Project Closure Guidelines Riga, 2014

Legal framework 2 EC Regulation 1828/2006 § 8, 9: Explanatory plaque, billboard, emblem of the EU, reference to the fund Programme Manual § 7.3: Publicity and information requirements § 8.3 Project revenue § Ownership of project results § 10.6: Project closure Subsidy Contract § 4: Reporting and payments § 6: Publicity § 7: Durability and ownership of results Partnership Agreement § 8, 9 Any substantial modification of the project within 5 years from the project's completion must be avoided.

Project closure 3  Activities must end within the time frame stated in the SC  All costs must be paid (“gone from the bank account”) by the project end date and reported in the final PR, including costs for closing the project (e.g. costs for FLC in Lithuania of the last PR). Only exception is wages and taxes of employee (See PM 9.1);  Last request for project changes should be submitted no later than 1 month before project end date. Addendum to SC cannot be signed after project end.  LP and PPs must allocate the contact person for 5 years for communication with the Programme management bodies  The LP and PPs must retain all their files, documents and data about the project for control and audit purposes at least until

Publicity requirements 4  Use Programme Logo  Publish information about the project on PPs’ websites  Communnicate project results and make them freely accessible (i.e. available on website)  Keep at least one copy of prepared materials at the LP  Publicity rules apply for all results after the project closure

Infrastructure and equipment 5  Must have: billboard, poster or a permanent plaque  Recommended: permanent plaques on smaller objects  Over EUR spent: billboard logo < 25% space  No change of ownership or productive activity for at least 5 years after project end Label on equipment must not be removed at least 5 years after the project end

Ownership of results 6  Ownership, further maintenance and use of the outputs and results should remain as stated in Partnership Agreement  Within 5 years from the completion of the project results shall not undergo a substantial modification from the indicated in the application: affecting its nature or its implementation conditions or giving to a private or a public body an undue advantage resulting either from a change in the nature of ownership of an item of infrastructure or the cessation of a productive activity  Prior consent of the MA is needed during the project and at least 5 years after the project end date in order to: To transfer ownership, titles, industrial and intellectual property rights for outputs related to infrastructure or productive investment Request should be submitted to JTS Not fulfilling these conditions can imply a recovery of the funds unduly paid

Final report 7  Procedure is the same as for the regular PR  Additional documents to be provided: Annex 1 of the PR to be filled out Statement after Project Implementation (originals) for LP and PPs  Achievement of indicators: deviations must be justified  If FA was not prepared, but revenue was generated during the project implementation and is expected within the 5 years after final payment, it must be reported and deducted from the eligible expenditure  Project visits may be carried out before final payment by the JTS in order to check project outputs, documentation and durability  Durability: provide management plan for at least 1 year and overall cooperation in 5 year period): Detailed future actions Responsibilities of project partners Administrative and financial provisions Measurable future activities Progress of the final assessment depends on the clarity of the data provided and if all required evidence is attached to the final PR.

8 Contact LV phone: LT phone:

EC – European Commission EU – European Union FA – Financial Analysis FLC – First Level Control JTS – Joint Technical Secretariat LP – Lead Partner MA – Managing Authority PM – Programme Manual PP – Project Partner PR – Progress Report SC – Subsidy Contract 9 Abbreviations