1. Aid for cooperation costs incurred by SMEs participating in the European Territorial Cooperation projects covered by Regulation (EC) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I are fulfilled.
2. The eligible costs shall be the following:
(a)
costs for organisational cooperation including the cost of staff and offices to the extent that it is linked to the cooperation project;
(b)
costs of advisory and support services linked to cooperation and delivered by external consultants and service providers;
(c)
travel expenses, costs of equipment and investment expenditure directly related to the project and depreciation of tools and equipment used directly for the project.
3. The services referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall not be a continuous or periodic activity nor relate to the undertaking's usual operating costs, such as routine tax consultancy services, regular legal services or routine advertising.
4. The aid intensity shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible costs.