National Authorities (NAs)

NAs cooperate with MA during the Programme preparation and implementation periods, and are responsible for coordination of programming and implementation process on their territories in fields of Programme management, control, audit, irregularities and recoveries issues.

The following institutions will play the role of the NAs:

• In Poland: a functionally independent unit of the Territorial Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of the Republic of Poland;
• In Belarus: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus;
• In Ukraine: the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The NAs shall support the MA in the management of the Programme in accordance with the principle of sound financial management. They shall inter alia:

• be responsible for the set up and effective functioning of management and control systems at national level;
• ensure the overall coordination of the institutions involved at national level in the Programme implementation, including, inter alia, the institutions acting as CCPs and as member of the GoA;
• represent the country in the JMC.

The assistance of NAs in Programme management may include:

• supporting the MA in providing specific national data related to Programme implementation;
• supporting the MA in the organisation of environmental impact assessment consultations on their territory (with the support of the relevant institutions);
• supporting the MA/JTS in carrying out the eligibility/administrative check (providing opinions in relation to e.g.: eligibility of the respective applicant/partner, compliance of the respective supporting document with the national legislation, etc.);
• facilitating the setting up of branch offices on their territory e.g. providing necessary information regarding: the institution that may host/ take up responsibilities of BO and other support, if needed and agreed;
• supporting the MA/JTS in solving possible challenges and problems in projects implementation in respective countries, supporting the MA in prevention, detection and correction of irregularities, including fraud and the recovery of amounts unduly paid, together with any interest pursuant to Art. 74 of the IR on their territories. They shall notify these irregularities without delay to the MA and the Commission and keep them informed of the progress of related administrative and legal proceedings. Responsibilities of participating countries for amounts unduly paid to a beneficiary are laid down in Art. 74 of the IR.

Support provided to the MA by the NAs in preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities as well as recoveries on their territory may include:

• prevention: contribution to the elaboration of guidelines on the eligible expenditure for project beneficiaries, etc;
• detection: management verifications of its own and/or support to management verifications of MA/JTS, expenditure verification of its own or support to verifications of the MA (role of the CCP);
• correction: support to the MA in implementing the corrections of the cases detected;
• notifying irregularities to the MA without delays;
• defining together with the MA effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures to be put in place on their territory;
• supporting the MA in recovering the amounts from project beneficiaries (private and public entities) established on their territory and other support, if needed and agreed.

In the case of Belarus’ and Ukraine’s NAs, the terms of liability for recovery of the amounts unduly paid to the beneficiaries operating in the Belarusian and Ukrainian part of the Programme area, where these amounts cannot be recovered, as well as the mechanisms for such recovery, will be stipulated in the Financing Agreements to be concluded between the Government of the Republic of Belarus / Government of Ukraine and the EC.

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