Brussels, 08/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - Based on Commissioner Barrot's proposal (and in agreement with Commissioners Dimas, Fischler and Schreyer), the Commission adopted on 6 September by written procedure, its communication entitled, "Respective responsibilities of Member States and the Commission in the Shared Management of Structural and Cohesion Funds - Current Situation and Perspectives for the new post-2006 Progammation Period". This communication aims to present: 1) a legal analysis, in constant law, of the areas covered by Structural and Cohesion Funds; 2) main amendments introduced by the Commission in its proposal for the next post-2006 programmation period: increasing coherency, complementarity and effectiveness in the architecture of the management systems and financial control.
In its communication, the Commission explains that it is striving to improve: coherency "because it is necessary to clearly define the minimum conditions applicable to the control and auditing systems at all levels of the process, as well as the tasks and respective obligations of those intervening"; transparency "because it is necessary that the different actors involved in inspection recognise the results of each party involved in control in order to increase effectiveness, efficiency and economy in the process"; security "because the Commission should have a supplementary guarantee on the management systems and control of the programme are in place and comply with the minimum conditions defined in the regulation before being able to proceed to the first intermediate reimbursements, by way of initial assessment of these systems established by an independent auditor of the Member State accredited at the outset and made at the same time as the description of the systems".
The communication indicates that with regard to the sharing of responsibilities between the Commission and Member States: the Commission "is obliged to propose legislation which clearly defines the responsibilities and obligations of the two actors in the shared management, as well as the modalities for their co-operation"; Member States should focus on their obligations to provide: "adequate assurances for the Commission, at the beginning, before the implementation of the programme and before being able to proceed to intermediate payments, made by an independent body and approved by the Commission"; "annual assurance made by an auditing authority on the declared spending"; "a declaration of validity of the amounts certified at the conclusion of the operational programmes on the basis of audits and operational controls carried out during progammation".