Skip to content
REPORT (2023/2045(INI))

On the protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2022

A-9-2023-0434

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Maria Grapini

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 28 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution on the 2022 annual report on protecting the EU's financial interests reviews fraud and irregularity figures, recovery rates and the state of the EU anti-fraud architecture. It calls for more digitalisation and interoperability of data systems, mandatory use of the Arachne risk-scoring tool and extension of the Early Detection and Exclusion System to shared management. It asks the Commission to reconsider the EUR 10 million VAT fraud threshold, to press Member States on national anti-fraud strategies and to protect EU funds spent in Ukraine and other non-EU countries. It backs the European Public Prosecutor's Office and OLAF, urges all Member States to join the EPPO, and calls for the rule of law conditionality mechanism to be applied to Hungary and Poland.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament welcome the PIF Report 2022 and call for stronger digitalisation, better recovery of misspent funds, full Member State participation in the EPPO and firmer use of the rule of law conditionality mechanism.

Key points

  1. Welcomes the PIF Report 2022 and calls for fraud prevention and detection to rely on further digitalisation, machine learning and adequately equipped, coordinated anti-fraud structures.
  2. Notes 12 455 reported fraud and irregularity cases in 2022, affecting EUR 1.77 billion, down from EUR 2.05 billion in 2021, and says these numbers remain extremely high.
  3. Regrets that national authorities often fail to follow up Commission and OLAF recommendations, and asks the Commission to support Member States in debureaucratising fraud detection, follow-up and reporting.
  4. Calls for support to investigative journalism and whistleblower protection, and for safeguarding media independence and access to information.
  5. Welcomes the Commission's anti-corruption proposals and the joint communication on fighting corruption, and calls for a common approach to assess organised crime's impact on EU funds.
  6. On revenue, notes TOR irregularities rose 7.6 % above the five-year average with EUR 783 million affected, and that the 2022 recovery rate was only 48 %, and 25 % for fraudulent cases.
  7. Calls on the Commission to remove or substantially lower the EUR 10 million VAT fraud threshold and to provide guidance on how it is calculated.
  8. On expenditure, notes ERDF and ESF account for most reported irregularities, that recovery averaged 56 % in 2018-2022, and asks for faster recovery of abused funds.
  9. On the Recovery and Resilience Facility, calls on the Commission to monitor milestones and targets, to apply reductions or recovery where they are reversed, and to revise its ex post audit procedures.
  10. Calls for mandatory use of Arachne, extension of the Early Detection and Exclusion System to all management modes including shared management, and a single database of EU funding recipients.
  11. Welcomes the EPPO's 2022 results, including 865 investigations opened and EUR 359.1 million frozen, and calls on all Member States to participate in the EPPO without delay.
  12. On the rule of law, takes note of the suspension of EUR 6.3 billion to Hungary, says the 17 negotiated measures are insufficient, and urges release of RRF funds to Poland only once rule of law milestones are met.

Who is affected

  • Member States, which must improve detection, reporting and follow-up of fraud and adopt or update national anti-fraud strategies.
  • The Commission, which is asked to support national authorities, revise audit procedures and report to Parliament on conditionality and RRF matters.
  • OLAF and the EPPO, which are urged to cooperate, maintain operational independence and receive adequate resources.
  • Hungary, whose EUR 6.3 billion suspension Parliament says should be lifted only if remedial measures prove effective.
  • Ukraine and candidate countries, where EU funds should be protected against fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest.

Figures and deadlines

  • 12 455 cases of fraud and irregularities reported in 2022.
  • EUR 1.77 billion affected in 2022, down from EUR 2.05 billion in 2021.
  • EUR 783 million affected by Traditional Own Resources irregularities, up 47 %.
  • Recovery rate of 48 % in 2022, and 25 % for fraudulent cases.
  • EPPO competence over VAT fraud involving total damage of at least EUR 10 million.
  • EUR 359.1 million frozen following EPPO investigations, compared to EUR 157.3 million in 2021.
  • EUR 6.3 billion of EU funds to Hungary suspended by Council decision of 16 December 2022.
  • EUR 360 million in fines paid by Poland since 2021 for non-compliance with CJEU rulings.

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