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Cohesion policy accounts for 37% of spending from the EU budget and totals some €350 billion for each of the periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. Responsibility for managing Cohesion spending is shared between the Commission and the Member States.
The auditors focused on the 2007-2013 programme period and also assessed the likely impact of changes in the regulations for 2014-2020. Overall, they found that during the period up to the closure of 2007-2013 programmes, the Commission had made effective use of the measures at its disposal to protect the EU budget from irregular expenditure.
For the period 2007-2013 the Commission also used the measures to protect the EU budget more extensively and focused on those Member States with the riskiest programmes. The Commission’s assessment of weaknesses and the related financial corrections were in substance confirmed by the European Court of Justice.
“The Commission’s corrective measures put pressure on Member States to address weaknesses in their management and control systems”, said Mr Henri Grethen, the Member of the ECA responsible for the report. “However, preventive measures and financial corrections both generally deal with complex issues which take a considerable time to resolve. The resulting payment interruptions and suspensions represent a significant financial risk for Member States.”
The auditors also found that the Commission faced difficulties in monitoring the implementation of financial corrections. The information provided by the Member States on implementation in the 2007-2013 period did not allow for robust monitoring. The Commission’s own reporting on preventive measures and financial corrections makes it difficult to get a comprehensive overview of the situation, largely because the information is presented in several reports and documents.