AGENCIES and ACRONYMS

1. Role of OLAF
2. What INEA stands for
a. Innovation and Networks executive agency
3. EIT stand for?
a. European Institute of Innovation & Technology
4. CHAFEA?
5. What is the definition of COI?
a. Country of Origin Information
6. What is an executive agency, what does an executive agency do?
a. project implementation / Manages programs
7. What does an executive agency NOT do?
a. Discuss strategy and policy objectives/advice with Member States
8. What timespan are executive agencies established for?
a. For the duration of the programme they are implementing
9. Acronyms of DG
a. Directorates-General
10. What is EPSO?
a. European Personal Selection office
11. What does REA stand for?
12. EACEA definition
13. What does MEAT stand for (acronym)?
a. Most Economically Advantageous Tender
14. What is the MEAT principle applied during evaluations of projects?
a. Lowest price, lowest cost, best price-quality ratio
15. What does an Executive Agency not do?
a. Provide information on programme implementation to European Commission
b. Provide information on the policy to the Member States
c. Make project implementation
16. What are the main three organs of the EU? (EC, EP, Council)
17. What is the European Central Bank?
a. central bank of the 19 European Union countries
18. Who are the EU’s leaders?
a. Presidents: Commission, BCE, Parliament, Council, Court of Auditors, General Court,
Court of Justice. Presidency of Council.
b. President of the European Council - Charles Michel - since 1 December 2019
President of the European Commission - Ursula von der Leyen - since December 1,
2019
President of the European Parliament - Roberta Metsola - since January 17, 2022
19. What are the EU’s interinstitutional bodies?
a. CERT, EPSO, Publication Office, EU School of Administration
20. What is the European Court of Human Rights?
a. The court hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or
more of the human rights enumerated in the Convention or its optional protocols to
which a member state is a party.
21. Who manages the evaluation of the results of the country/regional and sector policies and
programme?
 a. DG DEVCO
22. What is the legal mandate of the European Institute of Technology?
a. to develop ‘flagship’ education as a model for excellence throughout European
higher education, and reach out to and influence higher education beyond those
individuals, faculties and institutions directly involved in the KICs.
23. Where are EU institutions located?
a. Bruxelles, Luxemburg

EU INNVOVATION and RESEARCH

24. The European program 2014-2020 for research and innovation is? Answers: a. Horizon 2020;
b. Innovation Union; c. Europe 2020; d. ...
25. Innovation Program
26. What is H2020 Programme? Aim/ areas
a. funding programme for research and innovation
27. EU2020 goals on energy
28. Commissioners
29. What is Innovation Union
30. Can an international org apply for Horizon 2020
a. yes – under certain conditions
31. Which agencies manage H2020? Implement?
a. ERCEA, INEA, REA, EASME (ONLY)
32. How many old programmes does Erasmus+ replace?
a. 7
33. How many pillars there will be under Horizon Europe
a. 3: open science, global challenges and industrial competitiveness
34. What are the priorities of Horizon 2020?
a. excellent science, industrial leadership, societal challenges
35. What is ITER
a. Energy project
36. What is EU 2020?
a. A wide programme
b. Strategy for growth
c. A financial framework
37. greenhouse gas emissions target for 2030?
a. 80% from 1990 to 2030
b. 40% from 1990 to 2030 now 55%
c. 20% from 2010 to 2030
38. Which one, among the ones below, is an objective of the EU green policy?
39. What is the Renewable Energy Target for 2030?
a. 40%
40. What are MDGs?
a. Millennium Development goals
41. COPERNICUS/CHAFEA/COSME
a. Copernicus is the European system for monitoring the Earth and is coordinated and
managed by the European Commission.
b. CHAFEA- consumers, health, agriculture and food executive agency
 c. COSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). It runs from 2014 to 2020 with a planned budget
of €2.3bn.
42. What is the Copernicus programme?
a. The European Earth Observation Programme-Copernicus is the European system for
monitoring the Earth and is coordinated and managed by the European Commission.
The development of the observation infrastructure is performed under the aegis of
the European Space Agency for the space component and by the European
Environment Agency and EU countries for the in situ component.
It consists of a complex set of systems which collect data from multiple sources:
earth observation satellites and in situ sensors such as ground stations, airborne
sensors, and sea-borne sensors. It processes this data and provides users with
reliable and up-to-date information through a set of services related to
environmental and security issues.
The services address six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change,
emergency management, and security. They support a wide range of applications,
including environment protection, management of urban areas, regional and local
planning, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, health, transport, climate change,
sustainable development, civil protection, and tourism.

FINANCE AND EU BUDGET

43. Who approves EU budget
44. Who adopts EU budget?
a. European Parliament and European Council, equally important.
45. EU budget adoption process
46. What are the sources of the EU budget?
a. Taxes, VAT, GNI, other
47. Which are the three main EU institutions involved in decision-making?
a. European Commission proposes, Council and Parliament adopts.
48. Which countries can apply for EU funding?
a. EU members, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT), Associated Countries (AC),
others. Except whom clearly excluded.
49. What cannot be counted as administrative cost in the EU budget?
a. Expenditure related to staff/Directive/Decision/Recommendation
50. What does the sound financial management of the EU budget include/mean?
a. 3 Es (economy, efficiency, effectiveness)
51. IPA
52. MFF – where does the biggest share go of all the headings
53. What happens if Parliament and Council disagree on the draft budget
a. A specific conciliation committee is convened
54. What is the M(A)FF?
a. Multi-Annual Financial Framework. A Framework to mark the ceiling for the annual
budgets on what policy areas much EU can spend
55. What is the current period of EU MFF?
a. 2021/2027
56. What does PPP or P3 initiative refer to?
a. Public private partnership
57. What is a contingency reserve?
 a. Fund for unforeseen expenses
58. What financial instruments are used in shared management with Member States?
a. financial instruments can be set up as standalone funds or as sub-funds of a holding
fund
59. which of those is not part of the EU budget financing
a. road taxes
60. Can international organizations receive funding?
61. What are the European structural and investment funds?
a. ERDF, ESF, CF, EAFRD, EMFF
62. Which one is not an EU structural fund?
a. European Social Fund
b. European Regional Development Fund
c. Asylum and Migration Fund
d. European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
63. What is the biggest EU work programme (EUR)?
a. Agricultural programme
64. What is the biggest part/heading of the EU budget?
a. Smart and Inclusive Growth
65. How much is the EU budget?
a. 285 billion (2021)

LEGAL
66. How is a law passed?
67. How is the procedure called to address one single member state with an item? a) directive
b) decision c) regulation d) basic act
68. What is a primary law? a) internal regulations b)the basic act c)directives d) treaties
69. The difference between a Regulation, Directive and a Decision
70. Which of the following are basic acts:
a. regulations, directives and notes
b. directives, decisions and recommendations
c. any of the above
d. "Basic act" is the term to refer to the acts affected by the posterior amendments
71. Which is NOT a Basic Act?
a. Recommendation
72. What is the only legal act binding the European Commission and the Signatory?
73. Who is involved in the ordinary legislative procedure?
a. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the
European Union
74. How is the principle called that regulates the responsibility of EU level and Member States
level?
a. Principle of supranationalism (?) question not clear to me google :
'Supranationalism refers to a large amount of power given to an authority which in
theory is placed higher than the state (in our case this authority is the European
Union). Intergovernmentalism focuses on the importance of member states in the
process of creating EU-wide regulations' or ' A supranational union is a type of
multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by
governments of member states. The concept of supranational union is sometimes
used to describe the European Union (EU), as a new type of political entity.'
 b. Principle of subsidiarity
c. Principle of proportionality
d. Principle of transparency
75. In some cases Member States can estimate that the EC intervention at regional and local
level is more effective than the one of the single Member States". What principle is recalled
by this situation?
a. Principle of supranationality
b. Principle of subsidiarity Subsidiarity is the principle where action is only taken at EU
level when it is more effective than EU countries acting alone at national, regional or
local level. And : In areas in which the European Union does not have exclusive
competence, the principle of subsidiarity, laid down in the Treaty on European
Union, defines the circumstances in which it is preferable for action to be taken by
the Union, rather than the Member States.
c. Principle of proportionality
d. Principle of transparency
76. Which statement is NOT true about the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union?
a. The Charter applies to the Institutions of the European Union and its member states
when implementing European Union law.
77. Question on procurement: who receives the final product?
a. Contractor
b. Commission
c. Member State
d. Other stupid answer

GRANT MANAGEMENT
78. Are financial instalments based on reports?
a. Yes
79. Who is the owner of pre-financing
a. Who owns a pre-financing? Answers: a. the Commission until the beneficiary
demonstrates that the work was done; b. the Coordinator until it further disburses it
to the other beneficiaries; c. …; d. …
b. The commission (until the beneficiary demonstrates that the work was done)
80. When does the pre-financing payment occur?
a. A pre-financing payment will be transferred to the beneficiary within 30 days of the
date when the last of the two parties signs the grant agreement or when the grant
decision is notified to the beneficiary
81. What is pre-financing?
a. An advance payment
82. What is PRAG?
a. practical guide on contract procedures for European Union external action
83. Which one is NOT a measure to secure EU funds?
a. during assessment, if you see that the implementing party is managing good, then
the funding is well protected
84. 2. What are the contingencies for in building contracts:
a. Increasing in price
b. Change of requirements.
c. Other 2
85. What is NOT a legal basis for funding an EU research program?
a. EU Staff regulations
86. What is the 4 eyes principle?
a. The Four eyes principle is a requirement that two individuals approve some action
before it can be taken.
87. What is the definition of co-financing
a. contribution EU funding makes to a programme
88. Which of the following are systematically excluded from EU costs?
a. indirect costs from flat-rate / depreciations / operational costs
89. With regard to grants and public procurement, are losses as a result of exchange-rate
fluctuations considered eligible expenses?
90. What is the only legal act binding the European Commission and the Signatory?
a. The contract
91. What financial instruments are used in shared management (with Member States)?
Answers: a. the structural and investment funds; b. ....
a. ERDF, ESF, CF, Maritime and Fisheries Fund and Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development or sg like that.
92. In shared Management the EU implements the budget together with:
a. The Member States
93. What are the principles of shared management?
a. Sound financial management, transparency, non-discrimination
94. What financial instruments are used in shared management (with Member States)?
a. the structural and investment funds
95. Which is the basis for selecting projects for funding by the European Commission?
a. independent experts evaluate proposals and make a list according to the published
award criteria
96. What's direct management?
a. Commission Departments including Delegations and Executive Agencies implement
the budget. (An European Commission budget implementation modality)
97. What is the difference between a commitment and a payment?
a. The commitments refer to pledges to provide certain amounts of funding for specific
activities. Payments refer to the estimated amounts needed for the period of the
budget based on the commitments made.
98. Question about type of simplified costs
a. Flat rate
b. Action Cost
c. Action cost
d. Lump sum
99.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
100. What is a business case
a. The project reasoning and budget definition
101. What is cost management?
a. Processes to maintain effective financial control of the project. Planning and
controlling budget
102. What is it a project?
 a. Solution of the PM2 // a temporary organizational structure which is setup to create
a unique product or service (output)within certain constrains such as time, cost and
quality…
103. Project constrains:
a. time, cost, and quality
104. The duties of project manager in assessing the risk during the project life cycle (I
select during all the project)
105. When does the project manager assess the risks during the project life cycle?
a. During the whole project lifecycle
106. What does ROM stand for when there is a project with external action or sg like
that?
a. Result Oriented Monitoring
107. Spending life cycle
108. Who are the three actors in project management? (AO, Imprest, Accounting Officer)
and PM?
109. For how long is the household planning?
a. 5 years
b. 6 years
c. 7 years
110. share management is implemented by
a. Eu parliament
b. EU agency
c. Members States
111. What are the different management modes?
a. Shared, Direct, Indirect
112. What is direct management?
a. Projects carried on under the unique management of the EC (or representative
agencies)
113. How does shared management work?
a. Joined administration between EC and National authorities
114. Research Procurement and grant principles (regulations, grant management)
115. Gantt chart what is it?
a. A Gantt chart is a type of horizontal bar graph that you use to plan and track
projects. It shows resources or tasks in a time frame with a distinct beginning and
end.
116. In what currency is the Grant given out
a. Local currency
b. Euro
c. Currency selected by the beneficiary
d. All of the above
117. How is a grant awarded?
a. proposal or direct call
118. Tender procedures - 4 steps
119. What is correct order of the four project phases is PM2?
a. initiation-planning-executing-closing
120. Expenditure lifecycle
a. overview of the Commission's financial management, from the birth of an idea.
121. What are the 4 pillars of PM2?
 a. G, L, A, P – Governance, Lifecycle, Artefacts, Processes
122. What is the right order for a call for proposals
a. publication, evaluation, inform the about the candidates and signature of the
financing agreement
123. Should an evaluator inform you he may has a COI what should you do..?
124. Ex post evaluation of a project is defined as?
a. the evaluation of the results of a project at the end of the implementation phase
125. You receive a letter from a grant beneficiary in your capacity as an EC project officer.
What is your reply deadline?
a. 15 Days
126. When managing a project, which of the following factors are the principal
constraints that should be taken into account during implementation?
a. Cost, objectives and duration
127. Regulations regarding grants
128. What is the MEAT principle applied during evaluations of projects? Answers: a. most
economically advantageous tender; b. most ecologically advantageous tender; c. ...
129. grant lifecycle (order of actions)
130. grant/procurement principles
131. What are the principles of budget management?
a. nine general rules of unity, budgetary accuracy, annuality, equilibrium, unit of
account (the euro), universality, specification (each appropriation is allocated to a
particular kind of expenditure), sound financial management and transparency
132. Who is the product/property/goods owner in grants?
a. The Contracting Authority
133. What is advantage of the grant agreement to the Commission Decision
a. Grant Agreements are enforceable outside of the EU too, while Commission
Decisions are not
134. After the evaluation of a grant, what do you do next?
a. communication wo winners & losers
135. What type of payments do EU grants have?
a. pre-financing, Interim Payment and Final Payment
136. Who you should inform first about the result of an evaluation of a call for
proposals??
a. all candidates at the same time
b. you call by phone the selected candidate in other to allow him to prepare the
documents to be signed
c. you inform first the non-selected candidate
137. What is NOT a milestone in a project? Answers: a. an output...; b. a moment where
the beneficiary has to make a decision; c. an important moment that should be used to the
future phases of the project
138. The Final amount of an EU grant is paid if…the final report has been submitted , if
the expenditure versification report has been submitted at the end of the implementation
period ( max 10% of total grant)
139. What are the basic characteristics of Grants (i.e. not retrospectively, etc)
a. transparency (?- not that is the process of awarding grants ), non cumulative, non
retroactive, co-financed, non profit
b. Transparency, non cumulative, co financed, non discrimination, non retroactive.
140. A low value grant?
 a. Less or equal to 60k Euro
141. How do you calculate the success of a project? (?) ?
a. Indicators of achievement - (KPI- key performance indicators)
142. SMART objectives ?
a. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant And Time-Based
143. Project audit
144. Role of the Court of auditors
a. audit the EU institutions / audits EU’s finances
145. When can an Audit be performed in a grant?
a. During the lifecycle of the project
146. What to do if an external consultant who evaluate call of proposal has a conflict of
interest?
a. The EC can dismiss the expert. Closing the contract with him.
147. When can money for grants could be suspended?
a. Fraud?
148. Definition of the critical path
149. Questions about the so called Critical Path Method
a. something related to estimate interrelation between activities: Accurate;
approximately…
b. something related to estimate interrelation between activities: expected
performance, experiences and foreseeable events.
150. The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a modelling technique that uses a mathematically
based algorithm to calculate the total duration of a project. CPM calculates
a. shortest necessary path for the planned activities
151. What do you consider when you apply the critical path method?
a. Based on your experience and predictable events
152. How does the dependency of activities work in Critical Path Method?
a. Linking dependent tasks helps you avoid bottlenecks later in the project, when one
task can't start or finish until another has been completed.
153. Eligible costs
a. Planned, justified, provable.
b. Incurred during the implementation of the action, indicated in the budget and
identifiable and verifiable
154. What are the actually incurred costs?
a. generated, invoiced and paid during the duration of the project
155. Expert selection
a. How does it work? Score/ Availability (financial/professional/economical)
156. The works specification should cover as a minimum what?
a. Technical works description, technical report, design package, assumptions and
regulations, bill of quantities, works price list, programme time scheduled
157. Evaluation principles
a. Project Evaluation Review Technique
158. what does PERT stand for (acronym)?
a. Program Evaluation & Review Technique (?)
159. Actually incurred costs
a. Eligible Costs
160. What does cost management mean? Google : is the process of effectively planning
and controlling the costs involved in a business. It is considered one of the more challenging
 tasks in business management. Generally, the costs or the expenses in a business are
recorded by a team of experts using expense forms.
161. What criteria do reviewers use in grant selection procedures? Answers: a. Efficiency,
effectiveness, relevance + impact and sustainability; b. Environmental E, E, R +; c. E, E, R +
162. In an ongoing grant, what do you do if you notice an irregularity in the
implementation of activities? Answers: a. Formally notify the beneficiary, ask them to rectify
the irregularity and restart the project; b. Report the case to OLAF; c. Stop payments; d. Stop
the project; e. Stop the project; f. Stop the project.
a. Notify the programme committee and wait for their guidance
163. In an ongoing project, if you notice that an important part of the activities was not
implemented, what do you do?
a. report this to the Commission or directly to OLAF.
164. Question on which answer (long answers) is correct on control procedures in direct
management of procurement and grants in the field of external actions.
a. The contracts are concluded directly by the European Commission acting on behalf
of the partner country. It draws up shortlists and is responsible for issuing calls for
tenders and call for proposals, publishing them, receiving applications tenders and
proposal, chairing evaluation committees, deciding on the results of the procedures,
managing complaints and signing contracts.
165. If at the end of the project the budget has not been totally spent, what needs to be
done?
166. Question on dependency of activies in Critical Path Method
167. There is an ethical related problem during project bla, bla. What do you do?
a. Check if project partners have received ethics assessment..
b. 2 other answers that made no sense
c. none of the above
168. What are ethical concerns in grant management?
a. Human/Animal Rights; Data/Environment Protection, Malevolence of Research
Results and Compliance with EU laws
169. You are a project advisor and you realise that costs incurred and claimed are not
related to the action. What do you so?
a. Stop payment.
b. -2 other answers that made no sense
c. You request the opinion of the project committee.
170. Who should you inform once a contracting decision has been taken?
171. Which currency does the EU use to pay EU grants?
a. Local currency
b. euro
c. it depends
172. What the AO does when a project commits a irregularity?
a. requests the project to correct and re-launches the project
b. halts the implementation which may entail the risk of reducing the EU grant
c. wait the conclusions of an OLAF investigation

EU TARGETS
173. What is the Renewable energy target for 2020
174. Millennium Development Goals
175. Agenda 2030
176. Current financial plan from 20xx to 20xx

DEFINTITIONS, RISKS, IRREGULARITIES

177. What is OLAF
a. European Anti-Fraud Office
178. Definition of whistleblower
a. Someone coming across information about corruption
179. On what basis can you exclude an evaluator?
a. Conflict of interest
180. What are among the principles of data protection rules?What is called a person
reporting an irregularity
181. Conflict of interest
a. A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in
multiple interests (no applied for even older than 3 years in the past)
182. What happens if during the evaluation of a grant it turns out that the evaluator has a
conflict of interest
a. You go to OLAF
183. Ombudsman?
a. investigates complaints about poor administration by EU institutions or other EU
bodies.
184. What is the ombudsman for?
a. It's an institution allowing individuals and organisation to complain about a
maladministration of the European institutions
185. Internal risks
a. Risks arising from the events taking place within the organization.
186. What is fraud?
a. Deliberate action with the intention of cheating.
187. Risk management
a. The uncertainties that will impact the project
188. What happens if irregularities in a project are detected?
a. Reductions may be applied in cases of substantial error, irregularities or fraud,
serious breach of obligations during the award procedure, including improper
implementation of the action, submission of false information, failure to provide
required information, breach of ethical principles, etc. or in case of systemic and
recurrent errors, irregularities or fraud/serious breach of obligations in other grants
that have a material impact on the grant.
189. What should the Architecture Office (AP) do in case of irregularities during a project
implementation?
a. Plays an advisor role on architecture aspects. Develops architecture standards for
projects.
190. If you have underperformance what do you do?
a. You don't go to OLAF but to your line manager.
191. 10% contingency
192. In some cases, Member states can estimate that de EC intervention at regional and
local level is more effective than the one of the single Member states. What principle is the
recalled by this situation? Principle of supranationalism b) Principle of subsidiarity c)
Principle of proportionality d) principle of transparency.
193. with of the following situations does not represent a conflict of interest?
a. one of the evaluatiors have worked for one of the firms shortlisted more than 3
years ago