Understand how to request changes to your project, when an amendment may be required and what information you may need to provide.
Amendments
During the lifetime of a Horizon Europe project, changes to project-specific data, the project description (Annex 1), or other elements of the Grant Agreement (GA) may arise. In many cases, these require a formal amendment. The entire process is handled electronically via the Funding & Tenders Opportunities Portal.
When amendments are required
An amendment is typically necessary when there are:
- changes in the consortium: accession of a new beneficiary or termination of participation
- changes to the coordinator (with or without the organisation’s consent)
- changes related to affiliated entities or associated partners
- suspensions or early termination of the project
- changes to options or specific provisions in the GA
- substantial changes to Annex 1 (Description of the Action): e.g. project name, acronym, duration, or significant changes to tasks and responsibilities
- changes to the budget (Annex 2) that require approval by the European Commission or funding body.
Important: The minimum eligibility conditions (e.g. consortium composition) must still be fulfilled after the amendment.
When amendments are NOT required
Not all changes require a formal amendment, such as:
- administrative updates (e.g. name, legal form, address of an organisation) are handled by the LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) directly in the Funding & Tenders Opportunities Portal
- budget transfers, which are generally possible without an amendment, as long as they do not involve substantial changes to Annex 1.
- Unplanned subcontracting or in-kind contributions: beneficiaries may decide whether to request an amendment or accept the risk of ex-post acceptance of the costs.
Procedure
Amendments are processed entirely electronically via the Funding & Tenders Opportunities Portal. In most cases, the initiative comes from the consortium, based on its internal decision-making rules (e.g. as defined in the Consortium Agreement).
- The coordinator submits the amendment request on behalf of the consortium.
- The European Commission or funding body typically has 45 days to assess the request and may:
- approve it (“agreement”),
- reject it (“rejection”; lack of response may also be considered a rejection), or
- request additional information and/or extend the deadline.
Each amendment request is treated as a single package and can only be accepted or rejected in full. If separate decisions are needed, multiple requests should be submitted.
Once submitted, an amendment request cannot be modified. The amendment enters into force upon electronic signature, either on that date or on another agreed date (which may also be retroactive, if justified).
Further information read AGA, Article 39 (PDF)
Find all the relevant information on the EU commission’s F&T portal along with their guide to amendments.
Budget Transfer
The budget of a Horizon Europe project is defined in Annex 2 of the Grant Agreement (GA) and structured by beneficiaries and cost categories. It is based on estimated costs. During project implementation, however, deviations between planned and actual costs are common. Such deviations can be addressed through budget transfers. Please note: The maximum EU contribution (“maximum grant amount”) cannot be increased.
Budget Transfers without Amendment
Budget transfers are generally possible without an amendment to the Grant Agreement, provided that the distribution of tasks between beneficiaries remains unchanged, and the objectives and content of the project are not modified.
In these cases, only the internal rules of the consortium (e.g. as defined in the Consortium Agreement) must be followed, including decision-making procedures for budget transfers.
Budget transfer – no amendment:
- between beneficiaries
- between affiliated entities
- between budget categories of a beneficiary.
Budget Transfers requiring an Amendment
Examples are:
- change of the project description in Annex 1 (e.g. transfer of “action tasks” to another beneficiary)
- to a budget category with lump sum costs (if applicable)
- to a budget category/activity with higher funding rates or budget ceilings (if applicable)
- non-budgeted affiliated entities
- non-budgeted associated partners
- non-budgeted subcontractors
- non-budgeted in-kind contributions.
Transferring your project to another country
As cross-border changes modify who performs the work or how EU funds are distributed, they cannot be done informally and require a formal Request for Amendment within the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. To initiate this change, the Project Coordinator must launch an electronic amendment request to update the Grant Agreement—such as modifying the Description of the Action (Annex 1) or processing a beneficiary termination and addition—before any international transfers can legally take effect.
For step-by-step instructions on launching this change see the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual on Amendments.