The Cohesion Policy programmes co-funded by the EU budget help to transform regional and national economies through investment in infrastructure, business development, training, innovation and the environment; they deliver long-term sustainable growth and contribute significantly to job creation.One of the key factors in the success of the policy is its decentralised delivery system. The programmes are managed at regional and local level so the projects selected respond to the priorities at those levels. But this is associated with a higher control risk because it increases the number of bodies involved and makes the control chain longer.To ensure that European Union taxpayers’ money is used correctly, good training and guidance must be in place in order to ensure that all the actors properly understand the rules which apply, and there must be eff ective controls to detect and correct errors and deter attempted fraud.
The Cohesion Policy programmes co-funded by the EU budget help to transform regional and national economies through investment in infrastructure, business development, training, innovation and the environment; they deliver long-term sustainable growth and contribute significantly to job creation.One of the key factors in the success of the policy is its decentralised delivery system. The programmes are managed at regional and local level so the projects selected respond to the priorities at those levels. But this is associated with a higher control risk because it increases the number of bodies involved and makes the control chain longer.To ensure that European Union taxpayers’ money is used correctly, good training and guidance must be in place in order to ensure that all the actors properly understand the rules which apply, and there must be eff ective controls to detect and correct errors and deter attempted fraud.