Skip to content
DRAFT REPORT (2025/2145(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission and executive agencies and the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds

CONT-PR-778123

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Daniel Freund

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 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.

The draft report proposes granting discharge to the Commission, executive agencies, and the European Development Funds for 2024, with observations in a resolution. It also proposes closing the accounts. The resolution notes concerns about rule of law, errors in spending, RRF implementation, and transparency, and makes recommendations to the Commission.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes granting discharge to the Commission and executive agencies for 2024, with observations, and closing the accounts.

Key points

  1. Parliament grants discharge to the Commission for the 2024 budget, or postpones the decision, and approves closure of accounts.
  2. Discharge is granted to the directors of six executive agencies and the Commission for the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds.
  3. The resolution stresses the need to respect rule of law and sound financial management, and calls on the Commission to address rule of law backsliding in Hungary and other member states.
  4. It deplores the Court of Auditors' adverse opinion on expenditure legality for the sixth year and the qualified opinion on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and demands a list of final beneficiaries within six months.
  5. It calls for transparency in Commission communications, including text messages, and for no funds to go to Agrofert or Andrej Babiš's interests until conflict of interest is resolved.
  6. It calls on the Commission President to withdraw confidence in Commissioner Várhelyi due to management failures and integrity concerns.
  7. It recommends strengthening control frameworks, improving climate and biodiversity tracking, and addressing errors in cohesion and agricultural spending.
  8. It calls for accelerating customs reform, implementing new own resources, and improving transparency of defence funding.
  9. It expresses concern about fraud in Ukraine and Libya, and calls for rigorous oversight and conditionality.
  10. It calls for improving the Commission's handling of harassment and whistleblowing cases, and for transparent building sale decisions.

Who is affected

  • The Commission must implement recommendations on rule of law, transparency, and financial management.
  • Member states, especially Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia, face scrutiny and potential suspension of funds.
  • Beneficiaries of EU funds, including NGOs and companies, must meet transparency and eligibility standards.
  • Executive agencies and the European Development Funds receive discharge, subject to observations.

Figures and deadlines

  • Overall error rate declined from 5.6% for 2023 to 3.6% for 2024.
  • Error rate for 'Cohesion, resilience and values' decreased from 9.3% to 5.7%.
  • Outstanding EU bonds rose to EUR 578.2 billion at end of 2024, possibly reaching EUR 900 billion by end of 2027.
  • Total liabilities EUR 827.3 billion, assets EUR 518.5 billion, negative net assets EUR 308.8 billion.
  • Estimated level of error for MFF heading 1 is 3.2%, for heading 2 is 5.7%, for heading 3 is 2.6%, for heading 6 is 4.9%.
  • RRF grant payments reached EUR 55.9 billion in 2024, about half of the forecast.
  • Total exposure of Union budget amounted to EUR 342.0 billion at end of 2024.

Legal basis: Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.