|
Estás en: Home > Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 by the European Union > Management and Control Systems
Operational Programmes (OPs) are managed in accordance with the Community regulation, and more specifically, articles 58 to 62 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006, and articles 21 to 24 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1828/2006.
Pursuant to these regulations, a managing authority, a certifying authority, and an audit authority must be designated for each operational programme (OP). One or more intermediate bodies may also be set up for them to perform some or all of the tasks of each of these authorities.
The managing and certifying authorities are responsible for managing and monitoring the operations that are co-financed with the Structural Funds, while the audit authority is responsible for verifying the effective functioning of the OP management system.
The managing authority (MA) is a national, regional or local public authority, or a public or private body designated by the Member State to manage and execute the operational programme. In this sense, the MA is responsible for: ensuring that operations are selected in accordance with the criteria applicable to the OP; verifying that co-financed actions are delivered; ensuring that accounting records are recorded and stored in computerised form; ensuring that beneficiaries of assistance maintain a separate accounting system; ensuring that planned evaluations are carried out in accordance with the regulations; setting up procedures to ensure that all documents are available in the event of an audit; ensuring that the certifying authority receives all necessary information to perform its functions; guiding the work of the monitoring committee; drawing up and submitting to the Commission the annual and final reports on implementation; ensuring compliance with information and publicity requirements; and providing the Commission with information to appraise major projects.
For its part, the certifying authority (CA) is a national, regional or local public authority or a public or private body designated by the Member State, who is responsible for: drawing up and submitting to the Commission certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment; certifying that statements of expenditure are accurate and that the expenditure declared complies with the applicable regulation; ensuring that the Managing Authority has received adequate information on the procedures and verifications carried out; taking account of the results of all audits carried out; maintaining accounting records in computerised form; and keeping an account of amounts recoverable and of amounts withdrawn following cancellation of an operation.
Intermediate bodies are entities responsible for carrying out some or all of the tasks of the managing authority or the certifying authority.
In Spain, the managing authority of the OP ERDF 2007-2013 is the Subdirección General de Administración del FEDER (Sub-Directorate General for the Administration of the ERDF), which is part of the Dirección General de Fondos Comunitarios (Directorate General for Community Funds) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Spain. The Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (Board of Communities of Castilla-La Mancha), through the Dirección General de Presupuestos y Planificación Económica (Directorate General of Budgets and Economic Planning) of the Under-Secretariat of Economy and Finance of Castilla-La Mancha acts as the managing authority, notwithstanding the responsibilities of the Spanish government.
The managing authority of the OP ESF 2007-2013 is the Unidad de Gestión de la Unidad Administradora del Fondo Social Europeo UAFSE (Managing Unit of the Administrating Unit of the European Social Fund) of the Ministry of Employment and Immigration of Spain. Notwithstanding the responsibilities of the Spanish government, the Managing Unit of the UAFSE performs its functions in cooperation with the Board of Communities of Castilla-La Mancha. Under this cooperation arrangement, the Servicio Público de Empleo de Castilla-La Mancha SEPECAM (Public Employment Agency of Castilla-La Mancha) is responsible for executing the activities delegated by the managing authority.
Responsibility for controlling the effective functioning of the OP managing system lies with the audit authority (AA). In Castilla-La Mancha, the body in charge of this function is the Intervención General de la Junta de Comunidades (General Intervention of the Board of Communities).
The audit authority is responsible for: ensuring that audits are carried out to verify the effective functioning of the management and control systems of the OP; ensuring that audits are carried out on operations on the basis of an appropriate sample; presenting the Commission an audit strategy to ensure that the main bodies are audited; and ensuring that audits are spread evenly throughout the programming period.
The AA must also submit to the Commission an annual control report setting out the findings of the audits carried out; issue an opinion on the basis of the controls and audits that have been carried out under its responsibility; and submit a declaration for partial closure assessing the legality of the expenditure.
In 2017, the AA will also be responsible for submitting an OP closure declaration assessing the validity of the application for payment of the final balance and the legality and regularity of the transactions covered, which will be supported by a final control report.
Pursuant to Community regulations, the managing authority is responsible for verifying that co-financed products and services are delivered (Art. 60.b of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006). This is done through the administrative documents appertaining to the operations management process, as well as on the spot, once a representative sample has been drawn. These verifications are carried out prior to declaring expenditure.
In this manner, intermediate bodies, with the support of collaborating bodies, verify that:
1. Services delivered, which are to be certified for co-financing purposes, are effectively carried out in accordance with the Approval of the Intervention.
2. Expenditure, which is to be declared for the purposes of payment applications to the managing authority, is eligible, is supported by invoices or accounting records that are equally valid, and has been effectively paid, and that expenditure eligibility is determined in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006 of 11 July.
3. Upon implementing an operation, the applicable national and Community rules are observed, and more particularly in relation to:
a. Public procurement;
b. Competition rules. Assistance accumulation;
c. Information and publicity;
d. Protection of the environment;
e. Equality of opportunities.
4. Double financing of expenditure does not occur with other national Community schemes and other programming periods.
5. Beneficiaries safekeep all the documents evidencing the operations certified to the managing authority, ensuring that said documents are immediately made available to the control bodies that may request so.
6. Overall indirect costs declared for each operation do not exceed 20% of direct costs.
