http://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2014/223/article/44Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 on the Fund for European Aid to the Most DeprivedRegulation (EU) No 223/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) No 223/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 on the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived2020-12-11King's Printer of Acts of Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/eu-exit/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0223-20200425texttext/xmlen2020-04-25 TITLE VI <Strong>FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, EXAMINATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF ACCOUNTS, FINANCIAL CORRECTIONS AND DECOMMITMENTS</Strong> CHAPTER 1 <Strong> <Emphasis>Financial management</Emphasis> </Strong> Payment and clearance of pre-financing Article 44 1 Following the Commission decision adopting the operational programme, a pre-financing amount of 11 % of the Fund's overall contribution to the operational programme concerned shall be paid by the Commission. 2 Pre-financing shall be used only for payments to beneficiaries in the implementation of the operational programme. It shall be made available without delay to the responsible body for this purpose. 3 The total amount paid as pre-financing shall be reimbursed to the Commission if no payment application for the operational programme concerned is sent within 24 months of the date on which the Commission pays the first pre-financing amount. The Union contribution to the operational programme concerned shall not be affected by such reimbursement. 4 The amount paid as pre-financing shall be totally cleared from the Commission accounts at the latest when the operational programme is closed.