If the Description of the Action (Annex 1 of the GA) or the project budget (Annex 2 of the GA) change during the project, the Grant Agreement (GA) may have to be officially amended. This is conducted electronically in the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal.
When is an amendment necessary?
Among others, in the following cases:
- Removal/addition of a beneficiary
- Change of the coordinator (with or without his/her agreement)
- Changes relating to linked third parties
- Partial takeover of a beneficiary
- Premature termination of the project
- Changes to options in the GA
- Changes to Annex 1 (e.g. action name/acronym/duration, significant changes of action tasks)
- Changes to Annex 2 requiring the approval of the EU Commission
Please note that the minimum conditions for participation must continue to be met after the amendment!
When is an amendment not necessary?
If the data (name, legal form, address etc.) of an organisation change, they must be updated by the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) of the organisation in the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal.
Budget transfers will only require an amendment to be made if they also involve significant changes to the project work. In the event of unplanned subcontracting or in-kind contributions by third parties the beneficiary may choose between an amendment or subsequent simplified approval procedure by the EU Commission at his/her own risk.
What is the amendment process?
The amendment is requested and processed electronically in the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal. They are usually initiated by the consortium, but there may also be amendments requested by the EU Commission.
Once the decisions have been made within the consortium (according to the Consortium Agreement), the coordinator submits an "Amendment Request". The EU Commission has a time-to-react of 45 days. It may ...
- accept the request, or
- reject the request, if no response is received within the set time, the request is also considered to be rejected, or
- request additional information and/or extend the deadline to check the request in more detail.
Every "Amendment Request" is treated as a package which can only be accepted or rejected as a whole (if this is not desired separate requests must be submitted). The "Amendment Request" cannot be altered once it has been submitted. Amendments enter into force on the day they are signed electronically. They take effect either on that day or at another date agreed between the parties (including retroactively).
Detailed information can be found ...
- in the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA), article 55
- in the Guide of the EU Commission "Amendment types & supporting documents"
- in the presentations of the EU Commission "H2020 Coordinator's Day: Amendments / Reporting and Payments"
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