ISMM to Start Operating before October 10

The whole Information System for Management and Monitoring (ISMM) of EU funding has to start working before October 10, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Dyankov said, cited by Mediapool.

All notes for the operation of the system will be covered before October, 10 and ISMM will be tested.

So far most of the old data for the implementation of the operational programmes has been entered in ISMM - 132 procedures for grant assistance, 9192 project proposals and about 2500 contracts have been registered by now.

Brussels returned the assessments of five operational programmes - Transport, Competitiveness, Administrative Capacity, Technical Assistance, and Human Resources - mainly due to weaknesses in ISMM. The so called interim payments for the programmes - which account for about 80 percent of all 7 billion euros - could not be made before the approval of the assessments.

Following the completion of the compliance check, the efforts can be redirected towards opening of ISMM to beneficiaries.

The development of extended configuration of the system, including electronic services, will start by the end of 2009

Simeon Dyankov also announced that additional funding is needed for developing the system besides the funds which have already been allocated for the implementation of the contracts.

ISMM is the second system for control over EU funding, after the European LOTAR software was introduced.