In FP7 this replaces financial collective responsibility. It will be established and operated by the Commission. Each participant will make a contribution to the guarantee fund of maximum of 5% of the EC contribution, to be returned at the end of the project.

If interest generated proves not to be sufficient to cover sums due to EC, a retention of a maximum of 1% of EC contribution will be made at the project end. There will be an exemption of retention for public bodies, higher and secondary education establishments, legal entities guaranteed by a MS/AC.

Ex-ante financial viability checks limited to coordinators and participants requesting > EUR 500.000 (unless exceptional circumstances)

This is a completely new facility introduced in FP7 to try to counter the many problems experienced in FP6 by the collective Financial Responsibility, especially by SMEs.

The plan is that all participants will be allocated 90% advances instead of 85% as in FP6. However 5% will be withheld and put into a central guarantee fund managed by the European Investment Bank. Thus in practice they will still receive 85% net as in FP6. The interest on the deposits will be kept by this fund.

When a project completes, this 5% will be returned to the participants with the final payment except for participants not covered by government guarantees (i.e. most commercial organisations except state owned ones). Those participants will have 1% withheld by the fund if required.

If during a project, a partner defaults financially and the partners decide as a result to terminate the project, then the fund will ensure that they are all paid for completed accepted work. If the partners decide to continue work, then the fund will compensate the project for any lost funding caused by the default. In both cases the Commission would then pursue the defaulting partner for the lost funds. Any recovered funds would go back into the guarantee fund.