Preparation and submission of the Partnership Agreement

1.   Each Member State shall prepare a Partnership Agreement which sets out the strategic orientation for programming and the arrangements for using the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund, the JTF and the EMFAF in an effective and efficient way for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027.
2.   The Partnership Agreement shall be prepared in accordance with the European code of conduct on partnership. Where a Member State already provides for a comprehensive partnership during the preparation of its programmes, that requirement is considered to be complied with.
3.   The Member State shall submit the Partnership Agreement to the Commission before or at the same time as the submission of the first programme.
4.   The Partnership Agreement may be submitted together with the relevant annual National Reform Programme and the integrated national energy and climate plan.
5.   The Partnership Agreement shall be a strategic and concise document. It shall be no longer than 35 pages, unless the Member State, at its own initiative, decides to extend the length of the document.
6.   The Member State shall draw up the Partnership Agreement in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. The Member State may include the Partnership Agreement in one of its programmes.
7.   Interreg programmes may be submitted to the Commission before the submission of the Partnership Agreement.
8.   The EIB may, at the request of the Member State concerned, participate in the preparation of the Partnership Agreement, as well as in activities relating to the preparation of operations, financial instruments and PPPs.