Q. Would it be possible, in duly justified cases (e.g., bankruptcy or impossibility of contact with the lead beneficiary), to have a direct recovery from the beneficiaries and not through the lead beneficiaries, despite the literality of article 75 of ENI CBC IR?

A. Article 80 of the Financial Regulation (Regulation 966/2012) stipulates that “The accounting officer shall exercise due diligence to ensure that the Union receives its revenue and shall ensure that the Union’s rights are safeguarded”. A direct voluntary payment of the recovery from a beneficiary to the Managing Authority should be understood as an exercise of “due diligence” in the duly justified cases where the recovery is not possible following the procedure as described in article 75 of the ENI CBC IR (i.e., bankruptcy of the lead beneficiary, lead beneficiary in a situation of unsuccessful recovery or impossibility to contact the lead beneficiary).