Every year, we are asked a lot of questions to which the answers can be found in the Annex. So we thought it deserves more attention.

The Annex explains, for instance, which costs are eligible and which are not. It also addresses questions like these:

• Are gifts and incentives eligible costs?
• Is it allowed for the grant to produce profit?
• Is it OK to give contracts to non-permanent staff or external people who are working with the staff (freelance contracts for ‘in‑house consultants’)? What are the rules on subcontracting and implementation contracts? What are the differences between these three types of contract, their specific cost categories and the conditions in each case?
• What travel costs does the Commission accept and what do we mean by ‘subsistence costs’?
• What can be included as ‘other direct costs’?

All these issues are of key importance when you are preparing the budget for your project proposal and also (if your project has been funded) during the implementation phase and for the final financial report.

For all these reasons, we strongly encourage you to read the Annex. We would be also happy to receive your feedback on its content.