REPORTING OF IRREGULARITIES RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IPARD PROGRAMME
Pursuant to the Law on Ratification of the Framework Financial Partnership Agreement between the European Commission and the Republic of North Macedonia on the specific arrangements for the implementation of Union financial assistance under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) (Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia No. 235/2022), Article 50 (Management of Irregularities) establishes the obligation to report irregularities. This Article explicitly requires the beneficiary country (the Republic of North Macedonia) to establish systems for the prevention, detection and effective reporting of all irregularities, fraud and suspected corruption to the European Commission through the Irregularity Management System (IMS).
An irregularity means any infringement of the applicable legal provisions and contractual obligations resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator or by the beneficiary country receiving IPA III assistance, which has caused or would have the effect of causing damage to the general budget of the Union.
Any information concerning a potential irregularity should be reported to the following e-mail address:
irregularity.ipard@mzsv.gov.mk
This e-mail address ensures the protection of the identity of any person reporting an irregularity, irrespective of whether the person is part of the IPARD management and control system or an external stakeholder.
A report of an irregularity should contain, to the greatest extent possible, accurate and detailed information. Where the reporting person possesses relevant supporting documentation, it should be attached to the report.
In addition to the e-mail address of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, irregularities may also be reported to the following addresses:
Ø Ministry of Finance: nepravilnosti_EU@finance.gov.mk
Ø European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF): OLAF-FMB-SPE@ec.europa.eu
Ø Agency for Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development: katerina.vasileva@ipardpa.gov.mk