The project "Technical Assistance for Cohesion Fund Management in Lithuania" is aimed at ensuring supervision of project implementation, mid-term review and ex-ante evaluation and provide information to the public about the progress in using EU assistance. The purpose of the project is to build up enough capacity to ensure adequate quality of implementation of Cohesion Fund projects.

"The audit of the current situation will be helpful in determining the failings of the system in administering, managing the quality of the projects and progress of project implementation. Moreover, the knowledge will be useful not only in using Cohesion Fund allocations. It will be very important in the short-term when the new stage of assimilation of structural support is launched. Higher qualification and better experience will allow Lithuania to better manage the EU-allocated funds," Antanas Budraitis, the head of the Cohesion Fund Management Division of the EU Programmes Management Department of the Ministry of Finance, said.

According to Mr. Budraitis, the fact that the systems audit will scrutinize all project levels is of special importance. After the main administrative, institutional, legal and technical drawbacks have been identified, recommendations will be provided on how to rectify the failures.

Thorough technical, administrative, legal and economic project analysis is a way of looking into how the projects financed by the Fund are achieving their goals and tasks. According to Mr. Budraitis, the data received will contribute to successful implementation of other projects. 

To prevent bias in this project, the Ministry of Finance is to draw up supervisory committees consisting from representatives of authorised institutions. "We will try to ensure that project supervision is adequate and timely as well as continuous. We will focus on the feedback as it is very important that the implementing authorities would solve the problems identified," said Mr. Budraitis.

The needs of informing the public are identified during the project. After analysing the situation the public is provided with general and specific information through diverse and wide-reaching media channels. According to the representative of the Ministry of Finance, intermediate bodies and implementing authorities should become the main providers of information and should take care of publicity measures.

"We will feel the benefits of technical assistance instantaneously. Successful projects with timely and adequate implementation as well as evaluation of the EU institutions will point at the benefits," Mr. Budraitis said.