On 12 April, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed the draft law “Law on the Management of the Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Instrument of Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy for the programming period 2021-2027” prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, which provides a general framework for the management and implementation of the Funds.
On 1 January 2021, the programming period of the Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Instrument of Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy for the period 2021-2027 started in Latvia and other Member States of the European Union (EU), making it necessary to adopt the Law on the Management of the Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Instrument of Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy for the programming period 2021-2027.
For the programming period 2021-2027, the Funds place a strong emphasis on the widest possible use of simplified costs. The beneficiary will no longer have to ensure that each euro of co-financing expenditure is traceable in separate supporting documents - this is the main advantage of simplified costs, as it significantly reduces the administrative burden and the risk of errors. In addition, simplified costs allow human and administrative resources to be better targeted to policy objectives and no longer concentrate on collecting and verifying financial documents. The use of simplified costs is welcomed by all institutions involved, including the European Court of Auditors and the European Commission. The mandatory application of simplified costs applies to projects with a total funding of up to and including EUR 200 000.
In addition, the draft law provides for the possibility to extend the deadline for the evaluation of project applications from three to six months if, for objective reasons, the deadline set in the draft law cannot be met. Such reasons could be, for example, an unforeseen large number of project applications or the need for an in-depth examination of project applications.
Furthermore, the draft law provides for maximum accessibility and transparency of information. The project application, documents related to the examination of the project application and the decision on the project application are restricted information until the decision on the approval, conditional approval or rejection of the project application has entered into force. In order to promote openness and transparency in the implementation of the EU Funds, the following information will be considered as generally accessible to the public: the beneficiary (name and legal address); the title of the project; the amount of funding granted; the activity foreseen in the programming document under which the Fund has been granted; the place of implementation of the project; a summary of the activities to be carried out under the project.
As one of the responsibilities of the managing authority is to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures and procedures, taking into account the risks identified, the Ministry of the Interior will develop an anti-fraud and anti-corruption strategy for the Funds. This will be a document containing all measures related to the fight against fraud.
The management of the above-mentioned Funds in Latvia is carried out by the following institutions: the managing authority (Ministry of the Interior); the delegated authority for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for third-country nationals (Ministry of Culture); the audit authority (Ministry of Finance); the monitoring committee, which is a collegiate body.
The initial funding allocated to Latvia from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, which consists of 85% funding from the Fund and 25% co-financing from the national budget, is EUR 40 991 781; from the Financial Support Instrument for Border Management and Visa Policy - EUR 40 822 740; and from the Internal Security Fund - EUR 42 575 060.
The draft law is based on the legal framework of the previous programming period (2014-2020), taking into account the experience of the 2014-2020 programming period of the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds.
Prepared by:
Gunta Jansone
Ministry of the Interior
Head of Information Division
Phone: +371 67219363; 29494943
E-mail: gunta.jansone@iem.gov.lv