Brussels, 18 May 2022
WK 7218/2022 INIT
LIMITE
FIN
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MEETING DOCUMENT
From:
General Secretariat of the Council
To:
Budget Committee
N° Cion doc.:
8910/22 + ADD 1 (COM(2022) 223 final + ANNEXES 1 to 2)
Subject:
Financial Regulation (recast): Amendments related to centralised publication of
data on recipients of EU funding (transparency for the public) (Fiche 3)
Delegations will find enclosed the Commission's Fiche No 3 regarding the amendments related to
centralised publication of data on recipients of EU funding (transparency for the public).
WK 7218/2022 INIT
ECOFIN.2.A GT/ML/ab
LIMITE
EN

Fiche1 n° 3

May 2022
Financial Regulation recast
(COM(2022)223 final)

Amendments related to centralised publication of data on recipients of EU
funding (transparency for the public)
The current transparency obligations across the different methods of EU budget implementation do
not allow for a single access and information point for the public on the use of the EU budget and
on recipients of EU funding like  the one offered by  the  Financial  Transparency System  (‘FTS’)
currently in use for direct management.
The European Parliament has been calling on the Commission to improve the way information on
the use of the EU budget and on recipients of EU funding is provided to the public. In particular, the
Parliament considers that the information made public is too fragmented in many different websites
to allow for adequate transparency and accountability concerning the use of the EU budget. In its
own initiative report on the revision of the Financial Regulation (‘FR’), the Parliament stressed the
need to make progress in the area of transparency and suggested the compulsory centralisation of
information on recipients of EU funding within a user-friendly public EU database with accessible
data in a machine-readable format while acknowledging that requirements should be balanced to
reflect strictly relevant information items and ensure data protection.
The proposal aims to improve the way information is provided to the public on the use of the EU
budget and on recipients of EU funding. The proposed modifications to the Financial Regulation
consist of:
-  Establishing horizontal measures for Member States implementing the EU budget under shared
management, for Member States that receive and implement EU funds under direct management,
for persons and entities implementing the EU budget under indirect management and for other
Union institutions and bodies to transmit to the Commission for publication, at least on a yearly
basis, information on their recipients and amounts of EU funding.
-  Assigning to the Commission the responsibility to consolidate, centralise and publish the data
on recipients of EU funding in a single website and database covering all methods of EU budget
implementation (direct, indirect and shared management) and budget implementation by other
Union institutions and bodies.  The resulting single website would be an enhanced version of the
FTS.
-  Applying the new provisions only to programmes adopted under and financed as from the post-
2027 MFF to ensure a smooth transition and enough time for the necessary adaptations of IT
tools.
-  Including an explicit reference to the application of Article 38 FR, taking into consideration the
transitional period, to any future instruments where Member States receive and implement EU
funds under direct management (as in the case of Member States under RRF).
The creation of a single website and database at  EU level covering all recipients on EU funding
would overcome the current fragmentation, enhance transparency and facilitate public scrutiny of
recipients.  Overall support for such modifications was expressed in the public consultation on the

1 This fiche is a non-paper prepared by the responsible Commission department to facilitate the decision making process.
Fragments of the Commission proposal have been inserted in Annex for ease of reference only. The authentic text of the
proposal is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
1

FR that closed on 1 October 2021. These modifications are to be distinguished from the proposal
for recording and storing of data on recipients of EU funding and the use of a single integrated IT
system  for  data-mining  and  risk-scoring  for  control  and  audit  purposes  that  are  dealt  with  in  a
separate fiche.

1.  Scene setter
The current transparency obligations across the different methods of EU budget implementation do
not allow for a single access and information point for the public on the use of the EU budget and on
recipients of EU funding like the one offered by the Financial Transparency System (‘FTS’) currently
in use for direct management.
With  respect  to  direct  management,  Article  38(1)  FR  obliges  the  Commission  including  executive
agencies to make available information on recipients of funds financed from  the budget. The same
obligation applies to other Union institutions. With respect to decentralised agencies, Article 31(4) of
the  Framework  Financial  Regulation  (Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2019/715)  requires
each Union body concerned to make available on its website information on the recipients of funds
financed from its budget, including experts contracted, in accordance with Article 38 FR. A matching
obligation  exists  in  Article  15(3)  of  the  Model  Financial  Regulation  for  public-private  partnership
bodies (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887).
With respect to indirect management, Article 38 FR obliges entrusted partners to publish information
on recipients in accordance with their rules and procedures, to the extent that those rules are deemed
equivalent  following  the  pillar  assessment  carried  out  by  the  Commission  pursuant  to
Article 154(4)(e) FR.
With respect to shared management, pursuant to Article 38 FR and sector-specific rules, the Member
States’  bodies  implementing  the  budget  must  publish  information  on  their  recipients.  The  new
Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) rules now refer to the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) rules,
meaning  that  the  set  of  data  to  be  published  is  essentially  the  same,  although  CAP  data  is  to  be
published at Member State level whereas CPR data is to be published at managing authority level.
The FR is the overarching and horizontal regulation for the EU budget and covers all of its methods of
implementation.  The  FR  is  therefore  the  most  appropriate  legal  instrument  to  regulate  a  uniform
approach  and  further  enhance  transparency  on  the  use  of  the  EU  budget  and  on  recipients  of  EU
funding.
2.  Details of the proposal
Article  38  FR  is  placed  in  Title  II  ‘Budget  and  budgetary  principles’,  Chapter  8  ‘Principle  of
transparency’ and sets out the rules for publication of information on recipients.
The proposed modifications aim at reinforcing the requirements for transparency in Article 38 FR and
consist of:
1)  Establishing horizontal measures for Member States implementing the EU budget under shared
management, for Member States that receive and implement EU funds under direct management,
for persons and entities implementing the EU budget  under indirect  management and for other
Union  institutions  (Article  59  FR)  and  bodies  (Articles  70  and  71  FR)  to  transmit  to  the
Commission for publication, at least on a yearly basis and at the latest by 31 March every year,
information on their recipients and amounts of EU funding.
2

2)  Assigning to the Commission the responsibility to consolidate, centralise and publish, by 30 June
every  year,  the  data  on recipients  of  EU  funding  in  a  single  website  and  database  covering  all
methods  of  EU  budget  implementation  (direct,  indirect  and  shared  management)  and  budget
implementation by other Union institutions and bodies.  The resulting single website would be an
enhanced version of the FTS.
3)  Specifying  that  information  should  be  transmitted  and  published  in  an  open,  interoperable  and
machine-readable  format,  which  allows  data  to  be  sorted,  searched,  extracted,  compared  and
reused.
4)  Adding  a  requirement  to  publish  unique  identifiers  of  recipients  of  EU  funding  that  are  legal
persons  (such  as  VAT  or  Tax  identification  number2).  This  allows  for  an  easy  and  accurate
identification,  filtering  and  grouping  of  recipients  of  EU  funding  in  all  methods  of  EU  budget
implementation.
5)  Including an explicit reference to the application of Article 38 FR, taking into consideration the
transitional  period,  to  any  future  instruments  where  Member  States  receive  and  implement  EU
funds under direct management (as in the case of Member States under RRF). Given the latest
developments of new instruments with Member States in the context of direct management (as
opposed to those under shared management already regulated by Article 38 FR), such application
would cover potential future instruments and avoid lengthy legislative proposals.
6)  As  regards  indirect  management,  the  transmission  of  data  on  recipients  of  EU  funding  to  the
Commission would apply to the direct recipients of entrusted partners where financial support is
above EUR 500 000. This is in line with the rationale of this method of budget implementation
based on reliance on partners’ rules, the equivalence of those rules to those of the Commission
(through  the  assessment  of  their  publication  rules)  and  the  principle  of  proportionality.  The
threshold  aligns  with  that  for  publication  of  financial  support  provided  through  financial
instruments introduced in the FR 2018 revision.
7)  Applying the new provisions only to programmes adopted under and financed as from the post-
2027 MFF to ensure a smooth transition and enough time for the necessary adaptations of IT tools
(for instance the development of an electronic template to transmit data) and, in the case of indirect
management, for renegotiating the agreements with entrusted partners, just revised in 2021.
In spite of the centralised publication of data by the Commission, the existing transparency obligations
for entrusted partners, Member State bodies implementing the budget under shared management, other
Union institutions and bodies are maintained, as it is important that they communicate in a transparent
manner and ensure visibility to citizens on their particular use of the EU budget. This becomes even
more relevant for policies or Funds that have a very specific national or regional dimension.
To allow a swift and effortless transmission of data, the Commission will prepare a simple template
for input in a Commission dedicated server allowing automatic transmission of whole data sets at once,
not requiring one by one encoding. The transmission of data would happen (at least) once a year  and
will cover data that Union institutions and bodies, Member States and entrusted partners already have at
their disposal.

2 OECD provides an overview of domestic rules in the different jurisdictions (including  third countries)  governing the
issuance,  structure,  use  and  validity  of  Tax  Identification  Numbers  ("TIN")  or  their  functional  equivalents.   The
jurisdiction-specific information of the TINs is split into a  section for individuals and a section for  entities. Please see
further  details  here  https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/crs-implementation-and-assistance/tax-identification-
numbers/.
3

Annex: FR proposal

Recital/Article
Proposed modifications
Revised
recitals  (29) Without  prejudice to  the rules on the protection of personal  data, the
for  revised  Article  utmost transparency regarding information on recipients should be sought. The
38
information  on  recipients  of  Union  funds  implemented  under  direct
management should be published on a dedicated website of Union institutions,
such  as  the  Financial  Transparency  System,.  and Publication  requirements
should cover all methods of budget implementation, including by other Union
institutions  and  bodies.  To  that  end,  Member  States,  persons  and  entities
implementing  the  budget  and  other  Union  institutions  and  bodies  should
transmit  to  the Commission,  at  least  on a  yearly  basis, information  on their
recipients of Union funding. That information should include at least the name,
a  unique  identifier   and  the  locality  of  the  recipient,  the  amount  legally
committed and the purpose of the measure. That information should take into
account relevant criteria such as the periodicity, the type and the importance
of the measure.
For prizes, grants and contracts awarded following the opening-up of a public
procedure to competition, and in particular for contests, calls for proposals and
calls for tenders, in order to respect the principles of the TFEU and in particular
the  principles  of  transparency,  proportionality,  equal  treatment  and  non-
discrimination, the name and locality of the recipients of Union funds should
be published. Such publication should contribute to the control of the award
procedures by the unsuccessful applicants in the competition.
(31) Personal data referring to natural persons should not be publicly available
for  longer  than  the  period  during  which  the  funds  are  being  used  by  the
recipient and should therefore be removed after two years. The same should
apply to personal data referring to legal persons whose official name identifies
one or more natural persons.
(33)  For  reasons  of  legal  certainty  and  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of
proportionality,  the  situations  in  which  publication  should  not  take  place
should be specified. For example, information should not be published with
regard to scholarships or other forms of direct support paid to natural persons
most in need, to certain contracts with a very low value or to financial support
below a certain threshold provided through financial instruments or budgetary
guarantees,  or  in  cases  where  disclosure  risks  threatening  the  rights  and
freedoms  of  the  individuals  concerned  as  protected  by  the  Charter  of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union or causing harm to the commercial
interests  of  the  recipients.  For  grants,  however,  there  should  be  no  special
exemption from the obligation to publish information on the basis of a specific
threshold,  in  order  to  maintain  the  current  practice  and  to  allow  for
transparency.
(36) In the case of indirect and shared management, the persons, entities or
designated  bodies  implementing  Union  funds  should  make  available
information  on  recipients  and  final  recipients.  In  the  case  of  shared
management, the information should be published in accordance with sector-
specific rules. Member States that receive and implement Union funds under
direct management should make available information on their recipients in
accordance  with  this  Regulation. The  Commission  should  make  available
4

information about a single website, including a reference to its address, where
the information on recipients and final recipients can be found.
New  recital  (256)  (256)  Some modifications regarding the transmission to the Commission of
for
transitional  data on recipients for the purposes of publication, and regarding the electronic
provisions Articles  recording and storage of data on recipients and the use of the single integrated
36 and 38
IT system for data-mining and risk-scoring to access and analyse those data
should apply only to programmes adopted under and financed from the post-
2027 multiannual financial framework in order to ensure a smooth transition
by  allowing  sufficient  time  for  the  necessary  adaption  of  electronic  data
systems and of relevant agreements, as well as the provision of guidance and
training.
Revised Article 38  Article 38
Publication of information on recipients and other information
1.
The Commission shall make available on its website, in an appropriate
and  timely  manner,  information  on  recipients  of  funds  financed  from  the
budget no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which
the funds were legally committed, where the budget is implemented by it in
accordance  with  point  (a)  of  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  62(1),  first
subparagraph, point (a), by Union institutions in accordance with Article 59(1),
and by the Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71.
Where  the  budget  is  implemented  in  accordance  with  Article  62(1),  first
subparagraph,  points  (b)  and  (c),  and  with  Member  States  in  accordance  to
Article  62(1),  first  subparagraph,  point  (a),  the  Commission  shall  make
available on its website information on recipients no later than 30 June of the
year following the financial year in which the contract or agreement setting out
the conditions of support was established. Where the budget is implemented in
accordance with Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (b), references in this
Article  to  recipients  shall  be  understood  as  references  to  beneficiaries  as
defined in sector-specific rules.
The  first  subparagraph  of  this  paragraph  shall  also  apply  to  other  Union
institutions when they implement the budget pursuant to Article 59(1).
2.
Save  in  the  cases  referred  to  in  paragraphs  3  and  4,  the  following
information shall be published in an open, interoperable and machine-readable
format,  which  allows  data  to  be  sorted,  searched,  extracted,  compared  and
reused , having due regard for the requirements of confidentiality and security,
in particular the protection of personal data:

(a)  whether the recipient is a natural or a legal person;
(ba)
the recipient’s full legal name in the case of a legal person and their
VAT  identification  number  or  tax  identification  number  where
available or another unique identifier established at country level, the
first and last  name of the recipient in the case of a natural person;

(cb)  the locality of the recipient, namely:

(i)
the address of the recipient when the recipient is a legal
person;

(ii)
the  region  on  NUTS  2  level  when  the  recipient  is  a
natural person and is domiciled in the European Union or the
5

country  when  the  recipient  is  a  natural  person  and  is  not
domiciled in the European Union;

(dc)  the  amount  legally  committed  and,  in  case  of  a  commitment
with multiple recipients, the breakdown of this amount per recipient
where available ;

(ed)  the nature and purpose of the measure.
The information referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall
only be published for prizes, grants and contracts which have been awarded as
a result of contests, grant award procedures or procurement procedures, and
for experts selected pursuant to Article 237(2).
3.
The information  referred to  in  the first  subparagraph of paragraph 2
shall not be published and shall not be submitted for publication in accordance
with paragraph 6 of this Article for :

(a)  education  supports  paid  to  natural  persons  and  other  direct
support paid to natural persons most in need as referred to in point (b)
of Article 195191(4), point (b);

(b)  very low value contracts awarded to experts selected pursuant
to Article 242237(2) as well as very low value contracts below the
amount referred to in point 14.4 of Annex I;

(c)  financial  support  provided  through  financial  instruments or
budgetary guarantees for an amount lower than EUR 500 000;

(d)  where disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of
the  persons  or  entities  concerned  as  protected  by  the  Charter  of
Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union  or  harming  the
commercial interests of the recipients;.
(e)  where  it  is  not  required  for  publication  in  sector-specific  rules
where the budget  is  implemented in  accordance  with  Article 62(1),
first subparagraph, point (b).
In the cases referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph, the information
made available shall be limited to  statistical  data, aggregated in  accordance
with  relevant criteria, such as  geographical  situation,  economic typology  of
recipients,  type  of  support  received  and  the  Union  policy  area  under  which
such support was provided.
Where  natural  persons  are  concerned,  the  disclosure  of  the  information
referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall be based on relevant
criteria  such  as  the  frequency  or  the  type  of  the  measure  and  the  amounts
involved.
4.
Persons or entities implementing Union funds pursuant to point (c) of
the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  62(1),  first  subparagraph,  point  (c),  shall
publish  information  on  recipients  in  accordance  with  their  rules  and
procedures, to the extent that those rules are deemed equivalent following the
assessment carried out  by  the Commission  pursuant  to  point (e) of the first
subparagraph of Article 158 (3) and 154(4), first subparagraph, point (e), and
provided  that  any  publication  of  personal  data  is  subject  to  safeguards
equivalent to those set out in this Article.
Bodies  designated  pursuant  to  Article  63(3)  shall  publish  information  in
accordance  with  sector-specific  rules.  Those  sector-specific  rules  may,  in
6

accordance with the relevant legal basis, derogate from paragraphs 2 and 3 of
this Article, in particular for the publication of personal data, where justified
on the basis of the criteria referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3
of this Article, and taking into account the specificities of the sector concerned.
Member States that receive and implement Union funds, pursuant to budget
implementation under Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a), shall ensure
ex post publication of information on their recipients, in a single website, in
accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.
5.
The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published on the
websites of Union institutions, no later than 30 June of the year following the
financial year in which the funds were legally committed.
The websites of Union institutions shall contain a reference to the address of
the website where the information referred to in paragraph 1 can be found if it
is not published directly on a dedicated website of Union institutions.
The Commission shall make available, in an appropriate and timely manner,
information about a single website, including a reference to its address, where
the information as provided by the Member States, persons, entities or bodies
referred to in paragraph 4 can be found.
6.
For the purposes of the first and second subparagraphs of paragraph 1
of this Article and without prejudice to paragraph 4 and to sector-specific rules,
Union institutions implementing the budget pursuant to Article 59(1), Member
States implementing the budget pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph,
point (b), Member States that receive and implement Union funds pursuant to
budget  implementation  under  Article  62(1),  first  subparagraph,  point  (a),
persons  or  entities  implementing  the  budget  pursuant  to  Article  62(1),  first
subparagraph, point (c) and Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 shall
transmit  electronically  to  the  Commission,  in  an  open,  interoperable  and
machine-readable format, at least once a year and at the latest by 31 March of
the year following the financial year in which the funds were legally committed
or in which the contract or agreement setting out the conditions of support was
established, whichever is applicable, the data on their recipients referred to in
paragraph 2 of this Article with the exception of the data referred to in the first
subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article.
In addition, the data to be transmitted shall also include the VAT identification
number  or  tax  identification  number  of  natural  persons  where  available  or
another unique identifier established at country level with a view to improve
the quality of the data transmitted without it being used for publication.
76.
Where personal data are published, the information shall be removed
two years after the end of the financial year in which the funds were legally
committed.  This  shall  also  apply  to  personal  data  referring  to  legal  persons
whose official name identifies one or more natural persons.
Where  the  budget  is  implemented  in  accordance  with  Article  62(1),  first
subparagraph, points (b) and (c), the personal data shall be removed two years
after the end of the financial year in which the contract or agreement setting
out the conditions of support was established.
Specific provisions  6.
The requirements of paragraph 6 of Article 38 shall apply to persons or
for
indirect  entities  implementing  Union  funds  pursuant  to  Article  62(1),  first
management
in
Article 159(6)
7

subparagraph, point c), where the financial support directly provided by
persons or entities to third parties is of an amount higher than EUR 500 000.
Transitional
4.
The obligations set out in Article 38, third subparagraph of paragraph
provisions in
4 and in paragraph 6, shall apply only to programmes adopted under and
Article 275(4)
financed from the post-2027 multiannual financial framework.

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