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1. The eligibility criteria set out in paragraphs 2 to 7 of this Article shall apply in addition to the criteria set out in Article 197 of the Financial Regulation.

2. Subject to the eligibility conditions laid down in paragraphs 3 to 7, the following entities shall be eligible under the Programme:

(a) legal entities established in any of the following:

(i) a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to it; or (ii) a third country associated to the Programme in accordance with Article 5;

(b) legal entities created under Union law or international organisations;

(c) exceptionally, legal entities established in a third country which is not associated to the Programme, provided that the participation of those legal entities in the action falls within the objectives of the Programme and the activities outside the Union contribute to the effectiveness of interventions carried out in Member State territories to which the Treaties apply.

3. Legal entities established in a third country which is not associated to the Programme may participate in the following actions:

(a) actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b);

(b) actions supporting consumer protection implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i). The entities participating in the actions referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be entitled to receive Union financial contributions, except where their participation is essential for the Programme, in particular in terms of improving competitiveness and access to markets for Union enterprises or in terms of protecting consumers residing in the Union. That exception shall not apply to profit-making entities.

4. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(c)(i) of this Regulation, the entities referred to in Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 shall be eligible.

5. Each Member State and each third country which is a member of the EEA shall designate, as the result of a transparent procedure, an entity as eligible for actions that support consumer protection by implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i) and that are related to the European Consumer Centres Network. That entity may be:

(a) a non-profit-making body;

(b) a public body.

6. Third countries shall be eligible for the following actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e):

(a) protection measures taken in the case of a direct threat to the status of health in the Union as a result of the occurrence or development, in the territory of a third country or a Member State, of one of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed in Annex III or plant pests listed in the work programme referred to in Article 16;

(b) protection measures or other relevant activities, taken in support of the health status of plants in the Union. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20 to amend Annex III where that is necessary in order to take account of the occurrence of new animal diseases and zoonoses which are not covered by Union legal acts referred to in that Annex. Except in the case of animal diseases and plant pests that have a substantial impact on the Union, in principle, third countries that are not associated to the Programme should finance their own participation in the actions referred to in the first subparagraph.

7. For actions implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(f), the following legal entities shall be eligible:

(a) national statistical institutes and other national authorities as referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009;

(b) for actions supporting collaborative networks, as referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, bodies operating in the field of statistics other than the authorities referred to in point (a) of this paragraph;

(c) non-profit making entities, which are independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and support of the implementation of the European statistics Code of Practice referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 or the implementation of new methods of production of European statistics aiming at efficiency gains and quality improvements at Union level.