On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the Commission for the financial year 2023

PA_NonLegDec

OPINION

The Committee on Regional Development calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its proposal for a decision:

1. Underlines that the Commission and the Court of Auditors have repeatedly stated that error is not synonymous with fraud; emphasises that the error rate does not necessarily indicate that the resources have been misspent, nor does it call into question the positive results and added value of cohesion policy; acknowledges that the risk of fraud is nevertheless a cause of concern and should be minimised;

2. Considers that the increase in the error rate for cohesion policy funds is rather symptomatic of the complexity of the rules applicable to this spending area and the insufficient administrative capacity of national authorities;

3. Stresses that the Committee on Regional Development called for urgent additional advisory support from the Commission to national authorities to avoid that situation;

4. Reiterates its previous calls for further simplification to help reduce the risk of errors; urges the Commission and Member States to simplify unnecessarily complex rules and procedures wherever possible, work on a common interpretation of certain legal requirements and avoid gold-plating;

5. Highlights the role of the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in protecting the financial interests of the Union; welcomes that in 2023 a working arrangement was signed with Denmark and cooperation started with Poland and Ireland;

6. Acknowledges that through CRII(+), CARE and REACT-EU, cohesion policy played a key role in addressing the consequences of crises; reiterates, however, that the role of cohesion policy is to bring added value in regional development and contribute to competitiveness, not to bear the consequences of those crises, and therefore crisis repair should not come at the expense of the long-term cohesion objectives;

7. Underlines the need for the new multiannual financial framework to be better designed to allow the use of relevant instruments, outside of cohesion policy, to adapt to emerging needs in the post-2027 period; stresses that local and regional authorities should be more involved in setting the policy’s priorities and have direct access to cohesion funds.