Commission 2016 accounts: improvements needed for new funding period

“We are heading for a new funding period and we need to work vigorously to finish the next Multiannual Financial Framework before next year’s elections,” says Joachim Zeller, EPP Group Member and Rapporteur on the European Commission’s discharge for  2016, as the annual evaluation of the use of EU taxpayers' money was overshadowed by populist demands for postponement.

“The Commission discharge is much too important to be playing political games," highlighted Zeller as the report was voted in the Budgetary Control Committee on Monday.

The report proposes important guidelines for the Commission to better safeguard taxpayers’ money.

“The Commission and the Member States should align policy objectives, financial cycles, the legislative period of the Parliament and the mandate of the Commission,” says Zeller.

He also calls on the Commission to provide the Parliament with evaluations of the current and past financial periods, including a spending review. 

“The EU Budget, as a consequence of the “budget focused on results initiative”, should be presented in relation to the political objectives of the EU’s long-term budget,” underlines Zeller.

“The Commission should commit itself to fundamentally reviewing the young farmers and greening schemes in light of the findings of the Court of Auditors before the next financing period. It must also speed up the delivery of cohesion policy programmes and related payments. The Commission should improve the transparency of migration policy financing and arrange a reduction in the fees charged by the European Investment Bank for creating and administering financial instruments.”