Programme bodies
Programme committee
Managing authority
Certifying authority
Audit authority
Joint secretariat
Alpine Space contact points
National coordinators
Transnational task forces
Programme committee (PC)
Current chair: Liechtenstein (2024)
Consisting of representatives of all Partner States (national and regional level) and representatives of the European Commission. Relevant Alpine organisations have advisory capacity (the Alpine Convention and other transnationally-relevant non-governmental bodies (NGOs)). Decisions are taken by unanimous consensus. Every year another country chairs the Programme committee.
Meets at least once a year to assume tasks related to the monitoring of the programme implementation
Selects projects for co-funding
Reviews and approves the annual implementation processes and final report(s)
Adopts the terms of reference and the roadmap of each call for project proposals
Programme committee decisions
To ensure transparency, the list of members, rules of procedures as well as the decisions taken by the PC are made public. You can consult them here. Annexes as mentioned in the notes can be requested by email: js@alpine-space.eu
Managing authority (MA)
Salzburg, Austria
Appointed by the Partner States it is represented by the Land of Salzburg (Austria). The ‘Department for economy, tourism and municipalities, Sub-department regional development and EU regional policy’ holds the Managing Authority.
Bears the overall responsibility of managing and implementing the Cooperation Programme
Interface between the European Commission, participating states and regions, and programme bodies
Oversees the contractual arrangements for programme and project implementation
Certifying authority (CA)
Salzburg, Austria
Also appointed by the partner states, the Certifying authority is represented by the same unit as the Managing authority. Nevertheless, there must be a clear separation of the tasks.
Draws-up and submits certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment to the European Commission
Monitors commitments and payments of ERDF funds
Maintains accounting records of expenditure declared to the Commission
Receives payments made by the Commission and distributing them to the projects’ lead partners
Audit authority (AA)
Vienna, Austria
Performed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Spatial Planning and Water Management. Assisted by a group of auditors. These auditors are representatives of each Member State.
Audits to verify the functioning of the management and control system of the Cooperation Programme
Random audits on projects to verify the declared expenditures
Joint Secretariat (JS)
Salzburg, Austria
It consists of an international team, often representing the involved Alpine countries. It is the main contact point for the public and for people who want to get involved (together with the Alpine Space contact points on the national level).
provides expertise and assistance to the Managing Authority and the Programme Committee
where appropriate, to the audit authority in carrying out their respective duties
day-to-day implementation of the programme, like…
development of a communication strategy and public relations
cooperation with Alpine Space contact points
coordination of project evaluation processes
capitalisation on project results
Alpine Space contact points (ACP)
In every Alpine Space country
Each Partner State has a contact point, usually hosted within a regional institution. It provides a link between the transnational and national/regional level.
First contact person for project applicants and partners in their countries
Raising awareness and spreading information about the programme on a national and regional level
Supporting the Joint Secretariat and the Managing Authority in the fulfilment of their tasks
National coordinators (NC)
In every Alpine Space country
Each Partner State of the programme is represented by one national coordinator who is a member of the national delegation of the Programme Committee.
Ensuring a continuous coordination of Partner States
Preparing decisions for the Programme Committee
Informing and involving their regional stakeholders in the programme implementation
Transnational task forces (TF)
No head office
Transnational task forces are established if there is the need to deal with a specific topic. The members vary according to which topic needs to be tackled.
Dealing with specific thematic and strategic fields
Working on issues of environmentally sustainable development
Mainly when preparing calls for project proposals
