Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Webinar for call for proposals

COS-EYE-2019-4-01

7 June 2019

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)

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EU-funded exchange programme for entrepreneurs from the EU members states and 11 additional countries

Opportunity to exchange knowledge, business ideas, contacts and experiences

1-6 months exchangefor new entrepreneur withexperienced entrepreneur abroad

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Warming up

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdSc1shbc1Q

How does it work?

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Five steps exchange programme

Onlineapplication

Matching

Contracting& Preparing

Stay abroad

Feedback & Payment

(NE) NewEntrepreneur

(HE) HostEntrepreneur

(IO) IntermediaryOrganisation

(IO) IntermediaryOrganisation

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1. Application from New Entrepreneur(needs: business plan, CV, motivation)

OR

1. Host Entrepreneur states interest to participate(needs: CV and motivation)

2. Applications checked byIntermediary Organisation

Admission to on-line catalogue onwww.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu

Onlineapplication Matching Contracting

& PreparingStay abroad

Feedback & Payment

New Entrepreneur

Host Entrepreneur

IntermediaryOrganisation

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1. Entrepreneurs search for partners in the on-line-catalogue themselves

2. IOs contact other IOsin other countries to "recruit" a suitable Entrepreneur

3. Automatic matchingbased on profiles

Proposals are established

Onlineapplication Matching

Contracting& Preparing Stay abroad

Feedback & Payment

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Onlineapplication

Contracting& Preparing Stay abroad

Feedback & PaymentMatching

1. Negotiations on duration, objectives and content

NOT traineeship!

2. Agreement on the content of the exchange

3. New entrepreneur does pre-departure induction

4. New entrepreneur receives a grant from the IO

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Onlineapplication Stay abroad

Feedback & PaymentMatching

Contracting& Preparing

1. Duration: 1-6 months

2. On-the-job,Peer-to-peer training,working on concrete projects

3. On-site supportprovided to the New Entrepreneurby the Host Intermediary Organisation

4. Reporting about the exchange

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Onlineapplication

Feedback & Payment

Matching Contracting& Preparing

Stay abroad

1. Electronic feedback questionnaires for Hosting Entrepreneur andNew Entrepreneur

2. Final payment to New Entrepreneur upon successful completion

3. Reinsertion of Hosting Entrepreneur into the catalogue (if interested to continue)

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Country where the New Entrepreneur stays Monthly allowance in €

Denmark 1100

United Kingdom, Ireland 1000

Finland, Sweden 950

Austria, France, Iceland, Italy 900

Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain 830

Cyprus, Greece, Portugal 780

Turkey 750

Croatia, Malta, Slovenia 720

Estonia, Hungary 670

Armenia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia 610

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo*, Lithuania, Montenegro, North

Macedonia, Romania, Serbia*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244(1999) and the ICJ Opinion on the

Kosovo declaration of independence

560

Albania, Moldova, Ukraine 530

Entrepreneurs from/to: Outermost Regions, Overseas Countries and

Territories + Entrepreneurs with special needs

1100

Benefits for Host & New Entrepreneurs

• Get experience & advice from seasoned entrepreneur

• Develop international contacts

• Get knowledge about foreign markets

• Providers, clients, co-venturing opportunities

• Access new skills and innovative knowledge

• Work with a fresh mind contributing new ideas

• Gain 'intelligence' about foreign markets

• Establish new business partnerships with entrepreneurs from other countries

(HE) HostEntrepreneur

(NE) NewEntrepreneur

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EYE - general framework

EUROPEAN COMMISSION – Definition of strategic and financial framework

EASME - Contracting Authority, grant management, project monitoring, payments

SUPPORT OFFICE – day-to-day operational management

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The EYE Programme

-implemented by a network of currently 194 Intermediary Organisations

-present in 37 countries out of 39 eligible COSME countries

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Key figures and impact

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EYE Growth pathbased on completed relationships by year

(for 2019 matches in preparation & execution included)

Year Exchanges

2009 54

2010 310

2011 626

2012 1157

2013 2022

2014 3000

2015 3535

2016 4584

2017 5823

2018 7100

2019 7400

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

completed relationships

completed relationships

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Exchanges by country since 2009

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Impact on new entrepreneurs (NE)

Survey results:

58% NEs: "EYE contributed with much or very muchto the good start of company"

EYE can be a launch pad to creating new businesses: 36.5% of 'Would-be' entrepreneurs stated they havecreated their own business after the exchange

Ca. 50% of NEs benefitted substantially in finding a supplier or buyer or joint venture partner in the shortterm

15% of NEs considered entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment

(NE) NewEntrepreneur

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Impact on host entrepreneurs (HE)

Survey results:

60% of HEs stated they gained 'New ideas/techniques' for their businesses

53% of HEs have developed new products or services since the exchange took place

65% of HEs extended their operations to other markets; with 24% of them operating in the NEs country since the exchange

(HE) HostEntrepreneur

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Successful proof of concept

81 M EUR in 11 Calls(COS-EYE-2019-4-01 is the 12th call for proposals)

More than 7000 exchanges(i.e. 14000 entrepreneurs involved)

21000+ entrepreneurs registered in the database (leading countries: IT, ES, UK, DE, RO)

Intermediary Organisations: 194 in 37 countries

EYE 2009-2019 achievements

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Growth of the programme

Increase of participation of entrepreneurs/IOs from some countries

Pilot project started in 2018: geographical extension - 3 new destinations: matches until April 2020 (EYE global)

Synergies with other EU SME support programmes, namely Enterprise Europe Network

EYE main challenges and next steps

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The role of EASME

The Call (Selection of

Intermediary Organisations)

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The role of EASME

EASME is the contracting authority

• Commission Decision on the delegation of programme management tasks to executive agencies

• EASME = successor of the EACI with extended mandate (since 2014)

• Implementation of large parts of several EU funding programmes, including COSME

• Management of the EYE programme (grants, Support Office etc.)

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EYE programme: division of tasks

European Commission → Policy making, IT tool

EASME → Grant Management: contractual issues,

amendments, payments etc. (since 2014); Support Office contract management; contribution to IT tool

Support Office: day-to-day operational management of the programme

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Call COS-EYE-2019-4-01 objectives:Key outputs

…by January 2023:

• Approx. 1800 entrepreneurs matched

• Approx. 3000 entrepreneurs newly registered

• Approx. 120 Intermediary Organisations involved in the implementation of the programme

• At least 33 countries covered

• Rate of successful exchanges above 90% (in

accordance with the COSME Work Programme 2019)

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Call COS-EYE-2019-4-01 objectives:

Per PROJECT

…by January 2023:

• Min. 150 entrepreneurs matched (impact)

• Active Networking with other IOs including specific thematic activities

• Active promotion of the programme and recruitment of entrepreneurs

• Specified number of success stories

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The ACTIVITIES

WP1: Management of the programme, networking and reporting

WP2: Promotion of the programme and recruitment of entrepreneurs

WP 3: Relationships building

WP 4: Relationships management

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The Quality Manual

This is your MUST-READ!

The “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Implementation Manual for Intermediary Organisations” is an essential Annex to this call.

It is THE practical reference document with regards to how EYE projects should be implemented.

please become familiar with it!

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Participation of all partners in Networking Meetings (starting February/March 2020) + separate training for Newcomers

Mid-term review meetings

(in case of convocation by the EASME, all partners in the consortium are requested to attend)

Mentoring sessions for new consortium leaders (performance based approach)

Essential meetings to be attended during implementation

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9-monthly progress reports (2x)

Interim report linked to 2nd payment

Final Technical Implementation Report and Financial Statement

Main Contractual Deliverables

Project Timeline

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Indicative

Financial Provisions

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Total EU budget 2019:

€5 500 000

Maximum funding per

project: €750 000

Estimated number of awardees:

8-10

General funding provision

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Maximum EC contribution:

75% of programme

management costs

EASME reimburses up to 100% of

financial assistance paid to

NEs – with a maximum of

€6,600 per NE for max. 6 months duration per NE

Min. €250,000 of the total budgetto be reserved

for NEs

Financial Framework for IOs

Financial Assistance to New Entrepreneurs

During the implementation, financial assistance to New Entrepreneurs will have to be respected. Call minimum is to be respected.

The Quality Manual, Annex 1, specifies the maximum monthly allowances by host country. Limit per NE: € 6.600/max. 6 months

The NE budget is to be “budgeted” for the partner who will execute the payments.

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Admissibility, eligibility,

exclusion, selection,

award criteria

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The Successive Stages of the Selection Process

Admiss-ibility

(date, time, e-submission)

Eligibility

(consortium composition,

legal status, 1 proposal per organisation,

geography etc.)

Exclusion

(declaration on honour, bankruptcy

etc.)

Selection

(financial and operational capacity)

Award

(quality criteria, ranking, reserve)

Admissibility: Electronic Submission (Section 5 of Call for Proposals)

Proposals should be submitted electronically via the Funding and Tenders Portal

Submitted proposals can be updated until the closure of the call: it is recommended to submit a draft and modify, if need be.

Do not wait until the last moment to submit your proposal: NO submissions after submission deadline. System overload does not overrule deadline for submission.

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Registration in the Participant Register of the Funding &

Tenders Portal - 1

Online Manual

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Registration in the Participant Register of the Funding & Tenders Portal - 2

EU LOGIN or REGISTRATION

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Registration in the Participant Register of the Funding & Tenders Portal - 3

• Create user account to login to the Funding & Tenders Portal

• All Participants of a proposal must be self-registered in the Participant Register and be identified with a (provisional) Participant Identification Code (PIC, 9-digit number)

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Eligibility: Who can participate in the call?(Section 6 of Call for Proposals)

Applicants must be legal entities forming a consortium (they may be public or private legal entities)

Non-exhaustive list of applying entities:

- Public entities responsible for or active in the fields of economic affairs, enterprise, business support or related issues;

- Regional development agencies;

- Chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of handicrafts or similar bodies;

- Business support organisations, start-up centres, incubators, technology parks, business associations and business support networks, etc.;

- Universities or VET institutes.

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Exclusion criteria (Section 7 of the Call for Proposals)

Applicants must provide a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the

situations referred to in Articles 136(1) and 141 of the EU Financial Regulation (FR), by filling in the relevant form attached to the application form.

Coordinator submits on behalf of the wholeconsortium.

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Selection criteria (Section 8 of Call for Proposals)

1. How do we Check your FINANCIAL CAPACITY?Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources to implement the action. Supporting documents (the amounts below apply to each applicant of the consortium):

(a) Low value grants (≤ EUR 60 000):- declaration on honour

(b) Grants > EUR 60 000:

- declaration on honour and

- profit and loss account, balance sheet and accompanying notes

(c) Grants ≥ EUR 750 000

in addition to the above, an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts, where such audit report is available or whenever a statutory report is required by law (if not available AND a statutory report is not required by law self-declaration)

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Financial Capacity Assessment (FCA) takes place during Grant Agreement Preparation.

If your financial capacity must be assessed, you will be contacted by the EU Validation Services after legal validation is completed (after PIC validation based on supporting documents)

No financial capacity assessment is needed for public bodies, Member State organizations, international organizations, persons in receipt of education support, persons most in need and in receipt of direct support; no assessment is needed for low value grants.

What happens if my financial capacity is weak?Different measures can be applied in order to protect EU interests and to allow you the access to EU contribution (e.g. pre-financing covered by bank guarantee, joint and several liability of all co-beneficiaries etc.).

You can check your financial capacity yourself by using the Financial self-check tool. The results of this simulation provide only a non-binding indication, but are useful for any applicant.

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2. How do we Check your Operational CAPACITY?

Applicants must have the professional competences as well as appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action: team composition, skills, competences and overall experience (template Technical Annex 1)

One of core activities: Support of small businesses and entrepreneurs and delivery of business support services to start-ups or (new) entrepreneurs.

Declaration on honour and supporting documents (templates available in the application form).

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Award Criteria

Criteria Maximum Score

Relevance 30

Quality 30

Impact on target audience 20

Cost-effectiveness 20

Minimum score: overall score of 70% + 50% of each criterion.

For details please check the award criteria in the Call text (section 9).

Same scoring of two or more different proposals: “good” coverage of underrepresented regions/countries might be decisive

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EU funding: General principles for grants

a) Non-cumulative award

b) Non-retroactivity

c) Co-financing

d) Balanced budget

e) Implementation contracts/subcontracting

f) Financial support to third parties

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Eligible costs

Criteria for eligibility of costs:

actually incurred by the beneficiary

within the duration of the action

indicated in annex 2 (estimated budget of the action)

necessary for the implementation of the action

identifiable and verifiable

comply with national law

reasonable, justified and in compliance with sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency

In addition, the unit costs:

must be used/produced during the duration of the action

necessary for the implementation of the action

identifiable and verifiable, in particular supported by records and documentation

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Eligible cost categories:

A. Direct personnel costs:

A.1 Costs for employees or equivalent (actual costs)

A.2 Costs of natural persons working under a direct contract with the beneficiary other than an employment contract or seconded by a third party against payment(actual costs)

A.3 Cost of SME owners who do not receive a salary (unit costs) -> calculations see “Further Information”

A.4 Costs of ‘beneficiaries-natural persons’ not receiving a salary (unit costs)

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B. Direct costs of subcontracting (actual costs) best value for money or, if appropriate, the lowest price avoid any conflict of interests

C. Direct costs of financial support to third parties (i.e. NEs)

D. Other direct costs (actual costs) – Travel costs and related subsistence allowances for the beneficiaries’ staff, depreciation costs of equipment, infrastructure or other assets, costs of other goods and services (e.g. trainees, translations, publications, certificates on financial statements, if required)

E. Indirect costs (flat-rate cost): 7% of the eligible direct costs of programme management, excluding the direct costs for financial support to NEs.

Ineligible costs:Such as deductible VAT, currency exchange losses, in-kind contributions provided by third parties…

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Please remember:

To include detailed description of subcontracting

To provide detailed breakdown of Other Direct Costs (number of travels/persons etc.)

To declare SME owner unit costs correctly

For SMEs: do the SME self-assessment on your PIC in theParticipant Register

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Payments to European Partnerships

Payments Conditions

Pre-financingInterim payment

50%Up to 40% (the total amount of pre-financing and interim payment shall not exceed 90% of the max. grant amount)

Final Payment (of balance) On the basis of the approved final report and the financial statements

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Time to grant

- Maximum 6 months from call closure date until applicants are informed about the outcome of proposal evaluation

- Maximum 9 months from call closure until the signature of the grant agreement

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Registration and validation overview

Organisation's DATA

LEARFinancial capacity check

Mandatory under COSME

COMMUNICATION VIA PARTICIPANT REGISTER

Validated by EU

Validation Services

PIC Registration

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COSME Model Grant Agreement - 1

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COSME Model Grant Agreement - 2(Annexes)

Annex 1: Description of the action

Annex 2: Estimated budget, 2a – unit costs

Annex 3: Accession forms

Annex 4: Financial statements

Annex 5: Certificate on the financial statements

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Grant amountThe “MAX GRANT AMOUNT” is FIXED IN THE GA (Art. 5.1)

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The “final grant amount” depends on the actual extent to which the action is implemented in accordance withthe grant agreement.

This amount is calculated by the Agency – when the payment of the balance is made – following the 4 steps set out in Art. 5.3 of the grantagreement.

How to find a Project Partner?

TEAM-UP TO BUILD A CONSORTIUM!

Funding & Tenders Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-

tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/interested-org-list/31113167

Enterprise Europe Network: http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm

Network of Intermediary Organisations including all those that ever participated in the programme: http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/page.php?cid=5 (list)

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Key Questions… (1)

…and Answers (1)

Which countries can participate?

EU Member States and countries participating in COSME

Which consortia can apply?

Consortia composed of min. 6 independent legal entities from at least 4 different COSME Participating Countries and include max. 10 partners. Max. 2 partners from the same country.

Which activities will be supported?

Intermediary Organisations have the task to enhance and facilitate the mobility of new entrepreneurs. Section 2 of the call (activities) describes them in detail.

How long will the project last?

3 years, starting 1/02/2020

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Key Questions… (2) …and Answers (2)

How does the electronic submission work?

Following the link at the Funding and Tenders Portal, fill in the templates online (Part A), download other documents, fill and upload them (Part B). A declaration as to the submission of 1 proposal only must be signed (end of Technical Annex 1).

Who is the applicant under this call?

All partners in a joint proposal are considered applicants. The coordinator submits the proposal and declares having consent of all others (declaration in Part A).

What will happen to the EYE programme in the future?

The EYE programme will continue being financed under the successor of COSME from 2021.

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Further Information -1

Call related documents incl. FAQs (EASME web):

https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cosme/cos-eye-2019-4-01-erasmus-young-entrepreneurs

Funding and Tenders Portal incl. link to submission, partner search etc.:https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/cos-eye-2019-4-01;freeTextSearchKeyword=Erasmus;typeCodes=1;statusCodes=31094501,31094502,31094503;programCode=COSME;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;callCode=Default;sortQuery=openingDate;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState

Dedicated Programme website: www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu

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Further information -2Register here (Participant Register):

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register

Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment - All you need to know:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/lev/h2020-rules-lev-lear-fvc_en.pdf

What is an SME?

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition/

Financial self-check tool (non-binding indication)

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/lfv/lfvSimulation.do

H2020 online manual:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/grants/applying-for-funding/register-an-organisation/financial-capacity-check_en.htm63

Further information -3

Where to find the unit rates for SME owner costs?

The amounts per unit per country can be found at

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/reference-documents.

Please navigate as follows: “Programme”: Horizon 2020, “Reference Documents” Work Programmes 2018-20, Main WP, 3. Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) 2018-20_v2.0, therein Table 2: Country correction coefficients (CCC) for ITN and IF living allowances.

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SPEAKERS

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European Commission, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Unit H.2. Enterprise Europe Network and Internationalization of SMEs

Programme Manager – Kateřina Nejdlová

EASME Unit A.1 COSME

Sector A.1.3 Entrepreneurship & Clusters

Senior Project Advisor – Ralph Diestelhorst

EASME Unit C.1 Finance

Sector C.1.5 COSME

Financial Officer – Evgenia Ermidou

Contact:

European Commission

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)

Unit A1: COSME

B-1210 Brussels/Belgium

Email: easme-cosme-eye-call@ec.europa.eu

Any questions?

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