Cash flow under the Grant Agreement
According to the Grant Agreement (GA), the coordinator is obliged to transfer the received payments to the other beneficiaries “without unjustified delay.”
However, this rule only applies if the CA does not provide for different arrangements. In practice, the CA usually contains detailed provisions on how payments are distributed and under which conditions they are made.
Typical provisions in the Consortium Agreement
The Consortium Agreement offers significant flexibility in defining financial arrangements. Financial decisions are usually taken by a consortium body (e.g. the General Assembly). In many cases, the consortium agrees on a payment plan, which may include a specific distribution key, meaning that EU funding is internally allocated differently from the actually reported and accepted costs. Common elements include:
- Distribution of pre-financing: The allocation may differ from each beneficiary’s share of the budget. Some partners may receive reduced amounts or no pre-financing at the beginning. Pre-financing is often paid in instalments (e.g. based on timing or achieved progress).
- Performance-based payments: Further payments may be withheld if agreed tasks are not carried out as planned.
- Limitation to budget shares: Beneficiaries often receive no more than their share according to the current project budget.
Note: This “current budget” may differ from Annex 2 of the GA, as budget transfers do not always require an amendment.
- Handling of remaining funds at project end: Unused funds may, under certain conditions, be redistributed to beneficiaries who have incurred higher costs than originally planned.
The following non-binding wording example, kindly provided by Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft, illustrates how such redistribution can be regulated:
A Party that spends more than its allocated share of the budget as set out in the Consortium Plan will be funded as follows:
- Funding in accordance with its duly eligible costs up to their allocated share of budget will be reimbursed in full.
- Funding in accordance with its duly eligible costs exceeding the allocated share of budget will be reimbursed proportionally on condition that such funds are available at the end of the project (e.g. budget not spent by other partners).
Such reimbursement will be calculated as follows:
- If the total amount of budget overspending is lower than the total amount of budget not spent the individual budget overspendings will be funded in full.
- If the total amount of budget overspending exceeds the total amount of budget not spent the redistribution will be calculated using the following formula: Total amount of budget not spent / total amount of budget overspending = percentage of individual budget overspending that will be paid to partner. Any other mode of calculation requires a majority decision of the General Assembly.
Important note
Given the high degree of flexibility in the Consortium Agreement, it is essential to carefully review the financial provisions before signing. These rules can have a significant impact on cash flow, financial risk, and the internal distribution of funds within the project.