Problems and traps of the eligibility of expenditure in projects co-financed by ERDF and CF in the field of culture

The structural and cohesion funds play a very significant role in financing investments in the cultural sector in Poland. The eligibility of expenditure under the European Structural and Investment Funds is determined on the basis of national legislation, with the exception of cases in which specific provisions were laid down in the EU Regulations or under them. This means that the detailed requirements and rules for incurring costs, documenting them, as well as settling them are practically determined on the level of the EU Member States. Therefore, the national regulations largely determine the degree of difficulty in correctly settling the costs of a project, which in turn affects the absorption capacity of EU funds. Most frequent errors in spending the EU money concern the eligibility of expenditures. To attract a structural fund support, expenditure by projects must be eligible in terms of the Operational Programme, the relevant EC Regulations and the national eligibility rules. Based on the author’s practical experience and the content analysis of formal documents as regards the European cohesion policy, this paper presents problems of determining the eligibility of expenditure in the case of cultural projects. Irregularities in the disbursement of funds may lead to the imposition of financial corrections onto beneficiaries, or to deeming the whole or part of the expenditure as non-eligible. The author suggests how to avoid irregularities as regards personnel costs and public procurement rules on the national and European Union level in projects co-funded  by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund.