The European Funds Directorate (EFD) of the Ministry of Interior has been appointed by the Council of Ministers (Decision No 94.440, dated 22/02/2023) as the Intermediate Body for projects implemented through public procurement for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of Urban and Non-Urban Areas.

Functions:

• Collaborating with and guiding Beneficiaries (Local Authorities) in regards to the project maturation process of the candidate co-financed projects
• Monitoring of candidate co-financed projects through administrative and on-site inspections
• Preparing and issuing Calls for Proposals for the submission of proposals by the Local Authorities
• Evaluating submitted proposals and officially approving of the projects ( Decision of Inclusion) to be co-financed by the EU Cohesion Policy Funds
• Conducting preliminary verifications to ensure compliance with the national and European Union policies
• Granting the required financial credit to Beneficiaries for the uninterrupted implementation of their projects
• Training Beneficiaries in the use of the Integrated Information System (IIS)
• Supporting Beneficiaries in the implementation of information and publicity actions
• Verifying that the co-financed projects are in accordance with the terms and conditions of support of the projects (verification of monitoring indicators
• Carrying out completion processes for co-financed projects
• Conducting ex-post audits for co-financed project

• Monitoring of the implementation course of approved co-financed projects through:

1. Administrative checks of all contracts for the implementation of co-financed projects in regards to their compliance with the national and European public procurement legislation
2. Quality control of the tender documents for the construction of co-financed projects
3. On-site inspections at the construction sites of the co-financed projects
4. Administrative checks of construction contracts
5. Verification and validation of Legal Commitments
6. Monitoring reports presenting the physical and financial progress of the co-financed projects– regular monitoring of the effective implementation of the projects
7. Expenditure Statements presenting all payments made for the co-financed projects, which are audited by the Directorate of Financial Control of European Funds at the Treasury Department of the Republic of Cyprus