The European Commission has suspended the Financing Agreements between the EC and the Russian Federation concerning the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation programmes (ENI CBC). This means, among other things, that no further payments of programme funds to Russia will be made. This concerns payments from the Managing Authorities and money transfers from the Lead Partners in Finland.
On March 22nd the Managing Authorities of the programmes with Russia and Belarus will have a meeting with the European Commission about the practical consequences of the suspension. After the meeting, we expect to be able to inform the project beneficiaries about the schedules and eligibility of costs as well as about practicalities concerning the next steps with the implementation of projects and payments. The European Commission is searching for solutions to properly conclude planned activities on the EU side.