Regulation (EU) 2021/887 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre and the Network of National Coordination Centres

Member States’ national co-funding of actions supported by Union programmes other than Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme shall be considered to be Member States’ national contributions insofar as those contributions are parts of joint actions and are included in the Competence Centre’s work programme.

For the purpose of assessing the contributions referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and in point (b) of Article 22(2), costs shall be determined in accordance with the usual cost accounting practices of the Member State concerned, the applicable accounting standards of the Member State concerned, and the applicable international accounting standards and international financial reporting standards. Costs shall be certified by an independent external auditor appointed by the Member State concerned. The valuation method may be verified by the Competence Centre if there is any uncertainty arising from the certification.

If any Member State is in default of its commitments concerning its financial or in-kind contributions to joint actions, the Executive Director shall notify the Member State concerned thereof in writing and shall set a reasonable period within which such default is to be remedied. If the situation is not remedied within that period, the Executive Director shall convene a meeting of the Governing Board to decide whether the defaulting participating Member State’s right to vote is to be revoked or whether any other measures are to be taken until that Member State has met its obligations. The defaulting Member State’s right to vote concerning joint actions shall be suspended until the default of its commitments is remedied.

The Commission may terminate, proportionally reduce or suspend the Union’s financial contribution to joint actions if the contributing Member States do not contribute, contribute only partially or contribute late with regard to the contributions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3. The termination, reduction or suspension of the Union’s financial contribution by the Commission shall be proportionate in amount and time to the Member State’s failure to contribute, partial contribution or late contribution.

The contributing Member States shall report by 31 January of each year to the Governing Board on the value of the contributions referred to in paragraph 7 for joint action with the Union made in each of the previous financial year.

The administrative costs of the Competence Centre shall in principle be covered by means of financial contributions from the Union on an annual basis. Additional financial contributions shall be made by contributing Member States in proportion to their voluntary contributions to joint actions. If part of the contribution for administrative costs is not used, it may be made available to cover the operational costs of the Competence Centre.

The operational costs of the Competence Centre shall be covered by means of:

The resources of the Competence Centre entered into its budget shall be composed of the following contributions:

Any interest yielded by the contributions paid to the Competence Centre by the contributing Member States shall be considered to be the revenue of the Competence Centre.

All resources of the Competence Centre and its activities shall be used to achieve its objectives.

The Competence Centre shall own all assets that are generated by it or are transferred to it for the fulfilment of its objectives. Without prejudice to the applicable rules of the relevant funding programme, the ownership of assets that are generated or acquired in joint actions shall be decided in accordance with point (b) of Article 15(3).

Except when the Competence Centre is wound up, any excess revenue over expenditure shall continue to be owned by the Competence Centre and shall not be paid to the contributing members of the Competence Centre.

The Competence Centre shall cooperate closely with other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, with due regard to their respective mandates and without duplicating existing cooperation mechanisms, in order to benefit from synergies with them and, where possible and appropriate, in order to reduce administrative costs.

Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a draft statement of estimates of the Competence Centre’s revenue and expenditure for the following financial year and shall forward it to the Governing Board, together with the draft establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3). Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance. The expenditure of the Competence Centre shall include the staff, administrative, infrastructure and operational expenses. Administrative expenses shall be kept to a minimum, including by means of redeployment of staff or posts.

Each year, the Governing Board shall, on the basis of the draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure referred to in paragraph 1, produce a statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Competence Centre for the following financial year.

The Governing Board shall, by 31 January of each year, send the statement of estimates referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, which shall be part of the draft single programming document referred to in Article 32(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715, to the Commission.

On the basis of the statement of estimates referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Commission shall enter in the draft budget of the Union the estimates it deems to be necessary for the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3) of this Regulation and the amount of the contribution to be charged to the general budget, which it shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the contribution to the Competence Centre.

The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3).

Together with the annual work programme and the multiannual work programme, the Governing Board shall adopt the Competence Centre’s budget. It shall become final following the definitive adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where appropriate, the Governing Board shall adjust the Competence Centre’s budget and the annual work programme in accordance with the general budget of the Union.

The Executive Director shall report annually to the Governing Board on the performance of his or her duties in accordance with the financial rules of the Competence Centre.

Within two months of the end of each financial year, the Executive Director shall submit to the Governing Board for approval an annual activity report on the progress made by the Competence Centre in the previous calendar year, in particular in relation to the annual work programme for that year and the fulfilment of its strategic goals and priorities. That report shall include information on the following matters:

Once approved by the Governing Board, the annual activity report shall be made publicly available.

The Competence Centre shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by regular and effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative penalties.

The Competence Centre shall grant Commission staff and other persons authorised by the Commission, as well as the Court of Auditors, access to the sites and premises of the Competence Centre and to all the information, including information in electronic format that is needed in order to conduct their audits.

OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 (17) and Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (18) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or a contract funded, directly or indirectly, in accordance with this Regulation.

Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, contracts and grant agreements resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Competence Centre, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations in accordance with their respective competences. Where the implementation of an action is outsourced or sub-delegated, in whole or in part, or where it requires the award of a procurement contract or financial support to a third party, the contract or grant agreement shall include the contractor’s or beneficiary’s obligation to impose on any third party involved explicit acceptance of those powers of the Commission, the Competence Centre, the Court of Auditors and OLAF.

The Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the Union for the purpose of applying the Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment shall apply to the staff of the Competence Centre.

The Governing Board shall exercise, with respect to the staff of the Competence Centre, the powers conferred by the Staff Regulations on the Appointing Authority and the powers conferred by the Conditions of Employment on the authority empowered to conclude contract (the ‘appointing authority powers’).

The Governing Board shall adopt, in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 6 of the Conditions of Employment delegating the relevant appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and defining the conditions under which that delegation may be suspended. The Executive Director is authorised to sub-delegate those powers.

Where exceptional circumstances so require, the Governing Board may, through a decision, temporarily suspend the delegation of the appointing authority powers to the Executive Director and any sub-delegation made by the latter. In such a case the Governing Board shall exercise itself the appointing authority powers or delegate them to one of its members or to a member of staff of the Competence Centre other than the Executive Director.

The Governing Board shall adopt implementing rules as regards the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations.

The staff resources shall be determined in the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3), indicating the number of temporary posts by function group and by grade and the number of contract staff expressed in full-time equivalents, in line with the annual budget of the Competence Centre.

The human resources required by the Competence Centre shall be met in the first instance by redeployment of staff or posts from Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, and additional human resources through recruitment. The staff of the Competence Centre may consist of temporary staff and contract staff.

All costs related to staff shall be borne by the Competence Centre.

The Competence Centre may make use of seconded national experts or other staff not employed by the Competence Centre.

The Governing Board shall adopt a decision laying down rules on the secondment of national experts to the Competence Centre, in agreement with the Commission.

Article 12 Regulation (EU) 2021/694 shall apply to participation in all actions funded by the Competence Centre.

The following specific security rules shall apply to actions funded by Horizon Europe:

The Competence Centre shall carry out its activities with a high level of transparency.

The Competence Centre shall ensure that the public and any interested parties are given appropriate, objective, reliable and easily accessible information in a timely manner, in particular with regard to the results of its work. It shall also make public the declarations of interest made in accordance with Article 43. Those requirements shall also apply to the national coordination centres, the Community and the Strategic Advisory Group in accordance with relevant law.

The Governing Board, acting on a proposal from the Executive Director, may authorise interested parties to observe the proceedings of some of the Competence Centre’s activities.

The Competence Centre shall lay down in the rules of procedure of the Governing Board of the Competence Centre and of the Strategic Advisory Group the practical arrangements for implementing the transparency rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. For actions funded by Horizon Europe, those rules and arrangements shall take account of Regulation (EU) 2021/695.

After approval by the Commission, the Governing Board shall adopt the security rules of the Competence Centre. Those security rules shall apply the security principles and rules laid down in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 (19) and (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 (20).

Members of the Governing Board, the Executive Director, external experts participating in ad hoc working groups, and members of the staff of the Competence Centre shall comply with the confidentiality requirements under Article 339 TFEU, even after their duties have ceased.

The Competence Centre may take the necessary measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to its tasks with the Commission and the Member States and, where appropriate, the relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. Any administrative arrangements concluded to that end with regard to the sharing of EU classified information (EUCI) or, in the absence of such arrangements, any exceptional ad hoc release of EUCI, shall have received the Commission’s prior approval.

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 shall apply to documents held by the Competence Centre.

The Governing Board shall adopt arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by 29 December 2021.

Decisions taken by the Competence Centre pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may be the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman under Article 228 TFEU or of an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union under Article 263 TFEU.

The Competence Centre shall ensure that its activities, including those managed through the national coordination centres and the Network, shall be subject to continuous and systematic monitoring and periodic evaluation. The Competence Centre shall ensure that the data for monitoring the implementation and results of the Union funding programmes referred to in point (b) of Article 4(3) are collected efficiently, effectively, and in a timely manner, and shall impose proportionate reporting requirements on recipients of Union funds and Member States. The conclusions of that evaluation shall be made public.

Once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of this Regulation, and in any event no later than 30 months after the date provided for in Article 46(4), the Commission shall prepare an implementation report on the activities of the Competence Centre, taking into account the preliminary input of the Governing Board, the national coordination centres and the Community. The Commission shall submit that implementation report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 30 June 2024. The Competence Centre and Member States shall provide the Commission with the information necessary for the preparation of that report.

The implementation report referred to in paragraph 2 shall include assessments of:

After submission of the implementation report referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the Competence Centre, taking into account the preliminary input from the Governing Board, the national coordination centres and the Community. That evaluation shall refer to or update, as necessary, the assessments referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and shall be carried out before expiry of the period specified in Article 47(1), in order to determine in a timely manner whether it is appropriate to extend the duration of the mandate of the Competence Centre beyond that period. That evaluation shall assess legal and administrative aspects regarding the mandate of the Competence Centre and the potential to create synergies and avoid fragmentation with other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.

On the basis of the conclusions of the implementation report referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission may take appropriate actions.

The monitoring, evaluation, phasing out and renewal of the contribution from Horizon Europe shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 10, 50 and 52 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695 and agreed implementation arrangements.

The monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the contribution from the Digital Europe Programme shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 24 and 25 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694.

In the event of a winding-up of the Competence Centre, the Commission shall conduct a final evaluation of the Competence Centre within six months of the winding-up of the Competence Centre, and in any event no later than two years after the triggering of the winding-up procedure referred to in Article 47. The results of that final evaluation shall be submitted to the European Parliament and to the Council.

The Competence Centre shall have legal personality.

In each Member State, the Competence Centre shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under the law of that Member State. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be party to legal proceedings.

The contractual liability of the Competence Centre shall be governed by the law applicable to the agreement, decision or contract in question.

In the case of non-contractual liability, the Competence Centre shall make good any damage caused by its staff in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States.

Any payment by the Competence Centre in respect of the liability referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith shall be considered to be expenditure of the Competence Centre and shall be covered by its resources.

The Competence Centre shall be solely responsible for meeting its obligations.

The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction:

Regarding any matter not covered by this Regulation or by other legal acts of the Union, the law of the Member State where the seat of the Competence Centre is located shall apply.

The financial liability of the Union and the Member States for the debts of the Competence Centre shall be limited to their contribution already made for the administrative costs.

The Competence Centre shall take out and maintain appropriate insurance.

The processing of personal data by the Competence Centre shall be subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

The Governing Board shall adopt implementing measures as referred to in Article 45(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The Governing Board may adopt additional measures necessary for the application of that Regulation by the Competence Centre.

The Commission shall be responsible for the establishment and initial operation of the Competence Centre until it has the operational capacity to implement its own budget. The Commission shall carry out, in accordance with Union law, all necessary actions with the involvement of the competent bodies of the Competence Centre.

For the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission may designate an interim Executive Director until the Executive Director takes up his or her duties following his or her appointment by the Governing Board in accordance with Article 16. The interim Executive Director shall exercise the duties of the Executive Director and may be assisted by a limited number of members of staff of the Commission. The Commission may assign a limited number of its members of staff to the Competence Centre on an interim basis.

The interim Executive Director may authorise all payments covered by the appropriations provided in the annual budget of the Competence Centre once it has been adopted by the Governing Board and may conclude agreements and contracts, including staff contracts, and adopt decisions, following the adoption of the establishment plan referred to in point (l) of Article 13(3).

The interim Executive Director shall determine, in common accord with the Executive Director and subject to the approval of the Governing Board, the date from which the Competence Centre will have the capacity to implement its own budget. From that date onwards, the Commission shall abstain from making commitments and executing payments for the activities of the Competence Centre.

The Competence Centre shall be established for the period from 28 June 2021 to 31 December 2029.

Unless the mandate of the Competence Centre is extended in accordance with Article 38(4), the winding-up procedure shall be triggered automatically at the end of the period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

For the purpose of conducting the proceedings to wind up the Competence Centre, the Governing Board shall appoint one or more liquidators, who shall comply with the decisions of the Governing Board.

When the Competence Centre is being wound up, its assets shall be used to cover its liabilities and the expenditure relating to its winding-up. Any surplus shall be distributed among the Union and the contributing Member States in proportion to their financial contribution to the Competence Centre. Any such surplus distributed to the Union shall be returned to the Union budget.