Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) meets European Commission’s EU Pillars Assessment criteria and can continue managing EU investments through the implementation of Ignalina and international development cooperation programmes (indirect management programmes). This was confirmed by an audit carried out this year by Deloitte Lithuania based on the EU Pillars Assessment criteria. The official statement grants CPMA the accreditation to implement and supervise the aforementioned programmes independently.
“This accreditation reaffirms that the experience of the Agency’s team and the management of the programmes entrusted to us meet the highest international quality standards. Independent experts have reconfirmed that we are a reliable partner with excellent content knowledge and the ability to effectively implement high-value projects both in Lithuania and in our partner countries. This is a mark of quality that opens up even wider avenues for us to manage international programmes,” said Rasa Suraučienė, Deputy Director of the CPMA, welcoming the appraisal.
The audit assessed the organisation’s internal controls, accounting, funding process, personal data protection and other areas. In other words, it was an assessment of the organisation’s internal system, rules and procedures, which, following changes in EC requirements, was carried out this year according to 8 criteria.
The accreditation means that the Agency has an effective and efficient internal control system based on international practices, a proper accounting system, adequate publicity of information on beneficiaries and protection of personal data. The EC therefore trusts the Agency and delegates the implementation of certain programmes to it.
This is the fourth evaluation of the Agency. The first time the CPMA received an EU standards assessment against the EC’s 4 criteria was in 2010, when it was given the right to directly manage EU subsidies for the Ignalina programme. In 2017, the Agency was again positively assessed against Criterion 4 and in 2018 was successfully accredited against Criterion 5.
CPMA was the first public institution in the Baltic States to receive such an EC accreditation, which puts us on a par with world renowned development cooperation agencies such as GIZ (Germany), SIDA (Sweden), FIIAPP (Spain), Expertise France (France) and others. The accreditation not only opened the door to the Practitioners Network for European Development Cooperation (Practitioners Network for European Development Cooperation), but also enabled CPMA to co-chair the network with GIZ.
