ back

6. See Article 27 (1) a) of Erasmus+ Regulation ↩ back
7. See Articles 138 and 143 of EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 ↩ 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. ‘Resisting an investigation, check or audit’ means carrying 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 as 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. ↩ back
10. Article 138(5) of the EU Financial Regulation ↩ back
11. This also applies to the persons with powers of representation or control with regard to the applicants, their beneficial owners and where appropriate, subcontractors. ↩ back
12. In line with Article 199(1)(b) of the EU Financial Regulation, and in accordance with Article 139(1) of the EU Financial Regulation (Declaration and evidence of absence of an exclusion situation). ↩ back
13. See Article 139 (2) and (3) of the EU Financial Regulation. ↩ back
14. Art 201(4) of the EU Financial Regulation ↩ back
15. Art 201 (5) of the EU Financial Regulation ↩ back
16. For applicants for grants of up to EUR 15 000, the applicant is exempt from financial capacity verification and therefore omitting to self-declare sufficient financial capacity is not in itself a ground for rejection. Nevertheless, all applicants, regardless of the value of the grant applied for, have to submit the Declaration on Honour as it covers many other important criteria. For all applications for grants from EUR 15 001 to EUR 60 000, the financial capacity is verified on the basis of the self-declaration provided in the Declaration on Honour and no other supporting documents are needed for this purpose. Under Art 277 (8) of the EU Financial Regulation, as of the next Multiannual Financial Framework, no Declaration on Honour will be required for applications for up to EUR 15 000. ↩ back
17. See Art 21(3) Erasmus+ Regulation (EU) 2021/817 and recital 35, Article 2(44) and Article 201(5) c) of the EU Financial Regulation. European grants shall not count towards the public funds for the purposes of the financial capacity verification exemption, as the adequate financial guarantee of Member State organisation has to be provided by the Member State. ↩ back
18. For up to the last three financial years. ↩ back
19. The granting authority may require other documents as well, for example, a tax declaration or proof of submission of the financial statements to the relevant tax office. ↩ back
20. Article 199 (1) d) of the EU Financial Regulation ↩ back
21. This applies for any grant amount, provided the applicant is not exempted. ↩ back
22. 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 two years, shall be considered as having the necessary financial, professional and administrative capacity to carry out activities under the Programme. They shall not be required to present further documentation to demonstrate that capacity (Article 21(3) of Erasmus+ Regulation). European Union project grants shall not count towards the revenue for the purposes of justifying this exemption. ↩ back