Luxembourg; October 2026: Today European Union auditors have warned that the estimated level of error in EU spending remains too high. This matters for citizens, because weak spending checks can undermine confidence that funds reach eligible projects and deliver the intended results. It also matters for policy makers, as negotiations are continuing on the EU’s next long-term budget for 2028-2034.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is urging them to ensure that the new budget model being discussed does not repeat the weaknesses identified in the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the main pillar of the EU’s pandemic recovery package. The new model would largely mirror the RRF. The ECA also cautions that the EU’s growing debt could put increasing pressure on future budgets and policy choices.
The auditors conclude that the EU’s 2025 accounts give a true and fair view, and that revenue transactions are error-free. However, the estimated level of error in EU spending rose to 3.8%, from 3.6% in 2024. They also found irregularities in the €45.4 billion spent under the RRF.
“Ambitious budgets demand equally ambitious safeguards”, said ECA President Tony Murphy. “If the EU moves to a new budget model where financing is no longer linked to costs, we must learn from experience and address what has not worked before, so that EU funds deliver the intended outcomes for citizens”.
This was the penultimate year of RRF implementation. Under the RRF, EU countries receive funds for achieving predefined milestones or targets. By the end of 2025, €237.5 billion of the €359.9 billion committed under the RRF had been disbursed, leaving a third of available grant funds, i.e. over €122 billion, to be paid out in the RRF’s final year. However, member states differ significantly in how much of their RRF grant allocation they have used: only three out of 27 had drawn down at least 80 % of the funds.
Of the 37 RRF grant payments made to member states in 2025, 09 did not comply with the stipulated rules and conditions. For example, the auditors found unsatisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets, breaches of public procurement rules, and irregularities concerning state aid. They have also identified weaknesses in the design of milestones and targets, gaps in the Commission’s monitoring, and persistent problems with the reliability of member states’ control systems. The auditors therefore issued a qualified opinion on RRF expenditure. Furthermore, EU countries were sometimes allowed to make their recovery-plan commitments easier or narrower without providing convincing reasons and evidence. In some cases, the changes were made only after a country had asked the Commission for payment. This poses the risk that countries could receive EU money for delivering less than originally promised
For traditional EU budget spending, the auditors found that errors were both significant and widespread. They therefore issued an adverse opinion on EU spending for the seventh year in a row. The highest error rates were in cohesion funding, which supports jobs, growth and regional development, and in spending on agriculture and the environment. The error rate for cohesion funding rose from 5.7% in 2024 to 6.6% in 2025, while the rate for agriculture and the environment increased from 2.6% to 3.9%. The most common problems were funding projects or costs that were not eligible, and failing to follow public procurement rules.
The auditors also warn that the EU’s rising debt burden could weigh heavily on future budgets. EU borrowing could reach €1 trillion by 2027, largely due to NGEU, while interest costs alone for NGEU non-repayable support over 2028-2034 could be as much as €93 billion. The Commission’s proposals for the next budget would also allow substantial new borrowing to support Ukraine, member-state national plans, and the possible use of the severe crisis mechanism. The sums involved could be considerable. For example, loans to Ukraine approved or agreed since 2014 – including the €90 billion Ukraine aid loan decided in early 2026 – totalled as much as €170.1 billion, €70.3 billion of which had been disbursed by the end of 2025.
The auditors therefore urge caution in respect of future budgets: without an agreement on new sources of revenue, the EU budget could face a significant shortfall, forcing difficult choices such as higher national contributions and lower ambitions.
It is mention worthy that each year, the auditors examine EU revenue and expenditure to assess whether the annual accounts are reliable and whether transactions comply with the rules. They measure the estimated level of error against a 02% threshold, above which irregular spending is considered material.
The estimated level of error does not indicate fraud, inefficiency or waste; it estimates the amount of money not used in line with EU and national rules. In the course of their work, the auditors also identified 17 cases of suspected fraud, which they reported to the relevant EU authorities.
An ‘adverse’ opinion means that the auditors found widespread problems, while a ‘qualified’ opinion means that problems were identified but were not pervasive.
Excluding RRF grants of €40.1 billion, EU budget spending in 2025 totalled €176.3 billion, which is 1.90 % of EU member states total general government spending and 01% of their gross national income.
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