Designation of authorities
1. Member States participating in a cooperation programme shall designate, for the purposes of Article 123(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, a single managing authority; for the purposes of Article 123(2) of that Regulation, a single certifying authority; and, for the purposes of Article 123(4) of that Regulation, a single audit authority. The managing authority and the audit authority shall be located in the same Member State.
Member States participating in a cooperation programme may designate the managing authority as also being responsible for carrying out the functions of the certifying authority. Such a designation shall be without prejudice to the apportionment of liabilities in relation to the application of financial corrections among the participating Member States as laid down in the cooperation programme.
2. The certifying authority shall receive the payments made by the Commission and shall, as a general rule, make payments to the lead beneficiary in accordance with Article 132 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
3. The procedure for the designation of the managing authority and, where appropriate, of the certifying authority, set out in Article 124 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, shall be carried out by the Member State in which the authority is located.
European grouping of territorial cooperation
Member States participating in a cooperation programme may make use of an EGTC for the purposes of making it responsible for managing that cooperation programme or part thereof, in particular by conferring on it the responsibilities of a managing authority.
Functions of the managing authority
1. Without prejudice to paragraph 4 of this Article, the managing authority of a cooperation programme shall carry out the functions laid down in Article 125 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
2. The managing authority, after consultation with the Member States and any third countries participating in a cooperation programme, shall set up a joint secretariat.
The joint secretariat shall assist the managing authority and the monitoring committee in carrying out their respective functions. The joint secretariat shall also provide information to potential beneficiaries about funding opportunities under cooperation programmes and shall assist beneficiaries in the implementation of operations.
3. Where the managing authority is an EGTC, verifications under point (a) of Article 125(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 shall be carried out by or under the responsibility of the managing authority at least for those Member States and third countries or territories from which there are members participating in the EGTC.
4. Where the managing authority does not carry out verifications under point (a) of Article 125(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 throughout the whole programme area, or where the verifications are not carried out by or under the responsibility of the managing authority for those Member States and third countries or territories from which there are members participating in the EGTC in accordance with paragraph 3, each Member State or, where it has accepted the invitation to participate in the cooperation programme, each third country or territory shall designate the body or person responsible for carrying out such verifications in relation to beneficiaries on its territory (the 'controller(s)').
The controllers referred to in the first subparagraph may be the same bodies responsible for carrying out such verifications for the operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal or, in the case of third countries, for carrying out comparable verifications under external policy instruments of the Union.
The managing authority shall satisfy itself that the expenditure of each beneficiary participating in an operation has been verified by a designated controller.
Each Member State shall ensure that the expenditure of a beneficiary can be verified within a period of three months of the submission of the documents by the beneficiary concerned.
Each Member State or, where it has accepted the invitation to participate in the cooperation programme, each third country shall be responsible for verifications carried out on its territory.
5. Where the delivery of co-financed products or services can be verified only in respect of an entire operation, the verification shall be performed by the managing authority or by the controller of the Member State where the lead beneficiary is located.
Functions of the certifying authority
The certifying authority of a cooperation programme shall carry out the functions laid down in Article 126 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
Functions of the audit authority
1. The Member States and third countries participating in a cooperation programme may authorise the audit authority to carry out directly the functions provided for in Article 127 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 in the whole of the territory covered by a cooperation programme. They shall specify when the audit authority is to be accompanied by an auditor of a Member State or a third country.
2. Where the audit authority does not have the authorisation referred to in paragraph 1, it shall be assisted by a group of auditors composed of a representative from each Member State or third country participating in the cooperation programme and carrying out the functions provided for in Article 127 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. Each Member State or, where it has accepted the invitation to participate in a cooperation programme, each third country shall be responsible for audits carried out on its territory.
Each representative from each Member State or third country participating in the cooperation programme shall be responsible for providing the factual elements relating to expenditure on its territory that are required by the audit authority in order to perform its assessment.
The group of auditors shall be set up within three months of the decision approving the cooperation programme. It shall draw up its own rules of procedure and be chaired by the audit authority for the cooperation programme.
3. The auditors shall be functionally independent of controllers who carry out verifications under Article 23.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
