On Thursday 7 October the European Parliament denounced the democratic deficit of the four EU Trust Funds and the Facility for Refuges in Turkey - emergency funds created as a temporary solution to respond flexibly and quickly to crises in third countries, but which are devoid of any democratic scrutiny as the Parliament has no say in how they are spent.
In a resolution adopted by a large majority (493 votes in favour, 88 against and 103 abstentions), MEPs believe that these special funds, created outside the budget, should be a last resort instrument.
They believe that they “jeopardise the principles of democratic accountability, transparency and sound financial management, undermining the role of the European Parliament and also the integrity and unity of the EU budget”.
The European Parliament regrets its limited role in the decision-making, supervision and control of EU contributions to these funds, whose resources come mainly from the EU budget.
According to MEPs, the single financial instrument for Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation (NDICI-Global Europe), in the EU’s 2021-2027 budget, should overcome the constraints that led to the need to launch trust funds.
MEPs recognise the added value of these special foreign aid tools, but point out the shortcomings of some of the funds highlighted by the European Court of Auditors, such as the failure to apply EU public procurement law and opaque management (Trust Fund for Africa set up in 2015 at the height of the migrant crisis) (see EUROPE 12153/14).
The European Court of Auditors also found that some funds need to be more transparent, more closely monitored and more effectively coordinated between donors (e.g. the EU Trust Fund for the Central African Republic, known as the ‘Bêkou’ fund, set up in 2013), and that they need to deliver more results for the money invested.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/3llQEj5 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)