The purpose of this document is to inform about the rules for grant payments to sub- borrowers of the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) and for using the Verification Management System (VMS).
By using GEFF loan and/or by applying for an EU grant you confirm you have read this Terms and Conditions, accept them in full, and declare yourself to be legally bound to them.
GEFF: Green Economy Financing Facility
EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; EBRD is the owner of GEFF and the Verification Management System
PFI: Participating Financial Institution
EU: European Union
FC: Facility Consultant
The Facility Consultant administers the GEFF Program on behalf of EBRD
Sub-borrower: Individual who applies for a loan and grant under the GEFF Program
Sub-project: the energy efficiency measure or measures that the sub borrower wants to implement under the GEFF Program
VMS: Verification Management System
Dwelling: privately owned house or apartment
Individuals: Private individuals or groups of individuals recognized under the national laws with access to the building in respect of which they intend to perform a sub-project.
Sub-project may be eligible if it:
(a) A Sub-loan may not be made for the purpose of financing the following:
(b) In addition, a sub-loan may not be made for the purpose of financing:
Loan Originators
GEFF loans are granted (originated) by Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs). The exclusive list of PFIs can be found on the national GEFF websites.
Loans granted by other banks are not qualified to be GEFF loans.
Loan Purpose
Only loans with the exclusive purpose to finance purchase and correct installation of highly energy efficient materials and equipment listed on the Technology Selector which will be installed in privately owned dwellings (houses and apartments) can be considered as GEFF loans.
Grant Purpose
GEFF sub-borrowers are entitled to receive a grant upon the full and correct completion and implementation of the energy efficiency project in line with the documentary evidence provided with the Verification Request.
Proofs of Project Completion
Completion of each sub-project has to be supported with appropriate documentary evidence.
The following documents are required for a successful verification (please note that the required document depend on the project type):
In case the sub-borrower fails to provide the requested documents or provides documents that are incorrect/unreliable or provides documents that do not correspond to the installation done on the sub-project location, the sub-project will be rejected.
Grant Percentages
The calculation of the grant due to the sub-borrower will be conducted by the Facility Consultant during the verification of the sub-project.
Individual sub-borrowers implementing an eligible sub-project in their dwelling are eligible to receive an investment incentive payment/grant of an amount equal to:
For more information on which measures can be combined please see Incentives Table.
Each measure must substantially contribute to the energy savings of the sub-project.
Grant Application Process
The VMS should be used by the sub-borrower for submission of the Verification Request. In order to receive a grant, the sub-borrower has to explicitly apply for it.
Grant Verification Process
Grant verification process is done by the FC upon submission of completed Verification Request in the VMS.
Each Verification Request is subject to either on-site or desk-based verification.
Sub-projects which do not comply with GEFF eligibility criteria will not be eligible for grants.
In addition, the following list of situations that also lead to grant rejection:
Grant Calculation Process
The calculation of the grant amount comprises of 2 steps:
Step 1: calculation of the verified eligible investment costs based on the documentary evidence and/or an on-site visit;
Step 2: calculation of the grant amount based on the verified eligible investment costs and the applicable grant percentage.
The result of the grant calculation process is the EUR equivalent of the grant to be paid to the sub-borrower for successful completion of sub-project.
Grant Payout Process
Grants are paid to the sub-borrower’s account at the PFI where GEFF loan was originated. The sub-borrower is responsible for ensuring an account for grant disbursement.
Grant payouts occur once a month. Grants approved by FC as of the end of each month will be included in the payout.
Grant Appeal Process
Grant appeal process can be initiated by the sub-borrower in case of disagreement with either the amount of approved grant or the rejection of a grant decided by the FC.
Grant appeal should be directed at the Partner Financial Institution where the sub-borrower applied for a sub-loan.
The sub-borrower can also appeal to the FC. Grant appeal option is available for sub-borrower within 10 calendar days from the day the decision of FC is communicated to the sub-borrower. Within this period the sub-borrower can send an electronic message stating her / his objection to the decision and providing brief narrative explanation why s/he does not agree with the decision. The sub-borrower can also provide any calculations and/or documents s/he deems appropriate to support the objection.
The following email addresses are to be used:
Kosovo – xk@ebrdgeff.com
Bosnia and Herzegovina – bih@ebrdgeff.com
Albania – albania@ebrdgeff.com
Serbia – serbia@ebrdgeff.com
North Macedonia – mk@ebrdgeff.com
Montenegro – mne@ebrdgeff.com
FC reviews the appeal from the sub-borrower within 15 business days and produces a written response to the sub-borrower.
In case the sub-borrower is not satisfied with the result of the FC’s review, s/he can send the appeal within 30 days to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD):
Belinda Sykes
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
United Kingdom
Email: sykesb@ebrd.com
Appeals can be submitted in the following languages: Local language or English.
All information received by the Facility Consultant from Participating Financial Institutions and from individual sub-borrowers will be treated with all necessary caution to ensure confidential storage and processing not to allow unauthorized access to personal, financial, and other sensitive data.
Following the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) information is provided which personal data the Facility Consultant may gather and for which purpose it may be processed during the visit and use of VMS.
The following Personal Data is collected when using VMS:
Personal Data is used for the purpose of processing the application for a grant payment and in the event of follow-up questions, we process the personal data obtained for this purpose for the fulfilment of contractual obligations, or more specifically on the basis of legitimate interests.
Personal Data collected through the use of VMS will not be shared with third parties, except the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and/or unless it is required for the fulfilment of processing the application for grant payment, and/or required by the Green Economy Finance Facility and/or required to comply with mandatory laws/authority requests.
Personal Data is stored for as long as needed for the fulfilment of the abovementioned purposes and legal obligations.
The sub-borrower has the right to access the personal data concerning him/her that is being processed. Additionally, the sub-borrower has the right to rectification of inaccurate data and to erase data (“right to be forgotten”) if appropriate. Further, the sub-borrower can withdraw consent declarations at any time without stating a reason in order to hinder further processing of personal data that has been collected and used based on a consent declaration. The sub-borrower can furthermore be entitled to the right to restriction of processing of personal data as well as the right to receive the personal data concerning him/her in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (“data portability”).
Apart from that the sub-borrower has the right to lodge a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority.
The sub-borrower acknowledges that he/she does not have any legal claim to receiving grant payment(s). The usage of VMS does not constitute a contract between the sub-borrower and EBRD, the FC or any other third party.
The sub-borrower does not have any legal claim to access, usage and/or functionality of VMS. Access to and use of VMS may be impaired by unforeseeable and/or exceptional circumstances or technical maintenance and may be refused or terminated at any time without reason. The sub-borrower must respect and comply with the applicable laws when using VMS. The sub-borrower acknowledges that misuse of VMS may have legal consequences and may be prosecuted.
EBRD or the FC shall not be liable for the functionality of VMS and/or for the completeness and accuracy of data made available by the applicant on VMS. EBRD or the FC shall not be liable for any disadvantages and/or damages incurred by the sub-borrower as a result of incorrect, incomplete, erroneously or belatedly (uploaded) data or documents.