COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2021/626

16.4.2021 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 131/183 ---|---|---|--- * * * COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2021/626 of 14 April 2021 establishing the InvestEU Portal and setting out its technical specifications THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (1), in particular Article 26 thereof, Whereas: (1) | The InvestEU Portal should contribute to catalysing and accelerating the development and the fruition of investment projects in the Union. ---|--- (2) | Pursuant to Article 26(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523, only projects that are compatible with Union law and policies shall be listed on the InvestEU Portal. Admission criteria should be laid down to ensure that this requirement is met. ---|--- (3) | In order to ensure a transparent management of the InvestEU Portal, the technical specifications thereof should be set out, ---|--- HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 The InvestEU Portal is established. It shall comply with the technical specifications set out in the Annex. Article 2 The inclusion of projects in the InvestEU Portal shall comply with the following admission criteria: (a) | the project (or the programme consisting of smaller projects) shall have a minimum size of EUR 500 000 in terms of required investments; ---|--- (b) | the project shall fall in the areas eligible for financing and investment operations as set out in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2021/523; ---|--- (c) | the promoter shall not be excluded from contracts financed by the Union budget or sanctioned for grave professional misconduct, criminal activities, or significant deficiencies in complying with its obligations under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2); ---|--- (d) | the project shall not constitute excluded activities as set out under point B of Annex V to Regulation (EU) 2021/523; ---|--- (e) | the project shall be situated in the Union, or in an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU; ---|--- (f) | the project shall not entail reputational risks for the Commission; ---|--- (g) | the project implementation shall have commenced or shall be expected to commence within three years of the date of submission to the InvestEU Portal; ---|--- (h) | the project shall be clearly described in the project application as an investment project and the information provided therein shall be accurate and shall specify the amount of financing necessary for undertaking the project; and ---|--- (i) | the project shall be compatible with Union law and policies. ---|--- Article 3 No application processing fee shall be charged for the inclusion of a project in the InvestEU Portal. Article 4 This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Done at Brussels, 14 April 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN * * * (1) OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 30. (2) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1. * * * ANNEX TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF THE INVESTEU PORTAL 1\. General description The InvestEU Portal shall be an easily accessible and user-friendly project database that provides relevant information for each project, thus providing a channel for project promoters to bring projects for which they are seeking finance visible to investors, including donors and philathropists. Detailed project information shall be made available to registered users only. The publication of a project on the InvestEU Portal shall not amount to its endorsement by the Commission. The inclusion of projects in the InvestEU Portal shall be without prejudice to decisions on the final projects selected for support under Regulation (EU) 2021/523, under any other instrument of the Union, or to decisions for public funding. The main components of InvestEU Portal shall be: (1) | a public portal: part of the InvestEU programme website containing publicly available information, including: | — | a project map (interactive for registered users), and ---|--- — | a project directory grouped by countries, sectors and other relevant criteria (available in a card view); ---|--- (2) | an online platform for registered users (‘front office’): part of the InvestEU Management Information System allowing the registration of users (including project promoters and investors) and providing detailed information, such as: | — | a database of detailed project presentations (a structured summary information on individual projects) available to registered users only, and ---|--- — | specific areas for project promoters and investors to enable them to submit on-line projects for publication on the InvestEU Portal and to review published projects; ---|--- (3) | an internal platform (‘back office’): part of the InvestEU Management Information System used by the Commission services for screening and management purposes. ---|--- 2\. Management of the InvestEU Portal The InvestEU Portal shall be managed by the Commission. The Portal’s content shall be generated by project promoters, i.e. by private and public legal entities. The Portal may be supported by targeted events. Participation of project promoters and other registered website users to the InvestEU Portal shall be subject to their acceptance of the Terms and Conditions which shall aim at ensuring the quality of published information received from project promoters while making clear that the Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the information published and cannot be held liable for any claims based on the publication of the project. A disclaimer shall alert the website users that the Commission cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information published and that potential investors have to carry out their own usual due diligence, including on financial aspects and any other aspect relevant for their decision on whether to invest in a project. An overview of public advisory services at national level shall be set out. The Commission shall transmit projects that meet the conditions set out in Article 2 to the relevant InvestEU implementing partners. Where appropriate, and where an advisory initiative exists, the Commission shall also transmit such projects to the InvestEU Advisory Hub. 3\. Project screening A project screening shall be performed by the services of the Commission on the basis of the admission criteria set out in Article 2. Some technical aspects of the validation process, such as the verification of project promoters’ identity, may be outsourced to third parties. The Member States shall be invited to appoint one or more contact points for the purposes of the screening of projects with actual and direct security implications, in particular in the sectors of space, defence and cybersecurity. The Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) shall be consulted as appropriate. The publication of information submitted by promoters shall be denied if the information is inaccurate or if the project does not fulfil the requirements set out in Article 2. The information on a project shall be removed from the InvestEU Portal if it is has not been updated by the project promoter for three years. * * *