Management of projects dedicated to Internal Affairs (RO0093)

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address?

In accordance with Article 11 of Government Decision No 936/2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) was designated, as Managing Authority for the 2021-2027 financial framework, in the field of internal affairs, namely for the implementation of the national programmes the Internal Security Fund (ISF), the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI). Since 1 January 2023 (in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1060/2021), Member States must ensure a system for the electronic exchange of data between project beneficiaries and the authorities managing the funding programs, which meets the requirements imposed by the aforementioned EU legislation, and which includes functionalities to facilitate the management and control of the programes at national level, so that Romania complies with the obligations relating to monitoring, management and control activities in relation to the use of non-reimbursable external funding by project beneficiaries. The group targeted by this commitment represents, on the one hand, the (potential) beneficiaries of funding from the European funds dedicated to Internal Affairs 2021-2027, namely entities Central public authorities, Local public authorities, Education/research institutions, International organisations/external partners, Non-profit organisations and, on the other hand, the authorities responsible for the implementation of the National Programmes in Romania, namely: The Managing Authority for Internal Affairs – Directorate for Non-Repayable External Funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Intermediate Financial Accounting Body – Directorate-General for Financial Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Intermediate Body for Internal Affairs – Directorate-General for Technical Assistance and Financial Mechanisms of the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, the Intermediate Body for Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund – General Inspectorate for Immigration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Audit Authority of the Court of Auditors of Romania.

2. What are the causes of the problem?

At the time of drafting up the legal framework for the management of external financing granted to Romania in the field of Internal Affairs for the period 2021-2027, the Managing Authority did not have a system for the electronic exchange of data between project beneficiaries and the authorities managing the funding programmes. According to the provisions of Regulation EU 1060/2021, the obligation of Member States on electronic data exchange between project beneficiaries and authorities is driven by the need to ensure the availability of comprehensive up-to-date information on programme implementation, ensuring effective and timely electronic reporting of quantitative data. Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

The development of the ROFED IT application took place in several stages, namely: • the first stage was represented by the development of business analysis, UI/UX design and software design. • the second stage consisted of the actual development of the IT application and, so far, activities to develop, test and operationalise the IT application have been implemented, and in 2024 two modules were operationalised: o Module 1 - operationalised in June 2024 - includes functionalities for defining and publishing calls for projects, submission, evaluation and communication resulting from the evaluation of applications submitted, contracting projects, communications between beneficiaries and the authorities responsible for the programmes; o Module 2 - operationalised in August 2024 - includes the flows regarding implementation and reporting, completion/update of the REP project register, generation and submission of the RP project progress report, generation and submission of the CP project payment request, addition and publication of private procurement announcements. • The optimization and improvement of the application was started in the first quarter of 2025, change requests identified by the users and administrators of the ROFED application, the interested staff from civic organizations, and public authorities were implemented. The business analysis, design and software development services were carried out by the private sector, based on a framework agreement concluded between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a software development company. The contracts were fully financed (100%) from non-reimbursable European funds, through the technical assistance projects related to the European funds dedicated to internal affairs 2014-2020 and 2021-2024, implemented by the Non-reimbursable External Funds Directorate, as Responsible Authority/Management AMIF-IMFV-ISF. ROFED is used by over 500 users, and in 2024 there were over 1,000 official notifications/communications sent through ROFED to the Managing Authority, representing applications/financing contracts, progress reports, payment requests, other communications.

2. What solution are you proposing?

Further development and improvement of the ROFED IT application is a priority for the Internal Affairs Management Authority. Thus, in March 2025, a software development service contract was signed to continue the development of modules/submodules for ROFED, including the implementation of optimizations for the existing ones, with a completion deadline of July 2026.Thus, upon completion of these activities, a complex and complete tool will be made available to the (potential) beneficiaries of funding from the European funds dedicated to Internal Affairs, as well as to the authorities responsible for the management of the National Internal Affairs Programmes 2021-2027. The software development services will be fully financed (100%) from non-reimbursable European funds, through the 2021-2027 technical assistance projects, implemented by the Non-reimbursable External Funds Directorate, as AMIF-IMFV-ISF Managing Authority.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?

The proposed results to be achieved by completing the development and optimization of the ROFED IT application are as follows: - digitalisation of access to European funds dedicated to Internal Affairs 2021-2027; - implementing comprehensive tools on digital management of EU-funded projects dedicated to Internal Affairs 2021-2027 - increasing the visibility of European funds dedicated to Internal Affairs 2021-2027; - increasing transparency by publishing the list of operations (projects) selected as open data.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency?

Once the ROFED development and optimization is completed, it will be possible to generate predefined reports from the application. Thus, increased transparency will be ensured by publishing the list of operations (projects) selected as open data, as well as summary reports on the implementation status of the national programs.

2. How will the commitment help foster accountability?

The commitment meets the needs of potential beneficiaries, providing a complex and complet tool for accessing European funds dedicated to Internal Affairs, which supports policies specific to open government. The inclusion of the commitment in the National Action Plan 2025-2027 will increase the visibility of the National Internal Affairs Programmes, thus creating the premises for attracting new beneficiaries.

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing and monitoring solutions?

Publication of synthetic and user-friendly open data has the potential to attract new stakeholders, open data will facilitate the active involvement of citizens and groups of citizens. Commitment Planning (This is an initial planning process largely looking at milestones and expected outputs, as well as key stakeholders involved.)

Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date

Development, testing and operationalisation of modules covered by the service contract concluded in March 2025 | 4 new modules/ functionalities implemented/ operationalised in ROFED | July 2026

Definition of dynamic reports based on information on submitted projects/ contracted in ROFED, to ensure a transparent monitoring and evaluation system | 5 dynamic reports defined and implemented in ROFED, made available to programme authorities/beneficiary institutions | August 2026

Publication of the list of selected projects (operations) as open data on the data.gov.ro portal | Published and regularly updated open dataset | September 2026