Article 11 MS ContributionF1

The MS Contribution shall be used exclusively in respect of the Dedicated Window[s] and any Operation relating thereto.

The EIF shall provide the Managing Authority no later than [X] of each year with (i) the pipeline of Operations envisaged to be signed in the current year and the proposed amount of MS Contribution to be paid for the current year, (ii) the schedule of payments of the proposed amount of MS Contribution to be paid each year until the end of the Commitment Period, including applicable management fees (iii) any changes deemed necessary for the notified MS Contribution to be committed in the current year.

The EIF shall provide the Managing Authority by [X] of each year with revised figures regarding the subparagraph above, if necessary.

Following due diligence of the Financial Intermediaries which are envisaged to be selected pursuant to Article 9, the EIF shall send at any time it deems it necessary a payment request to the Managing Authority, in the form of Annex 3 (the ‘Payment Request’). The Payment Request shall include (i) the proposed amount of MS Contribution to cover commitments under Guarantee Agreements expected to be signed within the three months following the date of the Payment Request and (ii) a schedule of payments of MS Contribution to be paid each year until the end of the Commitment Period in relation to the relevant Operations.

A Payment Request may include a proposed amount of MS Contribution of 100 % of the amounts necessary to cover commitments under a Guarantee Agreement.

Upon receipt of a Payment Request and subject to budget availability, the Managing Authority shall deposit without unreasonable delay and in any event before the EIF signs any Guarantee Agreement into the Dedicated Window[s] Account[s] an MS Contribution equal to the amount of MS Contribution specified in the Payment Request and shall inform the EIF thereof.

The Managing Authority may at any time suspend the payment of the MS Contribution by notifying the EIF that its Payment Request cannot be met because:

1. (a)

   it does not comply in any material respect with the provisions of this Funding Agreement; or

2. (b)

   there is serious doubt about the acceptability of the envisaged underlying expenditure; or

3. (c)

   information comes to the notice of the Managing Authority indicating a significant deficiency in the functioning of the Internal Control system or that the expenditure certified by the EIF is linked to a serious irregularity and has not been corrected. In this case, the Managing Authority may suspend the payment only if it is necessary to prevent significant damage to its financial interests vis-à-vis the budget of the European Union.

Any such suspension shall be duly substantiated by the Managing Authority and shall not be retroactive. The EIF shall be notified as soon as possible of any such suspension, together with the reasons thereof.

Suspension shall take effect on the date when the Managing Authority notifies the EIF thereof. The remaining payment period shall start to run again from the date on which the requested information or revised documents are received or the necessary further checks, including on-the-spot checks, are carried out.

If the suspension exceeds [two] months, the EIF may request the Managing Authority to review whether the suspension is to be continued.