Finance

The Finance section operates within strict financial and management rules. These rules are universal for all Commission expenditure. On project level the financial rules to be adhered to are described in the Agreement (Finance Agreement, Grant Contract, Service Contract, Supply Contract etc) and must be strictly complied with. It is therefore very important that each project fully understands all administrative and financial compliance criteria when an Agreement is signed. Some examples of rejections of costs due to non-compliance can be found under the audit section on this website.

Since the devolution of operational management tasks to the Delegation in early 2002, the Finance section has assumed the responsibility for making payments and commitments based on Financing Agreements/Contracts. Currently this entails payments of an amount of about 120 million euro per year and commitments of about 130 million euro per year.

Monitoring financial management of projects, including ad hoc missions, to discuss all financial aspects directly with projects

Most of the implementation is carried out through Annual Workplans. An important part of the Workplan is the financial section, where a monetary value can be put to the actions foreseen or executed. The tables in question are discussed with the project and serve also as a general management tool to monitor whether implementation is proceeding at an acceptable level. It is the Finance section's goal to visit each project at least twice during implementation period so that an understanding of what is happening on the ground at project level is achieved. This entails also reviewing some of the financial procedures used by the project to account for the funds used.

In close collaboration with the audit officer, finances of all projects which are due for closure are reviewed and assessed through financial and compliance audits. These audits form the basis of the financial decisions taken by the Delegation on each project