|
|
The value of payments that the EC will need to make was €267 billion at the end of 2017 and is set to grow further.The ECA warns that this may restrict the EC’s ability to manage future needs or settle future payment requests on time.
The EU’s annual budget is made up of amounts available to be committed and amounts for actual payment during the year. The so-called ”outstanding commitments” are those made in the current and previous years but not yet paid out or cancelled. During this time, they constitute a sum known as the RAL (from the French reste à liquider).
The RAL has been growing gradually and has increased by more than 90 % over the past decade, with a marked acceleration in recent years. The rapid case review provides insight into how it has evolved and the factors behind the upward trend. The auditors warn that the main challenge will be to ensure than an even higher RAL does not start to build under the new multi-year spending plan for 2021-2027. They identify the risks posed to the EU budget and propose possible solutions.
“For many years we have voiced our concern about the increasing level of the RAL and recommend that the Commission act to reduce it,” said Annemie Turtelboom, the Member of the ECA responsible for the rapid case review. “But we now see history repeating itself. Some of the factors behind the RAL today are identical to those in the past. A high RAL increases the financial exposure of the EU budget.”