implementation of the technical assistance...dates category title city country beneficiary/partner...
TRANSCRIPT
Agricultureand Rural Development
Implementation of the Technical Assistance
measure
Brussels, 14 December 2018
Agenda for today
• Introduction
• Flowchart of the Technical Assistance measure
• Discuss the annex 2 of the invitation letter
• State of play in the respective countries
• Lunchbreak
• Presentation of some successful TA projects
• Discuss Technical Assistance issues
• Discuss IPARD II issues
• Conclusions by you
Introduction
Introduction by Mario MILOUCHEV director AGRI.E
entrustment of budget implementation tasks
upcoming entrustment request
1 Investments in physical assets of agricultural holdings 1 1 1 3 2
3Investments in physical assets concerning processing
and marketing of agricultural and fishery products 1 1 1 2 2
4Agri-environment- climate and organic farming
measure 1
5Implementation of local development strategies –
LEADER approachreceived
6 Investments in Rural Public Infrastructure received
7 Farm diversification and business development 1 1 2
9 Technical assistance
MeasuresNo
number indicates the number of calls
AL ME MK RS TR
How to find the way?
• DG AGRI building floor 5 = DG MARE building floor 3
• Take always the right corridor….
• Left corridor from AGRI > MARE
• Right corridor from MARE > AGRI
• Follow the signs….
<link>
8. Eligible expenditure
Under this measure, the following actions are eligible provided they are covered by the
provisional indicative technical assistance action plan:
a) Expenditures on meetings of the Monitoring Committee, including cost of all experts and other
participants, where their presence is considered to be necessary to ensure the effective work of the
committee.
b) Other expenditure necessary to discharge responsibilities of the Monitoring Committee which falls
under the following categories:
expert assistance to consider and review programme baselines and indicators;
experts to assist or advise the Monitoring Committee concerning implementation and functioning
of the monitoring arrangements;
expenditure associated with meetings and ancillary tasks of working groups;
seminars.
c) Expenditure on information and publicity campaigns, including costs of printing and distribution.
d) Cost of translation and interpretation provided in response to requests by the Commission, not including
those required pursuant to application of the framework, sectoral and financing agreements.
e) Expenditure associated with visits and seminars. Each visit and seminar shall require the submission of a
timely written report to the Monitoring Committee.
f) Expenditure associated with "acquisition of skills" to prepare potential LAGs for the implementation of
the measure "Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies – Leader approach".
g) Expenditure associated with the preparation, or streamlining of implementation, of measures in the
programme to ensure their effectiveness including those measures where application is foreseen at a
later stage.
h) Expenditure for evaluations of the programme.
i) Expenditure associated with the establishment and operation of a national network supporting the
coordination of activities preparing and implementing local rural development strategies. This can also
cover expenditure associated with the future establishment of a national rural development network in
line with the EU rules for Member States as well as the expenditure linked to participation in the
European Network for Rural Development.
j) A level of salary support which takes into account remuneration levels on the labour market in order to
retain staff and build/keep know-how in the administration. Introduction of this expenditure can only be
done after prior approval of the Commission and may be limited in time.
The eligible expenditure shall be further detailed in the 'list of eligible expenditure'.
Dates Category Title City Country Beneficiary/Partner
30 - 31 May 2017 WorkshopTAIEX Multi-country Workshop on the Use of IPARD
Measure Technical Assistance Troyan,Pravetz BG AL, ME, MK, RS and TR
15 - 16 Nov 2016 WorkshopTAIEX Multi-country Workshop on Using Measure
Technical Assistance to Prepare for Implementing LEADERZagreb HR AL, KOS, ME, MK, RS and TR
07 Jun 2016 Workshop
TAIEX Multi-Country Workshop on the Use of PRAG for
IPARD Measures on Technical Assistance and Rural
Infrastructure
Zagreb HR AL, ME, MK, RS and TR
18 - 20 Sep 2017 Study Visit
TAIEX Study Visit on Internal Procedures for
Implementing the Measure "Technical Assistance" under
IPARD II Programme
Zagreb HR ME
04 - 08 Apr 2016Expert
Mission
TAIEX Expert Mission on the Implementation of the
Technical Assistance Measure of IPARD IIPodgorica ME ME
02 - 04 May 2018Expert
Mission
TAIEX Expert Mission on the Implementation of Technical
Assistance Measure under the IPARD II Programme 2014-
2020
Skopje MK MK
22 - 25 Feb 2016 Study Visit
Study Visit on Implementation of Instrument for Pre-
Accession Assistance in Rural Development (IPARD)
Measure 501 'Technical Assistance'
Zagreb HR MK
18 - 20 May 2015Expert
Mission
Expert Mission on the implementation of the Technical
Assistance measure of IPARDBelgrade RS RS
24 - 28 Jun 2013Expert
Mission
Expert mission on rural development (IPARD) focusing on
the technical assistance measureAnkara TR TR
15 - 17 Jan 2013 Study VisitStudy visit on examination and analysis of on the spot
control practices over the Technical Assistance MeasureZagreb HR TR
23 - 26 Apr 2012 Study Visit Study visit on technical assistance measure - monitoring Budapest HU TR
28 Nov - 01 Dec 2011Expert
Mission
Expert mission on Technical assistance procedures for
IPARDAnkara TR TR
Flowchart of the Technical Assistance measure
• See separate document at your desk <link>
• Small excursion to PRAG
Discuss the annex 2 of the invitation letter
• xxxxx
Question/issue Answer/approach
How detailed should the list of eligible
expenditure (LEE) be for measure 9 Technical
Assistance?
This is up to the national authorities.
The LEE should be detailed/clear enough to avoid any
misinterpretation and any abuse of public funds.
The proposed list of eligible expenditure (LEE) needs to be
forwarded to DG AGRI which will notify its acceptance or will
provide comments (See Article 33(2) SA)
MK LEE is available as an example
TR LEE is available as an example
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
Question/issue Answer/approach
The recipient under measure 9 Technical
Assistance (TA) is the Managing Authority
(MA), but other IPARD entities can benefit as
well.
How can the IPARD Agency and NAO services
benefit from the TA measure?
The measure 9 Technical Assistance supports costs associated
with the implementation of the programme. As the Managing
Authority is responsible for implementing the IPARD II
programme it is logical that the MA is the recipient for this
measure.
Other IPARD entities and stakeholders can benefit from
activities under the TA measure which the MA considers
necessary for the proper implementation of the IPARD II
programme.
For example:
- Specific trainings for staff of IPARD entities and other
stakeholders
- Hiring of specific expertise for IPARD entities
Also the purchase of data or a data base license, to be used by
the IPARD Agency, for performing checks on the SME status
of an applicant, is considered eligible under measure 9
'Technical Assistance'.
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
Question/issue Answer/approach
How detailed should the annual action plan be
for the intended operations in accordance with
Article 8(5) SA be?
This is up to the national authorities.
It should contain the foreseen TA activities including an
indicative budget. It needs to be approved annually by the
IPARD II monitoring committee.
(see article 52(10) SA)
MK plan is available as an example
TR plan is available as an example
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
List of eligible expenditure (LEE)
Question/issue Answer/approach
As a contracting authority the MA must draft
the 'term(s) of reference' for the contract(s)
The MA needs to have or to develop the necessary skills for
drafting terms of reference, or reviewing skills in case external
expertise is hired for this.
Support may be provided by the EU Delegation.
As a contracting authority the MA must monitor
the implementation of the
contract(s)/project(s)
The MA needs to develop the necessary skills for monitoring
the implementation of the contract(s).
Support may be provided by the EU Delegation.
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
<link>
Question/issue Answer/approach
How and when to perform on-the-spot-
verifications for the projects under the TA
measure?
Based on Article 12(1) SA on-the-spot verifications shall be
carried out on all applications for support (so at the application
stage) and on all payment requests (so at the payment stage).
The added value of on-the-spot verifications at the application
stage could be considered questionable for the majority of the
TA projects, therefore is there an exception in Article 12(1):
"However in exceptional circumstances, duly recorded and
explained, [IPA II beneficiary] can decide that an on-the-spot
verification is not necessary."
The IPA II beneficiary should use that exception if applicable
(duly recorded and explained!!).
Is the possibility of 'an exception' covered in the IPARD
Agency's 'on-the-spot-verifications' procedure?
Develop a standard form for 'recording and explaining'?
Not each individual activity of a (bigger) TA project needs to
be checked.
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
Question/issue Answer/approach
What would the principle of proportionality
(Article 41(10) SA /Article 50(4) SA) mean for
TA projects?
The principle of proportionality would mean that some
deviations from the (original) project application should be
possible given the circumstances under which the project is/has
been implemented.
Such deviations should be granted on exceptional basis due to
circumstances outside the control of the recipient, based on a
motivated decision.
Requirements according to the regulatory framework for the Technical Assistance measure
Question/issue Answer/approach
PRAG annexes should not be put in the
entrustment package.
PRAG is regularly updated and each update would trigger an
approval procedure for the NAO services, to assess the update
of the manual.
The valid version of PRAG at the moment of publication of
the call for tender is the version of PRAG to be used
throughout the full public procurement procedure.
In the entrustment package a simple reference made in the
procedures that 'the PRAG version valid at the moment of
publication of the call for tender' should be sufficient.
Procurement And Grants for EU external actions_PRAG practical guide
Question/issue Answer/approach
What if PRAG does not fit in the national
context?
The national authorities can ask the Commission for
derogations and/or exceptions of PRAG.
This could be done in the entrustment package for the
Technical Assistance measure but also afterwards.
Derogations are deviations from established processes and procedures
which are explicitly allowed for by the applicable rules but nevertheless
require adequate justification. Derogations are approved by the
Commission before action is taken (ex-ante).
Exceptions are deviations from established processes and procedures
which are not specifically allowed for by the applicable rules. Exceptions
are not a breach of rules or procedures. They are approved by the
Commission before action is taken (ex-ante).
Procurement And Grants for EU external actions_PRAG practical guide
Question/issue Answer/approach
Can the national authorities use the DEVCO
FWC
Yes, the respective EU delegation should assist in this process.
In TR, the national authorities decided not to use the
Framework contract approach.
In MK actually the MA's procedure for procurement was
accepted and accredited including the Framework contract
approach (see Section 4.1 of the MA's manual of
implementation of TA.
Procurement And Grants for EU external actions_PRAG practical guide
Question/issue Answer/approach
The Early Warning System (EWS) is an EC
internal alert tool, containing restricted
information concerning third parties likely to
represent a threat to the EU financial interests
in the form of warnings. How to consult this
system?
Access to Early Warning System is a good example of an
'exception' under PRAG (see above). Usually this is done via
the EU Delegation because the Managing Authority does not
have the access rights to this database and normally it is the EU
Delegation that runs the query for the bidders in the EWS and
provides the output to the MA.
Procurement And Grants for EU external actions_PRAG practical guide
Question/issue Answer/approach
The challenge of the cash flow
….eligible costs are reimbursed, but need to be
paid earlier to the contractor.
In the Sectoral Agreement two possible (partly) solutions are
provided:
• Prepayments at contract signature phase is covered via Article
11(3)(a) SA: "…Contractual pre-financing by a contracting
authority may qualify as eligible expenditure up to 10% of the
amount of the contract."
• Advance payments are also possible, based on Sectoral
Agreement, Annex 2, section 3, D:
"Payments of advances qualify as eligible expenditure up to
10% of the public aid related to the project and shall be subject
to the establishment of a bank guarantee or an equivalent
guarantee corresponding to 110 % of the amount of the
advance. Advances cannot be paid in combination with pre-
financing as provided for in Article 11(3)(a)."
Other 'bridge' financing should come from the national budget
and needs to be agreed before starting the implementation of
the TA measure!
Other
Question/issue Answer/approach
The challenge of the cash flow
The financial flow for the measure 9 Technical Assistance is a big challenge.
The Managing Authority in fact needs to ‘pre-finance’ the expenditure, but most
often the Managing Authority lacks the financial means for this.
In the Sectoral Agreement there is the possibility of advance payments in Annex
2 (3)(D): “Payments of advances qualify as eligible expenditure up to 10% of
the public aid related to the project and shall be subject to the establishment of a
bank guarantee or an equivalent guarantee corresponding to 110 % of the amount
of the advance.
Could this provision be interpreted in a way that an advance payments of 10% of
the public aid under the 'annual plan for TA activities' would be considered as
eligible expenditure?
Using the ‘advance payment’ in this way is without a risk, because it is covered
by a (bank) guarantee and on top, the recipient is a public institution – the MA.
It would enable the Managing Authority to improve the implementation of the
Technical Assistance measure considerable!
In the TR example, 10% of the TA action plan 2018, would mean EUR 165.550.
In the MK example, 10% of the TA action plan 2018, would mean EUR 37.526.
It is legally acceptable that
advances in the case of TA
relate to the “annual plan for
TA activities”.
..... allowing advances for the
“annual plan for TA
activities” … cannot
circumvent the requirement
that a guarantee covering
110% of the advanced
payment is to be obtained.
This ensures that the
objective of protecting the
financial interests of the
Union is not jeopardised.
Other
State of play in the respective countries
• AL, ME, MK and RS
• TR will present after the lunch break
Lunchbreak
Presentation of some successful TA projects (and main difficulties encountered in the implementation)
• Burhan Aksu from the TR Managing Authority
Discussion of any issue raised by the participants concerning the measure Technical Assistance
• The floor is yours!
Discussion of any issue raised by the participants concerning IPARD II
• The floor is yours!
Conclusions and follow-up
• AL, ME and RS
• MK and TR