An analysis of types of errors in public procurement within the structural funds programmes

Abstract

In 2013, the Contact Committee of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) mandated the Working Group on Structural Funds to carry out an analysis of the types of errors in EU and national public procurement within the Structural Funds Programmes. The types of errors reviewed in this audit correspond to those categorised by the Committee of the Coordination of Funds (COCOF) Note 07/0037/03, which provides guidelines and parameters for determining financial corrections in cases of non-compliance with the rules on public procurement. The guidelines enable the adoption of a common approach in dealing with cases of irregularities across Member States. This parallel audit was carried out in conjunction with the SAIs of eight Member States, while five other SAIs and the European Court of Auditors acted as observers. This audit focused on errors that were already detected and categorised by the Authorities. The key stakeholders in this regard were the Planning and Priorities Coordination Division, in its role as the Managing Authority (MA); the European Union Paying Authority within the Ministry of Finance, in its role as the Certifying Authority (CA); the Internal Audit and Investigations Department, in its role as the Audit Authority (AA); as well as the European Commission (EC). For the purpose of this audit, NAO reviewed and analysed the population of errors detected during the period 2010-2013.