The EU RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND RESILENCE PLAN (PRTR). is the organization created to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, the funds that will come from the EU under the PRTR (Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Recovery and Resilience Mechanism), will not be easy to obtain, since that the reluctance of Northern European countries to give significant amounts of non-refundable money to Southern European countries has added new rules in order to limit and limit this contribution as much as possible, especially when it comes to these lost games.
In this sense, the administrative and control procedures are especially tough, requiring the effective implementation in each subsidized project of a rigorous management system by setting milestones and events, with periodic control points and continuous reports to the superiority on deviations over the fixed schedule (Order HFP / 1031/2021, of September 29, which establishes the procedure and format of the information to be provided by the Entities of the State, Autonomous and Local Public Sector to monitor the fulfillment of milestones and objectives and budget and accounting execution of the measures of the components of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan).
In any case, the aforementioned Management System implemented in the funds derived from the PRTR is aimed at defining, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling the projects and sub-projects that are part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. One of the star elements of the aforementioned proposed management system is the «Anti-fraud measures plan», which must meet the following minimum requirements:
& emsp; a) Approval by the decision-making or executing entity, within a period of less than 90 days from the entry into force of this Order or, where appropriate, from when the participation in the execution of the PRTR is known.
& emsp; b) Structure anti-fraud measures in a proportionate manner and around the four key elements of the so-called "anti-fraud cycle": prevention, detection, correction and prosecution.
& emsp; c) Provide for the performance, by the entity in question, of an evaluation of the risk, impact and probability of fraud risk in the key processes of the execution of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and its periodic, biennial review or annually depending on the risk of fraud and, in any case, when a case of fraud has been detected or there are significant changes in procedures or personnel.
& emsp; d) Define adequate and proportionate preventive measures, adjusted to specific situations, to reduce the residual risk of fraud to an acceptable level.
& emsp; e) Provide for the existence of detection measures adjusted to the warning signs and define the procedure for their effective application.
& emsp; f) Define the pertinent corrective measures when a suspected case of fraud is detected, with clear mechanisms for communicating suspected fraud.
& emsp; g) Establish adequate processes for the follow-up of suspected cases of fraud and the corresponding recovery of EU Funds spent fraudulently.
& emsp; h) Define follow-up procedures to review the processes, procedures and controls related to actual or potential fraud, which are transmitted to the corresponding review of the fraud risk assessment.
& emsp; i) Specifically, define procedures related to the prevention and correction of situations of conflicts of interest in accordance with the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of article 61 of the EU Financial Regulation. In particular, it must be established as mandatory the subscription of a DACI by those who participate in the PRTR execution procedures, the communication to the hierarchical superior of the existence of any potential conflict of interest and the adoption by the latter of the decision that, in each case , applicable.
In any case, the aforementioned standard requires certain independence in the audit and implementation of said Anti-Fraud Plan, having special relevance the non-existence of conflict of interest between the internal or external organization that proposes the anti-fraud measures and the Local Administration that must implement it.
According to the General Secretary for European Funds, the Plan includes provisions relating to measures to prevent, detect and correct corruption, fraud and conflicts of interest in the use of funds provided within the framework of said Regulation, to avoid double financing , as well as to guarantee full respect for the regulations governing State Aid.
Therefore, it is not recommended that the company or department in charge of managing the arrival and supervision of public aid be the one in charge of the development and implementation of the aforementioned Anti-Fraud Plan.
It is also worth highlighting the need for the involvement of the highest levels of the Administration where the Antifraud Plan is to be implemented, since it must be validated and endorsed at all times, if we intend to reliably comply with the provisions of the standard.
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Finally, we will not tire of recommending the intervention of the organization's Data Protection Delegate in all the management of responding to the transfer of the AEPD, the DPD being the natural interlocutor with the control authority and the qualified professional to advise and coordinate the entire response process to complaints filed (art. 37 RGPD).
We will continue to inform you.
Greetings.
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Jorge Ortega