Is COVID recovery funding disbursed transparently from Brussels to national capitals, and from national treasuries to final recipients? The EU set up the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in early 2021 to help EU countries fight the pandemic head on and build back more resilient economies. €724 billion was initially available to the 27 member states, which eventually signed up for around €648 billion – making the RRF the largest EU funding instrument to date. On 15 October, the ECA will hold a conference on how transparent and traceable the instrument actually is.
Register, join us online, and discuss the subject with key European watchdogs, and ensure you have an opportunity to hear directly from some national authorities.
Our auditors are used to following the money. They have done so for decades where traditional EU spending programmes are concerned, for example with the EU’s cohesion policy. Consequently, they attempted to do the same thing for the RRF, which often finances programmes similar to those receiving Cohesion funding. However, they encountered some issues along the way, as they found an accountability and assurance gap related to scrutiny of the RRF. There is also still a risk that RRF-funded investment projects may not comply with EU and national rules. In our recent audit published in September on RRF absorption, we found that almost half of the RRF funds disbursed to the 15 member states that provided the relevant information had not yet actually reached final recipients.
The transparency and traceability of funds are therefore essential for assessing the RRF’s effectiveness and efficiency. These are also among the guiding principles for the work of public auditors and guarantors of public trust in EU funding programmes. And they play a key role in preventing the misuse of funds and in fighting fraud and corruption. However, unlike traditional EU budget spending, where the Commission has greater control and oversight, RRF funds are subject to less scrutiny and more self-policing by the member states, something which also increases the risk of irregularities and fraud.
Our conference will offer you a panel discussion of high-level experts providing insights into the transparency and traceability of RRF funding:
- Ivana Maletić, ECA Member;
- Monika Hohlmeier, Vice-Chair BUDG, CONT Member, and EP Member;
- Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman;
- Elena-Alexandra Calistru, Chair of ‘Funky Citizens’, EESC Member, and rapporteur of the EESC opinion on the RRF’s mid-term evaluation;
- Daniel Nigohosyan, Principal consultant for Policy and Research at Ecorys, and a contributor to the RRF’s mid-term evaluation.
Experts from the RRF coordinating bodies in different member states will give presentations on the traceability of RRF funds in practice, as well as on transparency – presenting RRF data to the public.
The conference will provide a unique opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with stakeholders from different backgrounds across the EU. We look forward to having you with us – via a virtual connection – on 15 October. In the meantime, you can find all our audit reports on the RRF on our website.
Source – ECA