Modulation of the co-financing rates

The co-financing rate from the Funds to a priority axis may be modulated to take account of:
(1)
the importance of the priority axis for the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, having regard to the specific gaps to be addressed;
(2)
the protection and improvement of the environment, principally through the application of the precautionary principle, the principle of preventive action and the polluter pays principle;
(3)
the rate of mobilisation of private financing;
(4)
the coverage of areas with severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps defined as follows:
(a)
island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund, and other islands except those on which the capital of a Member State is situated or which have a fixed link to the mainland;
(b)
mountainous areas as defined by the national legislation of the Member State;
(c)
sparsely (i.e. less than 50 inhabitants per square kilometre) and very sparsely (less than 8 inhabitants per square kilometre) populated areas;
(d)
the inclusion of the outermost regions as referred to in Article 349 TFEU.
PART FOUR
GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE FUNDS AND THE EMFF