PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THE COMPATIBILITY OF PROJECTS WHICH SHALL BE CO-FUNDED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES WITH NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY POLICIES
CERTIFICATES OF COMPATIBILITY
The Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development (DG EPCD), was appointed by the Council of Ministers as the national focal point for operational programmes and is responsible for the control, verification and validity of declared expenditure, by ensuring inter alia, compliance with community and national rules, in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation 1080/2006/EC.
It is especially noted that the Beneficiaries, i.e. the bodies responsible for the implementation of projects, must comply with national and EU legislation on public procurements, state aid, environmental protection, equality between men and women and non-discrimination. In this context, Beneficiaries, on the basis of the conditions laid down in each Call for Proposals, will need to attach the required compatibility certificates issued by the competent bodies upon submission of their application, for the compliance with the relevant rules. In the event that at the time of submission of the application it is not possible to assess compatibility with any policy, the Beneficiary will undertake the commitment to comply with the rules and must send the compatibility certificates, once he/she receives then and certainly before the submission of the first Summary of Expenditure. In this case, provision will be made in the Accession Decision. Compliance and the commitment to comply with national and EU legislation and Policies, will be heard by the intermediate body as part of the evaluation of projects, since it is a prerequisite for the integration decision, as well as during their implementation.
The Council of Ministers with its decision No. 67,517 dated 17 July 2008 approved the procedures for ensuring the compatibility of the projects co-funded by the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund and the European Fisheries Fund with National and EU policies.
The procedure to be followed to ensure compatibility with National and Community Environmental Policies is described below.
ENVIRONMENT
For the compatibility of the co-funded projects with the Community and National Policies regarding environmental protection, the opinion of the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment is obtained, where appropriate, according to the relevant Legislation. In the case of Grant Schemes, the Competent Intermediary Body, where appropriate, submits the Plan to the Department of Environment for scrutiny and ensures compliance with the National and Community Environmental Policy at the level of the Plan and, as a result, for all projects promoted under this.