Macedonia, through the structures and bodies for managing funds from the European Union's IPA/IPARD instrument, has decided to temporarily suspend payments of funds from the IPARD program. This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Macedonia.
They explain that this decision comes after current developments with the Agency for Financial Support for Agriculture and Rural Development.
The European Commission and the services in Brussels were notified of this decision on the same day, which reported and welcomed the decision of the National Structures.
"The aim is to provide assurance that the system in place guarantees the legality and regularity of IPARD payments, as well as the existence of effective measures to protect against fraud and corruption.
Currently, the National Structures for the Management of Funds from the IPA/IPARD Instrument are already undertaking additional measures and activities related to current developments.
"The Republic of Macedonia has received from the European Commission the right to decentralize the management of funds from the IPA/IPARD Instrument since 2009," the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. /Telegraph/
