On the 3rd of February 2021, the Monitoring Committee of the Danube Programme approved the request for SIMONA project modification: extension and upgrade. The project extension was requested due to the untoward effect – a 6-month delay - of the COVID pandemics to the planned implementation of the important project activities, such as the Test Area and DRB Baseline sediment sampling and laboratory analysis. Since the COVID situation affected most of the 2nd call project in its` planned development, the MA/JS committee offered a possibility of project extension and upgrade with additional funding for ERDF partners. With the approval of the requested project modification (extension and upgrade), the additional period (period 7) and work package (WP8) was added to the SIMONA project. Therefore, the original end date was expanded for 6 months (from 31.5. to 30.11.2021.) and 2 additional project activities have been added in the frame of WP8. Based on these facts, the new SIMONA timeline was developed and presented to project partners in the form of a Gant Chart. 

The mentioned project changes were primarily presented to partners during the online SCOM meeting for Period 6, held on 19th February 2021 via GoToMeeting. Among other news was mentioned the integration of the HU-NARIC partner into HU-SZIE which was renamed HU-MATE (the University of Agriculture and Life Sciences). As regularly at the SCOM meetings, the Lead Partner provided an overview of the general project status, then the remaining project activities and their distribution in periods 6 and 7; presentation of the new SIMONA Gant Chart which included the explanation of the additional activities (WP8) and the financial status; financial changes in relation to the mentioned project modification