European Commission: the Commission is the central decision-making body for the UIA Initiative and its overall task is to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the Initiative's implementation. UIA selected projects are agreed by the European Commission, following the assessment and recommendations of a panel of External Experts and the Permanent Secretariat.
Entrusted Entity (EE): In line with Article 1 of the Delegated Act n°522/2014, the EE is the body formally responsible for implementing the Initiative on behalf of the Commission. It is the EE that signs the subsidy contracts with the selected projects. The designated EE is the Hauts-de-France Region, France.
Permanent Secretariat (PS): the PS is responsible for the daily management of the UIA Initiative. It works directly with urban authorities, by providing information on the funding procedures, supporting applicants, assessing the applications, and providing support to approved projects. Members of the team come from the whole of Europe and are located in Lille.
Certifying Authority (CA): The CA is the body in charge of setting up and submitting certified UIA expenditure to the Commission; the CA also organises the ERDF payments to the approved projects. For the UIA, it is the Province of East Flanders, Belgium.
External Auditor: The external auditor ensures that audits are carried out on the proper functioning of the UIA management and control system and on the expenditure declared by a sample of projects. For the UIA, this task is carried out by Ernst & Young.