While the Court of Auditors endorses the Commission's initiative to merge 12 external action programmes into a single new global development aid instrument in the next multiannual budget, the auditors emphasise accountability and the need for a results-based approach in a report issued on 17 September 2018.
"The Commission's ambitious proposal for the new external actions instrument goes in the right direction," said Hannu Takkula, the European Court of Auditors' member responsible for the opinion.
The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), to which the Commission proposes to give €89.2 billion (see EUROPE 12041), will help to "reduce gaps and overlaps," according to Mr Takkula. He stressed the importance of integrating the European Development Fund (EDF), previously managed by the Member States alone, into the EU budget.
France is opposed to this initiative.
While acknowledging that the Commission's proposal would be "bringing simplification and reducing administrative burden as well as greater flexibility for budgetary instruments”, the auditors call on the Commission and legislators to apply a results-based approach to the whole proposal without being limited to neighbouring countries. "The proposal should clearly distinguish between the evaluation of the supported actions and of the instrument itself," they also suggest.
Warning on budgetary annuality
The auditors also expressed concerns about the possibility of using the unspent funds set up by the Commission's proposal in the next financial year, in order to ensure flexibility.
These new provisions "go beyond the EU financial rules and introduce additional legal complexity," the Court warns.
Finally, the report criticises the provision in the proposal to double some of the thresholds currently set in the EDF below which an implementing act is not required. "Such exceptions may weaken the oversight arrangement,” warn auditors. (Original version in French by Mathieu Solal)