Suspension of IPARD funds, irregularity officers seek training from OLAF

2023-11-20 13:16:00, Aktualitet CNA

Suspension of IPARD funds, irregularity officers seek training from OLAF

Illustrative photo

The Albanian government has requested that the administration, which is responsible for the protection of the financial interests of the European Union, in the programs that the latter supports, undergo training for the identification and follow-up of irregularities.

In an official document, the government acknowledges that with a letter dated September 27, 2023, the AFCOS office (Network of the Anti-Fraud Coordination Service) which is the contact point for the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is requested that the officers of the dedicated institutions by overseeing how foreign training program money is spent.

It is precisely about the Support Directorate of the National Authorized Official (DMZKA) and the National Authorizing Officer (ZKA) that are part of the Ministry of Finance.

"ZKA/DMZKA with letter Prot. 17375 dated 27.09.2023 has been directed to AFCOS as the point of contact of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), to enable the organization of training for irregularity officers in the use of the AFIS IMS electronic system," the document states.

The document underlines that an integral part of this project is an "electronic Irregularity Management system made available by OLAF that is functional enabling IPA II beneficiaries to report identified irregularities and their follow-up at the national level".

The increase in monitoring and control for the protection of the financial interests of the EU programs comes in the conditions where this need has also been touched upon in bilateral meetings, while the Albanian side is identifying other necessary trainings.

Suspension of agricultural funds

In July of this year, it was reported in the media that the European Commission had suspended the funds for agriculture related to the IPARD II program. The European Union's office in Tirana then responded to the interest of the media with statements underlining that this measure was taken after an investigation into allegations of corruption related to the implementation of the program.

The suspension would be considered temporary until the final verifications of the case being followed by a dedicated structure such as OLAF. The latter has not yet published a final report on the findings and then, based on the findings, other measures will be taken./ MONITOR