EU still not happy with management of funds
Two EU education programmes suspended over mismanagement of funds have still not reached the level required by the European Commission, which yesterday informed the government it would only partially lift the suspension. Following a recent visit by...
Two EU education programmes suspended over mismanagement of funds have still not reached the level required by the European Commission, which yesterday informed the government it would only partially lift the suspension.
Following a recent visit by officials, the Commission said “shortcomings and deficiencies still persist” at the European Union Programmes Agency and at the Ministry of Education, Employment and Family, which is the national authority for the programmes.
“This means there remains insufficient assurance for the sound management of EU funds in Malta,” a Commission spokesman said. Despite several meetings with the Maltese authorities over the past year, “problems still persist”.
The programmes in question are Lifelong Learning and Youth In Action, which were suspended last May because the Commission could not be sure the funds were being managed according to the required standards. Three senior education officials had resigned over the affair.
Under the new conditions imposed by Brussels, the Maltese authorities can now launch calls within the framework of the two programmes for 2011. However, none of the successful applicants will receive EU funding if Malta does not introduce further reforms and assure the Commission on the 2010 accounts by the end of April.
The Commission will also be withholding €2.3 million in advance payments connected to this year’s programme.
The national agency will not be able to award grants or conclude grant agreements with candidates who qualify for selection following the spring 2011 calls for project proposals.
The agency and the authority now have until April 30 to provide Brussels with a “2010 declaration of assurance”.
“These conditions are necessary to protect the EU’s financial interests. Should the 2010 declaration of assurance be acceptable to the Commission, the programmes’ suspension could be fully lifted in the second half of 2011. This would allow the national agency to make grant award decisions and conclude grant agreements with successful applicants,” the Commission’s spokesman said.
Asked what would happen if the Commission was still not satisfied with Malta’s accounts for 2010 by the April deadline, the spokesman said it would revert to the complete suspension of the programmes, “meaning the successful applications will not be granted”.
The issue goes back to May 2010 when the Commission announced the suspension of the two learning programmes after Malta failed to comply with the proper procedures.
Following an inquiry by the Maltese authorities, the permanent secretary at the Education Ministry and two other senior officials involved in the running of the programmes resigned and were replaced.
Later, the government introduced an ad hoc scheme aimed at helping the hundreds of students hit by the suspension so they could carry on with their projects while the suspension was in force.
The Maltese government had been hoping the Commission would close the issue by this month.