Rapport sur l'audit parallèle relatif à la simplification de la réglementation des Fonds structurels

Report ID: 348

En 2011, le comité de contact des chefs des institutions supérieures de contrôle (ISC) des États membres de l'Union européenne (UE) et de la Cour des comptes européenne (CCE) a mandaté le groupe de travail sur les fonds structurels pour poursuivre son examen des questions relatives aux fonds structurels, et plus précisément pour réaliser un audit parallèle sur la "simplification des règlements des fonds structurels". Le groupe de travail était composé de 12 ISC des États membres de l'UE et a contrôlé l'impact de neuf mesures de simplification. Les principales conclusions sont les suivantes :

En général, les mesures de simplification ont été peu utilisées et n'ont touché qu'une petite partie de l'ensemble des projets, en grande partie en raison d'un certain nombre de facteurs liés à la gestion des Fonds structurels au niveau national et supranational, notamment
- Introduction à un stade tardif par des règlements modificatifs ;
- Les mesures n'étaient pas toutes adaptées à tous les programmes opérationnels (PO) et/ou projets ;
- Les limites relatives aux ressources requises pour la mise en œuvre des mesures ; et
- Un manque de clarté et de sécurité juridique vécu par les autorités nationales.
Chaque fois que les mesures ont été utilisées, la plupart d'entre elles ont été considérées comme une véritable simplification. Les facteurs expliquant pourquoi les autorités nationales ont choisi de ne pas utiliser les mesures différaient considérablement, selon le système européen1, le système juridique national, l'organisation des Fonds structurels dans chaque État membre, ainsi que les caractéristiques spécifiques de chaque PO. Ces conditions ont influencé le champ d'application potentiel des mesures et leur avantage respectif.

Les principales conclusions du rapport sont les suivantes :
- Mesures 1, 2 et 3 (taux forfaitaire pour les coûts indirects, coûts forfaitaires basés sur des barèmes standard de coût unitaire, montants forfaitaires) :
Dans le cas des autorités nationales, le processus d'établissement de la méthodologie relative à l'application des mesures susmentionnées a entraîné des charges administratives et a été considéré comme difficile et comportant un élément de risque ; en outre, l'élaboration de la méthodologie et l'obtention de l'approbation de la Commission ont souvent été des processus longs. Le montant forfaitaire était perçu comme trop faible et le principe du "tout ou rien" conduisait à une réticence à utiliser la mesure. Chaque fois que ces trois mesures ont été

Rapport en anglais : https://intosai-cooperativeaudits.org/catalog/report/report-on-the-parallel-audit-on-the-simplification-of-regulations-in-structural-funds

Source: https://www.eca.europa.eu/sites/cc/Lists/CCDocuments/Final%20report%20WGSF/FinalReportWGSF_FR.pdf

Lights on in the Nordic countries - Nordic cooperation in electricity emergency preparedness (Abstract)

Report ID: 368

In 2008, the  national audit offices of Finland, Denmark and Norway conducted a parallel audit, in order to examine Nordic cooperation in electricity emergency preparedness to respond to large-scale disturbances in the grid and to repair damage effectively. The audit also examined national preparedness for emergencies in electrical supply and emergency planning. 

The national audit offices of Finland, Norway and Denmark concluded that there is not sufficient cooperation among the Nordic countries regarding preparedness to repair serious damage to the grid. Consideration should be given to whether repair preparedness cooperation in case of a serious disturbance in the Nordic electrical system should be given priority and strengthened as part of Nordic electricity emergency preparedness. In the national audit offices' opinion, consideration should also be given to linking the responsible national authorities more clearly to Nordic electricity emergency preparedness.

The document contains a summary of the main results of the audit.

Source: https://www.vtv.fi/app/uploads/2018/07/09131416/lights-on-in-the-nordic-countries-176-2008.pdf

Joint Report on the Results of the Parallel Performance Audit – Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis 2021

Report ID: 383

Tuberculosis is one of the most dangerous and widespread infectious diseases worldwide.1 Ac­cording to the World Health Organization (WHO) data of 2018, about 10 million people worldwide were infected with tuberculosis, of which 1.5 million died. The fight against tuberculosis is a challenge for humanity. This disease mostly affects low-income vulnerable groups and increases inequality in society. Therefore, the fight against tuberculosis is one of the important components of the sustainable development goals.

Along with other United Nations countries, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine share the SDG objectives, includ­ing eradication of Tuberculosis by 2030 and considering, among others, that the prevalence of tuberculosis in these countries is still high compared to many European coun­tries and the significant potential for improvement, the SAIs of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to carry out a cooperative audit on this topic. The framework for their cooperation was  the “Common position paper concern­ing the cooperation”, signed in Kyiv October, 2019.

The audit placed a particular emphasis on auditing government policies and measures to imple­ment the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3- Health and Well-being, related with early detection and preventive measures of TB; as well as proper treatment of TB infected patients.

This international parallel audit was carried out as part of the activities of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Econom­ic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supported via the EaPRF – Project “Strengthening the capacity of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) in the Eastern Partnership countries to monitor the achievement of Agenda 2030 objectives.” The project was aimed to strengthen the capacities of SAIs of the Eastern Partnership coun­tries in the application of International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) for Per­formance Auditing and implement the parallel performance audit on Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis.

The project created opportunities for participants to share different experiences and practices through-out the audit process as well as offered blended (trainings, workshops, online conferences) learning formats for participant SAIs on performance audit practices.

Source: https://sao.ge/Uploads/2021/5/Joint%20Report%20on%20the%20Results%20of%20the%20Parallel%20Performance%20Audit%20Prevention%20and%20Treatment%20of%20Tuberculosis.pdf

Managing interventions in case of sudden pollution in the Adriatic sea – International Parallel Audit

Report ID: 391

From November 2019 until June 2021, the Supreme Audit Institutions of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia conducted an international parallel audit on managing interventions in case of sudden pollution in the Adriatic Sea.

As a result, the SAIs signed a Joint statement addressing the urgency to adopt measures aimed at strengthening prevention and management response systems in the case of marine pollution. The environmental risk requires cross-border cooperation for emergency management to be implemented through the adoption of a common emergency response plan for all the States bordering the Adriatic Sea and the organisation of joint exercise programs.

The document is a compendium of short summaries of individual audit reports published by contributing SAIs. Full audit reports and other materials of each individual SAI can be found by following the links provided after each short summary.

Source: https://www.rs-rs.si/en/public-media/news/news/meeting-of-heads-of-supreme-audit-institutions-in-trieste-to-sign-a-joint-statement/

Public Procurement in Western Balkans Synthesis Report on the Parallel Performance Audit

Report ID: 392

The Joint Working Group on Audit Activities (JWGAA) was established in 2002 with a mandate to contribute to maintaining the working links and cooperation between the SAIs in the Contact Committee and the Presidents’ Network (candidate and potential candidate countries). The main goal of the group’s activities is to facilitate cooperation between the current and future member SAIs, to provide support and to help exchange experience in the process of institutional development, transition and negotiation on EU accession Chapter 32 (the ability to assume the obligations of membership in the area of financial control).

The Parallel Performance Audit (PPA) project under the umbrella of the JWGAA was initiated in 2014 (as PPA 1), when the member SAIs received training and coaching on performance audit practice. Based on experiences from this pilot project, a PPA 2 project was launched in 2016, to conduct a PPA of Public Procurement, an area generally susceptible to fraud and corruption, and as such, it is often the focus of attention from the general public.

From April 2016 to September 2017, the SAIs of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo*, Montenegro and Serbia, supported by the ECA and the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO), which co-chairs the JWGAA, conducted a parallel audit aimed to identify system problems related to public procurement, and suggesting possible ways in which these problems can be tackled by their respective governments.

The audit environment of the six SAIs is characterized by a common historical heritage and a similar bureaucratic culture, a transition process, and ongoing reforms on the way to EU integration. The report presents a synthesis of general findings and conclusions from the parallel audit as well as how this cooperation process was developed.

Source: http://www.dri.co.me/1/doc/Synthesis%20Report%20on%20the%20parallel%20performance%20audit%20of%20public%20procurament%20in%20Western%20Balkans.pdf