EU requirements on the management of and accountability for the results of projects funded by the EU are laid down in the EU Financial Regulation, fund-specific regulations and other regulations. A series of conditions must be met before the EU releases funds to the member states. They include the preparation of problem analyses, the drafting of national plans based on the analyses, the setting of goals and indicators and rendering account for the plans and evaluating them. This is shown schematically below. In essence the situation is the same for all EU funds.
Source: Added Value of EU Grants in the Netherlands, Netherlands Court of Audit (2022)
EU regulations require the member states’ national programmes to include goals in the form of indicators and targets. The indicators measure the achievement of results and subsequently inform accountability for the results achieved. During programme implementation, the national authorities responsible for the use of the funds periodically report to the European Commission on expenditure and the results achieved. The member states are also required to carry out a mid-term evaluation and a final evaluation. These evaluations, too, are sent to the Commission.