Following the publication of a Council Implementing Decision in December 2022, which precludes certain Hungarian entities from receiving EU funding, the European Commission has now published helpful FAQs on the participation of the affected Hungarian universities in Horizon Europe projects.
Why are some Hungarian universities precluded from receiving EU funding?
On 15 December 2022, the Council of the EU published an Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary, which took immediate effect. It meant that the European Commission could not enter into any new legal commitments (e.g. grant agreements on EU programmes) with any public interest trust established on the basis of the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity maintained by such a public interest trust. The list of all affected institutions is available here.
This effectively precluded more than 20 Hungarian universities from signing new contracts with the European Commission, including grant agreements on all EU programmes such as LIFE, Creative Europe, Digital Europe and most importantly Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. Initially, there was a lot of confusion about the impact of this Implementing Decision on the participation of the affected Hungarian entities in EU projects. UKRO has been working closely with its Hungarian partners in Brussels to obtain timely and accurate information on this matter.
The Commission has now published answers to several FAQs and clarified that while the purpose of the Council Implementing Decision is to protect the Union budget, the intention is not to exclude the affected entities from participating in EU programmes.
What clarifications did the European Commission provide for Horizon Europe projects?
The answers provided by the European Commission clarify that while the affected universities are currently precluded from signing grant agreements for Horizon Europe projects (as of 16 December 2022), they can still be included in applications to future Horizon Europe calls for proposals and – if the situation is not resolved by the time the grants agreements need to be signed, they can participate as Associated Partners (without EU funding).
The European Commission also clarified how the current situation could impact consortia that include the affected universities, which are about to sign the grant agreement and what could happen to these universities on Horizon projects once the measures set out in the Council Decision are lifted, confirming that they could be later re-established as beneficiaries.
The below FAQs on how the decision affects the Hungarian universities’ participation in Horizon Europe projects are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal:
- When does the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary take effect?
- Can a Hungarian entity concerned by the measures set out in the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 continue to apply to Horizon Europe’s calls for proposals after 16 December 2022?
- What happens if a HE grant agreement was signed before 16 December 2022 by the project coordinator and granting authority but where other beneficiaries concerned by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 have not yet signed their accession forms?
- If the measures set out in the Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506 are lifted, can a Hungarian entity formerly concerned by these measures then become a beneficiary of an ongoing Horizon Europe grant agreement?
- If a Hungarian entity concerned by the measures set out in the Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506 may not become beneficiary to the HE project at the time of the grant agreement signature, can the signature be postponed until the measures are lifted?
- What happens to Horizon Europe proposals with Hungarian applicants concerned by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, for which no grant agreement was signed before 16 December 2022?
This list will be updated in reaction to further questions on this matter submitted to the European Commission and UKRO will keep subscribers updated on any developments in this area.
The National Contact Points in Hungary should be able to help with any immediate questions related to signing Horizon Europe grant agreements. Furthermore, your dedicated UKRO European Advisor can collect any questions that still need to be addressed by the European Commission in the FAQ section.