All actions: Are Russian researchers eligible to apply for MSCA?

Under the framework of Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, Russian natural persons who are subject to EU restrictive measures may not participate in EU grants.

However, even if natural persons are not subject to EU restrictive measures, natural persons (whatever their nationality) who have their habitual residence in Russia, Belarus or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine cannot receive financial support.

This restriction is not targeting natural persons of Russian or Belarusian nationality if they do not have their habitual residence in one of these areas. Therefore, Russian individuals who are not attached to a Russian entity (private or public) and do not have their habitual residence in one of the areas mentioned, will in principle remain eligible, after a thorough screening against the EU sanctions list.

Applicants can check this FAQ on the Funding and Tenders Opportunities Portal as well.

PF/ COFUND: Can a Postdoctoral Fellow take part in a secondment within a Staff Exchanges project?

MSCA-funded fellows (either in Doctoral Networks, Postdoctoral Fellowships or COFUND) cannot be seconded within a Staff Exchanges project.

The only way fellows can participate in a Staff Exchanges project would be to suspend their fellowship while on secondment to avoid double funding.

All actions: If an MSCA beneficiary offers to all its employees a mandatory complementary health insurance, would it have to be funded with the Living allowance?

If it is taken directly from the employees’ salary, then it should be deducted from the Living allowance. Moreover, all health insurance and social security contributions, including all benefits arising from the collective bargaining agreement, should be covered within the Living allowance.

COFUND: Can vacation days be subtracted from the total time spent in the country of the beneficiary?

Days of holiday cannot be subtracted.

On p. 96 of the MSCA Work Programme 2026-2027 it is written that “Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, time spent by the researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention  and time spent for obtaining EU temporary protection  are not taken into account.” This applies in another sense: if the candidate was living abroad but spent some days in the country of the beneficiary on holidays, these days will not be taken into account for the 12-months rule for application in this country.

All Actions: When applying the mobility rule, what should be considered as the ‘main activity’ in the case of applicants with double activity - for example, candidates studying for a double diploma or candidates studying in one country and working remotely in another one?

REA uses a strict approach, meaning that for both examples the recruiting entities should check the mobility rule against both countries (even for remote work).

For Doctoral Networks, the doctoral candidates should be eligible at their recruitment date.

For Postdoctoral Fellowships, the fellows should be eligible at the date of the call closure.

For COFUND, the fellows should be eligible at the deadline of the co-funded programme’s call.

All Actions: Is it possible to edit the already submitted critical risks statements, or should the coordinator delete and replace them in the tab if changes are needed?

The risks have been already indicated at the Grant Agreement Preparation phase and, therefore, are automatically displayed in this tab. No more risks can be added at this stage of the flow.

However, in the continuous reporting module, the coordinator should update the risk section (materialisation / mitigation). If a new risk has occurred, they would need to add an Unforeseen risk.

All Actions: If there is a deviation during the implementation period that has resulted in an amendment, should this be reported as a deviation in the periodic report as well?

If an amendment took place, it is no longer considered as a deviation.

COFUND: Would there be any financial consequences if the beneficiary is unable to complete the grant obligations because the postdoc has resigned from the Choose Europe grant?

There would not be financial consequences. The postdoc is always free to leave the contract at any time. If the postdoc ends the grant at any point, the obligations under the contract for that particular fellowship end with the fellow. If a fellow leaves during their EU-funded part of the grant, the beneficiary can be left with unspent EU funds. The question of how the funds can be used or whether they need to be returned will be examined on a case-by-case basis with REA.

In addition, if it is a standard procedure to have a probationary period after which the beneficiary reviews the performance of the postdoc, this can be done. If the performance is unsatisfactory and the beneficiary decides to proceed with contract termination following standard employment practices under national law, there would be no penalties from REA.

COFUND: In COFUND Doctoral Programmes, is it a requirement for a doctoral candidate to have obtained a master’s degree by the deadline of the co-funded programme call?

As indicated in the MSCA Work Program, for COFUND Doctoral Programmes, researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the cofunded programme's call. Researchers must be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.” Moreover, to be eligible, at the deadline of the co-funded programme call candidates must be in possession of a diploma allowing access to doctoral studies in the country of their application. 

Candidates are also eligible if they have successfully completed the curriculum (e.g master studies) allowing them to be enrolled in a doctoral programme at the deadline of the cofunded programme’s call.

PF/ DN/ COFUND: How should the refugee status be considered towards the mobility rule? Should the time spent in the country with the refugee status already accorded count for the mobility rule?

This wording is interpreted more broadly in practice to also exclude the period during which the refugee status is held, in alignment with the approach to the eligibility rule related to long-term residence and the mobility limitations of refugee researchers. Neither the time spent during the procedure for obtaining refugee status nor the period during which the status is held are taken into account when assessing compliance with the mobility rule.

COFUND: The coordinator of a COFUND project is asking a co-funded researcher’s university to pay an annual amount as part of their co-funded contribution. The university however is not listed as a partner in the proposal. What should be done?

The COFUND is a mono-beneficiary action, which means that there is only one beneficiary that signs the Grant Agreement and who can directly claim unit costs. The other types of partners in the COFUND are Implementing Partners and Associated Partners.

Implementing Partners are legal entities that can receive financial support from the Beneficiary and implement the MSCA COFUND Doctoral or Postdoctoral Programme. Implementing Partners are not signatories of the Grant Agreement. Therefore, they cannot claim costs of the programme directly from the European Research Executive Agency. Implementing Partners can employ researchers.

Associated Partners are entities which participate in the action (e.g. providing training or secondments), but without the right to charge costs or claim contributions. They contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. Associated Partners may not employ the researchers under the action. They can be established anywhere in the world and can be from any sectors. Any funding received is based on agreement with the coordinator.

While there are no letters of commitment required from any partner at the application stage, it is recommendedthat financial arrangements be discussed at this stage to avoid any misunderstandings at a later point. If the proposal is funded, and partners are involved, the signature of a Partnership Agreement between the Beneficiary and all partners is strongly recommended to regulate the internal relationship between all participating organisations. The Partnership Agreement must comply with the obligations laid down in the Grant Agreement.

COFUND: The national PhD stipend was increased, and beneficiaries wonder if they are obliged to increase their MSCA funded researchers to reflect this?

It is not mandatory to do so as the MSCA COFUND beneficiary is obliged only to adhere to amounts that were specified in the COFUND proposal, which becomes part of the Grant Agreement. The MSCA PhD is an employee and is not in receipt of a stipend so different systems apply. And last, REA doesn’t retrospectively increase amounts.

However, if after this increase the national stipend becomes higher than the MSCA salary – depending on the national rules, beneficiaries may have to increase the MSCA salary to keep it attractive and competitive.

 

PF, COFUND: May the beneficiary provide an additional payment for teaching activities using their own resources in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and MSCA COFUND postdoctoral programmes when a shift to part-time is not applied, and there is no separate employment contract for teaching?

Within the Postdoctoral Fellowships one of the obligations of the researcher is “not to receive, for activities carried out in the frame of the action, other incomes than those received from the beneficiary or other entities mentioned in Annex 1.” (p. 94 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement for Unit Grants).

Additional payment is authorised if it is provided by the beneficiary recruiting the fellow.

COFUND programmes are co-financed and additional funding on top of the EU contribution is to be included in the project proposal.

PF, COFUND: Is it compulsory to shift to part-time implementation of Postdoctoral Fellowships and COFUND fellowships for postdoctoral researchers in order to engage in teaching if it is a one-time, short-term activity?

The MSCA Financial Guide states that “... Teaching is also permitted (if it does not jeopardise the implementation of the action) as long as it is described in Annex 1 of the GA”

If teaching activities remain minor, do not jeopardise the research project, and are present in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement - they are authorised, and part-time arrangements are not necessary.

All actions: Is the MSCA Fellowship certificate in use? How can MSCA Fellows get it?

It is in use. To request the certificate, fellows must get in touch with their project contact person (supervisor or LEAR) in the Host Institution, who can then complete the form at this link.

All actions: Is VAT included in the budget allocated for MSCA grants? Can it be claimed separately where eligible?

Non-deductible VAT is eligible for reimbursement under Horizon Europe, including MSCA. This would mean that VAT incurred on purchasing consumables or subcontracting activities that would fall under the Institutional unit costs category of MSCA grants could be eligible, provided it aligns with national VAT regulations.

However, beneficiaries should bear in mind that institutional costs in MSCA are calculated based on unit costs and not as actual costs.

COFUND: Is it mandatory for a COFUND beneficiary to send a copy of the Grant Agreement and Annex 1 to the programme fellows and partners?

While it is mandatory to inform the fellows about their rights and obligations under the programme, there is no explicit contractual obligation for the beneficiaries to communicate a copy of the Grant Agreement neither to the funded researchers nor to the programme partners. The Grant Agreement is a contract concluded between REA and the beneficiary. If some annexes are made available on the Participant Portal, the signed Grant Agreement (core text) and its Annex I are not public.

COFUND: Does the eligibility of chosen candidates in a COFUND Programme have to be proven with a document?

It is the obligation of the beneficiary/ recruiting organisation in MSCA to request and keep proof that the selected candidates were eligible. Usually for auditors, self-declaration is not sufficient proof.

All actions: Can beneficiaries with general accounts in currencies other than the Euro use a different rate from the reported on the ECB website average daily exchange rate calculated over the corresponding reporting period?

With regard to the exchange rate, applicants can find the required information in the AGA (Annotated Grant Agreement) Article 21.3:

“Beneficiaries with general accounts established in a currency other than the euro must convert the costs recorded in their accounts into euro, at the average of the daily exchange rates published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union (ECB website), calculated over the corresponding reporting period.

If no daily euro exchange rate is published in the Official Journal for the currency in question, they must be converted at the average of the monthly accounting exchange rates published on the European Commission website (InforEuro), calculated over the corresponding reporting period.

Beneficiaries with general accounts in euro must convert costs incurred in another currency into euro according to their usual accounting practices.

Beneficiaries with general accounts established in a currency other than the euro must convert the costs recorded in their accounts into euro:

1.                  either at the end of the corresponding reporting period:

2.                  using the average of the daily exchange rates published either by the EU in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union (ECB website) or by Oanda over the corresponding reporting period or

3.                  if no daily euro exchange rate is published for the currency in question, using the average of the monthly accounting exchange rates published on the European Commission website (InforEuro) over the corresponding reporting period

4.                  or for each month separately over the corresponding reporting period:

5.                  using the monthly accounting exchange rate published, for that month, on the European Commission website (InforEuro)

6.                  or for each day separately over the corresponding reporting period:

7.                  using the accounting exchange rate published, for that day, either by the EU in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union (ECB website) or by Oanda.

Beneficiaries with general accounts in euro must convert costs incurred in another currency into euro according to their usual accounting practices.”