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infrastructure | transparency | policy | FTS | Efficiency
The newly launched "Financial Transparency system" website and search engine will allow, for the first time ever, free access to the details of those receiving the EU funds directly managed by the European Commission and its executive agencies.
Currently under the test phase, the Financial Transparency System (FTS) website is one of the building blocks in the Commission's wider European Transparency Initiative (ETI). The FTS focuses on the beneficiaries of budget lines directly managed by the Commission and the executive agencies set up to manage certain EU programmes, as well as other forms of operational support.
The data can be accessed through a web-based search engine providing various search criteria such as the country of the beneficiary, the Commission department which administered the grant or contract, the relevant budget line or the amount. This new search engine will thus allow users to analyse and compare information on beneficiaries and policy areas more easily.
The FTS information is extracted from the Commission's accounts of the previous year and provides the financial amounts comprised in the budget regarding these activities. The first year covered is 2007. The beneficiaries of 2008 will be published in 2009 and in 2010, the system will be enhanced, so as to include the procurement contracts provided by the Commission for its day-to-day administration.
It is worth noting in parallel that Member States have to put in place by 30 September 2008 a website containing information on the payments from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), made between 1 January and 15 October 2007. Each website shall, for all beneficiaries, provide details such as the name of the beneficiary, the municipality of residence and the total amount of all public funding received (Community and national).
The Commission has set up a web portal which provides access to these national websites. By 30 April 2009, Member States must have published the details of the recipients of all other agricultural payments.
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