Whistleblowing: Report a concern

In the North Sea Region Programme, we are keen to fight fraud or fraudulent behaviour within our programme. The programme offers a large set of rules outlined in our fact sheets, which clearly define what is considered eligible and what is not.

We always welcome concerns shared by our stakeholders. Concerns reported through our whistleblower procedure should be linked to fraud or fraudulent behaviour. This includes dubious eligibility of expenditure, beneficiaries deliberately avoiding correct procurement of goods and/or services, mismatch between project activities reported as completed and the real status of implementation, and other issues.  

Submitting your concern

If you have a concern which you would like to bring to our attention, you can do so in two ways:

  1. Use our online form. You can choose to report anonymously or enter your name and contact details so we can come back to you with any questions for clarification. 

  2. Send us an email via whistleblower@northsearegion.eu. Please use the subject line: "I have a concern to share". Note: If you wish to maintain complete anonymity, you can create a free email account for this purpose only. A number of providers offer free email accounts, such as Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

Please elaborate as much as possible when writing your concern and please attach any relevant documentation you might have.

What should not be reported: This procedure has it limits. For example, you should not report internal project disputes  through this mechanism unless they violate programme rules. Instead, we recommend you to find a solution internally or seek advice from your designated Project Advisor.
 

What happens next

In line with our Monitoring Committee's Rules of Procedure, all concerns reported to the programme will be reviewed by a troika consisting of the Current Chair, the Past Chair and the Next Chair of the Monitoring Committee. The troika will ensure that appropriate actions are taken on each concern submitted.  

 

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