On Tuesday 28 April, by a very large majority (527 votes in favour, 85 against and 33 abstentions), the European Parliament adopted without amendment the draft report by Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, German), which calls for restrictions on the use of performance-based European funding in the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 (see EUROPE 13803/20).
MEPs argue that this approach, which departs from funding based on actual costs, increases the risk of errors, double funding and fraud. As a result, they claim that performance-based financing should only be used under strict conditions, reserving it for small-scale projects in particular. And that this approach should be accompanied by robust safeguards in terms of traceability and administrative control capacities at European and national level.
The European Court of Auditors had on several occasions highlighted the risks inherent in the performance-based financing approach, as tested in the post-Covid-19 Next Generation EU recovery plan (see EUROPE 13634/23).
The European Parliament also noted with concern that, at the end of 2024, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office was handling 307 cases linked to the financial instrument of the European Recovery Plan. The estimated damage to the EU’s financial interests amounts to €2.8 billion, or around 30% of all detected EU expenditure fraud.
To see the European Parliament’s report: https://aeur.eu/f/lqi (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)