“INVOICES, RECEIPTS, PAYMENT CONFIRMATION” - the world of first level control within INTERREG IIIA, IIIB and IIIC	Agenda Main results List of participants

AGENDA

MAIN RESULTS / FINDINGS

Due to attendance (only participants from Slovenia and Austrian partner regions) this workshop mainly focused on an inner-Austrian debate about First Level Control (FLC) but also touched some broader issues:

Main topics of discussion/results/proposals:

• clear definition of first level controllers´ tasks
  • results: common understanding
  • proposal: for first level controllers within regional governments, possibility of technical assistance from other departments (already done in some regions).
  
  
• discussion about the part of first level controllers within the INTERREG service chain
  • results: FLC is close to the project and the project partners, but most of the time far away from Intermediate Bodies (IBs) (strand IIIB and IIIC), second level control, National Contact Points (NCP), Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) and Managing Authority (MA) (especially in IIIB and IIIC)
  • proposal: expressed wish for information flow from second level control to FLC (if possible).
  
  
• discussion about the point of time when first level controllers become part of the INTERREG service chain –
  • results: involvement in the running period was too late, no input from first level controllers for regulations or guidelines (on European or national level)
  • proposal: earlier involvement regarding regulations. FLC involvement as help/information desk before project start/approval (especially in IIIB and IIIC)
  
  
• discussion about the role of first level controllers
  • results: different role in strand IIIA and in IIIB/IIIC
  • proposal: ongoing discussion. Question for new programming period: will/can IBs on regional level be involved in transnational projects (would mean change in role of FLC in IIIB and IIIC)
  
  
• discussion about recurring problems for first level controllers – especially staff costs and overhead costs
  • results: agreement on basics but different models in use in different Austrian regions
  • proposal: expressed need for a clear regulation on European or national level but at the same time expressed question/doubt concerning flexibility. Proposal from Austrian federal chancellery for workshop for Austrian FLC this year.

Outlook for 2nd workshop:
discussion of all the above mentioned topics with participants from all IQ-Train partner regions. Possibly presentations from experts.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS