Have EU funds for the tourism industry been spent effectively? Have the measures taken by the European Commission in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic to relieve this struggling sector been effective?
These are the questions that the auditors of the European Court of Auditors will seek to answer in a new report, the institution said on Wednesday 4 November, announcing the publication of results for the third quarter of 2021.
More specifically, the auditors will look at “the work done by the Commission to ensure that EU funding provided through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) for public investments in tourism is effective”.
“Targeting of funding” as well as several public projects from some 2014-2020 Operational Programmes will also be screened in four Member States (Hungary, Poland, Spain and Romania).
This audit comes at a time when the lack of political will on the part of the Commission and European governments towards the tourism sector has been regularly pointed out in recent months, notably by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12527/12, 12556/19, 12566/12). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)