The audit of EU Regional Fund projects focused on the environment and environmentally friendly energy

1. This report concerns a coordinated audit performed by National Audit Office of Denmark (Rigsrevisionen) and the Gdansk Regional Branch of the Supreme Audit Office of the Republic of Poland (NIK) on the EU Regional Funds projects focused on the environment and environmentally friendly energy for the programme period 2007-2013.

2. The report contains information about programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) including their administration, control follow-up, and how they are organised in Denmark and the Pomorskie Voivodship (region). The report is based on information gathered from national audits, the internet and other open sources.

3. In February 2010, Rigsrevisionen and the NIK engaged in a coordinated audit of environmental projects accepted to receive grants from the ERDF. The objective of the cooperation was for both Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to gain comparable knowledge about the regional fund and find out whether administration and management of regional fund projects focused on the environment and environmentally friendly energy were adequate in the two countries. This was done on the basis of samples from environmental projects
accepted to receive grants from the ERDF in the period 2007-2009.

4. Furthermore, the purpose of conducting the audit as a coordinated audit was to identify examples of ‘good practice’ on the basis of the audit findings to the benefit of both SAIs and the administrations in the two countries.

5. Rigsrevisionen and the NIK have each performed the audit relating to Denmark and the Pomorskie Voivodship, respectively. These audits have been reported separately to the administrations in the two countries.

6. On the basis of these reports, this joint report with examples of “good practice” has been drawn up. The results of the Danish audit, the conclusions of the joint audit and the examples
of ‘good practice’ will form part of Rigsrevisionen’s report to the Danish parliament on
the audit of EU funds for 2009 while the findings of the Polish audit were included in the information
on the audit results published by the NIK.