RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Deficiencies in the Use of European Funds

Several EU member countries have inappropriately used almost 7 billion Euros from the expenditure budget last year, reads the annual report of the European Court of Auditors.

, 06.11.2014, 13:51

Almost seven billion Euros, which is 4.7% of the expenditure budget last year were spent inappropriately by some EU member countries, reads the annual report of the European Court of Auditors. According to the document, many errors have been discovered in the agricultural field, and Romania is among the countries where such flaws were found. The same report reads that the funds in question were not used in keeping with the legal provisions in force, but that there is not evidence of fraud. The fields were most errors were found are regional policy, transport and energy, rural development, the environment, fishing and health-care, as well as the programs implemented in agriculture.



The document shows that many of the errors found in agriculture were mostly generated by inaccurate payment statements or requests submitted by beneficiaries, the most common error being the incorrect declaration of agricultural areas.”



The Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels has details:


“For instance, with regard to agriculture, it was discovered that errors occurred in Germany, Ireland, Greece, France, Poland and Romania, because some plots of land, declared as permanent pastures and for which money was allocated, were in fact covered in vegetation that was not eligible for funding and should have been subtracted from the areas for which funding was requested. Also, cases of failure to observe the environmental requirements were also discovered in countries such as Italy, Romania, Poland, Hungary and the Netherlands. The Court’s analysis of the control systems in the field of rural development revealed control deficiencies with regard to eligibility requirements or the risk of double funding in six of the eight countries examined, namely Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Malta and Romania.”



“There has to be more careful management and control of EU funds” Court of Auditors President Vitor Caldeira said. “ If European Union citizens do not have a clear perception of the added value of EU spending, we will not have their trust”, Caldeira also said.



On the other hand, the Court hailed the European Commission’s efforts to correct the errors and recover the funds, saying that without these corrections, the overall rate of error would have been 6.2% of the total spending, instead of 4.7%. This report, which the European Court of Auditors sends to the 28 EU member states, to inform them about the problems discovered by experts, comes at a time when Brussels is faced with growing pressure from the Member States to cut on spending.



(Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)



Marcel Boloş (foto: gov.ro)
Today in the News Friday, 09 May 2025

Renegotiation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan

The Romanian government adopted, on Thursday, in the first meeting chaired by the interim Prime Minister Cătălin Predoiu, the memorandum that...

Renegotiation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan
Credits: EPA / Agerpres
Today in the News Friday, 09 May 2025

Habemus Papam!

Only four rounds of voting were required to elect the 267th pope of the Catholic Church. On Thursday evening, tens of thousands of people gathered in...

Habemus Papam!
Finance Minister Tánczos Barna (Photo: gov.ro)
Today in the News Thursday, 08 May 2025

Discussions on the economic situation in Romania

  In Romania, the euro has reached a new historical high. The National Bank announced on Wednesday an exchange rate of 5.0991 lei for one euro....

Discussions on the economic situation in Romania
Credits: Fred MARVAUX / © European Union 2025 - Source: EP
Today in the News Thursday, 08 May 2025

Priorities of the 2028-20234 EU budget

The European Parliament wants a significantly more ambitious EU budget for the 2028-2034 framework, one that can meet the growing expectations of EU...

Priorities of the 2028-20234 EU budget
Today in the News Wednesday, 07 May 2025

The economic effects of the presidential election

  The result of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania and the political chaos resulting from the resignation of the Social...

The economic effects of the presidential election
Today in the News Wednesday, 07 May 2025

Heavy rain and storms expected in Romania

Romania is these days being faced with a lot of atmospheric instability, resulting in torrential rain, thunderstorms and strong winds hitting 40 to...

Heavy rain and storms expected in Romania
Today in the News Tuesday, 06 May 2025

Changes on the political scene

The traditional political system is reeling after the first round of the presidential elections, decisively won by the ultranationalist populist...

Changes on the political scene
Today in the News Tuesday, 06 May 2025

“Choose Europe for science”

Paris hosted the conference “Choose Europe for Science” on Monday, backed by the presence of the French President Emmanuel Macron and...

“Choose Europe for science”

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company