The MED Member and Partner States have designated as Managing Authority (MA) the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur Region (France). The MA is responsible for managing and implementing the programme in accordance with the principle of sound financial management. It is the entity that signs the subsidy contracts with the Lead partners.

The MA supports the work of the Monitoring Committee and the transmission of information it requires to carry out its tasks, in particular data relating to the progress of the cooperation programme in achieving its objectives; financial data, and data relating to indicators and milestones.

The Joint Secretariat (JS) is a transnational team assisting the Managing Authority, the Monitoring Committee and the Audit Authority in implementing the programme. It receives the projects applications and instructs them, provides information to potential beneficiaries about funding opportunities under the MED programme and assists beneficiaries in the implementation of operations.

It sets up and maintains contacts with Lead Partners and their partnerships. Ensures at transnational level coordination, follow-up and promotion activities and provides technical support for the preparation of meetings and events at the programme and project level (Monitoring Committees, Transnational Conferences and transnational working groups, lead partners seminar, other specific thematic meetings).

Set up by each Member State up in coherence with their administrative system, the National Contact Points (NCPs) can be individuals or administrative bodies.

Their role is to ensure the transnationality of the programme and help mainstreaming of projects.

They are in direct contact with national stakeholders and provide information on the programme, on the calls for projects and on administrative requirements for the submission of applications. NCPs are coordinated by their National Authorities. Decentralised structures of the programme might also be set up to support the programme implementation.

Within each participating state, the MED programme is taken in charge through two specific functions:

• A regulatory function related to the responsibility of each participating state as regards monitoring and control of activities, procedures and expenses of project partners in the respective participating countries
• A function of coordination of the implementation of the programme on national territory and a contribution to the general animation of the programme in relation with the MA and the JS to which they entrusted management

Each participating state can freely organise its national body and has the possibility to set up support bodies such as National Committees as consultative bodies.

This Authority certifies statements of expenditure and applications for payment before they are sent to the Commission; it receives payments made by the Commission and ensures the reimbursement.

It is also responsible for drawing up the annual accounts and ensuring that audits are carried out on the management and control systems, on an appropriate sample of operations and on the annual accounts.

The Audit Authority (AA) is an inter-ministerial commission (CICC) reporting to the Prime Minister, who appoints its members, and is assisted by a group of independent auditors composed of a representative from each State participating in the programme.

Functionally independent of the Managing Authority and the Certifying Authority, it is responsible for verifying the effective functioning of the management and control system.

The representatives of the participating states to the Group of Auditors, that assist the AA, shall not be involved in any other management or certification activity under the MED programme.