The European Court of Auditors states that the control criteria for payments from the corona recovery fund (RRF) are too general and vague. As a result, it is insufficiently clear whether the billions disbursed actually contribute to the agreed goals. The auditors describe this as a significant risk for efficient spending of European money.
The European Commission intends to apply the RRF's accountability system to other EU budgets after 2028. According to critics, including Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, this undermines financial oversight. Brussels would thus want to generalize a too lenient supervisory model.
The Court of Auditors discovered that many RRF goals are too vague or difficult to measure. According to the auditors, EU countries regularly submitted unreliable information about the results achieved. Some predefined milestones turned out to be unclearly formulated, causing payments not always to be linked to concrete achievements.
When disbursing recovery funds, actual costs or rule compliance are not taken into account. EU countries receive money based on milestones and targets, without a direct link to project expenditures. Sanctions for failing to meet those goals remain rare.
Although the error rate in EU spending fell from 5.6 to 3.6 percent, it remains above the 2 percent threshold. The Court of Auditors emphasizes that the decrease is positive, but the European Commission still does not meet its own standard for a clean opinion.
The EU auditors also warn that outstanding EU loans will exceed 900 billion euros by 2027. The interest charges of the recovery package established in 2020 are already much higher than the 14.9 billion euros estimated by the Commission and could rise above 30 billion euros.
According to the Court of Auditors and several MEPs, this rising debt burden threatens the sustainability of future budgets. Ruissen calls the growth of the loans a millstone for the Union, with costs being passed on to future generations.
They argue that the European Commission must enforce stricter standards for financial accountability. European taxpayers’ money must demonstrably contribute to concrete goals such as competitiveness and climate, not vanish into a system of vague promises and non-binding agreements.
Additionally, the Court of Auditors notes that only five percent of the available budget of the cohesion funds has been spent. These funds are intended for EU subsidies to support lagging regions, but many EU countries struggle to spend the money. Critics see in this potential grounds for cuts and halving the budget.