Council Decision of 25 June 2007 establishing the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’ (2007/435/EC) (repealed)

CHAPTER V MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEMS

Article 21 Implementation

The Commission shall be responsible for implementing this Decision and shall adopt such implementing rules as may be necessary.

Article 22 General principles of management and control systems

The management and control systems of multiannual programmes set up by Member States shall provide for:

(a)

the definition of the functions of the bodies concerned in management and control and the allocation of functions within each body;

(b)

the respect of the principle of separation of functions between and within such bodies;

(c)

adequate resources for each body or department to carry out the functions which have been allocated to it throughout the period of implementation of actions co-financed by the Fund;

(d)

procedures for ensuring the correctness and regularity of the expenditure declared under the annual programmes;

(e)

reliable accounting, monitoring and financial reporting systems in computerised form;

(f)

a system of reporting and monitoring where the responsible body entrusts the execution of tasks to another body;

(g)

manuals of procedures in relation to the functions to be performed;

(h)

arrangements for auditing the functioning of the system;

(i)

systems and procedures to ensure an adequate audit trail;

(j)

procedures for reporting and monitoring irregularities and for the recovery of amounts unduly paid.

Article 23 Designation of authorities

1. For the implementation of its multiannual programme and annual programmes the Member State shall designate the following:

(a) a responsible authority: a functional body of the Member State or national public authority or body designated by the Member State or a body governed by the private law of the Member State and which has a public sevice mission, which shall be responsible for the management of the multiannual programme and annual programmes supported by the Fund and shall handle all communication with the Commission;

(b) a certifying authority: a national public authority or body, or individual acting as such body or authority, designated by the Member State to certify declarations of expenditure before they are sent to the Commission;

(c) an audit authority: a national public authority or body, provided that it is functionally independent of the responsible authority and the certifying authority, designated by the Member State and responsible for verifying the effective functioning of the management and control system;

(d) where appropriate, a delegated authority.

2. The Member State shall lay down rules governing its relations with the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 and their relations with the Commission.

3. Subject to Article 22(b), some or all of the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be located within the same body.

4. The rules for implementing Articles 24 to 28 shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

Article 24 Responsible authority

1. The responsible authority shall meet the following minimum conditions. It shall:

(a) have legal personality, except where it is a functional body of the Member State;

(b) have the infrastructure required for easy communication with a wide range of users and with the responsible bodies in the other Member States and the Commission;

(c) work in an administrative context allowing it to carry out its tasks correctly and avoiding any conflict of interest;

(d) be in a position to apply Community fund management rules;

(e) have financial and management capacities proportionate to the volume of Community funds which it will be called upon to manage;

(f) have at its disposal personnel with appropriate professional qualifications and language skills for administrative work in an international environment.

2. The Member State shall provide the responsible authority with adequate funding so that it can continue to carry out its tasks properly and uninterruptedly throughout the period 2007 to 2013.

3. The Commission may assist the Member States in the training of staff, in particular as regards the correct application of Chapters V to IX.

Article 25 Tasks of the responsible authority

1. The responsible authority shall be responsible for managing and implementing the multi-annual programme in accordance with the principle of sound financial management.

It shall in particular:

(a) consult partners in accordance with Article 10;

(b) submit to the Commission the proposals for multiannual and annual programmes to which Articles 17 and 19 refer;

(c) set up a cooperation mechanism with the managing authorities designated by the Member State for the purposes of the implementation of the actions under the ESF and the European Refugee Fund;

(d) organise and advertise calls for tenders and proposals, if appropriate;

(e) organise the selection of projects for co-financing under the Fund in accordance with the criteria set out in Article 13(5);

(f) receive payments made by the Commission, and make payments to the final beneficiaries;

(g) ensure consistency and complementarity between co-financing under the Fund and from other relevant national and Community financial instruments;

(h) monitor the delivery of the co-financed products and services and check that the expenditure declared for actions has actually been incurred and complies with Community and national rules;

(i) ensure that there is a system for recording and storing in computerised form accounting records of each action under the annual programmes and that the data on implementation necessary for financial management, monitoring, control and evaluation is collected;

(j) ensure that final beneficiaries and other bodies involved in the implementation of actions co-financed by the Fund maintain either a separate accounting system or an adequate accounting code for all transactions relating to the action, without prejudice to national accounting rules;

(k) ensure that the evaluations of the Fund referred to in Article 47 are carried out within the time limits laid down in Article 48(2) and meet the quality standards agreed between the Commission and the Member State;

(l) set up procedures to ensure that all documents regarding expenditure and audits required to ensure an adequate audit trail are held in accordance with the requirements referred to in Article 41;

(m) ensure that the audit authority receives, for the purposes of carrying out the audits defined in Article 28(1), all necessary information on management procedures operated and the projects co-financed by the Fund;

(n) ensure that the certifying authority receives all necessary information on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure for the purpose of certification;

(o) draw up and submit to the Commission progress and final reports on the implementation of the annual programmes, declarations of expenditure certified by the certifying authority and requests for payment or where appropriate statements of reimbursement;

(p) carry out information and advisory activities; and disseminate results of supported actions;

(q) cooperate with the Commission and the responsible authorities in the other Member States;

(r) verify the implementation by the final beneficiaries of the guidelines referred to in Article 31(6).

2. The responsible authority's management activities for projects implemented in the Member States may be financed under the technical assistance arrangements referred to in Article 15.

Article 26 Delegation of tasks by the responsible authority

1. Where all or some of the responsible authority's tasks are delegated to a delegated authority, the responsible authority shall define precisely the scope of the tasks delegated, and set out detailed procedures for the implementation of the delegated tasks, which shall comply with the conditions laid down in Article 24.

2. These procedures shall include supplying the responsible authority with regular information on the effective performance of the delegated tasks and a description of the means employed.

Article 27 Certifying authority

1. The certifying authority shall:

(a) certify that:

(i)

the declaration of expenditure is accurate, results from reliable accounting systems and is based on verifiable supporting documents;

(ii)

the expenditure declared complies with applicable Community and national rules and has been incurred in respect of actions selected in accordance with the criteria applicable to the programme and complying with Community and national rules;

(b) ensure for the purposes of certification that it has received adequate information from the responsible authority on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure included in declarations of expenditure;

(c) take account for the purposes of certification of the results of all audits carried out by or under the responsibility of the audit authority;

(d) maintain accounting records in computerised form of expenditure declared to the Commission;

(e) verify the recovery of any Community financing found to have been unduly paid as a result of irregularities detected, together with interest where appropriate;

(f) keep an account of amounts recoverable and amounts recovered under the general budget of the European Union, where possible by deducting them from the next declaration of expenditure.

2. The certifying authority's activities relating to projects implemented in the Member States may be financed under the technical assistance arrangements referred to in Article 15, provided that the prerogatives of this authority as described in Article 23 are respected.

Article 28 Audit authority

1. The audit authority shall:

(a) ensure that audits are carried out to verify the effective functioning of the management and control system;

(b) ensure that audits are carried out on actions on the basis of an appropriate sample to verify expenditure declared; the sample shall represent at least 10 % of the total eligible expenditure for each annual programme;

(c) present to the Commission within six months of the approval of the multiannual programme an audit strategy covering the bodies which will perform the audits referred to under points (a) and (b), ensuring that the main beneficiaries of co-financing by the Fund are audited and that audits are spread evenly throughout the programming period.

2. Where the designated audit authority under this Decision is also the designated audit authority under Decisions No 573/2007/EC, No 574/2007/EC and No 575/2007/EC, or where common systems apply to two or more of these Funds, a single combined audit strategy may be submitted under paragraph 1(c).

3. For each annual programme, the audit authority shall draft a report which shall comprise:

(a) an annual audit report setting out the findings of the audits carried out in accordance with the audit strategy in respect of the annual programme and reporting any shortcomings found in the systems for the management and control of the programme;

(b) an opinion, on the basis of the controls and audits that have been carried out under the responsibility of the audit authority, as to whether the functioning of the management and control system provides reasonable assurance that declarations of expenditure presented to the Commission are correct and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular;

(c) a declaration assessing the validity of the request for payment or statement of reimbursement of the final balance and the legality and regularity of the expenditure concerned.

4. The audit authority shall ensure that the audit work takes account of internationally accepted audit standards.

5. The audit relating to projects implemented in the Member States may be financed under the technical assistance arrangements referred to in Article 15, provided that the prerogatives of the audit authority as described in Article 23 are respected.