Auditor warns of hidden spending

The European Court of Auditors President Tony Murphy says the Commission's plan to overhaul the EU's long-term budget will make it harder to track how public money is spent and catch misuse.

“It's more difficult for us to follow the money.”

Commission wants flexible spending

The Commission proposes assigning almost a trillion euros over seven years to a single pot that countries can spend on migration, agriculture and regional development, giving capitals more leeway to shift spending.

Misspending already on the rise

Errors in EU budget spending affected transactions for an estimated five billion euros last year, according to the European Court of Auditors' latest report, and the new system could make such estimates impossible.

National auditors lack consistency

Each country's auditors have different roles and ways of working. Wolfgang Stolz, Murphy's head of cabinet, said year after year they have found that the work of these auditing authorities is not fully reliable.

“Year after year we have found that the work of these auditing authorities is not fully reliable.”

Farm subsidies show the risk

The Common Agricultural Policy, historically a standalone budget line, would merge into a larger umbrella fund.

Covid recovery fund shows opacity risk

The model for the new spending system, the EU's post-Covid recovery fund, became more opaque as countries gained flexibility.

“It's not very transparent. I mean, where is the EU money actually ending up? That's what matters.”