Organized in cooperation with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) and the SIGMA Programme, the three-day workshop brought together public administration practitioners and experts from across the region to explore the governance, monitoring, control and audit arrangements needed for the effective implementation of the EU Reform and Growth Facility and other performance-based financing instruments.

Opening the workshop, Jana Repanšek, Director of CEF, Jelena Mrdak, ReSPA Director ad interim, and Klas Klaas, Senior Expert at SIGMA, highlighted the importance of strong partnerships and complementary expertise as public administrations navigate increasingly demanding reform and financing frameworks.

The first day focused on the governance foundations needed to manage reform measures and performance-based funding. Participants examined how the monitoring and management of the Reform and Growth Facility differ from IPA-funded assistance and discussed the respective responsibilities of reform coordinators, Central Harmonization Units, internal control functions and internal audit.

Representatives from the finance ministries of Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia shared their institutional perspectives, while Mirjam Novaković of Slovenia’s Budget Supervision Office brought lessons from implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility at EU Member State level. The discussions highlighted that effective implementation depends not only on clearly defined rules, but also on how responsibilities, monitoring and control functions work together in practice.

On the second day participants explored the role of external audit in performance-based financing, the reliability of indicators and data used to assess management and control systems, and approaches to risk-based internal audit planning for Growth Plan measures. Practical group work gave participants an opportunity to identify opportunities for stronger cooperation between internal and external audit and to consider how management declarations, internal control self-assessment and continuous monitoring can contribute to stronger assurance. The emphasis throughout was on moving beyond compliance towards controls that help institutions identify risks early, generate reliable evidence and make better-informed decisions.

The final day addressed one of the key risks associated with multiple sources of public and EU funding: double financing. Participants revisited Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC) fundamentals and their role in preventing and detecting irregularities and fraud, followed by an overview from Katharina Herrmann of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on systems for reporting and managing irregularities and fraud in EU accession countries.

The workshop further strengthened the cooperation between CEF, ReSPA and SIGMA, building on the regional conference on Public Financial Management reforms organized by the three partners in Montenegro in September 2025. By bringing together complementary expertise, institutional perspectives and practical experience from across the region, the partnership creates space for public administrations to learn from one another and address shared implementation challenges. CEF is pleased to continue this cooperation, connecting regional practitioners and partners to support stronger governance, more effective use of public resources and reforms that deliver tangible results.