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1. The Competence Centre shall be funded by the Union, while joint actions shall be funded by the Union and by voluntary contributions by the Member States.

2. The administrative and operational costs of joint actions shall be covered by the Union and by the Member States contributing to the joint actions, in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/694.

3. The Union’s contribution to the Competence Centre to cover administrative costs and operational costs shall comprise the following:

(a) up to EUR 1 649 566 000 from the Digital Europe Programme, including up to EUR 32 000 000 for administrative costs;

(b) an amount from Horizon Europe, including for administrative costs, for joint actions, such amount being equal to the amount contributed by Member States pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Article but not exceeding the amount determined in the strategic planning process of Horizon Europe to be carried out pursuant to Article 6(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, in the annual work programme or in the multiannual work programme;

(c) an amount from the other relevant Union programmes, as needed for the implementation of the tasks or the achievement of the objectives of the Competence Centre, subject to decisions taken in accordance with the legal acts of the Union establishing those programmes.

4. The maximum Union contribution shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to Digital Europe Programme, the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe established by Decision (EU) 2021/764 and other programmes and projects falling within the scope of the Competence Centre or the Network.

5. The Competence Centre shall implement cybersecurity actions of the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe in accordance with point (c)(iv) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation.

6. Contributions from Union programmes other than those referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 that are part of the Union co-financing to a programme implemented by one of the Member States shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution referred to in those paragraphs.

7. Member States shall voluntarily take part in joint actions by means of voluntary financial and/or in-kind contributions. If a Member State takes part in a joint action, the financial contribution by that Member State shall cover administrative costs in proportion to its contribution to that joint action. The administrative costs of joint actions shall be met by financial contributions. The operational costs of joint actions may be met by financial or in-kind contributions, as provided for by Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme. Contributions from each Member State may take the form of support that the Member State provides in a joint action to beneficiaries established in that Member State. In-kind contributions by Member States consist of the eligible costs incurred by national coordination centres and other public entities when participating in projects funded through this Regulation, less any Union contribution to those costs. In the case of projects funded by Horizon Europe, eligible costs shall be calculated in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695. In the case of projects funded by the Digital Europe Programme, eligible costs shall be calculated in accordance with the Financial Regulation. The envisaged amount of total Member State voluntary contributions to joint actions under Horizon Europe, including financial contributions for administrative costs, shall be determined in order to be taken into account in the strategic planning process of Horizon Europe to be carried out pursuant to Article 6(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, with input from the Governing Board. For actions under the Digital Europe Programme, notwithstanding Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/694, the Member States may make a contribution to the costs of the Competence Centre that are co-financed from the Digital Europe Programme that is lower than the amounts specified in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article.

8. Member States’ national co-funding of actions supported by Union programmes other than Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme shall be considered to be Member States’ national contributions insofar as those contributions are parts of joint actions and are included in the Competence Centre’s work programme.

9. For the purpose of assessing the contributions referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and in point (b) of Article 22(2), costs shall be determined in accordance with the usual cost accounting practices of the Member State concerned, the applicable accounting standards of the Member State concerned, and the applicable international accounting standards and international financial reporting standards. Costs shall be certified by an independent external auditor appointed by the Member State concerned. The valuation method may be verified by the Competence Centre if there is any uncertainty arising from the certification.

10. If any Member State is in default of its commitments concerning its financial or in-kind contributions to joint actions, the Executive Director shall notify the Member State concerned thereof in writing and shall set a reasonable period within which such default is to be remedied. If the situation is not remedied within that period, the Executive Director shall convene a meeting of the Governing Board to decide whether the defaulting participating Member State’s right to vote is to be revoked or whether any other measures are to be taken until that Member State has met its obligations. The defaulting Member State’s right to vote concerning joint actions shall be suspended until the default of its commitments is remedied.

11. The Commission may terminate, proportionally reduce or suspend the Union’s financial contribution to joint actions if the contributing Member States do not contribute, contribute only partially or contribute late with regard to the contributions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3. The termination, reduction or suspension of the Union’s financial contribution by the Commission shall be proportionate in amount and time to the Member State’s failure to contribute, partial contribution or late contribution.

12. The contributing Member States shall report by 31 January of each year to the Governing Board on the value of the contributions referred to in paragraph 7 for joint action with the Union made in each of the previous financial year.