Basing the EU’s next long-term budget on performance will be “a challenge”, Dirk Gotink (EPP, Dutch) told the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on Monday 17 February.
The MEP presented the draft opinion of the European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control on the draft own-initiative report for a “revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world”, submitted by Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romanian) and Carla Tavares (S&D, Portuguese), for the Committee on Budgets (see EUROPE 13570/13).
Combining performance and transparency. In its role, the Committee on Budgetary Control is concerned that the simplification of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will result in a lack of control and monitoring of the use of European funds, as analysed by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in relation to the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (see EUROPE 13501/15), the mechanism that will inspire the functioning of the next MFF.
“We need tangible results based on European added value, not a renationalisation of European investment”, warned Dirk Gotink on Monday. In its draft opinion, the Committee on Budgetary Control is worried that this would result in “27 national approaches that together do not form a Union approach and where Member States are treated differently on similar issues”, since the national plans would be negotiated between the Commission and each country.
The Dutch MEP also called for a “methodology” to prove “that the added value is proven”. The transition to a policy-based budget, based on the ‘money for reform’ model, should not remove the link “between actual spending and the achievement of an objective”, said the rapporteur.
“We often don’t have a clear idea of who the beneficiaries [of the funds granted under the Recovery and Resilience Facility] are . We tried to obtain information afterwards, but it was very difficult”, regretted Dirk Gotink. The next MFF should avoid this pitfall, according to the Committee on Budgetary Control.
To this end, in its draft opinion the committee suggests setting up a “real-time, publicly accessible digital dashboard detailing fund allocation, project purposes, outcomes and final beneficiaries”.
Next Generation EU. “Repaying the debt does not seem to be a priority for a number of countries”, said a concerned Dirk Gotink. The MEP is in line with the position of the European Commission (see EUROPE 13577/20) and the European Parliament Committee on Budgets (see EUROPE 13570/13): without a repayment plan, “the operational cost will be deducted from the budget”.
To see the draft opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control: https://aeur.eu/f/fjp (Original version in French by Florent Servia)