Annex 2
Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014
RO20 Programme ”Domestic and Gender-based violence”
Fund for bilateral relations at programme level
Grant contract for the implementation of the project ………….
between
the Ministry of Justice (Programme Operator - PO)
and
…………………………………
(Beneficiary)
FINANCING CONTRACT
For the implementation of the project “…………………….” financed under the Fund for bilateral relations at the level
the RO20 Programme ”Domestic and Gender-based violence”
No. ....................... / .........................
Considering the following legal framework:
a) Agreement between the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union on the Norwegian Financial
Mechanism 2009-2014;
b) Regulation on the Implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014;
c) The Memoranda of Understanding on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 20092014;
d) Guidelines adopted by the Financial Mechanism Committee/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
according to the Regulations, such as the Guideline for strengthened bilateral relations - EEA and Norway
Grants 2009-2014;
e) Government Emergency Ordinance no. 6/2013 on the modification and completion of the Government
Emergency Ordinance no. 96/2012 establishing measures to reorganize the central government and for
amendment of legislation;
f) Government Emergency Ordinance no. 88/2012 on the institutional framework for coordination,
implementation and management of financial assistance granted to Romania through the EEA Financial
Mechanism and Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the programming period 2009-2014, approved and
amended through the Law no. 246/2013;
g) Government Emergency Ordinance no. 23/2013 on the financial management of the external nonreimbursable grants related to the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and to the Norwegian Financial
Mechanism 2009-2014, approved and amended by the Law no. 242/2013, as well as the methodology rules
for its implementation, approved by Order no. 659/24.07.2013;
h) Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2006 on the assignment of public procurement contracts, public
works concession contracts, and services concession contracts, as amended;
i) Government Emergency Ordinance no. 66/2011 on the prevention, identification and sanctioning of
irregularities appeared in the management of European funds and / or national public funds, as modified.
j) Minister of European Funds’ Order no. 1055/2014 regarding the application of lump sums in the case of
travels financed under the Funds for Bilateral Relations at national and programme level under the EEA
Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014
The parties,
The Ministry of Justice, with the offices in Bucharest, 17, Apolodor street, sector 5, postal code 050741, Bucharest,
Romania, fiscal code no. 4265841, represented by ......................, as ............................., as Programme Operator,
and
2
………………………………….., legal entity, with the offices in ……………. , street................................., postal code……….. ,
fiscal code no. ……………………, represented by the legal representative ..........................................., as
…………………………...., as Beneficiary
agreed to sign this Financing Contract.
CHAPTER 1 – OBJECT OF THE CONTRACT AND ANNEXED DOCUMENTS
Art. 1.1 The object of this Contract is granting non-reimbursable funds for the implementation of the project
“............................................................................ ” financed under the Fund for bilateral relations at the level of the
RO20 Programme ”Domestic and Gender-based violence”. These funds shall be used for the commitments included
in the Grant Application.
Art.1.2 The Beneficiary shall be granted non-reimbursable funds under the terms and conditions provided in this
Contract, in compliance with all the rules established by the regulations for the implementation of the Norwegian
Financial Mechanism 2009-2014.
Art. 1.3 The Annexed Documents part of this contract are: the Grant Application and its supporting documents
(declarations, partnership agreements/letters of intent etc.), together with the clarifications during the evaluation
and selection period, if applicable.
Art. 1.4 The Beneficiary accepts the non-reimbursable grant and commits to carry out the Project under its own
responsibility, according to the provisions in this contract and in compliance with the applicable national and
European legislation.
CHAPTER 2 – DURATION OF THE CONTRACT
Art. 2.1 This contract comes into force on the date of its signature by both parties and shall terminate when all
parties fulfil their obligations resulting therein.
Art.2.2 The implementation period of the project starts on the date of entry into force of the present contract and
ends in 30 days from the finalization date of the action as established in the application approved by the Programme
Operator.
Art. 2.3 The duration of the contract or of the implementation period may be modified by an addendum with the
mutual consent of both parties, in exceptional and justified situations, in accordance with the provisions of art. 9.1.1
of the present contract.
CHAPTER 3 – BUDGET AND ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURE
Art. 3.1 The total budget allocated under the Fund for bilateral relations at programme level is ......... EURO, the
equivalent of ………. RON, representing 100% grant, calculated at the Inforeuro exchange rate from the month of
the contract’s entry into force.
Art. 3.2 The grant shall be used in compliance with the eligible expenditure principles and categories provided under
art.7.7 in the Regulation for the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014 and with the
provisions in the Grant Application. The VAT is an eligible expenditure provided that it cannot be recovered by the
beneficiary and/or partner.
Art. 3.3 The period of eligibility of expenditure - eligible expenditures are those actually incurred between the date
of entry into force of the contract, according to art. 2.1, and until no more than 30 days from the finalization of the
3
implementation period as provided in art. 2.2. Expenditures are considered to have been incurred when the cost
has been invoiced, paid and the subject matter delivered / performed.
Art.3.4 The detailed budget of the project is foreseen in the application attached to the present contract.
CHAPTER 4 – PAYMENTS
Art. 4.1 The payments shall be made as follows:
a.
a.
advance and final payment;
The advance payment of 90% of the grant shall be made within 10 working days from the date of the entry
into force of this contract.
The final payment or the settlement, as the case may be, shall be made within 10 working days from the
date of approval of the implementation report, the final payment request and the supporting
documents/audit report submitted by the Beneficiary (deducting the advance payment), in accordance with
the provisions of art. 4.3.
Or
b.
a.
reimbursement of expenditures;
The advance payment of 30% of the grant shall be made within 10 working days from the date of the entry
into force of this contract.
The reimbursement of expenditures incurred after spending the advance payments shall be made within 10
working days from the date of approval of the implementation report, the reimbursement payment request
and the supporting documents/audit report submitted by the Beneficiary, in accordance with the provisions
of art. 4.3, subject to the availability of funds in the PO’s bank accounts.
Art 4.2 The payments shall be made by the Programme Operator in Lei or Euros to the following bank account of
the Beneficiary:
Bank account:
Bank:
The beneficiary shall notify the Programme Operator of any change that may occur as regards the bank account
details.
Art. 4.3 The payments shall be conditioned by:
a. The approval of the implementation report, according to the model established by the PO, which provides a
detailed description of the project implementation. The implementation report shall outline the outcome of the
project, provide detailed information on the procurement made (if applicable), detailed information on the
publicity, its impact in the media (if applicable), on reaching the objectives and indicators, as well as information on
the sustainability of the outcome;
b. The verification of the supporting documents requested as proof of expenditures or, as the case may be, the
submission of the audit report related to the expenditures and the authorization of expenditure.
c. A report issued by a certified and independent auditor, certifying that all expenditures have been made in
compliance with the regulations in force, with the national legislation and with the accounting practices in the
country of the Partner, shall be considered sufficient proof of the expenditures incurred by a Project Partner whose
main offices are located in a donor state.
4
CHAPTER 5 - WRITTEN NOTIFICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Art. 5.1 Any communication between the parties referring to or in connection with this Grant Contract or with its
execution shall be drafted and submitted in writing in Romanian or English.
Art. 5.2 The communications between the parties shall be sent by mail, fax, e-mail or given personally to the
addresses indicated by the parties for this purpose. Any written document shall be recorded both upon transmittal
and upon receipt.
Art. 5.3 Whenever there is a deadline for the receipt of a written communication, the sender shall request the
acknowledgment of receipt for the said communication.
Art.5.4 Any notification, consent, approval, certification or decision of any party having signed the Contract shall be
made in writing, unless otherwise stipulated, and shall be sent without any unjustified delay.
Art.5.5 The official addresses where all documents shall be submitted are:
(1) Contact person (PO):
Mrs. Diana POPESCU
Director
Department for European Programmes
Ministry of Justice
Str. Apolodor, nr. 17, sector 5, cod postal 050741 Bucharest, Romania
Tel. 0372.041.159,
Fax. 0372.041.161
E-mail: norwaygrants@just.ro
(2) Contact persons (Beneficiary):
……………………………………
The parties shall communicate any change of the official addresses mentioned under the previous paragraph in
writing, within 5 business days.
CHAPTER 6 – COMMON COMMITMENTS OF THE PARTIES
Art. 6.1 The parties undertake to fulfil their tasks and obligations related to the implementation of this contract,
based on an adequate management, transparency and partnership principles, according to the national legislation
in force and with the relevant legal framework of the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2009 - 2014.
Art. 6.2 The parties undertake to use the information and documents obtained to which they have access during
the project implementation period in compliance with this contract, with the national legislation in force and with
the legal framework applicable to the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 (according to the provisions of
art. 1.4 in the Regulation for the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014), as concerns
the legal provisions related to the transparency, access to information and protection of personal data.
CHAPTER 7 – RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES
Art. 7.1 Responsibilities of the Programme Operator
The Programme Operator undertakes:
a. to verify the outcome of the project, based on the documents submitted by the Beneficiary, who is responsible
for the accuracy of the information submitted, as well as to verify whether the expenditures declared by the
Beneficiary have really been incurred and paid according to the Regulation for the implementation of the Norwegian
Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and to the national and European legislation;
5
b. to make the payments related to the project, subject to the availability of funds in the PO’s bank accounts;
c. to ensure the transparency and availability of the documents whose obligation to submit is stipulated by the
Regulation for the Implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014;
d. to ensure, based on the data, information and facts presented and assumed by the Beneficiary, that the latter is
fully committed and capable of implementing the project;
e. to verify the reports and/or supporting documents submitted by the Beneficiary within 30 calendar days from the
date of their submission.
Art. 7.2 Beneficiary’s obligations:
The Beneficiary shall:
a. use the non-reimbursable funds only for the purpose of completing the project that is object of this contract;
b. implement the project under its own responsibility and in compliance with the application (including the budget),
together with, if applicable, the clarifications during the evaluation and selection period, which are annexed to this
contract, aiming at fulfilling the objectives as stipulated and accepted;
c. ensure that all the conditions imposed on it equally apply to all its partners. The Beneficiary shall include
provisions in this respect in all the partnership agreements/contracts signed with them. The Beneficiary shall be
individually responsible against the Programme Operator for the implementation of the project;
d. provide the Programme Operator with all the information requested in relation with the implementation of the
project. If the submitted reports and/or supporting documents are not complete or require modifications, the
Beneficiary shall make the requested completions and modifications and resend the report and/ or supporting
documents within 3 (three) business days after the receipt of the notification.
e. comply with all the applicable norms if the project requires procurement, the Beneficiary being fully responsible
on the progress of the procurement process;
f. ensure the sustainability of the project outcome;
g. comply with the visual identity elements of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and ensure adequate
publicity of the project and of its financing sources;
h. accept the control and the verifications of the entities and structures with attributions for
control/verification/audit in the frame of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014, in relation with the use
of the non-reimbursable funds granted.
i. take full responsibility for the damages caused to third parties by its fault, during and in relation with the
implementation of the project. The Programme Operator shall be released from any liability for the prejudice caused
to third parties by fault of the Beneficiary;
j. take all the measures required to avoid any conflicts of interest and to inform immediately the Programme
Operator on any circumstance that is or may determine such conflict of interest;
k. keep all its documents and the documents related to its partners, including the accounting documents, related to
the eligible activities and expenditures, in order to ensure an adequate audit track, according to the European and
national regulations. All documents shall be kept for a period of 5 years after the approval of the final report of the
programme RO 20 ” Domestic and Gender-based violence”;
l. provide the PO with the applications for final payment/reimbursement, together with all the supporting
documents requested to prove the expenditures incurred and with the implementation report, within 45 days after
the end of the project implementation period as specified in art. 2.2. The payment applications shall be drafted in
Romanian/English, as the case may be, according to the model established by the PO. The Beneficiary shall take the
proper measures as to ensure the financial settlement of the project upon the PO’s request in this regard, where
the case may be, according to the provisions of article 4.1 letter b.
6
m. provide the PO with all the supporting documents to justify the expenditures made, marked with the mention
“financed under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 according to the contract no ……” in copy bearing
the words “true copy of the original” and with a list of the supporting documents provided, according to the model
established by the PO;
n. agree for his personal data to be used and processed for the purpose of its activities by the PO;
o. provide a report issued by a certified and independent auditor, certifying that all expenditures have been made
in compliance with the regulations in force, with the national legislation and with the accounting practices in the
country of the Partner whose main offices are located in a donor state. The audit report shall be submitted into
English, signed and stamped;
CHAPTER 8 – RIGHTS OF THE PARTIES
Art. 8.1 The PO has the right – in case of suspicion there is a breach of the contract by the Beneficiary – to
immediately suspend all payments until the suspicion is invalidated;
Art. 8.2 The PO is entitled to terminate the contract if it finds out that the project objectives and indicators, as
declared by the Beneficiary in the approved grant application, have not been reached. In this case, the Beneficiary
shall fully/partially reimburse the amounts received;
Art. 8.3 The PO may carry out any activities related to the verification of the implementation of the financed
initiative at Beneficiary level, according to this contract;
Art. 8.4 If, after the verification of all the supporting documents required for payment, there are discrepancies, the
PO is entitled to recover them from the Beneficiary, according to the GO 66/2011.
CHAPTER 9 - CONTRACT MODIFICATION
Art. 9.1 Any modification of the contract or of its annexes shall be made in writing, with the mutual consent of both
parties, by an addendum in case of major modifications or by a notification annexed to the contract, in case of minor
modifications.
9.1.1 Major modifications
a. A major modification is deemed any amendment with an impact on the value, duration, activities and results of
the project, changes that may question the decision to grant the non-reimbursable funds and the eligibility of the
Beneficiary.
b. If the modification is requested by the Beneficiary, it shall submit the request to the PO at least 10 working days
prior to the date when the coming into force of the modification is desired. In exceptional situations, justified by
the Beneficiary and accepted by the PO, this deadline may be reduced to 6 working days.
c. The Beneficiary shall submit, together with the request, the justification of the modification it wishes to make,
the possible impact on the budget lines and the assessment of risk on the project outcome, as well as the
amendment proposal.
d. The PO analyses the documents received and, should the amendment be necessary and correctly justified, grants
the approval for the amendment of the contract through signing the addendum which becomes part thereof.
9.1.2 Minor modifications
a. Minor modifications are deemed: change of address, bank account, contact person or contact details, the
modification of the activities calendar without changing the project implementation deadline, or any other such
modifications.
7
b. At the same time, minor modifications are deemed the modifications within or between the categories of
expenditures in the project budget, unless it has a significant impact on the activities, results and main objective of
the project.
c. Notifications on minor modifications shall be sent to the OP 10 working days prior to the date when the coming
into force of the modification is desired. Minor modifications can be only notified to the PO, notwithstanding its
right to oppose any modification made by the Beneficiary, in writing. The Beneficiary shall provide detailed
justifications of the changes occurred, as well as an analysis of their impact on the project.
CHAPTER 10 – APPLICABLE LAW
Art 10.1 This contract shall be governed, interpreted, understood and implemented according to the national
legislation in force and to the legal framework of the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014.
Art. 10.2 All the disputes that may arise from the execution of this contract or in relation thereto, which cannot be
settled amicably, shall be submitted for settlement to the competent courts.
Art.10.3 The parties agree for this contract to be governed by the Romanian law.
CHAPTER 11 – FINAL CLAUSES
Art. 11.1 The language of this contract and of all the written communications shall be Romanian or English, as the
case may be.
Art. 11.2 The term “day” shall be understood as calendar day, unless otherwise stipulated.
Art. 11.3 If there are inconsistencies or discrepancies between the provisions of this contract, on one hand, and of
the national legislation in force or of the Regulation for the Implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms
2009-2014, on the other hand, the latter shall prevail.
This Contract is signed in 2 (two) originals, in Romanian/English, one for each party.
Ministry of Justice
Programme Operator
Beneficiary
Legal representative
Name:
Legal representative
Name:
Position:
Position:
Signature:
Signature:
Stamp:
Stamp:
Date:
Date:
8