AGREEMENT

between the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union on a Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the period 2014-2021

Article 1

1.   The Kingdom of Norway undertakes to contribute to the reduction of economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and to the strengthening of its relations with the Beneficiary States, through a separate Norwegian Financial Mechanism in the priority sectors listed in Article 3.

2.   All programmes and activities funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 shall be based on the common values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

Article 2

1.   The total amount of the financial contribution provided for in Article 1 shall be EUR 1 253,7 million, to be made available for commitment in annual tranches of EUR 179,1 million over the period running from 1 May 2014 to 30 April 2021 inclusive.

2.   The total amount shall consist of country-specific allocations as specified in Article 6 and a global fund for regional cooperation as specified in Article 7.

Article 3

1.   The country-specific allocations shall be made available for the following priority sectors:

The programme areas within the priority sectors outlining the objectives and areas of support are set out in the Annex to this Agreement.

Article 4

1.   In order to achieve concentration on priority sectors and to ensure efficient implementation, in line with the overall objectives referred to in Article 1, and taking into account the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, including a focus on employment, national priorities, country-specific recommendations and Partnership Agreements under EU cohesion policy, concluded with the European Commission, the Kingdom of Norway shall conclude with each Beneficiary State a Memorandum of Understanding in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 3.

2.   Consultations with the European Commission shall take place at a strategic level and shall be held during the negotiations of the Memoranda of Understanding as defined in Article 10, paragraph 3, with a view to promoting complementarity and synergies with EU cohesion policy, as well as exploring opportunities for applying financial instruments to increase the impact of financial contributions.

Article 5

1.   The contribution from the Kingdom of Norway shall, with respect to those programmes under the country-specific allocations for which the Beneficiary States shall have implementation responsibility, not exceed 85 % of programme cost, unless otherwise decided by the Kingdom of Norway.

2.   The applicable rules on State aid shall be complied with.

3.   The responsibility of the Kingdom of Norway for the projects is limited to providing funds according to the agreed plan. No liability to third parties will be assumed.

Article 6

The country-specific allocations shall be made available to the following Beneficiary States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, in accordance with the following distribution:

Article 7

1.   The global fund for regional cooperation shall be made available for an amount of EUR 44,75 million. It shall contribute to achieving the objectives of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism as defined in Article 1.

2.   60 % of the fund shall be made available for the promotion of sustainable and quality youth employment with particular focus on the following areas:

This part of the fund shall be made available to projects involving Beneficiary States and other EU Member States with a youth unemployment rate above 25 % (Eurostat reference year 2013),and shall involve at least two countries, including at least one Beneficiary State. Norwegian entities can participate as partners.

3.   40 % of the fund shall be made available for regional cooperation across the priority sectors listed in Article 3, in particular knowledge sharing, policy exchange for best practices and institution building.

This part of the fund shall be made available to projects involving Beneficiary States and neighbouring third countries. Projects shall involve at least three countries, including at least two Beneficiary States. Norwegian entities can participate as partners.

Article 8

A mid-term review shall be carried out by the Kingdom of Norway by 2020 with a view to redistributing any non-committed available funds within the allocations to the individual Beneficiary States concerned.

Article 9

1.   The financial contribution provided for in Article 1 shall be closely coordinated with the contribution from the EFTA States provided for by the EEA Financial Mechanism.

2.   In particular, the Kingdom of Norway shall ensure that the application procedures and implementation modalities are essentially the same for both financial mechanisms referred to in the previous paragraph.

3.   Any relevant changes in the European Union's cohesion policy shall be taken into account, as appropriate.

Article 10

The following shall apply to the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism:

Article 11

1.   This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Parties in accordance with their own procedures. The instruments of ratification or approval shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

2.   It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the last instrument of ratification or approval has been deposited.

3.   Pending the completion of the procedures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, this Agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis as from the first day of the first month following the deposit of the last notification to this effect.

Article 12

This Agreement, drawn up in a single original in the Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Norwegian languages, the text in each of these languages being equally authentic, shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, which will remit a certified copy to each of the Parties to this Agreement.