In Horizon Europe, payments are done according to Article 22 of the Annotated Model Grant Agreement. Payments are made according to the amounts budgeted, reported and accepted.

The payments of Horizon Europe projects are made by the European Commission to the Coordinator of the project. Then, the coordinator transfers the payments to the partners. This has to be done without unjustified delays.

There are 4 types of payments:

• Pre-financing: This payment is made before the beginning of the project, minimum 10 days before. It allows the consortium to start working on the project. The amount is between 30-70% of the total grant.
• Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM): it is a guarantee fund, usually between 5-8% of the total grant that is retained from the pre-financing. If all costs are considered eligible, this fund is being released at the end of the project when the final payment is being made. Read our article about the MIM here.
• Interim payments: These payments are made after each interim report and are up to 90% of the total grant.
• Final payment: This payment is made after the final report. The balance is calculated by subtracting the payments already received from the total grant accepted. If the balance is positive, the coordinator receives the payment from the EC. If the balance is negative, the EC uses the MIM.

According to the Data Sheet in the Grant Agreement, payments by the EC are being made 90 days after receiving the interim/final report.

Each Grant Agreement defines the exact amounts of pre-financing. The Model Grant Agreement only gives general ranges.