On Thursday, 12 December, the Court of Auditors ruled that the data used by the EU to justify payment for variable tranches of budget support to partner countries are not always sufficiently reliable for decisions to be taken in full knowledge of the facts.
Every year, the EU transfers an average of €1.7 billion to partner countries in the form of ‘budget support’. According to the court, approximately 44% of payments for budget support contracts are made in the form of variable...