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

TA-10-2025-0075 · P10_TA(2025)0075 · PE766.940

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✦ 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.

Parliament's resolution on the 2023 PIF report welcomes the report and its analyses, endorses its recommendations, and calls for stronger anti-fraud measures across the EU. It stresses the need for digitalisation, better cooperation among anti-fraud bodies, and improved reporting and recovery of funds. It expresses concern over rising fraud cases and financial losses, particularly in VAT, cohesion, and RRF spending, and calls for stronger safeguards and transparency. It calls for enhanced use of AI and data tools, better protection of whistleblowers, and full application of rule-of-law conditionality.

Key points

  1. Welcomes the 2023 PIF Report and endorses its recommendations, calling for a holistic approach to anti-fraud governance.
  2. Notes a 9% increase in reported fraud and irregularities in 2023 (13,563 cases) compared to 2022, with financing concerned rising by 7.3% to EUR 1.90 billion.
  3. Welcomes OLAF's increased recommendations (309) and financial recovery amounts (EUR 1,043.8 million), but regrets long investigation durations.
  4. Welcomes EPPO's growth in investigations (1,371 opened) and indictments (139), but calls for greater efficiency in recoveries.
  5. Calls for measures to address VAT fraud, including revising the EUR 10 million threshold in the PIF Directive and harmonising VAT gap measurement.
  6. Expresses concern over fraud in agriculture and cohesion spending, noting lengthy procedures and calling for faster recovery.
  7. Calls for stronger safeguards in RRF implementation, including mandatory fraud reporting via IMS and transparency on final recipients.
  8. Urges the Commission to address risks of double funding and overestimated climate impact in RRF, and to strengthen controls.
  9. Calls for increased use of digital tools like ARACHNE and AI in fraud detection, with human oversight and data protection.
  10. Stresses the importance of rule-of-law conditionality and calls for strict implementation, including in Hungary.
  11. Calls for full transposition of the PIF and Whistleblower Directives, and for Member States to join the EPPO.
  12. Calls for continued support to Ukraine with anti-fraud measures, and for sanctions against Russia to be maintained and extended.

Who is affected

  • Member States: must improve fraud reporting, recovery of funds, and implementation of anti-fraud strategies.
  • EU institutions (OLAF, EPPO, Commission): called on to enhance cooperation, transparency, and use of digital tools.
  • Beneficiaries of EU funds: subject to stricter transparency and control measures, including final recipient disclosure.
  • Ukraine: receives EU support but must ensure proper use of funds and continue anti-corruption reforms.
  • Hungary: urged to join the EPPO and address rule-of-law concerns to avoid budget conditionality.

Figures and deadlines

  • 13,563 fraud cases reported in 2023, up 9% from 12,455 in 2022.
  • EUR 1.90 billion financing concerned in 2023, up 7.3% from EUR 1.77 billion in 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 estimated financial loss of EUR 1.86 billion.
  • ECA found climate impact of RRF green spending could have been overestimated by up to EUR 34.5 billion.
  • OLAF issued 2,299 financial recommendations between 2012 and 2023 for about EUR 9 billion.

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