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REPORT (2024/2083(INI))

On the protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2023

A-10-2025-0049

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Gilles Boyer

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This resolution on the 2023 PIF report welcomes the report and its findings, and calls for stronger anti-fraud measures, better governance of the anti-fraud architecture, and more transparency and digitalisation. It notes increases in reported fraud and irregularities, and urges better recovery of funds, stronger cooperation between EU bodies and member states, and action against organised crime and corruption. It calls for improved reporting on RRF funds, including mandatory reporting via IMS, and for safeguards against double funding and fraud in future EU funding instruments. It stresses the importance of digitalisation and AI in fighting fraud, and calls for new tools and cooperation to counter AI-enabled fraud. It reiterates concerns about rule of law issues in some member states and calls for full use of conditionality mechanisms and infringement procedures.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament adopt this resolution, which welcomes the 2023 PIF report and calls for strengthened anti-fraud measures, better governance, and more transparency.

Key points

  1. Welcomes the 2023 PIF Report and endorses its recommendations, calling for accelerated digitalisation and better governance of the anti-fraud architecture.
  2. Notes a 9% increase in reported fraud and irregularities in 2023 (13,563 cases) compared to 2022, with financing concerned up 7.3% to EUR 1.90 billion.
  3. Calls for stronger cooperation between EU and national authorities, and for a holistic approach in PIF reports to cover all anti-fraud actors.
  4. Welcomes OLAF's performance, including more recommendations (309) and higher amounts recommended for recovery (EUR 1,043.8 million), and calls for better follow-up on recoveries.
  5. Welcomes EPPO's increased activities (1,371 investigations opened in 2023) and calls for greater efficiency and adequate resources for all anti-fraud bodies.
  6. Expresses concern about organised crime's role in fraud, and calls for a new common definition of organised crime and revision of relevant EU legislation.
  7. Calls for better reporting and recovery of VAT fraud, and for reconsidering the EUR 10 million threshold in the PIF Directive that limits EPPO action.
  8. Calls for speeding up recovery of irregular expenditure, with clear deadlines and penalties, and for better data on recovery rates.
  9. Calls for mandatory fraud reporting via IMS for all RRF-related cases, and for transparency on final recipients of RRF funds.
  10. Calls for stronger controls on 'zero-cost' measures and for measures to prevent double funding in the RRF and future instruments.
  11. Calls for integrating AI into anti-fraud efforts, including a dedicated EU-wide initiative and task force to combat AI-enabled fraud.
  12. Calls for strict implementation of rule of law conditionality and for the Commission to use all tools, including infringement procedures, to protect EU funds.

Who is affected

  • Member states: must improve reporting, recovery, and cooperation with EU bodies, and implement anti-fraud strategies and directives.
  • EU institutions (Commission, OLAF, EPPO): called on to enhance cooperation, digitalisation, and transparency in managing EU funds.
  • Beneficiaries of EU funds: subject to stricter transparency and reporting requirements, especially for RRF and cohesion funds.
  • Civil society and media: supported in raising awareness, but also subject to transparency checks in lobbying and funding.

Figures and deadlines

  • 13,563 cases of fraud and irregularities reported in 2023, up 9% from 2022.
  • EUR 1.90 billion in financing concerned in 2023, up 7.3% from 2022.
  • OLAF issued 309 recommendations in 2023, up from 275 in 2022.
  • OLAF recommended EUR 1,043.8 million for recovery in 2023, up from EUR 426.8 million in 2022.
  • EPPO opened 1,371 investigations in 2023, up from 865 in 2022.
  • EPPO reported 233 investigations into recovery and resilience programmes, with an estimated financial loss of EUR 1.86 billion.
  • In 2023, 81 cases of TOR losses were not satisfactorily demonstrated, amounting to almost EUR 69 million.
  • Recovery rates for undue expenditure: 34% for shared management, 11% for indirect, and 22% for direct management.

Legal basis: Articles 310(6) and 325(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union