According to the provisions on entry into force, the APPF was to be set up by 1 September 2016, Regulation 1141/2014 applied as of 1 January 2017, and it would cover the activities of European parties and foundations starting with the financial year 2018.

[12] However, the APPF, European Parliament, and Member States (via national contact points) are required to share information related to funding provisions, controls, and sanctions for the execution of their respective responsibilities.

[15] Regardless of the outcome, this decision is then published in the Official Journal of the European Union, with the statutes of the entity concerned in case of registration or with the grounds for rejection.

[18] The APPF controls compliance by registered entities with their obligations, in particular in relation to registration criteria, governance, changes in statutes and membership, donations and contributions, campaign financing, and funding prohibitions.

In case of objection, the entity remains registered, giving the three EU institutions a veto power and making de-registration a political decision.

[20] If adopted, a decision to de-register an entity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union, with the detailed grounds for de-registration, and enters into force after three months.

[19] If the APPF itself has doubts regarding an entity's compliance with EU values, it must inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, and wait for any of them to lodge a request for verification.

[24] In the six months ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election, the APPF also published, for the first time, reported donations on a weekly basis.

[28] Finally, the APPF is required to submit an annual report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on its activities.

[29] In January 2021, following a complaint calling for more transparency, the European Ombudsman found that the information provided on the website of the APPF was incomplete.

"[31] The APPF is empowered to impose "clear, strong and dissuasive" sanctions in order to ensure "effective, proportionate and uniform compliance" with the obligations deriving from the Regulation.

[32] For instance, the APPF is to remove from the Register a European party or foundation that has been convicted to have engaged in illegal activities detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union, that no longer fulfils one or more of the registration criteria, or that has failed to fulfil obligations under national law (under specific requirements).