The European Union's top audit watchdog today criticised inadequate controls over the majority of EU expenditure.
In a Strasbourg report analysing the way the EU's €105 billion budget is spent, the European Court of Auditors said it had found irregularities in accounting ranging from incorrect paperwork and poor management to what it called "presumed attempts to defraud the EU budget".
It particularly highlighted irregularities in the spending of economic aid going to poorer regions.
"Within . . . areas representing the majority of EU expenditure, the court's audits continue to identify (errors) in transactions and weak internal control systems," the court said, finding irregularities in EU spending for the 12th consecutive year.
The court said the existing internal controls were not sufficient to guarantee that EU funds were always used for their intended purpose and by those eligible for them, and that the rules were not always followed when payments were made from the budget.
But the European Commission complained that the report disregarded the fact that €2.2 billion misspent from EU funds was recovered from the member governments last year.
AP