On Tuesday 17 February, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published new warnings about the new European multiannual framework and, in particular, the Single Market and Customs Programme.
The proposed programme merges five existing EU instruments into a single legal framework, recalls the Court in a press release: namely, parts of the former Single Market Programme, the Customs Programme, interventions from the Customs Control Equipment Instrument, the Fiscalis Programme and the Union Anti-Fraud Programme.
The aim of this consolidation is to remedy the persistent fragmentation of the current funding landscape, which includes the single market, the customs union, tax cooperation, anti-fraud coordination and European statistics. The planned budget for 2028-2034 is €6.2 billion, or around 0.31% of the total budget of the new MFF, which amounts to almost €2,000 billion.
However, the activities covered by the consolidated Single Market and Customs Programme - most of which are not optional, but legally required - are very diverse, which will require clear governance arrangements, transparent resource allocation and robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, sums up the Court.
It is not clear “how the programme’s spending objectives will be aligned with EU strategic priorities. The proposal refers to competitiveness, single market enforcement, and digitalising customs and taxation, but it does not translate these priorities into binding requirements”.
Nor does the proposal specify how to improve the EU’s anti-fraud architecture, or how to address long-standing weaknesses that previous ECA audits identified in the Anti-Fraud Information System and the Irregularities Management System. “This includes shortcomings in the establishment and implementation of national anti-fraud strategies, the under-reporting of fraud cases to the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and insufficient protection and support for whistleblowers”.
The lack of specific rules and priorities could affect continuity of funding for core components such as critical taxation or anti-fraud IT infrastructures, says the ECA; nor does the proposal set out clear rules for coherent prioritisation, transparent budgeting, and disciplined procurement.
In addition, the diversity of the Single Market and Customs Programme “entails risks for the accountability and traceability of the funds spent. There is a need for minimum traceability and reporting requirements, and clear links between payments and results”.
The Court’s right to audit must also be guaranteed. Regarding management arrangements, the Court found that delegation to executive agencies and, once established, the EU Customs Authority (see EUROPE 13802/28) must be underpinned by robust agreements, full audit access rights and clear internal control requirements.
Link to the opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/krx (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Anne Damiani)