MANAGEMENT MEASURES 1. Monitoring and reporting rules

Specify frequency and conditions.

Funding implemented under the direct and indirect management will be implemented under the AMF Thematic Facility, which also falls under the general monitoring and evaluation mechanism of AMF. Streamlined templates and rules will be established in order to collect indicators from the grant and contribution agreements’ beneficiaries at the same pace as for the shared management, in order to ensure the disclosure of comparable data.

When the Union contribution will be provided through shared management, the following rules shall apply:

Funding implemented by Member States under shared management will follow the rules set out in the Common Provisions Regulation (COM(2018) 375) referred further as the CPR proposal, in Regulation 2018/2016 (Financial Regulation) and the Asylum and Migration Fund (COM(2018)471), referred further as AMF proposal.

In line with the CPR proposal, each Member State will establish a management and control system for its programme and ensure the quality and the reliability of the monitoring system. Therefore, for shared management, a coherent and efficient reporting, monitoring and evaluation framework is in place. Member States are required to set up a monitoring committee to which the Commission may participate in advisory capacity. Member States may decide to set up a single monitoring committee to cover more than one programme. Monitoring committees will review all issues that affect programme progress towards achieving its objectives.

For the HOME affairs funds, Member States will submit to the Commission an annual performance report on the implementation of the programme and the progress in achieving the milestones and targets. The report should also raise any issues affecting the performance of the programme and describe the action taken to address them.

2.2. Management and control system(s)

2.2.1. Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

According to the AMF proposal, 60% of the AMF envelope is reserved for programmes of Member States. The remaining 40% of the financial envelope will be managed through a thematic facility. The objective of introducing the thematic facility is to balance the predictability of multiannual allocation of funding to Member States’ programmes with flexibility in disbursing funding periodically to actions with a high level of added value to the Union on the basis of a two-year programming cycle. The thematic facility will be used for resettlement and transfers.

The control strategy will be based on the Financial Regulation and on the CPR proposal.

For the part implemented through direct and indirect management under the thematic facility, the management and control system will build on the experience gained in 2014-2020 in both Union actions and emergency assistance. A simplified

scheme will be established allowing a swift processing of the applications for funding while reducing the risk of errors: eligible applicants will be limited to Member States and International organisations, funding will be based on simplified cost options, standard templates will be developed for funding applications, grant/contribution agreements and reporting, a standing evaluation committee will examine the applications as soon as they are received.

When the Union contribution will be provided through shared management, the following rules shall apply:

The Member States will receive an additional contribution for each person falling in the categories covered by this Regulation.

The corresponding amounts will be allocated to the Member States through the amendment of their programme. These programmes are managed under shared management in line with Article 63 of the Financial Regulation, the CPR proposal and the AMF proposal.

The payment arrangements for shared management are set out in the CPR proposal.

CPR proposal provides for an annual pre-financing, followed by a maximum of four interim payments per programme and year based on the payment applications sent by the Member States during the accounting year. As per the CPR proposal, the pre-financing is cleared within the final accounting year of the programmes.

For the part implemented through shared management, the CPR proposal builds on the management and control strategy in place for the 2014-2020 programming period but introduces some measures aimed at simplifying the implementation and reducing the control burden at the level of both beneficiaries and Member States. The new elements include:

-the removal of the designation procedure for the programme authorities;

-management verifications (administrative and on-the-spot) to be carried out by the managing authority on a risk basis (compared to the 100 % administrative controls required in the 2014-2020 programming period).

-managing authorities may apply, under certain conditions, proportionate control arrangements in line with the national procedures.

-conditions to avoid multiple audits on the same operation/expenditure.

The programme authorities will submit to the Commission interim payment claims based on expenditure incurred by beneficiaries. In order to mitigate the risk of reimbursing ineligible expenditure, the CPR caps the Commission’s interim payments at 90%, given that at this moment only part of the national controls have been carried out. The Commission will pay the remaining balance following the annual clearance of accounts exercise, upon receipt of the assurance package from the programme authorities. The assurance package includes the accounts, the management declaration and the audit authority’s opinions on the accounts, the management and control system and the legality and regularity of the expenditure declared in the accounts. This assurance package will be used by the Commission to determine the amount chargeable to the Fund for the accounting year.

Any irregularities detected by the Commission or the European Court of Auditors after the transmission of the annual assurance package may lead to a net financial correction.

2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up to mitigate them

RISKS

In past years, DG HOME has not been facing important risks of errors in its spending programmes.

For the relocation and transfers supported through direct/indirect management, the risk of errors is expected to be lower than in the current Union actions and emergency assistance (currently at around 3% of residual error rate). Indeed, many of the risk factors will not exist in the funding of relocation and transfers: eligible applicants will be limited to Member States and International organisations, funding will be exclusively based on simplified cost options, and standardised templates will be developed to simplify both the application and the reporting. Additionally, assurance regarding the reality of the relocations and transfers is high thanks to the existing operational monitoring mechanisms.

For the support provided through shared management:

The management and control system follows the general requirements set in the CPR proposal and complies with the requirements of the Financial Regulation.

Regarding the financial contribution for relocation, and transfers, Member States may include them in the payment applications to the Commission only provided that the person in respect of whom the contribution is claimed was effectively transferred.

Member States are obliged to carry out controls and audits to verify whether the conditions to claim to the Commission the contribution have been met. In addition, Member States are obliged to keep appropriate supporting documents for the time period set up in the CPR proposal.

Multi-annual programming coupled with annual clearance based on the payments made by the Responsible Authority aligns the eligibility periods with the annual accounts of the Commission.

INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM – MITIGATING CONTROLS

The first DG HOME Fraud Strategy was adopted in 2013. The current Anti-Fraud Strategy was updated in February 2018 and will be valid until the current MFF comes to an end. In view of the MFF 2021-2027 and the new Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy adopted in 2019, DG HOME is currently working on updating its Anti-Fraud Strategy. The aim of the new DG HOME Strategy will be to adapt to the evolving situation and further strengthen the DG’s anti-fraud activities. The new DG HOME Anti-Fraud Strategy will be adopted at the latest by 2021.

DG HOME has also established in 2016 a control strategy for emergency assistance that will be the basis for the establishment of the control strategy for the part on the direct/indirect management.

Additionally for shared management, in November 2015, DG HOME adopted an Audit Strategy for the shared management part of Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF). A Control Strategy for AMIF/ISF shared management is currently being developed by DG HOME. This strategy will

include all controls needed for the management of the national programmes under AMIF and ISF.

2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)

Negligible control costs and very low error risk.

The costs of controls are expected to remain the same as in the current period.

For direct/indirect management, the cost of controls is expected to be smaller than for the Union actions, due to standardised procedures for application, evaluation and reporting, simplified costs and strong limitations to the eligible applicants.

For shared management, the cost of controls may potentially be reduced for Member States due to the risk-based approach to management and controls being introduced in the CPR proposal. For the present (2014-2020) programming cycle, as of 2017 the cumulative cost of control by the Member States is estimated at approximately 5 % of the total amount of payments requested by the Member States for the year 2017.

2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy.

DG HOME's Anti-fraud strategy mentioned in 2.2.2 applies.