What are the implications of the current legislation for cost effectiveness and quality control in Structural Fund spending? What role for performance auditing?

EU policy on economic and social cohesion represented one third of the total EU budget in the 2007-2013 Framework Programme. The concomitant result of EU Enlargement on 1 May 2004 was that regional disparities doubled.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate cost-effectiveness of actions in different Member States, by analysing their value-for-money aspect, sustainability and long-term benefits and taking into account their control mechanisms and audit effectiveness. The study concluded that it was more efficient if audit focused on compliance rather than on performance, and that the 2007-2013 programming period witnessed a substantial increase in the audit effort. Furthermore, the benefits of audit in terms of identifying and preventing irregularities were recognized, together with the need for stronger cooperation and coordination between different audit levels in future.