Rules of procedure of the Monitoring Committee for Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021 – 2027

1.     Preamble/Legal Basis

The Member States Latvia and Lithuania on the basis of:

• Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (hereinafter referred to as the “CPR”),
• Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund (hereinafter referred to as the “ERDF Regulation”),
• Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments (hereinafter referred to as the “Interreg Regulation”),
• Commission delegated regulation (EU) No 240/2014 of 7 January 2014 on the European code of conduct on partnership in the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds,
• Implementing acts and delegated acts adopted in accordance with the aforementioned Regulations,
• Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027 (hereinafter referred to as Programme) adopted on 4 October 2022 by Commission Decision C(2022)7183

and in agreement with the Managing Authority (hereinafter referred to as MA) of the Programme, have established a Monitoring Committee (hereinafter referred to as MC) for the Programme to which the following rules of procedure shall apply.

2.     Functions/Tasks

• In accordance with Article 30 of the Interreg regulation and the Programme, the MC:
• shall examine the progress in Programme implementation and in achieving the milestones and targets of the Programme;
• shall examine any issues that affect the performance of the Programme and the measures taken to address these issues;
• shall approve any proposal by the MA for the amendment of the Programme;
• shall approve the evaluation plan and any amendment thereto;
• shall examine the progress made in carrying out evaluations, syntheses of evaluations and any follow-up given to finding. The MC may make recommendations to the MA/JS including on measures to reduce the administrative burden on beneficiaries;
• shall examine the implementation of the communication and visibility actions;
• shall examine the progress in implementing projects of strategic importance;
• shall examine the progress in administrative capacity building for public institutions and beneficiaries, where relevant;
• shall examine actions to promote equality between men and women, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities;
• shall examine actions to promote sustainable development;
• shall examine coordination with other financial instruments and policies;
• shall approve Annual Work Plan of the Programme;
• shall approve the Programme Manual with supporting documents (including methodology and criteria for selection of projects) and any changes thereto, before call for proposals is launched by the MA. The MC shall decide on the dates when a call for proposals will be opened and closed as well on the type of the call;
• shall select projects in accordance with the Programme’s strategy and objectives for funding after previous assessment provided by MA/Joint Secretariat (hereinafter referred to as the JS);
• prior the financing decisions on the projects shall verify that projects applying for funding from the Programme have not already received financing from other operational programmes;
• shall approve the final performance report;
• further tasks of the MC might derive from the Programme and the Programme Manual.

3.   Composition

• The MC is set up in compliance with the partnership principle as referred to in Article 29 of the Interreg Regulation.
• MC membership shall be composed of maximum 8 representatives from each Member State. Each Member State shall appoint its representatives and provide the MA with the names and contact details of the representatives.
• The members of the MC shall be provided by National Authority (hereinafter referred to as NA) of Latvia (functions fulfilled by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia) and National Authority of Lithuania (functions fulfilled by the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania) responsible for the Programme in each Member State. Each appointed member of the MC is entitled to have a regular deputy. Any change of members and their deputies shall be notified to the MA/chairperson as soon as possible, but no later than 5 working days prior to the next meeting.
• In compliance with Article 29 (2) of the Interreg Regulation, the JS shall publish the list of members of the MC and their deputies at the Programme’s website.
• The members may be substituted by their deputies, or, in case neither the member nor the deputy can participate, by sending substitutes to the meetings. Participation of substitute in the MC meeting shall be notified to the MA/chairperson as soon as possible, but no later than 5 working days prior to the next meeting. Deputies and (or) substitutes are entitled to participate/have decision-making powers only in the absence of the members. Deputies shall be kept informed of work progress of the MC. They shall receive all documents drafted and circulated to the MC.
• Representatives of the MA, the Audit Authority (hereinafter referred to as AA), JS, other representatives of NA which are not mentioned in point 3.5 and representative of the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as EC) shall participate in the work of the MC in an advisory capacity.
• Members and their deputies and MA may, upon necessity and agreement of the chairperson and in individual cases, invite to the meetings of the MC relevant stakeholders including the representatives of line ministries and experts in advisory capacity and observers. Participation of invited advisers and observers in the MC meeting shall be notified to the MA and to the chairperson as soon as possible, but no later than 5 working days prior to the next meeting. MC members should be informed before the meeting about invited advisers and observers.

4.     Chairperson

• The MC shall be chaired by Member States’ appointed person on an annual rotating basis. A chairperson shall represent the NA responsible for the administration of the Programme in the respective Member State. The MC shall be chaired by the Member State in the following order:

Year               Chairperson

2022               Latvia

2023               Lithuania

2024               Latvia

2025               Lithuania

2026               Latvia

2027               Lithuania

2028               Latvia

2029               Lithuania

• The chairperson is responsible for the proper functioning of the MC. The chairperson shall draw the provisional agenda in cooperation with the MA, convene regular meetings, direct the discussion and facilitate reaching consensus, and accord the right to speak, put questions to the vote, summarise and announce decisions. The chairperson has control on proceedings of the meetings and supervises the implementation of MC decisions.

5.     Meetings

• The MC shall as a general rule meet once a year upon invitation of the chairperson, unless otherwise decided by the MC. Additional meetings may be convened upon request by the MA/the chairperson or respective NA. MC meetings shall be organised as physical or online meetings. The physical meetings of the MC, unless otherwise decided by the MC, shall take place in the Member State chairing the MC. The JS shall ensure practical arrangements for the meetings.
• All members of the MC, their deputies as well as all persons mentioned in point 3.6 of these Rules of Procedure shall have the right to speak at the meetings of the MC. Relevant stakeholders, experts and observers mentioned in point 3.7 of these Rules of Procedure, may receive a specific invitation by the chairperson to speak at the meeting of the MC.
• A summary of data and information, including decisions approved by the MC, shall be prepared by the JS by the end of every MC meeting and shall be signed by the chairperson and representative of JS responsible for taking minutes. The JS shall publish aforementioned documents at the Programme’s website within 2 working days.
• The minutes shall be drafted by the JS and shall be sent in electronic format to the chairperson to check within 10 working days after the MC meeting. After approval by the chairperson, the minutes, on the behalf of the chairperson, are sent out by the JS to the MC members, their deputies and substitutes, authorities referred to in point 3.6. and invited advisers referred to in point 3.7. within 15 working days from the day of the MC meeting.
• The participants of the MC meeting may formulate their comments or amendments to the minutes no later than 10 working days after receipt of the document. From each national delegation one consolidated opinion shall be provided to the JS by the representative of NA in MC.
• If no comments or amendments are received, the minutes are considered as approved. In case of received comments or amendments, the JS shall revise the draft minutes accordingly, agree on a final version with the chairperson and send the final minutes to the MC members. If this procedure leads to contradictory comments or amendments, the chairperson shall inform the MC members and seek clarifications before finalization.
• The MC meetings may be recorded.

6.     Decision-making

• The MC members and their deputies constitute national delegations of their country of origin and thus have right to vote. Decisions of the MC shall be made by consensus among the national delegations of the Member States in the MC (one vote per delegation).
• At any meeting of the MC at least 1 MC member/deputy member or substitute from NA of each Member State delegation shall participate.
• In the absence of consensus, the chairperson may decide to postpone the matter to the next meeting, to organise a written procedure or to revoke the draft decision.
• In between the MC meetings, the MC may make decisions in written procedure. A written procedure may be initiated by the MA/JS on behalf of the chairperson. The MA/JS on behalf of the chairperson shall send a draft decision to all members. From each national delegation one consolidated opinion may be provided by the representative of NA within 10 working days. If a written objection/proposal is raised, the matter shall be clarified and agreement between the national delegations shall be sought by the chairperson. If no final decision can be made, the matter shall be put on the agenda of the next MC meeting. National delegations can withdraw objections/proposals at any time. If no objections/proposals are raised, the decision is deemed as made and the MA/JS shall inform all members at latest in 3 working days.
• In duly justified cases, the chairperson by its own initiative or at the request of a member of the MC or MA/JS may initiate shorter time period for the decision making via written procedure, but not shorter than 5 working days.
• If the MA has doubts about the decision’ conformity with legal acts or with the Programme, the decision shall be taken with reservation until clarification has been brought. The MA may seek support of the NAs and the EC in clarifying the matter. If the decision was not in accordance with legal acts or the Programme, the decision becomes null and void. Otherwise the MC decision shall be deemed as valid and the chairperson/MA shall inform the members.

7.     Code of Conduct and working principles

• With regard to the tasks of the MC, as listed in point 2, it shall be ensured that any project assessment and decision of the MC must be free from bias and must not be influenced by partial interest of any of its individual members.
• Members of the MC, their deputies and substitutes are bound to observe following rules of conduct:
• to participate in all meetings as well as in written procedures, when necessary;
• to act in the interest of an efficient implementation of the Programme, in accordance with the scope and objectives of the Programme document;
• to take decisions in the public interest and not to act in the purpose of obtaining financial advantages or other benefits for themselves;
• to declare to the chairperson any situation of conflict of interest in which they might be with regards to the discussions on specific projects.
• In order to avoid any conflict of interest, each member of the MC, deputy member or substitute, adviser and observer shall sign a declaration of confidentiality and impartiality (Annex 1) at each MC meeting before any decision-making regarding the Programme funding and selection of projects for Programme funding. For online meetings, this declaration shall be included in the registration form, where the aforementioned participants of the MC shall indicate whether they have a conflict of interest and in which specific agenda point(s). If any of participants has partial interest towards a specific project, he/she shall be excluded from discussion and decision making on the subject matter and shall leave the room until a decision has been taken on the matter. If the MC meeting is hosted online, the respective participant(s) shall be sent to the lobby of the virtual room or in a breakout room, till the process is completed. With regard to decision-making in writing any MC member or its deputy shall inform the MC chairperson about his/her partial interest and has to refrain from the written procedure accordingly.
• Before receiving access to the projects/project related information in the Joint Electronic Monitoring System (hereinafter referred to as JEMS) each individual with voting rights (member of the MC, deputy member or substitute), adviser and observer shall sign a declaration of confidentiality (Annex 2). Access to the projects/project related information in the JEMS is ensured only for the period until decision-taking about selection of the projects for Programme funding.
• The MA/JS shall ensure that all MC members, deputy members or substitutes, advisors and observers have signed their declarations.
• In case the provisions mentioned in point 7 are not respected by MC member/deputy member/substitute, adviser or observer, the individual may be revoked by the chairperson, and shall be replaced by the respective organisation.

8.          Advisory groups and task forces

• The MC, upon initiative of the chairperson or its members, may set up an advisory groups or task forces or other arrangements to support Programme implementation. Their composition shall be decided according to the expertise needs.
• The MC shall be informed about the work of such groups.

9.          Working language

The official language of the MC shall be English. This rule shall be applied in the meetings as well as in the documents of the MC.

10.       Expenses

• Any expenses related to preparation and organization of the MC meetings shall be covered from the Technical Assistance budget of the Programme.
• Participation of MC members (or deputy, if respective member is not presented, or substitute) shall be partly covered from the Technical Assistance budget of the Programme reimbursing travel (including insurance) and accommodation costs.

11.       Joint Secretariat and responsibilities

In accordance with Article 46 (2) of the Interreg Regulation, the MC shall be supported by the JS (acting under the responsibility of the MA, in carrying out its respective functions).

In addition to JS responsibilities referred above, the JS shall be responsible for:

– preparation of supporting documents needed to conduct discussions on the items on   the agenda of the MC meetings/written procedures;

– providing assessment of projects;

– ensuring that decisions of the MC have been executed;

– ensuring, on the request of the MC, sufficient publicity of the Programme;

– assisting any advisory group/task force, appointed by the MC;

– updating the list of the MC members and their deputies, etc.

12.       Revision

After adoption, the Rules of Procedure may be revised by the MC.

13.       Validity

These Rules of Procedure shall enter into force at the first meeting of the MC. They shall remain valid until acceptance of the Programme closure documents by the EC.

Adopted by the MC on 4 November, 2022, (Riga, Latvia)

Annex 1

Declaration of Impartiality and Confidentiality

 For the implementation of the Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021 – 2027

I, the undersigned

……………………………………………………………………………………… (name)

have been nominated/represented by

………………………………………………………………………………………(organisation)

as a member/deputy member/substitute/adviser/observer (please underline applicable) of the Monitoring Committee (hereinafter referred to as MC) for the implementation of the Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027 (hereinafter referred to as Programme).

I am aware of the provisions stipulated in Chapter 4 of the Programme, as well as Rules of procedure of the Monitoring Committee for Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027, where any decision of the MC must be free from bias and must not be influenced by partial interest of any of the individual members of the MC.

According to the point 7.3. of the Rules of procedure of the Monitoring Committee for Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027, I sign this declaration of impartiality and confidentiality and declare that:

• the organisation I am representing is not a Lead partner, nor any of the other partners who have submitted a project application to the Programme;
• I have neither direct nor indirect financial interests nor personal financial involvement in any of the projects under decision-making, i.e. as project manager, expert or consultant subcontracted by the Lead partner or any of the other project partners;
• I have no personal interest in any decision regarding Programme funding.

Should one of the aforementioned circumstances come into being during the decision-making regarding the projects for Programme funding, I will declare this immediately to the chairperson of the MC. I accept that the chairperson of the MC will exclude me from the discussions and decision-making on the respective matter.

I accept furthermore that, if I have neglected impartiality and confidentiality provisions as mentioned above, the chairperson of the MC has the right to revoke me from MC immediately.

Finally, I confirm that I will maintain professional secrecy about the content and any other details of the assessment of the project applications, as well of the discussions at the meeting of the MC, for the duration of every project application assessment procedure until its completion, or for any other time period and in conditions as decided by the MC.

Place and date: ……………………………………

Signature: ……………………………………………

Annex 2

Declaration of Confidentiality

For the implementation of the Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021 – 2027

I, the undersigned

……………………………………………………………………………………… (name)

have been nominated/represented by

………………………………………………………………………………………(organisation)

as a member/deputy member/substitute/adviser/observer (please underline applicable) of the Monitoring Committee (hereinafter referred to as MC) for the implementation of the Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027 (hereinafter referred to as Programme).

According to the point 7.4. of the Rules of procedure of the Monitoring Committee for  Interreg VI-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2021-2027, I sign this declaration of confidentiality and declare that:

• I will maintain professional secrecy about the content and any other details of the project applications and assessment of the project applications for the duration of every project application assessment procedure until decision-taking on selection of projects for Programme funding, or for any other time period and in conditions as decided by the MC.
• I am aware that till the MC decision on selection of projects for Programme funding, information about project applications and project assessment results available in the Joint Electronic Monitoring System (hereinafter referred to as JEMS) is considered as confidential. But after MC decision on selected projects is taken, information about the projects can be used as stipulated in Article 49 (3) of Regulation No 2021/1060.
• I will keep safe the username and password for the JEMS, use it only for decision-taking about selection of projects for Programme funding and will not transfer to any third party.

Place and date: ……………………………………

Signature: ……………………………………………