Letter

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS Resources and performance management

Control and evaluation

Brussels, 8 May 2024 ECFIN.R.4/EP(2024)3868214

Subject: Analysis of the Management Declaration and Summary of Audits

submitted under the request for payment for Recovery and Resilience

Facility (RRF)

Ref.: 18/12/2023 - Ares(2023)8684361

Dear Mr. Pechter and Mr. Alber,

On 18/12/2023, Republic of Estonia sent the second request for payment for non-

repayable support to the European Commission pursuant to Article 24 of the RRF

Regulation1 and Article 6 of the Financing Agreement, dated 12 October 2021 between

the European Union and Republic of Estonia.

In accordance with Article 6(2)(d) of the Financing Agreement, the request for second

payment was accompanied by the management declaration that the funds were used for

its intended purpose and a summary of audits carried out, including weaknesses

identified and any corrective actions taken.

You have sent:

• on 18/12/2023 the summary of audits and the management declaration;

• on 08/01/2024 the audit report on ERF-358/2022 of project No 2014-

2020.2.04.18-0074 “Building of an advanced general hospital of county-level

health centre as a part of primary health care network”.

All documents were reviewed by the ECFIN auditors in the framework of the assessment

of the request for payment.

On the basis of its examination, the Commission services have the following

observations:

Regarding the:

1. Overall level of assurance: The audit authority did not express an overall level of

assurance on the management and control systems of the audited bodies in

1 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021

establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility

2

Estonia. Therefore, the ECFIN auditors recommend to the audit authority to add

the sections 5 Other information and 6 Overall level of assurance in their future

summary of audits according to the guidance on the assessment of ICS and to the

guidance for preparing the Summary of Audits.

2. Indication of earlier findings and related follow-up: The ECFIN Auditors noticed

that in the summary of audits there was no indication of earlier findings and

related follow-up to previous findings. Therefore, the ECFIN auditors recommend

to the audit authority to add this information to the future summary of audits

where relevant.

I would be grateful if you could provide a response to the points mentioned above within

one month of the date of this letter.

The above points should be taken into account for future requests for payment, and if

necessary, can be further discussed in the next bilateral meeting with the audit body.

This assessment is without prejudice to any conclusions that the Commission could draw

from any possible further on-the-spot audit work.

Yours faithfully,

Bernadette Fréderick

Acting Head of Unit

c.c.: Anu Alber, Head of Financial Control Department, Ministry of Finance

of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF audit body

Mart Pechter, Advisor of the Financial Control Department, Ministry of

Finance of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF audit body

Triin Tomingas, Strategic Adviser of the State Budget Department,

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF coordinating

body

Katri Targama, Expert for Result-based Management at State Shared

Services Centre

Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs

Declan Costello, Coordination of economic policies of Member States;

Deputy Director General

Bernadette Fréderick, Acting Head of Unit, ECFIN R.4

Jakob Wegener Friis, Director ECFIN E

Joern Griesse, Head of Unit, ECFIN E.2

James Hinton, Head of Unit ECFIN A.2

Recovery and Resilience Task Force:

Maria Teresa Fabregas Fernandez, Director, SG.RECOVER.B

Luca Rossi, Head of Unit, SG.RECOVER.B.2

Electronically signed on 08/05/2024 18:44 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS Resources and performance management

Control and evaluation

Brussels, 8 May 2024 ECFIN.R.4/EP(2024)3868214

Subject: Analysis of the Management Declaration and Summary of Audits

submitted under the request for payment for Recovery and Resilience

Facility (RRF)

Ref.: 18/12/2023 - Ares(2023)8684361

Dear Mr. Pechter and Mr. Alber,

On 18/12/2023, Republic of Estonia sent the second request for payment for non-

repayable support to the European Commission pursuant to Article 24 of the RRF

Regulation1 and Article 6 of the Financing Agreement, dated 12 October 2021 between

the European Union and Republic of Estonia.

In accordance with Article 6(2)(d) of the Financing Agreement, the request for second

payment was accompanied by the management declaration that the funds were used for

its intended purpose and a summary of audits carried out, including weaknesses

identified and any corrective actions taken.

You have sent:

• on 18/12/2023 the summary of audits and the management declaration;

• on 08/01/2024 the audit report on ERF-358/2022 of project No 2014-

2020.2.04.18-0074 “Building of an advanced general hospital of county-level

health centre as a part of primary health care network”.

All documents were reviewed by the ECFIN auditors in the framework of the assessment

of the request for payment.

On the basis of its examination, the Commission services have the following

observations:

Regarding the:

1. Overall level of assurance: The audit authority did not express an overall level of

assurance on the management and control systems of the audited bodies in

1 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021

establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility

2

Estonia. Therefore, the ECFIN auditors recommend to the audit authority to add

the sections 5 Other information and 6 Overall level of assurance in their future

summary of audits according to the guidance on the assessment of ICS and to the

guidance for preparing the Summary of Audits.

2. Indication of earlier findings and related follow-up: The ECFIN Auditors noticed

that in the summary of audits there was no indication of earlier findings and

related follow-up to previous findings. Therefore, the ECFIN auditors recommend

to the audit authority to add this information to the future summary of audits

where relevant.

I would be grateful if you could provide a response to the points mentioned above within

one month of the date of this letter.

The above points should be taken into account for future requests for payment, and if

necessary, can be further discussed in the next bilateral meeting with the audit body.

This assessment is without prejudice to any conclusions that the Commission could draw

from any possible further on-the-spot audit work.

Yours faithfully,

Bernadette Fréderick

Acting Head of Unit

c.c.: Anu Alber, Head of Financial Control Department, Ministry of Finance

of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF audit body

Mart Pechter, Advisor of the Financial Control Department, Ministry of

Finance of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF audit body

Triin Tomingas, Strategic Adviser of the State Budget Department,

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia, the RRF coordinating

body

Katri Targama, Expert for Result-based Management at State Shared

Services Centre

Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs

Declan Costello, Coordination of economic policies of Member States;

Deputy Director General

Bernadette Fréderick, Acting Head of Unit, ECFIN R.4

Jakob Wegener Friis, Director ECFIN E

Joern Griesse, Head of Unit, ECFIN E.2

James Hinton, Head of Unit ECFIN A.2

Recovery and Resilience Task Force:

Maria Teresa Fabregas Fernandez, Director, SG.RECOVER.B

Luca Rossi, Head of Unit, SG.RECOVER.B.2

Electronically signed on 08/05/2024 18:44 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121