The European Court of Auditors has issued a clear warning to Brussels: it needs a full mandate to audit all funds from the EU budget, including those currently beyond its reach.
In a report published just before the launch of the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028–2034 period, the auditors claim they lack access to the full range of financial instruments managed by the EU and warn of the risks this poses to democratic accountability and transparency.
The document, adopted on June 5 in Luxembourg, states that the Court is unable to audit certain entities and funds which, although they implement EU policies, were established outside the Union’s legal framework. This includes the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), whose accounts are audited by private external bodies rather than the Court. According to the report, this prevents the Court from fulfilling its role as the EU’s external auditor, “with the consequence that there would be no full democratic scrutiny” by the European Parliament and the Council.
The auditors are calling for a clear mandate to scrutinize “all expenditures” under the next long-term EU budget, right down to the final recipient. They also demand the right to audit external entities that handle EU funds, and access to all new spending laws, whether inside or outside the MFF. In their view, only a complete audit trail can ensure genuine accountability.
The demand comes at a crucial moment, as the European Commission prepares to unveil its MFF proposal this July. The process is traditionally contentious and often pits big-spending countries like Spain and France against the so-called “northern hawks,” led by Germany, who advocate for austerity and fiscal restraint.
The report also criticizes the Commission’s current model of budget simplification. While auditors acknowledge that reducing bureaucracy could improve efficiency and help countries access and spend EU funds more easily, they warn against sacrificing oversight. They point to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) as a cautionary tale, highlighting weak traceability, vaguely defined targets, and financing “zero-cost measures.”
Furthermore, they warn that the RRF lacks a solid compliance framework and does not require member states to return funds if conditions are unmet. It also does not mandate co-financing, which, in their view, weakens the beneficiaries’ commitment and ownership of reforms.
The Court insists future programs must not copy this model, and demands that all EU funding be tied to verifiable results, with precise oversight mechanisms by both the Commission and member states. They stress the need to audit all entities involved—even those created outside the EU legal order—at least until legislation is updated.
At its core, the report raises a question of democratic legitimacy. The European Union manages vast amounts of public money—over one trillion euros under the current MFF—yet lacks comprehensive monitoring mechanisms. The Court of Auditors warns that the current EU financial architecture—a web of funds, emergency mechanisms, and hybrid entities—complicates oversight and creates opaque zones beyond the reach of external audits.
With budget negotiations looming, the auditors are raising their voices: without control, there can be no trust, and without trust, the European project weakens. They warn that it is not just about spending more but about spending better, with transparency and responsibility. The time to decide is now.
Europeanconservative.com has asked the Court whether its audit mandate would also include access to payments made by the European Commission to various NGOs, reportedly worth hundreds of millions of euros, as revealed in a report by MCC Brussels. No response has yet been received.
