WG Financial Experts

EARTO WG Financial Experts is composed of more than 30 active experts. The WG is looking at the EU financial rules related to Research and Innovation and impacting RTOs. The experts define common positions and organise workshops with key institutional stakeholders to best prepare the financial and simplification aspects of related EU policies.

Key Topics for 2024

  • Ensuring that Horizon Europe financial implementation is at RTOs' benefit via:
    • Commenting impact of current rules for Participation and Model Grant Agreement & Annotated (financial aspects)
  • Sharing best practices on the implementation of financial aspects such as
    • Usual cost accounting practices, unit costs, allocation keys, internally invoiced goods and services
    • Audits, cross-reliance, system and process audits
  • Monitoring Lump-sum implementation
  • Evaluating and commenting the rules for participation of other EU Programmes with an RD&I component: Digital Europe, Defence, Space
Cooperation with EU Institutions & Stakeholders
  • European Commission (DG R&I, DG BUDG)
  • European Court of Auditors (ECA)
  • European Parliament (ITRE, BUDG, CONT)
  • Members States’ Horizontal NCPs
  • Accountancy Europe

Latest Papers Published

08/ 01/ 2024

EARTO Recommendations regarding the Evaluation & Pre-contractual Negotiations of Lump-sums EU Funded RD&I Projects

EARTO members are very active participants in the EU RD&I Frameworks Programmes (FPs), especially in complex and large collaborative applied RD&I projects. In this context, EARTO Feedback on EARTO Members’ Experiences with Lump-Sums Projects within Horizon Europe addressed wider issues related to lump-sums funding within Horizon Europe. With the recent announcements and discussions pointing to the possible extension of the use of this funding principle, EARTO members wish to alert the EU Institutions on worrying trends and signals regarding the evaluation and pre-contractual negotiations of lump-sums EU-funded RD&I projects.

10 / 02 / 2023

EARTO Feedback on EARTO Members’ Experiences with Lump-Sums Projects within Horizon Europe

EARTO members are actively participating in the current Horizon Europe lump-sums projects and report many implementation issues which need to be tackled before envisioning to further extend the use of such financial instrument.

16 / 07 / 2020

EARTO Technical Paper on the Calculation of Personnel Costs in Horizon Europe

EARTO hereby recalls its main recommendations and presents its financial experts’ personnel costs calculations for Horizon Europe based on their understanding of the EC daily rate and day-equivalent methodology.

21 / 02 / 2020

EARTO Paper on Horizon Europe’s Internal Invoices Scheme

As input to the discussions on Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement, EARTO made a detailed note on Horizon Europe’s internal invoices scheme. EARTO members hereby offer their support and insights to the European Institutions to enable an efficient implementation of such scheme, with the aim to better reflect the real costs of beneficiaries based on their usual cost accounting practices.

04 / 12 / 2019

EARTO Recommendations for European RDI Policy Post-2020 - financial aspects

EARTO and its members hereby put forward a set of Recommendations for European RD&I policies post-2020.

23 / 09 / 2019

EARTO Answer to the EC Consultation on Horizon Europe Implementation – financial aspects

EARTO input on the topics covered by the EC consultation on Horizon Europe Implementation Strategy.

30 / 04 / 2019

EARTO Feedback on Lump-Sums Pilot Experiences

EARTO members active in the H2020 lump-sum pilots share their experiences so far.

30 / 04 / 2019

EARTO Feedback on H2020 Implementation

EARTO experts' feedback on the implementation of the H2020, including on FP simplification measures, are compiled in this paper.

25 / 06 / 2018

EARTO Analysis of EC Regulation Proposal: Establishing HEU & its Rules for Participation

EARTO and its members welcome the EC proposal for Horizon Europe, which is in continuity with H2020 and builds on the successes of the previous FPs.

19 / 03 / 2018

EARTO Recommendations for FP9 Rules for Participation: Funding Rules

EARTO brings further suggestions for the elaboration of FP9 Rules for Participation, with the aim of improving the management and efficiency of the FP9.