Correct use of taxpayer’s money essential for EU support

The European Court of Auditors has presented its analysis of the implementation of the EU budget for 2015 and estimates the error rate for payments at 3.8%. “In plain numbers that means that 5.5 billion euros in European subsidies were not allocated in accordance with the rules,” explains MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt. “Although the error rate is decreasing, it nevertheless still concerns large amounts of money. That is difficult to understand in times of cutbacks, when we have to be careful with every single euro.” Her colleague Sander Loones wants the EU to simplify the rules and check even more vigorously for fraud. “On the other hand, the Member States must also shoulder their responsibility: they control over three quarters of the money spent in the name of the EU,” he notes.

The Court of Auditors is itself also proposing simplified rules as a solution to bring down the error percentage. “Better and clearer rules must also ensure that it’s easier to assess the effectiveness of the spending,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt adds. “Better insight into this will enable better priorities to be set, and the Member States have their role to play in this regard as well.”

Right to transparency

For the first time, the report includes specific examples of how taxpayers’ money is squandered. “That’s a good thing,” says Sander Loones. “The citizen is entitled to that transparency.” For example, an Italian municipality received subsidies to spruce up a footpath. However, the company in question added unnecessary items to the bill, such as a mountain bike costing 4,000 euros and a donation of 10,000 euros to a local church. “There is definitely a potential for improvement to be seen in the overall numbers, and that is of course welcome,” says Sander Loones. “But the same errors keep on coming back: Member States that unjustifiably want to declare a certain plot of land as agricultural land, for example, and serious errors in tendering procedures. However, correct use of taxpayer’s money is essential to strengthen support for the European Union among the population.”