Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2606 of 22 November 2023 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the operation of the Modernisation Fund supporting investments to modernise the energy systems and to improve energy efficiency of certain Member States

‘2a Where an investment concerns a large-scale project, the beneficiary Member State shall submit a proposal in accordance with paragraph 1. When submitting that proposal, the beneficiary Member State shall specify the amount requested as the first disbursement for the large-scale project and submit a project implementation schedule and a corresponding disbursement schedule. After the Commission has decided on the first disbursement to the large-scale project under Article 8(1), any subsequent disbursement shall require a separate proposal from the beneficiary Member State specifying the amount to be disbursed and containing updated information on the large-scale project, as appropriate. In addition, the beneficiary Member State shall provide information about the implementation of the project compared to the submitted implementation schedule.

2b Beneficiary Member States shall consult the relevant stakeholders on the draft investment proposals for large-scale projects and large-scale schemes, in compliance with the relevant Union or national provisions on the protection of confidential information. Beneficiary Member States shall set reasonable timeframes for the relevant stakeholders to be informed and express their views before the submission of the investment proposals to the EIB.’

‘8 Where a proposal concerns a subsequent disbursement for a scheme or a large-scale project confirmed by the EIB in accordance with paragraph 9 prior to the first disbursement and there have been no changes to the scheme or the large-scale project, the EIB may confirm the proposal as a priority investment, provided that the following conditions are met: (a) the investment fulfils the requirements specified in paragraph 7, points (b) and (c); (b) the investment fulfils the requirement specified in paragraph 7, point (ca), except for the schemes confirmed by the EIB in accordance with paragraph 9 before 5 June 2023; (c) the beneficiary Member State provides information about the implementation of the scheme or large-scale project in accordance with Annex I, point 4.2.’

‘11 An investment proposal that substantially duplicates a prior proposal not confirmed by the EIB is inadmissible.’

‘8 Where a proposal concerns a subsequent disbursement for a scheme or a large-scale project recommended for the financing by the Investment Committee in accordance with paragraph 9 prior to the first disbursement and there have been no changes to the scheme or the large-scale project, the Investment Committee may recommend the proposal for financing, provided that the following conditions are met: (a) the investment fulfils the requirements specified in paragraph 7, points (b) to (e); (b) the investment fulfils the requirement specified in paragraph 7, point (ea), except for the schemes recommended for financing by the Investment Committee in accordance with paragraph 9 before 5 June 2023; (c) the beneficiary Member State provides information about the implementation of the scheme or large-scale project in accordance with Annex I, point 4.2.’

‘11 An investment proposal that substantially duplicates a prior proposal not recommended by the Investment Committee is inadmissible.’

‘2 The Commission shall notify the disbursement decision to the beneficiary Member State concerned and inform thereof the EIB, the Investment Committee and, where relevant, the non-beneficiary Member State in which the adjacent Union border region involved in the investment is located.’

1 Subject to the annual report submitted by the beneficiary Member State under Article 13, an investment shall be deemed discontinued in either of the following cases: a) the beneficiary Member State or the scheme managing authority has not entered, within two years from the latest transmission of funds by the EIB under Article 9, a legal commitment with the project proponent or any of the scheme’s final recipients to finance the investment; b) the beneficiary Member State or the scheme managing authority has not awarded any support to the investment for more than two years since entering the legal commitment to finance the investment with the project proponent or any of the scheme’s final recipients, unless the beneficiary Member State can demonstrate that the investment is being implemented and that support will be awarded within a reasonable time.

2 In the decision adopted under Article 8 the Commission shall modify the amount already disbursed for the discontinued investment by deducting any amount not yet legally committed where the investment is discontinued under paragraph 1, point (a), or not yet awarded where the investment is discontinued under paragraph 1, point (b). Any such amount shall increase the resources in the Modernisation Fund available to the Member State concerned under Article 5(2)(b) and be set off against any future payment by the EIB to the Member State concerned under Article 9. The Commission shall inform the EIB about the need to offset such amount.

3 Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, prior to the closing date of the statement of the available funds, set out in Article 5(3), the beneficiary Member State may inform the Commission about a discontinued investment and request a modification of the disbursement decision in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. This request may concern the amounts not yet covered by a legal commitment or not yet paid to the project proponent or the final recipients of the Modernisation Fund support and the amounts already paid to the project proponent or the final recipients of the Modernisation Fund support, but subsequently recovered by the beneficiary Member State. The beneficiary Member State shall provide documentary evidence justifying the request. Paragraph 2 shall apply to the modification of the disbursement decision, to the increase of the resources in the Modernisation Fund available to the Member State concerned, and to setting off the amount returned to the Fund against any future payment by the EIB to the Member State.’

Where the beneficiary Member State uses the resources allocated to it to finance investments involving the adjacent Union border region, the non-beneficiary Member State in which that region is located shall provide to the beneficiary Member State any information and documentary evidence that is necessary for the beneficiary Member State to comply with Article 13.’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2024.