Guidance on European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020

• Guidelines on the closure of operational programmes adopted for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (2014-2020) 2021/C 417/01

• Draft template and guidelines on the content of the Partnership Agreement
• Draft Guidelines for the Content of the Operational Programme
• Draft Guidelines for the Content of the Cooperation Programme
• Arrangements on Territorial Development
• Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI)
• Programming of Technical Assistance at the Initiative of the Member States

• Guidance for Member States on Definition and use of repayable assistance in comparison to financial instruments and grants - Questions and answers
• Guidance for Member States on Integrated Sustainable Urban Development (Article 7 ERDF Regulation) - (20/04/2016)
  (Translation update undergoing)
• Guidance on Joint Action Plans
• Guidance on the calculation of total eligible costs to apply for major projects in 2014-2020 (updated) - Questions and answers (based on the original version of the note)
• Guidance for practitioners on the avoidance of the most common errors in public procurement of projects funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds
• Questions & Answers on Annual Implementation Reports (last updated on 7 May 2019)
• Guidance Note on Nomenclature of Categories of Intervention and the Methodology for Tracking of Climate Change Related Expenditure under Cohesion Policy
• Decommitment methodology (n+3) and process in 2014 - 2020
  • Q&A
  • Simulation
• Guidance for Member States on Performance framework, review and reserve
• Guidance Document on Monitoring and Evaluation - European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund
• COMMISSION DECISION of 14.5.2019 laying down the guidelines for determining financial corrections to be made to expenditure financed by the Union for non-compliance with the applicable rules on public procurement
  • Annex

• NON PAPER: List of programme specific indicators related to the cohesion policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Video recordings of the Technical Webinar on specific indicators related to the cohesion policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Non paper on COVID-19 specific indicators - Questions and Answers (Update 18/08/2020)

• Guidance on Ex Ante Conditionalities for the European Structural and Investment Funds:
  • Part I
  • Part II

• Questions & Answers on Ex-ante Conditionalities:
  • Research and Innovation (thematic EAC 1.1 & 1.2)
  • Information and Communication Technologies (thematic EAC 2.1 & 2.2)
  • Small and Medium Enterprises (thematic EAC 3)
  • Energy (thematic EAC 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 & 7.4)
  • Sustainable Development (thematic EAC 5,6.1 & 6.2 and general EAC 6)
  • Transport (thematic EAC 7.1, 7.2 & 7.3)
  • Thematic ex-ante conditionalities 8 to 11 and general ex-ante conditionalities 1 to 3
  • Public Procurement and State Aid (general EAC 4 & 5)
  • Statistical Systems and Result Indicators (general EAC 7)

The English version of these guidance documents was modified following the adoption of the “Omnibus” - (EU) 2018/1046 of 18 July 2018.

• Guidance on Community-led Local development in European Structural and Investment Funds
• Guidance on Community-Led Local development for Local Actors
  

• Guidance on Simplified Cost Options (SCOs): Flat rate financing, Standard scales of unit costs, Lump sums

• Annotated template for reporting on FIs according to Article 46 CPR (updated 20.04.2021)
• Guidance on State aid in European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds Financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period
• Guidance for Member States on Article 42(1)(d) CPR – Eligible management costs and fees - Questions and answers
• Ex-ante assessment - Questions and answers
• Support to enterprises/working capital - Questions and answers
• Guidance on Financial Instruments - Glossary - Questions and answers
• Financial Instruments in ESIF Programmes 2014-2020
• Ex-ante assessment methodology for financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period
  • General methodology covering all thematic objectives - Quick reference guide
  • General methodology covering all thematic objectives - Volume I
  • Strengthening research, technological development and innovation (Thematic objective 1) - Volume II
  • Enhancing the competitiveness of SME, including agriculture, microcredit and fisheries (Thematic objective 3) - Volume III
  • Supporting the shift towards low-carbon economy (Thematic objective 4) - Volume IV
  • Financial instruments for urban and territorial development - Volume V
  • Ex-ante assessment methodologies for FIs – Training for Managing authorities – June 2014
• Guidance for Member States on Article 41 CPR - Requests for payment - Questions and answers
• Guidance for Member States on Combination of support from a financial instrument with other forms of support - Questions and answers
• Guidance for Member States on Interest and Other Gains Generated by ESI Funds support paid to FI (Article 43 CPR) - Questions and answers
• Guidance for Member States on the selection of bodies implementing financial instruments - Questions and answers
• Guidance for Member States on Article 38(4) CPR - Implementation options for financial instruments by or under the responsibility of the managing authority
• Financial Instruments – Overview of changes in Title IV of the CPR following the Omnibus Regulation
• Guidance for Member States on reporting on financial instruments (Article 46) and on leverage effect (Article 37(2)(c))
• Audit methodology for auditing financial instruments in the period 2014-2020
  • Annex 1 - FI EC Audit checklist 2014-2020
  • Annex 2 - FI sampling methodology
  • Annex 3 - Eligibility of working capital
  • Annex 4 - Management and control responsibilities

• Common methodology for the assessment of management and control systems in the Member States
• Guidance for Member States on Designation Procedure - Corrigendum - Annex: Questions and answers
• Fraud Risk Assessment and Effective and Proportionate Anti-Fraud Measures
  • Annex 1: Assessment of exposure to specific fraud risks - selection of applicants by Managing Authorities - How to use the tool
  • Annex 2: Recommended mitigating controls
  • Annex 3: Anti-Fraud Policy template
  • Annex 4: Verification of the Managing Authority’s compliance with article 125.4 c) regarding Fraud risk assessment and effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures for 2014-2020
• Guidance for Member States on Audit Strategy
• Guidance for Member States on Management verifications
• Guidance for Member States on the Annual Control Report and Audit Opinion to be reported by audit authorities and on the treatment of errors detected by audit authorities in view of establishing and reporting reliable total residual error rates
  • Annex 4 - Examples of RTER Calculation
  • Annex 5 - Typology of Project Findings
• Guidance for Member States on the Drawing of Management Declaration and Annual Summary
  
• Guidance for Member States on withdrawals and recoveries
  
• Guidance for Member States on audit of accounts
  
• Guidance for Member States on Preparation, Examination and Acceptance of Accounts
  
• Guidance on sampling methods for audit authorities - Programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020
• Questions and answers regarding e-Cohesion

• Research and Innovation
• Application of State Aid Rules to national and regional funding schemes that offer alternative support to SME Instrument project proposals with a Horizon 2020 'Seal of Excellence'

• Digital Growth
• High-speed Broadband Roll-out

• Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME)

• Sustainable Multimodal Urban Mobility
• Energy Efficiency Investments
• Renewable Energy and Smart Grids Investments

• Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Prevention and Management

• Biodiversity, Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services and Natura 2000
• Water Management
• Waste Management

• Transport

• Employment and Labour Mobility

• Social Inclusion
• Social Economy and Social Enterprises
• Transition from Institutional to Community-based care (De-Institutionalisation - DI)
• Health
• Roma and Marginalised Communities
• Tackling educational and spatial segregation - Questions and answers

• Early Childhood Education and Care
• Early School Leaving (ESL)
• VET and Adult Learning
• Higher education

• Institutional Capacity Building
• Specific Investment Priorities for ETC (Thematic Objective 11)

• Tourism
• Support to Culture and Sport related Investments
• Synergies between ESIF, Horizon 2020 + other EU smart growth programmes
• Guidance on ensuring the respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union when implementing the European Structural and Investment Funds (‘ESI Funds’)