Q. How can the Managing Authority investigate the irregularities when it does not dispose of the sufficient knowledge of the national legislation concerning all the participating countries (e.g., tax law, labour code, acts on public procurement)?

A. The Managing Authority “shall in the first instance be responsible for preventing and investigating irregularities and for making the financial corrections required and pursuing recoveries”. At the same time, participating countries shall prevent, detect and correct irregularities, including fraud and the recovery of amounts unduly paid, together with any interest […] on their territories, according to article 31 of the ENI CBC IR. Such obligation shall include the support to the Managing Authority on this matter whenever needed or required, in particular for those cases where the Managing Authority shall not dispose of the sufficient knowledge to investigate a specific issue.

In practical terms, when the Managing Authority performs its control tasks, such as administrative verifications of payment claims, on-the-spot missions or any investigation of irregularity, assistance may be sought from the Control Contact Points. The Managing Authority may also request assistance directly from the National Authorities of the participating countries.