SECTION 1

Any undertaking, university or research centre or other legal entity, whether established in a Member State or associated country, or in a third country, may participate in an indirect action provided that the minimum conditions laid down in this Chapter have been met, including any conditions specified pursuant to Article 12. However, in the case of an indirect action as referred to in Articles 5(1), 7, 8 or 9, under which it is possible for the minimum conditions to be met without the participation of a legal entity established in a Member State, the attainment of the objectives laid down in Articles 163 and 164 of the Treaty must thereby be enhanced. The Joint Research Centre of the Commission, hereinafter ‘the JRC’, may participate in indirect actions on the same footing and with the same rights and obligations as a legal entity established in a Member State. The minimum conditions for indirect actions shall be the following: at least three legal entities must participate, each of which must be established in a Member State or associated country, and no two of which may be established in the same Member State or associated country; all three legal entities must be independent of each other within the meaning of Article 6. For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1, where one of the participants is the JRC, or an international European interest organisation or an entity created under Community law, it shall be deemed to be established in a Member State or associated country other than any Member State or associated country in which another participant in the same indirect action is established. Two legal entities shall be regarded as independent of each other where neither is under the direct or indirect control of the other or under the same direct or indirect control as the other. For the purposes of paragraph 1, control may, in particular, take either of the following forms: the direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital in the legal entity concerned, or of a majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or associates of that entity; the direct or indirect holding, in fact or in law, of decision-making powers in the legal entity concerned. However, the following relationships between legal entities shall not in themselves be deemed to constitute controlling relationships: the same public investment corporation, institutional investor or venture-capital company has a direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital or a majority of voting rights of the shareholders or associates; the legal entities concerned are owned or supervised by the same public body. For collaborative projects for specific cooperation actions dedicated to international cooperation partner countries identified in the work programme, the minimum conditions shall be the following: at least four legal entities must participate; at least two of the legal entities referred to in point (a) must be established in Member States or associated countries, but not established in the same Member State or associated country; at least two of the legal entities referred to in point (a) must be established in international cooperation partner countries, but not established in the same international cooperation partner country, unless otherwise specified in the work programme; all four legal entities referred to in point (a) must be independent of each other within the meaning of Article 6. For coordination and support actions, and actions in favour of training and career development of researchers, the minimum condition shall be the participation of one legal entity. The first paragraph shall not apply in the case of actions whose purpose is to coordinate research activities. For indirect actions to support ‘frontier’ research projects funded in the framework of the European Research Council, the minimum condition shall be the participation of one legal entity established in a Member State or in an associated country. Where the minimum conditions for an indirect action are satisfied by a number of legal entities, which together form one legal entity, the latter may be the sole participant in an indirect action, provided that it is established in a Member State or associated country. Participation in indirect actions shall be open to international organisations and legal entities established in third countries provided that the minimum conditions laid down in this Chapter are met, as well as any conditions laid down in the specific programmes or relevant work programmes. In addition to the minimum conditions laid down in this Chapter, specific programmes or work programmes may lay down conditions regarding the minimum number of participants. They may also lay down, according to the nature and objectives of the indirect action, additional conditions to be met as regards type of participant and, where appropriate, place of establishment.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-07 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.