18. pants
-

TIESĪBU PIEŠĶIRŠANA

LR Izglītības un zinātnes ministrija un Latvijas Zinātņu

akadēmija nedrīkst piešķirt nevienu no savām tiesībām un

pienākumiem, kas izriet no šī Līguma bez iepriekšējas un

rakstiskas atļaujas no Komisijas, Eurostars ALG un EUREKA

Sekretariāta.

EUREKA Sekretariāts nedrīkst piešķirt nevienu no tā tiesībām

un pienākumiem bez iepriekšējas un rakstiskas atļaujas no

Komisijas un Eurostars ALG.

Vienošanās ir sastādīta

Briselē un

Rīgā

(datums)

(datums)

četros oriģinālos: divos angļu un divos latviešu valodā.

Atšķirīgas šīs vienošanās interpretācijas gadījumā noteicošais ir

teksts angļu valodā.

EUREKA Sekretariāts

Luuk Borg

Latvijas Republikas

Izglītības un zinātnes ministrs

Rolands Broks

Saistību deklarācija

1. Finansiālo saistību pārskats.

Nacionālā finansējošā institūcija: Latvijas Zinātņu

akadēmija

Nacionālā programma: Eurostars Nacionālā atbalsta programma

(No Valsts budžeta apakšprogrammas 70.06.00 "Dalība Eiropas

Savienības pētniecības un tehnoloģiju attīstības

programmās")

Eurostars programmas projektu x. konkurss, konkursa termiņš:

201x. gada xxx

Eurostars projekts

Maksimālais Nacionālais

finansiālais ieguldījums Eurostars projekta dalībniekam

Numurs (E!)

Akronīms

Dalībnieka nosaukums

Līguma parakstīšanas

datums

Nacionālajā valūtā

EUR

N gads

N+1 gads

N+2 gads

2. Garantijas apliecinājums

Es, Juris Ekmanis, Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmijas prezidents, kas

pārrauga Eurostars programmu Latvijā, sniedzu garantijas

apliecinājumu par Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmiju, kas darbojas

Latvijas Republikas Izglītības un zinātnes ministrijas vārdā kā

menedžeris Eurostars programmai Latvijā Eurostars projektu

[konkursa kārtas numurs] konkursam.

Pamatojoties uz savu vērtējumu un uz manā rīcībā esošo

informāciju, t.sk. Latvijas Zinātņu akadēmijas Iekšējā audita

dienesta darba rezultātiem, es apliecinu, ka:

• Ar katru iepriekš minēto Eurostars projekta dalībnieku ir

noslēgts atbilstošs līgums;

• Cik man zināms, uzrādītās finanšu saistības sniedz patiesu,

pilnīgu un precīzu priekšstatu par maksimālo valsts budžeta

finanšu ieguldījumu, kas nāk no Latvijas valsts budžeta

apakšprogrammas 70.06.00 "Dalība Eiropas Savienības

pētniecības un tehnoloģiju attīstības programmās" Latvijas

Zinātņu akadēmijai kārtējam gadam piešķirtajiem līdzekļiem un ir

paredzēts katram iepriekš minētajam Eurostars projekta

dalībniekam;

• Es esmu ieviesis tādu kontroles vidi, kas sniedz pamatotu

pārliecību par paredzēto darījumu likumību un pareizību, t.sk.

to, ka prasību un kārtības, kādā piešķir valsts budžeta

finansiālo ieguldījumu, kas nāk no Latvijas valsts budžeta

apakšprogrammas 70.06.00 "Dalība Eiropas Savienības

pētniecības un tehnoloģiju attīstības programmās" Latvijas

Zinātņu akadēmijai kārtējam gadam piešķirtajiem līdzekļiem

atbilstība tiks vadīta, kontrolēta un dokumentēta saskaņā ar:

● Latvijas likumiem, kas regulē prasīto izmaksu

atbilstību.

● Katru papildus likumu, ko noteiks kopīgās programmas

Eurostars iedibinātie akti;

● EUREKA Sekretariāta noteiktajiem likumiem un,

● Ja attieksies, ar Savienības likumiem.

Es oficiāli apstiprinu, ka ir pieejama pilna dokumentācija,

lai pamatotu deklarēto informāciju. Tā būs pieejama pēc EUREKA

Sekretariāta pieprasījuma un Savienības un / vai Revīzijas

palātas un / vai to pilnvaroto pārstāvju revīzijas gadījumā.

Šis apliecinājums ir pakļauts šādām atrunām: [aizpilda, ja ir

nepieciešams].

Turklāt es apliecinu, ka neesmu informēts par jebkādu slēptu

informāciju, kas varētu kaitēt Savienības finanšu interesēm.

Saistību deklarācija

Zīmogs

__________________________

Datums

__________________________

Vārds

__________________________

Paraksts

__________________________

1

Kopš 2009. gada 01. decembra 185. pants Līgumā par Eiropas

Savienības darbību.

2OJ

323, 30.12.2006, p.1.

3 OJ L 391,

30.12.2006, p. 1

4

OJ L 391, 30.12.2006, p. 1

Agreement between the Eureka

Secretariat and The Ministry of Education and Science, Republic

of Latvia

This Agreement is made between:

- the EUREKA Secretariat, Rue Neerveld 107, 1200

Brussels, Belgium, duly represented by its Head, Mr. Luuk

BORG

- the Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of

Latvia, Valnu Street 2, Riga, LV 1050, Latvia, duly represented

by Minister of Education and Science, Republic of Latvia,

Mr.Rolands Broks,

hereinafter, jointly or individually, referred to as

"Parties" or "Party".

The Ministry of Education and Science is entitled to

delegate all its administrative obligations mentioned in this

Agreement to its executive agency, the Latvian Academy of

Sciences without prejudice to any liability it may incur under

this Agreement. The Ministry is the contracting partner and also

the final and sole responsible.

Preamble

- Latvia with Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech

Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg,

the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak

Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the

United Kingdom (referred to as "the participating

States") have taken the initiative within the frame of

EUREKA for setting up a joint research and development programme

entitled "Eurostars" for the benefit of R&D

performing SMEs (hereinafter referred to as the "Eurostars

Joint Programme"), in order to obtain a critical mass in

terms of management and financial resources and the combination

of additional expertise and resources available in various

countries across Europe. The overall value of their participation

is estimated at a minimum of EUR 300 million for the proposed

period of six years from 2008 to 2013.

- In its Decision No 1982/2006/EC of 18 December 2006,

the European Parliament and the Council concerning the Seventh

Framework Programme of the European Union for research,

technological development and demonstration activities (2007 -

2013) (hereinafter referred to as "the Seventh Framework

Programme") provides for Union participation in research and

development programmes undertaken by several Member States,

including participation in the structures created for the

execution of those programmes, within the meaning of Article

1691 of the

Treaty.

- In its Decision 743/2008/CE of 9 July 2008,

(hereinafter referred to as "the Decision"), the

European Parliament and the Council have agreed on the

participation by the Union in the Eurostars Joint Programme on

the basis of Article 169 of the Treaty in order to

increase the impact and critical mass of the Eurostars Joint

Programme and to add an incentive for greater integration among

the participating national programmes. The Union financial

contribution shall be of maximum one third of the actual national

financial contributions of the participating States, within a

ceiling of EUR 100 million for the six years duration of

the Eurostars Joint Programme, subject to efficient

implementation, financial commitments by the participating States

and the actual payments of their national financial

contributions. The Union financial contribution

shall thus represent a share of maximum 25% of the total

public contribution to the Eurostars Joint Programme.

- The participating States have agreed on EUREKA

Secretariat as the dedicated implementation structure to manage

the Eurostars Joint Programme, to monitor its execution and to

receive, allocate and monitor the Union financial contribution to

the Eurostars Joint Programme. The EUREKA Secretariat shall

notably issue a call for applications on a continuous basis, with

one or more cut-off dates per year from 2008 to 2013, and set up

a centralised evaluation of Eurostars proposals and selection

procedure of Eurostars projects.

- The Latvian Academy of Sciences has been formally

designated by Latvia to financially support legal entities

participating in selected Eurostars projects from its national

earmarked Eurostars budget.

- The Eurostars Joint Programme shall be implemented in

accordance with the Decision and the Delegation agreement [to be]

concluded between the Commission, on behalf of the Union, and the

EUREKA Secretariat defining the tasks entrusted to the EUREKA

Secretariat and establishing the arrangements for the Union

financial contribution and the rules relating to financial

liability and intellectual property rights as well as the

detailed rules for the provision of financial support by the

EUREKA Secretariat to third parties, and annual financing

agreements.

It is therefore hereby agreed as follows:

Article 1- Scope

The purpose of this Agreement is to define terms and

conditions:

- of the annual financial commitments of the Latvian

Academy of Sciences to the Eurostars Joint Programme;

- of the financial support provided by the Latvian

Academy of Sciences to Eurostars participants;

- of the allocation and use of the Union financial

contribution by the EUREKA Secretariat to The Latvian Academy of

Sciences following the actual payments of its financial support

to Eurostars participants;

- for the controls of funds, the recovery of any duly

payment made, and the adequate protection of the financial

interests of the Union;

- for an IPR policy for the Eurostars Joint

Programme.

Article 2- Definitions

- "Commission" means the European

Commission;

- "EUREKA National Project Coordinator (NPC)"

means the national contact point;

- "Eurostars High Level Group (HLG)" means the

body in charge of supervising the implementation of the Eurostars

Joint Programme, and in particular for the appointment of the

members of the Eurostars Advisory Group, the approval of the

operational procedures for running the Eurostars Joint Programme,

the approval of the call planning and call budget, and the

approval of the ranking list of Eurostars projects to be

funded;

- "Eurostars participant" means a legal entity

participating to a Eurostars project;

- "Eurostars project" means a project selected

following the call for applications and the centralised

evaluation issued by the EUREKA Secretariat to implement the

Eurostars Joint Programme and financially supported by The

Latvian Academy of Sciences under the Eurostars Joint

Programme.

- "Financial regulation" means Council

regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002/EC Regulation of 25

June 2002 on the financial regulation applicable to the general

budget of the European Communities (OJ L248, 16.9.2002, p. 1),

and its implementing regulations, as amended since and as they

will be amended in the future;

- "Independent Evaluation Panel (IEP)" means

the panel responsible for reviewing and ranking applications

received following the call for applications issued by the EUREKA

Secretariat, on the basis of predefined criteria;

- "Main participant" means the R&D

performing SME leading a Eurostars project;

- "R&D performing SME" means a SME in

which at least 10% of manpower in terms of full time equivalent

(FTE) is occupied with R&D or 10% of annual turnover is

dedicated to R&D;

- "Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs)"

means micro, small and medium-sized enterprises within the

meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003

concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized

enterprises (which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have

an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, or an annual

balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million).

Article 3- Obligations of the EUREKA

Secretariat

3.1. Financial obligation of the EUREKA

Secretariat

The EUREKA Secretariat undertakes to allocate the Union

financial contribution to the Latvian Academy of Sciences to the

Eurostars projects defined in the ranking list approved by

Eurostars HLG, in accordance with the Decision and the Financial

Regulation as well as on the basis of the following cumulative

principles without prejudice of the specific rules agreed upon

hereinafter:

- The Union financial contribution shall be

calculated:

- as never exceeding one third of the actual financial

contribution of The Latvian Academy of Sciences to the Eurostars

Joint Programme, up to the annual ceiling agreed by the Eurostars

HLG; and

- by reference to the eligible costs of each Eurostars

project as a whole.

- The Union financial contribution shall be allocated

upon:

- the actual payments made to the Eurostars participants

by the Latvian Academy of Sciences ;

- submission of appropriate financial statements by the

Latvian Academy of Sciences ;

- submission of progress reports by the Eurostars

participants;

- approval by the EUREKA Secretariat of the said

statements and progress reports

- The Union financial contribution cannot give rise to

any profit neither for the Latvian Academy of Sciences nor for

the Eurostars participants.

3.2. Performance obligation of the EUREKA

Secretariat

The EUREKA Secretariat undertakes to communicate to the

Latvian Academy of Sciences the final ranking list of the

selected Eurostars projects as approved by the Eurostars HLG

within 12 weeks following the relevant cut-off date.

Article 4- Obligations of

TheMinistry

of Education and Science, Republic of Latvia and the Latvian

Academy of Sciences

The Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of

Latvia, has to interpret requirements of this Agreement and act

correspondingly in order to ensure implementation of projects and

assignment of the public funding.

4.1. Financial obligations

of the Latvian Academy of

Sciences

The Latvian Academy of Sciences undertakes

to:

a) annually contribute to the financing of the Eurostars

Joint Programme projects from the State

budget funds of Latvia allocated to the Eurostars Joint

Programme in accordance

with

- the Commitment Letter of Latvia (Annex 1)

and

- the Declaration of Commitments of the Latvian Academy

of Sciences presented for each cut-off date of the Eurostars

Joint Programme;

b) financially support the eligible Eurostars

participants, excluded natural persons, from its national

earmarked Eurostars budget in compliance with the order of the

final ranking list approved by the Eurostars HLG, in

correspondence with the available national funding means and in

accordance with rules for state support to the Eurostars

projects, established in the Rule of the Cabinet N722, 08.12.2008

"Order in Which State Support is Ensured to Participation in

International Cooperation Programs in the Fields of Research and

Development" (Eurostars National Support

program);

c) not financially support Eurostars participants before

the signature of a consortium agreement by the said Eurostars

participants in compliance with the Decision and this

Agreement;

d) make all possible efforts to find additional funding for

its Eurostars participants in case its national earmarked

Eurostars budget is exhausted;

e) take effective measures to avoid any double funding

of Eurostars projects from other Union funding sources, and in

particular from the 7th Framework Programme. A

specific provision shall be included to this effect in the

agreements between The Latvian Academy of Sciences and the

Eurostars participants;

f) ensure that its national financial support to

Eurostars participants does not contain EU funding from other

sources, and respects the principles laid down in Article 109 of

the Financial regulation (transparency, equal treatment,

non-retroactivity, non-cumulative co-financing and

non-profit);

g) ensure that the rules for State aids are respected,

in particular the rules set out in the Union framework for State

Aid for Research, Development and Innovation2 or the

Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring

certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in

application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General block

exemption Regulation).

h) ensure that the national funding scheme participating

in Eurostars Joint Programme comply with the common eligibility

criteria for Eurostars. These schemes shall not be in

contradiction with the Decision and its Annex I in particular, or

with any Union rule, or of such a nature to put the reputation of

the EC at risk.

4.2. Performance obligations of the Latvian Academy of

Sciences

4.2.1. The Latvian Academy of Sciences shall:

a) before the signature of this Agreement or immediately

thereafter, provide the EUREKA Secretariat with a letter of

assurance from the relevant national public authority under which

The Latvian Academy of Sciences acts, stating that the internal

control system of The Latvian Academy of Sciences s adequate and

assures a protection of the financial interests of the Union in

accordance with the Guideline (established by the Commission

pursuant to the Decision) on the functioning and monitoring of

the internal control system of the dedicated implementation

structure (the EUREKA Secretariat) and of the national founding

bodies. The letter of assurance shall be supported by a report or

any other evidence on which it is deemed to be based.

In the absence of the letter of assurance or its

supporting evidence, or in case the supporting evidence is

insufficient, the EUREKA Secretariat may decide to suspend or

terminate this Agreement according to Article 11.

The EUREKA Secretariat reserves the right to carry out,

at any moment, its own examination. The examination can be

carried out by an auditing body independent from the national

funding bodies.

In case the EUREKA Secretariat is not satisfied that the

internal control system of the Latvian Academy of Sciences is not

of such a nature to assure a sufficient protection of the

financial interests of the Union, the EUREKA Secretariat reserves

the right to address to the Latvian Academy of Sciences a list of

recommendations and a proposed action plan, assorted with a

timetable, to effectively remedy the weaknesses identified.

Pending the implementation of any requested changes, transactions

with the Latvian Academy of Sciences can take place only on a

provisional basis, for a period to be set in relation to the

seriousness of the problems identified, and which shall not

exceed 12 months. Progress shall be monitored on a regular

basis.

Expenses made by the Latvian Academy of Sciences while

failing to implement such a remedial plan within the determined

time limit, may be excluded from the Union

contribution.

before any financial transaction can take place, provide

the EUREKA Secretariat with a bank guarantee on demand and

equalling the amount of the payments foreseen. The guarantee

shall be released, under the responsibility of the EUREKA

Secretariat, after all the tasks and obligations foreseen in this

Agreement are fulfilled. The bank guarantee shall also satisfy

the same criteria of reliability of those adopted by Latvia to

protect its national budget;

b) provide the EUREKA Secretariat with, and ensure the

respect of, the rules of the underlying Eurostars Latvian

National support programme as well as provide the eligibility

criteria for costs;

c) communicate to the EUREKA Secretariat within 17 weeks

following the relevant cut-off date the list of Eurostars

participants to which a financial support is planned as well as

the total amount of the planned financial support;

d) start contract negotiations with Eurostars

participants, including the national funding decision and sign

agreements with Eurostars participants [within five weeks of the

date of issue of the Eurostars Evaluation Decision Letter sent by

the EUREKA Secretariat to the project participants];

e) provide the EUREKA Secretariat annually with a

statement of assurance (see Template in Annex 2 entitled

"Declaration of Commitments"), signed by the legal

representative of The Latvian Academy of Sciences , declaring,

based on his/her own judgement and on the information at his/her

disposal, including, inter alia, the results of work of the

internal audit service, that:

- The accounts presented give, to the best of his/her

knowledge, a true, complete and accurate view of the expenditure

and receipts for the relevant financial period. In particular,

all debts, advances and guarantees known to him/her have been

recorded in the accounts, and all receipts collected relating to

the EU contributions have been properly recorded in the accounts

and credited to the Commission, via the EUREKA

Secretariat.

- He/She has put in place a system which provides

reasonable assurance on the legality and regularity of the

underlying transactions, including that the eligibility of claims

from the beneficiaries and the procedure for attributing aid, are

managed, controlled, and documented in conformity with the rules

set by any relevant Union act, by the acts establishing the

Eurostars Joint Programme, and by any additional requirements set

up by the Eureka Secretariat.

- In particular, he/she confirms that (1) he/she is not

aware of any undisclosed matter which could be damaging to the

financial interest of the Union, (2) the cost claims presented to

the EUREKA Secretariat are correct, (3) the payments to Eurostars

participants have been carried out, and (4) controls and audits

have been carried out to verify the compliance of the costs with

the applicable rules for the eligibility of costs.

These statements of assurance shall be accompanied by a

report containing the detailed work of a control, verification

and audit nature carried out to support the statement of

assurance, and explaining how the cost claims were

calculated.

f) shall submit to the EUREKA Secretariat together with

each statement of assurance, and based on it, the corresponding

request for the allocation of the Union contribution;

g) report annually to the EUREKA Secretariat

on:

- the payments from the national earmarked Eurostars

budget

- the use of the Union contribution;

- the audit strategy adopted, and in particular the

methodology applied to select the contracts to audit, the audit

programmes applied (or at least an explanation of the audit work

carried out), and the number of audits carried out;

- the individual results of the audits performed, in

terms of costs eventually disallowed; the nature, amount and

recurrence of the findings and the costs categories affected (if

applicable), in particular whether any irregularity or fraud has

been discovered;

- the audit coverage in terms of amounts audited in

comparison to the global amount paid out to Eurostars

participants;

- any consequences from errors / irregularities

identified either by the ex-post audit service of The Latvian

Academy of Sciences or by the independent auditors issuing audit

certificates of the costs claimed by the Eurostars participants

(if applicable);

- the measures adopted by The Latvian Academy of

Sciences to protect the financial interests of the

Union.

h) perform on-the-spot controls and other checks of

Eurostars participants as foreseen by the national legislation or

by this Agreement, and report on them to the EUREKA

Secretariat;

i) take all the necessary measures to prevent any risk

conflict of interest and inform the EUREKA Secretariat without

delay of any situation constituting or likely to lead to a

conflict of interest. Such conflicts of interest could arise in

particular as a result of economic interests, political or

national affinities, family or emotional ties or emotional

reasons, or any other common interests liable to affect the

impartial and objective performance of this Agreement;

j) provide the EUREKA Secretariat with the data

necessary for the continuous and systematic review by the

Commission of the specific programme and the Seventh Framework

Programme, and the evaluation and impact assessment of Union

activities. Such data may be requested throughout the duration of

the Eurostars Joint Programme and up to five years after its

end;

k) make the necessary arrangements to allow the EUREKA

Secretariat and the Commission to publish, in whatever form and

on or by whatever medium, the name and contact addresses of the

Eurostars participants, the general purpose of the Eurostars

project in the form of the summary provided by the Eurostars

participants, the amount and rate of the financial support

granted to the Eurostars project, and any other information to be

published by the EUREKA Secretariat upon the request of the

Commission aimed at ensuring the visibility of the Union

action.

l) include in any communication material related to any

activity in the Eurostars Programme the Union logo, the Eurostars

logo, the Eurostars project number or acronym if applicable, and

the co-funding by the European Union.

m) keep all relevant documents accessible during the

term of this Agreement and for a period of at least five years

after the completion of this Agreement, in a manner which ensures

their completeness, validity and readability over time, including

with regard to electronic documents.

4.2.2. In addition, The Latvian Academy of Sciences

undertakes to make the necessary arrangements to ensure

that:

a) the Eurostars participants are SMEs

eligible for the Eurostars Joint Programme under the Decision and

have stable and sufficient funding to maintain their activity

throughout their participation to the Eurostars

project;

b) all efforts are put in place in order to ensure

that the Eurostars participants have the necessary

resources to carry out their involvement in the Eurostars

project;

c) the main participant informs The Latvian Academy of

Sciences, the EUREKA NPC and the EUREKA Secretariat of any

significant changes occurred during the execution of the

Eurostars project with regard to the objectives, duration, budget

and composition of the consortium, and asks for prior approval by

the EUREKA Secretariat of these modifications;

d) the Eurostars participants sign a

consortium agreement, in particular on intellectual property

rights (IPR) issues to ensure that the SMEs benefit from the IPR

and are able to exploit the project results on the basis of the

approach taken under the Rules for Participation3 of the Seventh

Framework Programme;

e) the main participant is required to

report in English on the progress of the whole Eurostars project

every six months and at the end of the Eurostars project. This

report will be based on the Report Form provided by the EUREKA

Secretariat;

f) the Eurostars participants are required

to provide the EUREKA Secretariat with accurate information (i)

upon request of the EUREKA Secretariat during the performance of

the Eurostars project, and (ii) on an annual basis during four

(4) years after the end of the Eurostars project, as regards the

exploitation of the project results;

g) the Eurostars participants are required

to provide the EUREKA Secretariat with adequate publicity

material on a annual basis during the life of their Eurostars

project;

h) the EUREKA Secretariat has the right to use any

Eurostars project as a case study or success story to promote the

Eurostars Joint Programme;

i) the Eurostars participants are required

to include in any communication material related to any activity

resulting from, or connected to, the Eurostars Programme the

Union logo, the Eurostars logo, the Eurostars project number and

acronym of the Eurostars project. The accompanying text shall

clearly indicate that Eurostars is co-funded by the European

Union;

j) the EUREKA Secretariat or the Commission may carry

out audits or controls on any Eurostars

participant whose costs are reimbursed in full or in part by the

Union contribution in accordance with relevant Union law,

and in particular Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of

11 November 1996 concerning on the-spot checks and inspections

carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European

Communities' financial interests against fraud and other

irregularities and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning

investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 of 25 May 1999

concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud

Office (OLAF).

The European Court of Auditors shall have the same rights as

the Commission, notably right of access, for the purpose of

checks and audits, without prejudice to its own rules.

k) only the eligible costs under the Decision and its Annex I

in particular are taken into consideration in the requests for

allocation of the Union contribution;

l) the EUREKA Secretariat is allowed to communicate to the

Commission information on candidates and tenderers referred to in

Article 93 (1) (e) of the Financial regulation when the conduct

of the operator concerned was detrimental to the financial

interest of the European Union.

Article 5- Financial

provisions

5.1. Payment modalities to the Latvian Academy of

Sciences.

Payments by the EUREKA Secretariat shall be made in

Euro.

Requests for the allocation of the Union contribution

shall be addressed to the Accounting Department of the EUREKA

Secretariat.

The Union contribution will be allocated by the EUREKA

Secretariat not later than 30 days after receipt of the request

of the Latvian Academy of Sciences to the bank account of the

Latvian Academy of Sciences LV93TREL2150010060800, Treasury

TRELLV22 provided all requirements under this Agreement are met,

and provided the final beneficiary is not prevented from

receiving direct or indirect funding from the budget of the

European Communities, namely when appearing in the database

provided in Art. 95 of the Financial Regulations.

Incomplete bank details will lead to

non-payment.

5.2. Payment modalities to Eurostars

participants

The Latvian Academy of Sciences shall undertake to

provide for its financial support to the Eurostars participants

within 30 days following of the request of the EUREKA Secretariat

in correspondence with the results of the centralized expertise

and the available amount of the national funding

means.

5.3. Conversion rate

Costs shall be reported by NFB - Latvian Academy of

Sciences to the EUREKA Secretariat in Euro.

Costs incurred in other currencies shall be converted

according to the usual accounting practice of The Latvian Academy

of Sciences; in correspondence with. the Rule of Latvian Cabinet

of Ministers Nr. 1127 "Rules Considering Development of

Budgetary Request and Basic Principles of Submission"

(October 03, 2009), Point 16, foreseeing that when planning means

for European Union instruments' in lats, the Latvian Academy of

Sciences observes a unified exchange rate for the currency of

European Union - 1 EUR = 0,702804 LVL. Considering

the exchange rate prognosis for other currencies the Ministry of

Finance informs in correspondence with the graph defined in Point

16 of the Law Considering the Budget and Governance of

Finance.

Such conversion shall never exceed the result of the

conversion using either the rate published by the European

Central Bank that would have applied on the date that the actual

costs were incurred by the Eurostars participants, or its rate

applicable on the first day of the month following the end of the

reporting period.

5.4. Recovery

Union contributions unused by The Latvian Academy of

Sciences shall be paid back to the EUREKA Secretariat without

delay and to the following bank account:

Name of the bank: Dexia Banque Belgique

Address of the bank: Boulevard Pacheco 44, B-1000

Brussels, Belgium

Name of the account holder: Secrétariat

d'EUREKA

IBAN code: BE22 5645 1408 6347

SWIFT code: GKCCBEBB

If any amount is unduly paid by the EUREKA Secretariat

to the Latvian Academy of Sciences or if recovery is justified

under the terms of this Agreement, The Latvian Academy of

Sciences undertakes to repay to the EUREKA Secretariat the

amounts in question on whatever reasonable terms and by whatever

reasonable date the EUREKA Secretariat may specify.

If any amount is unduly paid by The Latvian Academy of

Sciences to a Eurostars participant, or if recovery is justified

under the terms of this Agreement or of the agreement signed with

the Eurostars participants, The Latvian Academy of Sciences

undertakes to repay to the EUREKA Secretariat the amount in

question on whatever terms and by whatever date the EUREKA

Secretariat may specify, irrespective of the actual recovery of

the said amount from the Eurostars participants concerned; any

sanction foreseen at the national level on the amount unduly

paid, shall be applied.

The same rules are applicable if the Commission claims

for reimbursement of the Union contribution because of a lack of,

or a delay in, reporting by the Eurostars participants as

foreseen in Article 4.2.2. (e) here above.

Each and any debt of The Latvian Academy of Sciences

under this Agreement shall also be regarded as a debt directly

owed to the European Union up to the proportional commitment of

its State to the total of commitments referred to in Article 2(e)

of the Decision. The European Union (the Commission) shall be

entitled to claim for it before the General Court.

Article 6- Reviews and

Audits

6.1. Reviews and audits by the EUREKA Secretariat or by

a body appointed on its behalf

Any payment to the Latvian Academy of Sciences may be

subject to reviews and audits by the Eureka Secretariat and may be

adjusted or recovered based on the results of such review or

audit, at any time during the implementation of the Eurostars

Joint Programme and up to five years after the end of the

Eurostars Joint Programme.

Such reviews and audits may cover any issues relating to the

proper execution of the Eurostars Joint Programme.

The EUREKA Secretariat has also the right, at any time, to

verify that the internal control system of The Latvian

Academy of Sciences provides guarantees of sound financial

management and protection of the financial interests of the

Union. Such verification will be carried out on the basis of a

regular random sampling, or in presence of justified reasons.

Any such audit or review shall be carried out on a

confidential basis.

6.2. Reviews and audits by the Commission and the

Court of Auditors

The Commission is authorized to forward any information

collected from or via The Latvian Academy of

Sciences] to the European Union budgetary authority and to

the Court of Auditors.

The Commission may carry out audit or control

on The Latvian Academy of Sciences in accordance with Union

law, and in particular Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No

2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on the-spot checks and

inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the

European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other

irregularities, Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning

investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 of 25 May 1999

concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud

Office (OLAF).

The European Court of Auditors shall have the same rights as

the Commission, notably right of access, for the purpose of

checks and audits, to premises and all information (included in

electronic format), without prejudice to its own rules.

6.3. Reviews and audit of the Eurostars participants

The Latvian Academy of Sciences shall ensure that

the rights of the EUREKA Secretariat, the Commission and the

Court of Auditors to carry out audits are extended to the right

to carry out any such audit or control on any Eurostars

participant whose costs are reimbursed in full or in part by the

Union contribution, on the same terms and conditions as above

indicated.

Article 7- Liability

Each Party is solely responsible for performing its

obligations according to this Agreement.

Each Party shall bear sole responsibility for ensuring

that their acts within this Agreement do not infringe third

parties rights.

Article 8- Intellectual

property

The objective of the intellectual property policy of the

Eurostars Joint Programme shall be to promote knowledge creation,

together with the exploitation and dissemination of the project

results in favour of the target group of R&D performing

SMEs.

The Latvian Academy of Sciences shall make the necessary

arrangements to ensure that the SMEs benefit from the IPR and are

able to exploit the project results on the basis of the approach

taken under the Rules for Participation4 of the Seventh

Framework Programme.

Article 9- Confidentiality

The Parties agree to take appropriate measures to ensure

confidentiality of any data, documents or other material that is

identified as confidential during this Agreement. This obligation

will continue after its termination.("the Confidential

Information").

This includes the obligation for either Party in receipt

of Confidential Information ("the

Recipient")

- not to use Confidential Information otherwise than for

the purpose for which it was disclosed;

- not to disclose Confidential Information to any third

party without the prior written consent by the Party disclosing

the Confidential Information ('the Discloser");

- to ensure that internal distribution of Confidential

Information by a Recipient shall take place on a strict

need-to-know basis; and

- to return to the Discloser on demand all Confidential

Information which has been supplied to or acquired by the

Recipient including all copies thereof and to delete all

information stored in a machine readable form. If needed for the

performance of ongoing obligations, the Recipient may however

keep a copy for archival purposes only.

Where Confidential Information was communicated orally,

its confidential character must be confirmed by the Discloser in

writing within ten days after disclosure.

The Recipient shall be responsible for the fulfilment of

the above obligations on the part of their employees and shall

ensure that their employees remain so obliged, as far as legally

possible, during and after completion of this Agreement or after

the termination of employment.

Confidentiality no longer applies where:

- the Confidential Information becomes publicly

available by means other than a breach of confidentiality

obligations;

- the Discloser subsequently informs the Recipient that

the Confidential Information is no longer

confidential;

- the Confidential Information is subsequently

communicated to the recipient without any obligation of

confidence by a third party who is in lawful possession thereof

and under no obligation of confidentiality;

- the disclosure or communication of Confidential

Information is required by the national law of one of the

Parties.

Article 10- Entry into force,

Duration

This agreement shall enter into force on the date of its

signature, and shall continue in full force and effect

until the earlier of (a) its termination in accordance with

Article 11, or (b) the complete discharge of all obligations

undertaken by the Parties under this Agreement.

The period of this Agreement can be extended by written

approval of both parties.

The provisions relating to Confidentiality, Publications

and Intellectual Property shall survive the expiration or

termination of this Agreement to the extent needed to enable the

Parties to pursue the remedies and benefits provided for in those

provisions.

The costs related to the Eurostars projects selected

following the first and second calls for proposals, which closed

on 8 February 2008 and 21 November 2008 respectively, shall be

eligible.

Article 11- Suspension and

termination

1. This Agreement may be suspended by the EUREKA Secretariat

in case where:

a) the Delegation agreement signed between the EUREKA

Secretariat and the Commission is suspended including where the

annual financing agreement is not renewed;

b) The Latvian Academy of Sciences is not fulfilling its

obligations according to this Agreement;

c) the participation of the Latvian Academy

of Sciences to the Eurostars Joint Programme is suspended

following a decision of the Eurostars HLG.

The suspension takes effect after four calendar days

after the receipt of the notification.

2. This Agreement may be terminated by the EUREKA Secretariat

in case where the Delegation agreement signed between the EUREKA

Secretariat and the Commission is terminated. The

termination takes effect on the date indicated in the

notification.

No Party may withdraw from this Agreement unless the

participation of Ministry of Education and Science,

Republic of Latvia to the Eurostars Joint Programme is terminated

following a decision of the Eurostars HLG. In such a case,

this Agreement shall automatically terminate in respect of such

Party.

3. Suspension or termination of the Agreement shall not

affect rights or obligations already acquired by a Party, as well

as does not create any new rights or obligations.

4. This includes the obligation of a Party to provide

all input, deliverables and documents for the period of its

participation the Eurostars Joint Programme.

Article 12- Notices and

communications

Any notice and communication shall be made in writing to

the following addresses:

- For the EUREKA Secretariat

Mr Luuk Borg

Rue Neerveld 107

B-1200 Brussels

Belgium

Tel: +32 2 777 09 50

- For the Latvian Academy of Sciences

Mr. Juris Ekmanis

Akademijas sq. 1,

Riga

LV 1050

Latvia

Tel: +371 67 225 361

or to such other address and recipient as a Party may

designate in respect of itself by written notice to the other

Party.

Each Party to this Agreement shall inform the other

Party without delay and in writing of any changes in the names

and addresses identified above.

Article 13- Amendments

Amendments or changes to this Agreement shall be valid

only if made in writing and signed by an authorised signatory of

each of the Parties.

This Agreement shall be subject to amendments or changes

in case where one or more of the provisions in this Agreement or

any documents executed in connection herewith are not in

compliance with the Delegation agreement [to be] concluded by the

Commission, on behalf of the Union, and the EUREKA Secretariat

establishing the arrangements for the Union contribution to

Eurostars Joint Programme as well as the Decision or the detailed

rules for the provision of financial support by the EUREKA

Secretariat to The Latvian Academy of Sciences, and annual

financing agreements.

Article 14- Language

English shall be used in all documents and notices

prepared, including reports and deliverables, and meetings

conducted, pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise in connection

herewith.

Any translation shall be for convenience only and of no

legal effect.

Article 15- Applicable law

This Agreement and all matters arising out this

Agreement shall in respect be governed by Belgian law.

Article 16- Settlement of

disputes

Any dispute between the Parties concerning the

interpretation, application or validity of this Agreement, which

cannot be solved amicably, shall be finally settled under the

Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by

one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said

Rules.

The place of arbitration shall be Brussels if not

otherwise agreed by the conflicting Parties.

The award of the arbitration shall be final and binding

upon the Parties.

Nothing in this Agreement shall limit the Parties' right

to seek injunctive relief or to enforce an arbitration award in

any applicable competent court of law.

The Latvian Academy of Sciences hereby explicitly waives

any privilege of jurisdiction and execution.

Article 17- Severability

If one or more of the provisions contained in this

Agreement or any documents executed in connection herewith are

found by a competent court or authority to be invalid, illegal,

or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law,

including competition law, the validity, legality, and

enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein shall

not in any way be affected or impaired, provided that in such

case the Parties oblige themselves to use all commercially

reasonable efforts to achieve the purpose of the invalid

provision by a new legally valid stipulation that causes the same

(or substantially similar) economic benefit or burden.

Article

18-ASSIGNEMENT

The Ministry of Education and Science, Republlic of

Latvia and the Latvian Academy of Sciences shall not

assign any of its rights and obligations arising from this

Agreement without the prior and written authorisation of the

Commission, the Eurostars HLG and the EUREKA

Secretariat.

The EUREKA Secretariat shall not assign any of its rights and

obligations without prior and written authorisation of the

Commission and the Eurostars HLG.

This agreement is done at Brussels on ________________

and Riga on___________________ in 4 originals: two in the English

and two in the Latvian languages. In case of discrepancies

between the originals, the version in English shall

prevail.

For The EUREKA

Secretariat

For the Ministry of

Education and Science, Republic of Latvia

Luuk Borg

Rolands

Broks

DECLARATION OF

COMMITMENTS

1. OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL

COMMITMENTS

National Funding Agency: Latvian Academy of Sciences

Eurostars Latvian National support programme (From the State

Budget Subprogram 70.06.00 "Participation in European Union

Research and Technology Development Programs")

Cut-off date references of the Eurostars programme: xxx,

20xx

EUROSTARS

PROJECT

EUROSTARS

PROJECT MAXIMUM

NATIONAL FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

TO THE EUROSTARS PROJECT

PARTICIPANT

(E!) NUMBER

ACRONYM

PARTICIPANT NAME

SIGNATURE

DATE OF THE AGREEMENT

(IN

NAT'L CURRENCY)

(IN

€)

YEAR N

YEAR N +

1

YEAR N + 2

2. STATEMENT OF

ASSURANCE

I, Juris Ekamanis President of Latvian Academy of

Sciences managing Eurostars programme in Latvia, present the

Declaration of Commitments for Academy of Sciences acting in the

name of the Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Latvia

as manager of Eurostars programme in Latvia for [INSERT CUT-OFF

DATE REFERENCES OF THE EUROSTARS PROGRAMME].

I declare, based on my own judgment and on the

information at my disposal, including, inter alia, the

results of work of the internal audit service, that:

Appropriate contractual agreements have been concluded

with each Eurostars project participant mentioned

above.

The financial commitment presented give, to the best of

my knowledge, a true, complete and accurate view of the maximum

national financial contribution coming from the means of

Latvian State Budget Subprogram 70.06.00 "Participation in

European Union Research and Technology Development

Programs", assigned to the Latvian Academy of Sciences for

the current year and are foreseen per Eurostars project

participant mentioned above.

I have put in place a control environment which provides

reasonable assurance on the legality and regularity of the

foreseen transactions, including that the eligibility of

demands and the procedure for attributing the national

financial contribution coming out of Latvian State Budget

Subprogram 70.06.00 "Participation in European Union

Research and Technology Development Programs", assigned to

the Latvian Academy of Sciences for the current year, will be

managed, controlled and documented in conformity

with:

- national rules concerning the eligibility of the

claimed costs,

- any additional rule set by the acts establishing the

EUROSTARS Joint Programme,

- the rules established by the SE and,

- If applicable, Union rules.

I formally confirm that there is full supporting

underlying documentation available to justify the information

declared. It will be made available at the request of the ESE and

in the event of an audit by the Commission and/or by the Court of

Auditors and/or their authorized representatives. This assurance

is, however, subject to the following reservations: (to be

filled if necessary) Furthermore, I confirm that I am not

aware of any undisclosed matter which could be damaging to the

financial interest of the Union.

DECLARATION OF COMMITMENTS

Stamp

__________________________

Date

__________________________

Name

__________________________

Signature

_____________

1

Since 1 December 2009, Article 185 of the Treaty on the

Functioning of The European Union

2

OJ 323, 30.12.2006, p.1.

3

OJ L 391, 30.12.2006, p. 1

4

OJ L 391, 30.12.2006, p. 1