National management and control structures

THE CERTIFYING AUTHORITY is a national public entity, functionally independent of the Audit Authority and the Programme Operator, designated by Republic Croatia to certify financial information. The Sector for the National Fund within the State Treasury, within the Ministry of Finance acts as the Certifying Authority.

THE NATIONAL FOCAL POINT (NFP) is responsible for the management and control of the EEA and Norway grants 2014–2021 implementation in Croatia. NFP has overall responsibility for the achievement of the objectives of both financial mechanisms and for monitoring the progress and quality of programme implementation. The tasks of National Focal Point are carried out by the Croatian Ministry of Regional Development and Funds of the European Union, Directorate for Strategic Planning, Sector for EU programmes.

AUDIT AUTHORITY is a national public entity, functionally independent of the National Focal Point, the Certifying Authority and the Programme Operator, designated by Republic of Croatia and responsible for verifying the effective functioning of the management and control system. The Agency for Audit of European Union Programmes Implementation System (ARPA) acts as the Audit Authority.

IRREGULARITIES AUTHORITY is a national public entity responsible for the preparation and submission of irregularities reports. The Service for Combating Irregularities and Fraud (SCIF) within the Ministry of Finance acts as the Irregularities Authority.

PROGRAMME OPERATOR is a public or private entity, commercial or non-commercial, as well as nongovernmental organisations, having the responsibility for preparing and implementing a programme.

PROJECT PROMOTER is a natural or legal person having the responsibility for initiating, preparing and implementing a project.