On 12 April 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers supported the draft law prepared by the Ministry of the Interior entitled “The Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and Border Management and Visa Instrument for the Planning Period 2021-2027”, which provides for a general framework for the management and implementation of funds.
On 1 January 2021, the period of programming for the Internal Security Fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument was launched in Latvia and the other Member States of the European Union for the programming period 2021-2027, it is therefore necessary to adopt the Law “Management law on Internal Security Fund, Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and Border Management and Visa Instrument for the Planning Period 2021-2027 “.
During the programming period of the funds 2021-2027, a significant emphasis has been placed on the possible extensive application of simplified costs. The beneficiary will no longer have to ensure the traceability of the euro for each co-financing expenditure in individual supporting documents, which is the main advantage of simplified costs, which greatly reduces the administrative burden and reduces the possibility of errors. Moreover, through simplified costs, human resources and administrative activities can be more directed towards policy objectives and should no longer focus on collecting and verifying financial documents. The use of simplified costs is welcomed by all the institutions involved, including the European Court of Auditors and the European Commission. The mandatory application of simplified costs applies to projects with a total funding of up to €200,000 (inclusive).
In addition, the draft law provides for the possibility to extend the time period for the evaluation of project applications from three to six months if, for objective reasons, it is not possible to comply with the time period specified in the draft law. Such reasons could include, for example, an unexpected large number of project applications or an in-depth study of project applications.
The draft law also provides for the maximum availability and transparency of information. The project application, documents related to the assessment of the project application and the taking of a decision regarding it, shall be restricted access information until such time as the decision regarding the approval, approval of the project application has entered into force, with a condition or rejection. In order to promote transparency and transparency in the implementation of EU funds, the following information will be considered to be generally available to the public: the beneficiary (name and registered office); the name of the project; the amount of the funding allocated; the activity provided for in the programming document under which the fund is financed; the place of project implementation; a summary of the activities to be carried out under the project.
As one of the duties of the Managing Authority is to introduce effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures and procedures, considering the risks identified, the Ministry of Interior will develop a strategy to combat fraud and corruption against the funds. It will be a document that will include all anti-fraud measures.
The management of the funds referred to above in Latvia shall be exercised by the following institutions: managing authority (Ministry of Interior); delegated authority in the field of the integration of third-country nationals of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (Ministry of Culture); audit authority (Ministry of Finance); supervisory committee, which is a collegial institution.
The funding initially allocated to Latvia from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, consisting of 85% of the fund and 25% co-financing of the State budget, is EUR 40 991 781; from Border Management and Visa Instrument EUR 40 822 740; EUR 42 575 060 from the Internal Security Fund.
The draft law is based on the legal framework for the previous (2014-2020) programming period, taking into account the experience of the EU Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund for the 2014-2020 programming period.
