EC Decision authorises the use of Unit Costs for Personnel Costs for Simplification Purposes under Horizon Europe from 1 May 2024

As announced on Monday, 18 March 2024 by Commissioner Iliana Ivanova during the Research &Innovation Days, the Decision of the European Commission authorising the use of unit costs for personnel costs for actions under the HE and Euratom Programmes, has been adopted. The use of a unit cost to calculate direct personnel costs of a beneficiary organisation is introduced by the EC as a means of simplification, expected to decrease the beneficiaries’ administrative workload, as well as to prevent financial errors.

Unit Costs will be calculated on the basis of each beneficiary’s own verifiable historical data of personnel costs, capped by a Daily Rate calculated in relation to each country’s country-specific correction coefficient {EUR 9 618  X country-specific correction coefficient (77,5% for Cyprus) divided by 18 days}.

Beneficiaries who wish to use the unit costs possibility, must submit a relevant request through the Funding & Tenders Portal as of 1 May 2024.

The requested unit costs must be accompanied by a certified audit statement, drawn up using the template published on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Once the request is approved, the beneficiary shall use the unit cost in all its Horizon Europe and Euratom proposals submitted after the approval date of the unit cost. In addition, the beneficiary may use the unit cost in proposals already submitted, provided that they will be awarded after the approval date of the unit cost and that the consortium and the granting authority agree on any relevant adaptations of the budget. Grant agreements already awarded or signed at the approval date cannot be amended to

introduce the unit cost. The unit cost is valid for at least two years and beneficiaries may request an update to the unit cost amount, every two years after the approval date, until 31 December 2027.

The declaration of direct personnel costs on the basis of unit costs may be used in all actions under Horizon Europe and the Euratom programmes where actual personnel costs are eligible.

The full text of the EC Decision is accessible on the Funding & Tenders Portal through the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/unit-cost-decision-personnel-costs_horizon-euratom_en.pdf

For additional information, you may contact the Horizon Europe National Contact Points for Legal and Financial issues at the Research and Innovation Foundation:

  • Marcia Trillidou, Scientific Officer A’, Department of Financial Services, Information Technology and European Programmes (Email: [email protected], Tel. 22 205000, 22 205071)
  • Christos Charalambous, Head of Department, Department of Financial Services, Information Technology and European Programmes (Email: [email protected], Tel. 22 205000)
/by