The common rules applicable to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) including European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) and the European Social Fund (ESF) are set out in the Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
Article 123 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 provides for the designation of three authorities:
- a management authority for management of the operational programme;
- a certifying authority, for ensuring that expenditure declarations and payment applications are certified before they are submitted to the Commission;
- an audit authority responsible for verifying the proper functioning of the management and control system.
In addition to this common regulation, the following fund-specific regulations apply:
- Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 (“the ERDF regulation”);
- Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 (“the ESF regulation”);
- Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 (“the ETC regulation”);
To ensure the implementation of these regulations, implementing regulations, delegated regulations and guidelines have been issued. There are also national eligibility rules for each fund.