SECTION 1 — Joint Monitoring Committee
Composition of the Joint Monitoring Committee
1. The Joint Monitoring Committee shall comprise representatives appointed by each participating country to take all decisions concerning the joint operational programme within the competence of the committee. Members shall be appointed as representatives of their countries on a functional basis and not on a personal basis. The committee shall also include a chairperson and a secretary. The secretary shall be chosen from the members of the Joint Managing Authority.
2. In addition to the duly appointed representatives, it is important that the participating countries ensure the adequate participation of the civil society (local authorities, economic and social partners, civil society) to ensure the close association of different local stakeholders in the implementation of the joint operational programme.
3. The Commission shall be invited to each meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee at the same time as the participants and shall be informed of the results of its deliberations. It may take part in all or part of each committee meeting on its own initiative, as an observer and without any decision-making power.
Functioning of the Joint Monitoring Committee
1. The appointed members of the Joint Monitoring Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure unanimously.
2. The Joint Monitoring Committee shall take decisions by consensus. However, it may put certain decisions to a vote, particularly those relating to the final selection of projects and the grant amounts allocated to them. Within this voting procedure, each country has only one vote whatever the number of its representatives.
3. The appointed representatives shall elect a chairperson. The committee may decide to elect a representative of the Joint Managing Authority or another outside person as chairperson.
The chairperson of the Joint Monitoring Committee shall act as arbitrator and lead discussions. The chairperson shall retain their vote, unless the position of chairperson has been given to a representative of the Joint Managing Authority or another outside person. In the latter case, the chairperson shall have no vote.
4. The Joint Monitoring Committee shall meet as often as necessary and at least once a year. It shall be convened by its chairperson at the request of the Joint Managing Authority or following a duly justified request from one of its appointed members or from the Commission. It may also take decisions through written procedure at the initiative of its chairperson, the Joint Managing Authority or one of the participating countries. In case of a disagreement, any member may request that the decision be discussed at a meeting.
5. Minutes shall be drawn up after each meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee for signature by the chairperson and the secretary. Minutes shall be given to each member of the committee and to the Commission.
Functions of the Joint Monitoring Committee
As part of its functions with regard to the joint operational programme, the committee shall:
(a)
approve the Joint Managing Authority's work programme;
(b)
decide on the volume and allocation of the programme's resources for technical assistance and human resources;
(c)
at each of its meetings, review the management decisions taken by the Joint Managing Authority;
(d)
appoint the project-selection committees;
(e)
decide on the selection criteria for the projects and take the final decision on projects and on the amounts granted to them;
(f)
at each of its meetings and on the basis of the documents submitted by the Joint Managing Authority, evaluate and monitor progress towards the objectives of the joint operational programme;
(g)
review all reports submitted by the Joint Managing Authority and, if necessary, take appropriate measures;
(h)
examine any contentious cases of recovery brought to its attention by the Joint Managing Authority.
If, when taking decisions referred to in point (e) of the first paragraph, the Joint Monitoring Committee decides not to follow all or part of the recommendations of the selection committee, it shall explain its decision in writing. The decision shall then be sent via the Joint managing authority to the Commission for prior approval. Commission communicates its opinion to the Joint Managing Authority within 15 working days.
Duties of the Joint Managing Authority shall be performed in compliance with regulations and provisions in force. The Joint Managing Authority is responsible for ensuring that decisions of the Joint Monitoring Committee comply with these rules.
SECTION 2 — Joint Managing Authority
Organisation of the Joint Managing Authority
1. The Joint Managing Authority shall, normally, be a national, regional or local public sector body. The Joint Managing Authority may also be a body governed by private law with a public-service mission.
This body must satisfy appropriate financial requirements and comply with the conditions provided for in Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 ( 3 ) , in particular Article 54 thereof, and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 in particular Articles 38, 39 and 41 thereof ( 4 ) .
2. The participating countries shall entrust the Joint Managing Authority with the tasks involved in implementing the joint operational programme which have been entrusted to them as part of programme management. They shall be responsible, within the Joint Monitoring Committee, for checking that funds are used in accordance with the rules and principles governing programme management.
3. The functioning of the Joint Managing Authority may be financed from the Community contribution for technical assistance and from the co financing, in particular from the contributions in kind provided for in Article 19(3).
4. The accounts established by the Joint Managing Authority shall be subject to an annual ex post external audit carried out by an independent organisation as referred to in Article 31.
5. The organisation of the Joint Managing Authority shall be based on international best practice in management and internal control and shall draw on management and internal control systems suited to the carrying out of its tasks in such a way as to ensure that its operations comply with laws, other rules and the principle of sound financial management.
In particular, operational management functions and financial management functions shall be organised separately within the Joint Managing Authority. The functions of authorising officer and accounting officer shall be separate and mutually incompatible.
6. The Joint Managing Authority shall have an internal audit service which shall be independent from the departments performing authorising-officer, accounting-officer and management functions.
7. The Joint Managing Authority shall put in place procedures to ensure that expenses declared under the programme are genuine and legitimate and shall establish reliable computerised accounting, monitoring and financial information systems.
8. The Joint Managing Authority shall in particular respect the conditions and payment deadlines for the grant agreements and procurement contracts that it signs with third parties. Using appropriate verification procedures, it shall ensure that the funds paid under grant agreements or procurement contracts are used only for the purposes for which they were granted.
A general system shall be used for the management of accounts and the administrative and financial monitoring of grants and contracts (correspondence, follow-up letters or reminders, receipt of reports, etc.).
9. The Joint Managing Authority shall without delay notify the Commission and the Joint Monitoring Committee of any change in its procedures or its organisation, or any other circumstance likely to affect programme implementation.
10. The Joint Managing Authority, and the various beneficiaries, contractors and partners with which it signs contracts for the implementation of the projects, shall be subject to controls by the Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
Functions of the Joint Managing Authority
1. The Joint Managing Authority shall be responsible for managing and implementing the joint operational programme, including technical assistance, in line with the principle of sound financial management and the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and shall carry out any controls necessary in accordance with the rules and procedures provided for by the relevant regulations.
2. The various tasks of the Joint Managing Authority shall include:
(a)
organising and acting as a secretariat for meetings of the Joint Monitoring Committee, including drawing-up the minutes of the meetings;
(b)
preparing detailed annual budgets for the programme and payment requests for the Commission;
(c)
drawing up annual operational and financial reports and sending them to the Joint Monitoring Committee and the Commission;
(d)
implementing, through its internal audit service, an audit programme to check internal circuits and to ensure that procedures are properly applied within the Joint Managing Authority; annual internal audit reports shall be sent to the Joint Monitoring Committee and the Commission;
(e)
launching, after approval by the Joint Monitoring Committee, calls for tenders and calls for proposals for the selection of projects;
(f)
receiving project applications, organising, chairing and acting as secretariat for selection committees, and sending reports including selection committee recommendations to the Joint Monitoring Committee and the Commission;
(g)
following up the selection of projects by the Joint Monitoring Committee, signing contracts for the various projects with beneficiaries and contractors;
(h)
carrying out operational follow-up and financial management of the projects;
(i)
immediately notifying the Joint Monitoring Committee of all contentious cases of recovery;
(j)
carrying out any environmental impact assessment studies at programme level;
(k)
implementing the information and visibility plan in accordance with Article 42.
Joint Technical Secretariat
1. Each Joint Managing Authority may, with the prior agreement of the Joint Monitoring Committee, use a Joint Technical Secretariat with the requisite resources to assist it with the day-to-day management of the activities under the joint operational programme.
The operation of the Joint Technical Secretariat shall be financed from the technical assistance budget.
2. The Joint Technical Secretariat may, if necessary, establish small branch offices in participating countries for the purpose of informing potential beneficiaries in those countries of activities planned under the programme.
Principle of continuity
Where an existing Joint Managing Authority with Commission-approved systems for the management of previous or ongoing programmes is reappointed to manage a joint operational programme, it shall not be necessary to modify the Joint Managing Authority's organisational arrangements, provided the systems used meet the requirements of this Regulation.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
