In a series of votes, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved the management of the EU budget for 2023 by most bodies, with exceptions for two. The European Commission’s handling of more than 95% of EU expenditure was endorsed by a vote of 412 to 245, with five abstentions. However, MEPs expressed concerns about structural issues affecting financial credibility and policy delivery.
The accompanying resolution highlighted a rising error rate in EU spending, which reached 5.6% and has increased for three consecutive years. MEPs urged the Commission to present an action plan within four months to address these errors. They also called for stricter fraud detection mechanisms and clearer definitions of milestones and targets related to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
Outstanding commitments amounted to €543 billion in 2023, over twice the annual EU budget, raising concerns about delayed implementation. Additionally, EU borrowing reached €458.5 billion by year-end, with further increases anticipated. Rising interest rates and a lack of repayment plans could jeopardize fiscal stability.
Parliament demanded full financial transparency from NGOs and other interest groups. It called on the Commission to share contract screening results with Parliament and required all entities to register in the EU Transparency Register.
Rapporteur Niclas Herbst commented on the RRF: “Billions of euros have been transferred to member states under the RRF, but Parliament and the European Court of Auditors are not sufficiently involved in their control… Because of these weaknesses, the RRF must never be used as a model for future financial programmes or the EU’s next financial framework.”
Discharge decisions were postponed for both the Council and the EU Asylum Agency due to ongoing issues. The Council’s discharge has been postponed annually since 2009 due to cooperation issues with Parliament. For the Asylum Agency, concerns arose from an investigation by OLAF that questioned its stability and governance.
The discharge procedure allows Parliament oversight over budget implementation, holding institutions accountable based on reports from relevant bodies like the European Court of Auditors.
