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1. The Commission shall implement the instrument in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

2. The measures under the instrument may be implemented either directly by the Commission or, indirectly, by persons or entities in accordance with Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation. In particular, Union support for actions pursuant to Article 8 of this Regulation shall take the form of:

(a) grants;

(b) public procurement contracts;

(c) reimbursement of costs incurred by external experts, including experts from the national, regional or local authorities of Member States providing or receiving support;

(d) contributions to trust funds set up by international organisations; and (e) actions carried out through indirect management.

3. Grants may be awarded to the national authorities, the European Investment Bank group, international organisations, public or private bodies and entities legally established in:

(a) Member States;

(b) European Free Trade Association countries which are party to the European Economic Area Agreement, in accordance with the conditions laid down therein. The co-financing rate for grants shall be up to 100 % of the eligible costs.

4. Technical support may be provided with the cooperation of other Member State entities and international organisations.

5. Technical support may also be provided by individual experts, who may be invited to contribute to selected activities organised wherever that is necessary for the achievement of the specific objectives set out in Article 4.

6. In order to implement the technical support, the Commission shall adopt work programmes by way of implementing acts and inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. Work programmes shall set out:

(a) the allocation for the instrument;

(b) the measures referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, in accordance with the general objective and specific objectives referred to in Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation, respectively, and within the scope referred to in Article 5 and eligible actions set out in Article 8 of this Regulation; and (c) the selection and award criteria for grants and all the elements required by the Financial Regulation.

7. To ensure the timely availability of resources, a limited part of the work programme, not exceeding 30 % of the yearly allocation, shall be reserved for special measures in the event of unforeseen and duly justified grounds of urgency requiring an immediate response, including a serious disturbance in the economy or significant circumstances seriously affecting the economic, social or health conditions pertaining in a Member State and going beyond its control. The Commission may, on request from a Member State wishing to receive technical support, adopt special measures in accordance with the objectives and actions set out in this Regulation to provide technical support to national authorities in addressing urgent needs. Such special measures shall be interim in nature and shall be linked to the circumstances laid down in Article 9(3). Such special measures shall end within six months of their adoption and may be replaced by technical support in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 9.