The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (‘the three Institutions’) recognise the importance to enhance the protection of the Union’s financial interests as acknowledged in the Inter-institutional Agreement (‘IIA’) of 16 December 2020 and as set out in Article 325 TFEU.

The three Institutions agree that it is necessary to further develop the tool in accordance with IT security and data protection rules. With a view to reducing the administrative burden and avoiding disproportionate IT costs for the Member States and the other users, established approved systems in Member States will be taken into account.

The three Institutions commit to cooperate towards further development of the tool. The Commission confirms that it will continue to develop the tool in consultation with its users and to offer the Member States support to address any technical queries. The Member States will cooperate with the Commission in order to enable synergies necessary for interoperability with relevant IT systems and databases.

Following an assessment by the Commission establishing the readiness of the tool based on the criteria referred to in Article 36(6) of the Financial Regulation, the three Institutions, without prejudice to their respective competences, commit to examine and re-discuss the compulsory use of the tool during the post-2027 multiannual financial framework.