EU setting up Ukraine Facility Audit Board
MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - The Ukraine Facility Audit Board, being established to assist the European Commission by continuously monitoring the management and control systems of Ukraine as regards the use of EU funding under the Ukraine Facility, will consist of three members and will include a secretariat in Kiev.
"The Audit Board shall assess, inter alia, the systems Ukraine has in place to avoid, remedy, report and effectively deal with, investigate and prosecute, possible cases of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interests and any other irregularities in relation to any expenditure financed under the [Ukraine] Facility," Ukrainian media said, citing the European Commission's June 12 decision, published on Monday.
The Audit Board members shall be citizens of the European Union, with a proven track record in the areas of audit, monitoring and control, and/or fighting fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities ideally acquired in a senior position in EU institutions or member states public authority, it said. They will be appointed for two years.
A minimum of six Audit Board meetings shall take place in Brussels every year, which in justified cases can also be held at other locations or online. The Audit Board shall also conduct, circumstances permitting, a minimum of six visits to Kiev every year. The European Commission may also invite representatives of EU member states and other donors to participate in the activities of the Audit Board, but they will not take part in the process of adopting reports and recommendations.
The Audit Board Secretariat shall consist of a team of specialists in management and control, auditing and other relevant fields of expertise.
The Audit Board shall have the right to request information and to request to the competent authorities and perform, at any time, including through its Secretariat its own verifications and on-the-spot-checks of Ukraine's management and control system, as well as of procedures and expenditures. The resulting reports shall contain recommendations to Ukraine to improve its management and control system and shall be submitted to the European Commission with a frequency of at least one report every three months.
"The reports of, and information from, the Audit Board shall, where appropriate and in all cases where steps are needed to prevent, detect, correct, investigate and prosecute fraud, corruption, conflicts of interests, irregularities or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union, be sent without delay to the Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor's Office," it said.
The Audit Board shall adopt recommendations to Ukraine in all cases where, in its views, the competent Ukrainian authorities have not taken the necessary steps to prevent, detect, correct, investigate and prosecute fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities that have affected or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the expenditure financed under the Ukraine Facility, the statement said.
The Audit Board shall request Ukraine's assistance to obtain information and documents including any electronic data, and may request Ukraine to take all necessary measures to facilitate the work of the persons instructed to carry out verifications, it said.
The Ukraine Facility is a new mechanism to support Ukraine worth 50 billion euros for the period 2024-2027. Of this amount, 38.27 billion euros will be allocated for budget support, 6.97 billion euros will go to the investment fund, and 4.76 billion euros will be spent on technical and administrative support.
Kiev has already received 6 billion euros under transitional financing arrangements as part of the Ukraine Facility, and expects to receive 1.9 billion euros more before the end of June, while the subsequent tranches will depend on Kiev's progress in fulfilling the terms of the Ukraine Plan.
