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A lack of clarity over how public funds will be tracked is among concerns raised by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) about the European Union’s upcoming long-term agricultural budget.
The ECA, which is the guardian of EU finances, is making a number of assessments of the EU’s proposed long-term budget for the period 2028-2034.
The latest assessment, released on Monday, focuses on the European Common Agriculture Policy. Unlike the previous EU budget, the new proposal would leave it up to EU countries to make their own national plans, a similar arrangement to the EU Recovery Plan launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Monday’s report, the ECA warned that this presented a risk of uncertainty.
“For the recipients of funds, this could create unpredictability at the planning stage about how much funding they can expect.”
The auditors also revealed that the proposal does not present clear rules on payments and monitoring, elements that may open the door to the abuse of funds, and that the complexity of the planning, adoption processes and legal framework can create uncertainties.
“This reduces predictability for beneficiaries, delays the delivery of funds, and may ultimately undermine the objective of simplification”, the Auditors said.
In particular, it is not clear whether payments will be made toward meeting a predefined target or after results have been achieved.
The next EU long-term budget is still being negotiated between the bloc’s institutions. According to three EU officials who talked with Euronews in condition of anonymity, while the numbers in the budget are under debate, the overall structure of the budget will likely remain the same.
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