CO-BENEFICIARIES

Yes (see FAQ 15).

All types of DG ECHO Partners, i.e., certified humanitarian non-governmental organisations (EU Humanitarian Partners, Niche Partners, potential Programmatic Partners), recognised Member States’ Specialised Agencies and pillar assessed international organisations (including UN agencies), participating in the Action.  When providing such information in Chapter 10.6 e-SF the Partner will have to select the co-beneficiary(ies) using a drop-down menu.  For more information see the Single Form Guidelines

Co-beneficiaries which are not the coordinator, must accede to the grant by signing the accession form (Annex 3 to the MGA) within 30 days from the entry into force of the Agreement. Only the coordinator signs the grant agreement. Instructions on how to sign and send the Accession Form(s) are given in the cover letter accompanying the grant agreement. In case of multiple co-beneficiaries, please consider that the Accession Forms need to be sent all at once and in the same format (either signed with qualified electronic signature by email or hand-signed by courier).

In case of addition of new beneficiary(ies) during the implementation of the Action, see FAQ 78.

The exchange rules of the MGA have to be applied (see article 21.3 MGA).

Partners have the possibility to provide information on their VAT status as well as co beneficiaries’ VAT status, in the dedicated section of the Single Form, namely 13.8.1 –
Details on VAT exemption. 

Partners are jointly responsible for the technical implementation of the action. If one of  them fails to implement its part, the other beneficiaries must ensure that this part is 
implemented by another beneficiary. Also, the consortium can request to the  Commission the termination of the participation of one or more beneficiaries in the  action. 

Yes, according to article 40.2 MGA, in justified cases the coordinator may request the addition of new beneficiary(ies). A modification request needs to be submitted to DG ECHO and the Accession Form (Annex III to the MGA published on ‘Reference Document Page’ of this website) signed by the new beneficiary needs to be sent to DG ECHO according to the modalities described in the document itself.

According to article 7 MGA, co-beneficiaries are jointly responsible for the technical implementation of the action. If one of the beneficiaries fails to implement their part of the action, the other beneficiaries must ensure that this part is implemented by someone else (without being entitled to an increase of the maximum grant amount and subject to an amendment; see Article 39). The financial responsibility of each beneficiary in case of recoveries is governed by Article 22.

The general liability regime for recoveries is as follows: At final payment, the coordinator will be fully liable for recoveries, even if it has not been the final recipient of the undue amounts. At beneficiary termination or after final payment, recoveries will be made directly against the beneficiaries concerned.

No, only the coordinator will receive the EU contribution and will distribute the payments received to the other beneficiaries without unjustified delay (see article 7 MGA).

No, DG ECHO does not ask for such an agreement (See Data Sheet – Consortium Agreement: NO), but the beneficiaries must have internal arrangements regarding their operation and coordination, to ensure that the action is properly implemented (See article 7 MGA). 

The coordinator receives the EU contribution and distributes the funds to the other  beneficiaries without unjustified delay (which does not mean immediately upon receipt 
from the Commission!). The coordinator is the interlocutor between the consortium and  the Commission, monitors the implementation of the action, submits reports, etc. (See article 7 b) MGA)

Yes. NGOs, as long as they are DG ECHO Certified Partners, can participate in a DG ECHO funded action as co-beneficiaries. The same for UN Agencies. Article 10 MGA – Participants with special status define the conditions of their participation.

A list of possible co-beneficiaries is already available in Chapter 10.6 of the e-SF. There the Partner will select the co-beneficiaries participating in the Action by using a drop-down menu.

All DG ECHO certified partners are on an equal footing, even though they will still have a coordinator. All non-certified NGO partners will be considered as implementing partners.

Not at the level of the grant agreement, as only DG ECHO certified partners can accede  to it. Local NGOs can be implementing partners.

Yes, the principle is that it will not be possible to use certified NGO partners as implementing partners: they will have to be associated to the lead certified NGO partners in the grant agreement as co-partners (co-beneficiaries). It has to be noted that International Organisations and Member State Specialised Agencies which are DG ECHO Partners can also be co-beneficiaries under the MGA (see FAQ 29).

Only the Coordinator and the co-beneficiaries are listed in the Data Sheet.

The change will not be automatic and will need to be assessed on case-by-case basis depending when the certification occurs during the lifetime of the project.

Yes. In case of addition of new beneficiary(ies) the Partner has to submit a modification request according to article 40.2 including an Accession Form (Annex III to the MGA) signed by the new beneficiary(ies) (See FAQ 78).

The beneficiary(ies) termination is also possible (upon request of the consortium or by DG ECHO) according to the procedure and conditions set in article 32.2 and 32.3 of the MGA.

Amendments can have retroactive effect, but the coordinator should not implement any changes without the agreement of the Commission, as in the FPA 2014.

Yes, the principle is that it will not be possible to use certified NGO partners as implementing partners: they will have to be associated to the lead certified NGO partners in the grant agreement as co-partners (co-beneficiaries). It has to be noted that International Organisations and Member State Specialised Agencies which are DG ECHO Partners can also be co-beneficiaries under the MGA (see FAQ 29).

Partners are requested to comply with the provisions foreseen in article 21.3 of the MGA when reporting to DG ECHO. However, Partners can use their own accounting practices for the conversion from the local currency to their own accounting systems. The important thing is that the correct exchange rate is applied when reporting to DG ECHO.