On Thursday 14 March, MEPs approved the text of the provisional agreement on the proposal for a regulation on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the European Union by 437 votes to 45, with 72 abstentions.
This text, presented to the committee on 9 February 2023 by Nils Ušakovs (S&D, Latvian) for the Committee on Budgets and Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, German) for the Committee on Budgetary Control, details the new rules for recasting the Union’s general budget, linked to the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which took place on 1 February this year (see EUROPE 13341/1).
The provisional trilogue agreement, reached on 7 December 2023 and approved in plenary on Thursday 14 March, introduces a number of changes. It notes an improvement in the transparency and monitoring of EU funds through a strengthened internal control system and a new interoperable database for monitoring fund beneficiaries.
Key information on beneficiaries of EU funds will be published in a centralised database on the Commission’s website.
The text underlines the commitment to the Union’s values and introduces social conditionality (compliance with essential employment and occupational safety standards) as a precondition for the payment of EU funds.
It also introduces a legal framework for the EU’s participation in global initiatives, clarifications such as the definition of ‘crises’ and details concerning the assessment of conflicts of interest. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)