On Thursday 5 February, the MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) adopted by 22 votes to 4, with one abstention, the own-initiative report tabled by Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, German), which calls for a framework for the use of performance-based European funding in the European Union’s next long-term budget.
The 21 compromise amendments were also adopted.
MEPs are concerned about greater use of these instruments, in which payments are no longer linked to the costs actually incurred, but to the achievement of predefined milestones and objectives. In their view, this process, which would encourage the risk of errors, double financing and fraud, reduces transparency and the capacity for European control.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the first instrument of its kind at EU level, serves as a benchmark for elected representatives, who criticise the lack of traceability of funds and limited visibility of final beneficiaries.
Dependence on national control systems is also mentioned.
MEPs are also concerned that, by the end of 2024, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office was handling more than 300 RRF-related investigations involving an estimated loss of €2.8 billion.
The CONT Committee recommends that non-cost related funding should be limited to small-scale projects, while complex investments should be considered on the basis of verifiable expenditure. It would like the Commission itself to validate the achievement of objectives, and calls for greater parliamentary control and transparency.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/kmt (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)