Technical Working Group

28 November 2006

Draft agenda

Where Member States are indicated, they are invited to prepare a short presentation (max. 5 minutes). For all items all Member States will be given the opportunity to make comments, raise questions, etc.

Morning

1. Management of N+2

Legislative background, performance to date, projections

Presentation by DG EMPL Unit I1: Ex-ante Control, Relations with the Control Authorities

Possible themes for discussion:

a) Designing programmes and "project pipelines"

LU, SK, FI, AT

Could the design of operational programmes influence n+2 (number of programmes, content of programmes, respect of the financial perspectives at a global scale rather than programme by programme, ...)?

Is the lack of operations a reality? How could the number of cofinanced projects be increased (publicity, attractiveness of ESF)?

b) Managing and controlling budgets (especially in projects)

BE, SP, SI, LT

Monitoring of projects in order to foresee the rhythm and amount of future expenditure. Monitoring of the gap between commitments and payments….

c) Possible techniques (re-cycling funding; over booking etc. )

NL, LT, DE, LV

How to implement overbooking if such a choice is made? How to recommit quickly amounts not spent? How to minimise the difference between commitments and payments?

2. Annex 23 of Implementing Regulation

Exchange of views on provision of information

Afternoon

3. Management systems

Possible themes for discussion:

a) Approaches to the construction of management systems

CZ, UK, PT, PL

Brief description of the main principles of management systems (authorities and intermediate bodies). Type of links between the actors. Separation of functions.

b) Streamlining the flow of expense claims (from operator to Commission)

IE, HU, IT, GR, CY

How to increase the speed of declaration of expenditure, from the beneficiary to the Commission, while respecting sound financial management? (modalities of payment to the beneficiaries, optimisation of the verification and certification of expenditure by the authorities, selection of eligible expenditure according to the cost efficiency principle, …)

c) Value added of each step

SE, MT, FR, EE

Actors in the management system: origin of the system. Added value of the different actors of the management and control system.

4. Ad hoc issues

·  Definition of beneficiary

·  Justification for SEA

·  Communication activities