Closing programmes 2014-20

The programme closure refers to the final settlement of programme payments either through payment of final balance by the EC or decommitment or recovery payment by the programme. With the system of annual examination and acceptance of accounts, a significant simplification of the closure procedure was introduced. The final closure of the programme is therefore based only on the documents relating to the final accounting year and the final implementation report.

Where to start

The Commission guidance on programme closure offers the best starting point on this subject. The revised version of the guidance was published on 14 October 2024. The guidance was updated due to amendments to Common Provision, Art 25a and 135, by STEP-Regulation. Below you will find the presentation Revision of the Closure Guidelines after STEP
amendment.

The main changes consist in:

• Possibility to apply a co-financing rate of 100% to expenditure declared in payment applications for the final accounting year only.  The co-financing rate of 100 % shall apply only if the financial tables are notified to the Commission before the submission of the final application for an interim payment for the final accounting year
• Flexibility at closure between different priority axis per Fund and per category of region: the additional special allocation for the outermost regions shall be considered as part of the ERDF allocation to the category of regions of the outermost region concerned
• The deadline for the submission of the final application for an interim payment for the final accounting year is extended by 12 months, i.e., until 31 July 2025
• The deadline for the submission of the closure documents is extended by 12 months, i.e., until 15 February 2026
• Financial management for the final accounting year: Amounts from resources other than REACT-EU reimbursed by the Commission as interim payments in 2025 shall not exceed 1% of the total financial appropriations to the programme concerned by Fund, REACT-EU resources excluded. Amounts that would be due to be paid by the Commission in 2025 exceeding this percentage shall not be paid and shall be used exclusively for the clearing of pre-financing at closure.

The core tasks related to closure were also explored in a webinar organised by Interact (links below).

What we are working on

Programme Closure is one of the topics in the Finance Network meetings. The last webinar on the topic was organised in October 2024.

Contact 

For more information please contact Sanna Erkko.