Article 16 Costs

This article addresses the financing of AGORA by drawing a clear distinction between costs at the EU level and costs at the national level.

The Commission's costs for setting up and running AGORA are funded through supervisory fees already collected under the Digital Services Act framework, while Member States are responsible for covering their own operational costs.

Important points:

• The Commission's costs for setting up, maintaining, and operating AGORA are covered by annual supervisory fees collected from providers of very large online platforms and very large online search engines.
• Member States bear the costs of AGORA operations at the national level, including training, technical assistance, helpdesk activities, and any necessary adaptations to national networks and information systems.
• This article connects directly to Article 4, which assigns the Commission responsibility for maintaining and developing AGORA, and clarifies how that responsibility is financed.