1. When submitting an application for a financial contribution from the Fund to the Commission, a Member State may request the payment of an advance. The Commission shall make a preliminary assessment of whether the application fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 4(1) and verify the availability of budgetary resources. Where those conditions are fulfilled and sufficient resources are available, the Commission may adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, awarding the advance and pay it out without delay before the decision referred to in Article 4(4) has been taken. The payment of an advance shall be made without prejudice to the final decision on the mobilisation of the Fund.
[F22. The amount of the advance shall not exceed 25 % of the amount of the financial contribution anticipated and shall in no case exceed EUR 100 000 000 . Once the definitive amount of the financial contribution has been determined, the Commission shall take into account the sum of the advance prior to the balance of the financial contribution being paid. The Commission shall recover unduly paid advances.]
3. Any repayment due to be made to the general budget of the Union shall be effected before the due date indicated in the order for recovery drawn up in accordance with the Article 78 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) . The due date shall be the last day of the second month following the issue of the order.
4. When adopting the draft general budget of the Union for a given financial year, the Commission shall, where necessary in order to ensure the timely availability of budgetary resources, propose to the European Parliament and the Council to mobilise the Fund in an amount up to a maximum of EUR 50 000 000 for the payment of advances and propose to enter the corresponding appropriations into the general budget of the Union.
The budgetary arrangements shall comply with the ceilings referred to in Article 10(1) of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 (2) .]
Textual Amendments
F1 Inserted by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund.
F2 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 in order to provide financial assistance to Member States and to countries negotiating their accession to the Union that are seriously affected by a major public health emergency.
[F1Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 ( OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1 ).]
[F1Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 ( OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884 ).]