REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2022 financial year
Date: 2024-06-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: EU budget, EU control, EU expenditure, administrative formalities, audit, budgetary control, budgetary discharge, financial year, management audit, multiannual financial framework

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.6.2024  COM(2024) 267 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2022 financial year  
 
 
REPORT ON THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE REQUESTS MADE BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN 
ITS DISCHARGE RESOLUTIONS AND THE COUNCIL IN ITS DISCHARGE RECOMMENDATION 
FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022 

1.  Introduction 

On  11 April 2024,  taking  account  of  a  recommendation  from  the  Council,  the  European 
Parliament  decided  to  grant  discharge  to  the  Commission  for  its  implementation  of  the 
EU budget in 2022. This decision on discharge was the last one of the 2019-2024 legislative 
term.  

Over the past 5 years, the EU has made significant progress in the implementation of the EU 
budget: 

-  The EU budget was used as an instrument to address crises, in particular thanks to 
the  flexibility  and  reallocations  introduced  under  cohesion-policy  funding,  during 
both the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.  

-  The  EU  budget  was  also  strengthened  by  a  new  instrument,  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience Facility (RRF) – with a new delivery model that puts performance at the 
heart  of  budget  spending.  The  RRF  is  being  financed  through  EU  borrowing  on  an 
unprecedented scale.  

-  Based  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  the  co-legislators  reached  a  political 
agreement on the recast of the Financial Regulation in December 2023. The revised 
text  will  bring:  (i)  more  transparency  as  to  the  beneficiaries  of  EU  funds  (via  a 
centralised  Commission  website);  (ii)  an  extension  of  the  Early  Detection  and 
Exclusion System to funds under shared management to better protect the EU budget 
from fraud and irregularities; (iii) more precise rules on conflicts of interest; and (iv) 
additional means to prevent  disbursement of EU funds to individuals or entities that 
do not respect EU values. 

-  The  EU  significantly  strengthened  its  toolbox  to  protect  the  EU  budget  from 
fraudsters,  in  particular  through:  (i)  the  establishment  of  the  European  Public 
Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO),  which  has  been  operational  since  June  2021;  (ii)  the 
adoption  of  a  Commission  anti-fraud  strategy  in  2019  –  and  its  implementation 
throughout  the  period  of  the  legislature;  (iii)  an  anti-corruption  package  which 
includes  a  Commission  proposal  for  a  directive  to  combat  corruption1  by  means  of 
criminal  law  and  a  joint  Communication2  proposing  a  regime  of  sanctions  against 
serious acts of corruption committed outside the EU; or (iv) the recent agreement on 
the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and Directive.  

-  The EU equipped itself to protect the EU budget from breaches of the principles 
of the rule of law. The most notable development of this legislature in that regard is 

1 COM/2023/234 final. 
2 JOIN(2023)12 final. 

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the  entry  into  force  of  the  Conditionality  Regulation3  in  January  2021,  and  its 
application since then. 

-  The  Commission  also  significantly  improved  monitoring  and  reporting  on  the 
achievements of its budget. The Parliament, the Council and the Commission have 
committed  to  spend  at  least  30%  of  all  funding  available  under  the  2021-2027 
multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF)  and  NextGenerationEU  on  addressing  the 
climate challenge, and the Commission put in place a solid monitoring methodology 
to ensure that the EU sticks to its commitment.  

These positive developments reflect the continuous and constructive cooperation between the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Commission,  as  well  as  with  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors (ECA). 

This  report  on  the  follow-up  to  the  2022  discharge  procedure  is  part  of  the  Integrated 
Financial and Accountability Reporting and summarises the actions taken by the Commission 
in response to both: (i) requests made by the European Parliament in the ‘political priorities’ 
section  of  its  discharge  resolution4;  and  (ii)  the  main  requests  made  by  the  Council  in  its 
recommendation on the discharge5. The Commission will provide more detailed and updated 
information in response to all specific recommendations when the 2023 discharge procedure 
begins later this year. 

2.  Monitoring the use of EU funds 

The  Commission  attaches  the  utmost  importance  –  and  dedicates  significant  resources  –  to 
monitoring the use of EU funds, in cooperation  with  national  authorities and implementing 
partners. 

a.  Spending in line with EU values, including the rule of law 

The Commission agrees  with Parliament’s call asking the Commission ‘to make full use of 
the  tools  available  to  address  the  clear  risk  of  a  serious  breach  of  the  EU’s  values  and  to 
promptly invoke the Conditionality Regulation when breaches of the principles of the rule of 
law risk impacting the EU’s financial interests’6, in particular by monitoring the situation in 
all Member States, to identify at the earliest possible stage breaches of the principles of the 
rule of law falling  within the scope of the Regulation, and it will continue to  do so.  On 12 
January  2024,  the  Commission  published  a  report  on  the  application  of  the  Conditionality 
Regulation7.  

3 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092. 
4 European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general 
budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section  III – Commission and executive agencies – 
2023/2129(DEC). 
5 Council recommendation on the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of 
the general budget of the European Union for financial year 2022 (6179/24). 
6 See paragraph 11 – 2023/2129(DEC).  
7  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  application  of 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a 
general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget – COM(2024) 17. A corrigendum was 
published on 23 February 2024, with reference COM(2024) 17 final/2. 

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So  far,  the  only  procedure  initiated  under  the  Conditionality  Regulation  concerns  Hungary. 
On  13 December  2023,  the  Commission  reassessed  Hungary’s  situation  and  found  that 
Hungary  had  not  adopted  new  remedial  measures  that  would  adequately  address  the 
outstanding  issues.  The  risk  to  the  EU  budget  had  therefore  remained  unchanged  since  the 
Council  decided  on  budgetary  protective  measures  in  December  2022.  Accordingly,  the 
Commission  concluded  that  the  Council’s  measures  should  remain  in  place.  The 
Commission’s  reassessment  lists  all  issues  where  remedial  measures  are  still  required, 
including improvements related to  the mandate of the Hungarian  Integrity Authority and to 
the situation of public interest trusts. 

The Commission takes note of the observation in the Parliament’s discharge resolution urging 
the  Commission  ‘to  guarantee  a  unitary,  comprehensive  and  integrated  approach  across 
different  funds  and  legislative  instruments  and  to  avoid  a  technocratic  and  contradictory 
approach across various financing instruments’8.  

Three of the main instruments  that are used to  protect  the EU budget  from  breaches of the 
principles of the rule of law are: (i) the Conditionality Regulation; (ii) the horizontal enabling 
condition  on  the  EU  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  under  the  Common  Provisions 
Regulation9;  and  (iii)  the  milestones  and  targets  that  address  rule  of  law  challenges  under 
national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs).  

These instruments have  different objectives, scopes and legal frameworks, as decided by 
the  co-legislators.  For  example,  the  horizontal  enabling  condition  about  the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental  Rights10  applies  only  to  the  eight  EU  funds  governed  by  the  Common 
Provisions  Regulation.  In  addition,  the  condition  on  the  Charter  does  not  protect  the  EU 
budget from the same misuses as the Conditionality Regulation, although there are overlaps. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Conditionality  Regulation  can  only  be  used  if  the  Commission  finds 
that other instruments would not protect the EU budget more effectively. 

In  the  case  of  Hungary,  in  December  2023,  the  Commission  considered  that  Hungary  had 
adopted  the  necessary  judicial  reforms  allowing  the  Commission  to  conclude  that  the 
horizontal  enabling  condition  on  the  Charter  in  the  area  of  judicial  independence  had  been 
fulfilled. However, Hungary still did not comply with other areas of the horizontal enabling 
condition on the Charter, in relation to academic freedom, the right to asylum, and LGBTIQ 
rights.  The  Commission  has  also  found  that  Hungary  still  does  not  comply  with  several 
thematic enabling conditions.  

Under  the  Conditionality  Regulation,  as  mentioned  above,  the  Commission  concluded  that 
the  Council's  measures  should  remain  in  place  given  that  Hungary  did  not  address  all 
outstanding issues. 

Lastly, in  its  RRP, Hungary committed to  27 ‘super milestones’ to  ensure the protection of 
the EU’s financial interests and strengthen judicial independence. These 27 super milestones 
include  4  super  milestones  on  judicial  independence,  which  correspond  to  the  measures 

8 See paragraph 11 – 2023/2129(DEC). 
9 Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. 
10 The horizontal enabling condition in the Charter requires Member States to implement their spending 
programmes in a way that complies with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. See Annex III of Regulation 
(EU) 2021/1060.  

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requested  of  Hungary  by  the  Commission  under  the  horizontal  enabling  conditions  on  the 
Charter,  and  21  super  milestones  which  correspond  to  the  remedial  measures  to  which 
Hungary  committed  under  the  procedure  pursuant  to  the  Conditionality  Regulation.  The  2 
other super milestones relate to measures to improve audit and control of the implementation 
of  the  RRP.  No  payment  request  can  be  satisfied  as  long  as  the  super  milestones  are  not 
fulfilled. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  thoroughly  apply  the  set  of  tools  it  has  at  its  disposal  to 
protect  the  EU  budget  from  breaches  of  the  principles  of  the  rule  of  law.  In  preparing  the 
EU’s next  long-term  budget,  the Commission  will draw lessons from  the application of the 
current set of tools.  

b.  Protecting the budget from fraudsters 

The Commission notes Parliament’s call ‘for the capacities of the EPPO and OLAF, as well 
as cooperation between them, to be strengthened further and their competences to be better 
defined’11. 

-  Capacities of the EPPO and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)  

Despite  the  very  strict  budgetary  constraints  under  the  budget  headings  ‘Resilience  and 
Values’  (for the  EPPO)  and ‘European Public Administration’ (for  OLAF), the  EPPO was 
strengthened with 33 additional posts in 2024, reaching a total of 232 posts in the central 
office.  This  includes  the  resources  proposed  by  the  Commission  on  9 April 2024  in  Draft 
Amending Budget No 3/2024 to cater for: (i) the participation of Poland in the EPPO; and (ii) 
the expected participation of Sweden in the coming months. The strengthening of the EPPO 
with additional posts takes into account the large increase in the EPPO’s operational activities 
since its entry into operation in June 2021, with 1 927 investigations ongoing by the end of 
2023. 

On OLAF, the 2024 budget provides for two additional external staff redeployed from other 
parts of the Commission to monitor the flow of funds to Ukraine. 

-  Cooperation between the EPPO, OLAF and other anti-fraud actors 

The EPPO-OLAF cooperation ensures the complementarity of their respective mandates and 
avoids duplication of work. The EPPO and OLAF together with the other anti-fraud actors12, 
are  cooperating  intensively  in  tens  of  cases  every  year.  OLAF,  together  with  national 
authorities and other EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies inform the EPPO whenever 
they identify a suspicion of an offence falling within the EPPO’s remit. Furthermore, OLAF 
complements and contributes in a number of cases to the operational effectiveness of EPPO 
investigations  by  conducting  complementary  administrative  investigations  and  providing  it 
with support where necessary.  

After almost 3 years of cooperation, there are several success stories:  

11 See paragraph 12 – 2023/2129(DEC). 
12 Europol, Eurojust, anti-fraud co-ordination services in the Member States, the Commission and the ECA. 

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• 

• 

In  72  instances,  OLAF  has  opened  complementary  investigations  following  the 
opening of an EPPO investigation. To date, this has led to recommendations for the 
recovery of nearly EUR 300 million.  

In  26  cases,  OLAF  offered  operational  support  to  the  EPPO,  including  forensics 
analysis  of  evidence  acquired  by  the  EPPO,  which  in  turn  has  been  included  in  the 
criminal file. 

To  further  strengthen  their  cooperation,  an  operational  partnership  conference  of  OLAF 
and  the  EPPO  took  place  on  22-23 April 2024.  European  Delegated  Prosecutors  from  the 
EPPO  and  investigators  from  OLAF  exchanged  their  respective  experiences  and  possible 
future improvements they could make to their cooperation. 

In  addition,  in  accordance  with  the  OLAF  Regulation13  and  the  EPPO  Regulation14,  the 
implementation  of  both  sets  of  legal  acts  should  be  evaluated  by  1  June  2026.  The 
effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  the  cooperation  between  the  EPPO  and  OLAF  will  be  an 
important part of the ongoing evaluations of both Regulations. These evaluations will thus be 
synchronised  as  much  as  possible  in  terms  of  content  and  timing,  to  ensure  synergies  and 
avoid overlaps and contradictions.  

-  The revision of the Financial Regulation and the fight against fraud 

Lastly,  the  targeted  revision  of  the  Financial  Regulation,  politically  agreed  in  December 
2023, will strengthen the protection of the EU budget by: (i) ensuring standardised electronic 
recording and storage of data on the recipients of EU funding and their beneficial owners; 
and (ii) making the use of an integrated IT system for mining and risk-scoring of data on 
recipients and beneficial owners compulsory in all budget-management modes, starting from 
the post-2027 MFF.  

c.  Limiting spending errors 

The Commission concurs with Parliament’s observation that ‘spending areas subject to more 
complex rules and eligibility criteria are at higher risk of errors’15.  

Most  of  the  Commission’s  actions  to  limit  spending  errors  –  which  often  include 
simplifications  of  rules  –  are  taken  at  the  level  of  the  spending  programme,  as  each 
spending programme differs in terms of delivery model and control system.  

Under the common agricultural policy (CAP), the Commission and the ECA agree that the 
level  of spending  errors  for income support to  farmers is  currently below the 2% threshold 
above which errors are considered to be material. Hence, efforts to reduce the level of error 
are  focused  on  rural  development  and  market  measures,  where  the  level  of  error  remains 
higher. In addition, the delivery model for the 2023-2027 CAP supports the simplification of 
rules by allowing Member States to tailor the interventions to their needs. The new CAP also 
fosters the use of new technologies which should help tackle errors.  

13 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013. 
14 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939. 
15 See paragraph 17 – 2023/2129(DEC). 

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For  the  cohesion  policy  funds,  the  Commission  actively  cooperates  with  all  programme 
authorities  to  improve  their  capacities  to  detect  and  address  errors  through  various  means 
(guidance; targeted support and continuous training; and feedback from Commission auditors 
to  national  authorities  about  non-detected  errors  and  their  root  causes).  In  parallel,  the 
Commission promotes the less-error-prone simplified cost options and financing not linked 
to costs.  

On  funding  for  research  and  innovation,  Horizon  2020  already  introduced  major 
simplifications. Horizon Europe is continuing this simplification effort. This includes greater 
use of simplified forms of funding, such as lump-sum project funding and unit costs, which 
significantly reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries, and are therefore expected to 
reduce  the  number  of  errors.  In  addition,  the  Commission  has  further  strengthened  its 
communication campaigns towards beneficiaries, with a focus on the declaration of personnel 
costs, the calculation of which is prone to error.  

Lastly,  the  Commission  is  currently  reviewing  its  audit  and  control  strategy  for  the 
Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International  Cooperation  Instrument.  One  of  the 
main objectives of this review is to develop a sound and focused risk-profile methodology to 
better assess and address the risk of error. 

d.  Monitoring the implementation of the RRF 

The Commission  notes that, in  the discharge resolution,  Parliament regrets  that ‘milestones 
have  not  been  better  defined  and  calls  on  the  Commission  to  monitor  Member  States’ 
implementation  of  the  associated  actions  in  accordance  with  the  agreed  milestones  and 
targets’16.  

The  Commission  assessed  that  all  milestones  and  targets  of  the  2022  payments  have  been 
satisfactorily  fulfilled.  The  ECA  agreed  with  almost  all  of  the  Commission’s  individual 
assessments.  In  only  a  few  instances  did  the  ECA  have  a  different  interpretation,  or  a 
different reading of the legal basis, leading it to conclude that a milestone or target was not 
satisfactorily fulfilled.  

When  a  national  RRP  is  revised,  the  Commission  strives  to  clarify  measures  and  related 
milestones  and  targets,  while  maintaining  the  overall  ambition  of  the  national  RRP,  in 
particular on reforms addressing country-specific recommendations.  

Moreover, the Commission has taken steps to reduce administrative burden and streamline 
the implementation of RRPs, whilst ensuring the adequate protection of the EU’s financial 
interests  and  full  compliance  with  the  RRF  Regulation.  In  its  updated  guidance  on  RRPs, 
simplifications  were  introduced  to  support  their  swift  implementation  and  provide  more 
clarity to Member States on their amendments.17 

The Commission equally notes Parliament’s concern that ‘the Court, in its assessment of the 
RRF, identified shortcomings in the Commission preliminary assessment and ex post audits 
and  considers  that  weaknesses  remain  in  the  Member  States’  reporting  and  control 
systems’18.  

16 See paragraph 4 – 2023/2129(DEC). 
17 Guidance on recovery and resilience plans of 31 May 2024 
18 See paragraph 8 – 2023/2129(DEC). 

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Since  the  start  of  the  RRF,  the  Commission  has  taken  a  dynamic  approach  to  audit  and 
control.  It  updated  its  audit  and  control  strategies  taking  account  of  the  findings  and 
recommendations from the Commission’s internal audit service, the ECA and the Parliament.  

In  particular,  the  Commission  strengthened  its  checks  on  the  Member  States’  internal 
control systems to verify how these systems ensure compliance with public procurement and 
State aid rules. All the Commission’s audits and fact-finding missions now include verifying 
that Member States regularly and effectively check compliance with public procurement and 
State aid rules. 

The Commission also updated its methodology for auditing the Member State’s control 
systems for the protection of the EU’s financial interests. Since the entry into force of the 
RRF, it conducted at least one system audit on all 27 national control systems. Based on this 
audit work, and in the context of the revision of the RRPs, the Commission proposed, where 
necessary, additional audit and control milestones that need to be addressed before the next 
payment. To ensure that risks are adequately monitored and addressed throughout the life of 
the RRF, the Commission is actively conducting further audit work on a risk basis.  

3.  Performance of the EU budget 

The Commission agrees with Parliament that ‘carrying out ex post and mid-term evaluations 
of financial programmes created to respond to crises, concerning their relevance, coherence 
and European added value […]’19 is of paramount importance.  

On 21 February 2024, the Commission published its mid-term evaluation of the RRF. The 
evaluation covers the five ‘better regulation’ criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, 
relevance, and EU-added value. An independent, external evaluation study contributed to the 
assessment. The evaluation concludes that, although it is not yet feasible to fully assess the 
impacts of the RRF, it is already apparent that it has proven to be a key tool to boost Member 
States’  implementation  of  structural  reforms  in  line  with  the  European  Semester’s  country-
specific  recommendations.  However,  it  also  appears  that  the  RRF  has  not  so  far  led  to  the 
administrative simplification that some Member States had hoped for.  

The  preliminary  evaluation  of  the  support  provided  under  the  Coronavirus  Response 
Investment  Initiatives  (CRII  and  CRII+)20  to  respond  to  the  impacts  of  the  COVID-19 
pandemic has shown that this support led to the efficient use of unspent funds from both the 
European Social Fund and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived. The flexibilities 
offered  to  Member  States  to  adapt  their  programmes  resulted  in  the  redirection  of  almost 
EUR 24 billion in cohesion-policy funding.  

By the start of 2025, the Commission will also issue evaluations of the other instruments put 
in place under cohesion-policy funding to address recent crises21. 

The Commission is also acting on the Council’s call ‘to increase the focus on results-based 
performance indicators that can be directly linked to the EU actions’22.  

19 See paragraph 7 – 2023/2129(DEC). 
20 Preliminary evaluation of the support provided by ESF and FEAD under the Coronavirus Response 
Investment Initiatives (CRII and CRII+) – SWD(2023) 249. 
21 The Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), the CARE+, the Flexible Assistance to Territories 
(FAST-CARE) and the Supporting Affordable Energy (SAFE) measures. 
22 See paragraph 3 of the Council discharge’s recommendation (6179/24). 

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The  Commission  reports  on  the  2021-2027  core  performance  indicators23  by  spending 
programme  in  the  programme-performance  statements,  which  are  part  of  the  Annual 
Management  and  Performance  Report.  45%  of 
indicators  are  results-based, 
demonstrating a strong emphasis on results.  

these 

In  addition,  in  December  2023,  the  Commission  unveiled  the  first  impact  report  for  the 
NextGenerationEU green bonds24. This report measured the concrete climate impact of the 
investments  financed  by  those  green  bonds  in  terms  of  greenhouse-gas  emissions  that  have 
been avoided.  

Lastly, the Commission also shares Parliament’s view on the ‘importance of continuing the 
efforts made in gender budgeting’25. 

The  Commission  has  integrated  cross-policy  priorities  into  the  EU  budget,  including  the 
priority  of  promoting  gender  equality.  In  2022,  the  Commission  issued  a  methodology  to 
quantify  EU  budget  expenditure  supporting  gender  equality.  This  methodology  has  been 
applied to the entire EU budget since the 2023 draft budget.  

4.  Outstanding  budgetary  commitments  –  ‘reste  à  liquider’  (RAL)  and  measures  to 

speed up the implementation of EU funds 

The Commission notes that, in the discharge resolution, Parliament ‘is concerned that the late 
adoption of several sectoral regulations governing different EU policies, such as the cohesion 
policy, resulted in a significant delay in the implementation of the 2021-2027 programming 
period’  and  that  it  ‘calls  on  the  Commission  to  indicate  to  the  discharge  authority  which 
measures it intends to take to address this situation’26.  

Outstanding  commitments  (commonly  referred  to  as  ‘the  RAL’  –  reste  à  liquider)  are 
amounts  that  have  been  committed  but  not  yet  paid.  The  total  RAL  stood  at  EUR  543.0 
billion  at  the  end  of  2023.  The  non-repayable  part  of  NextGenerationEU  contributed  EUR 
238.6 billion, which represents almost 44% of the total RAL27.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  overall  level  of 
outstanding  commitments  and  will  also  continue  to  propose,  during  the  annual  budgetary 
procedures, levels of payment appropriations that adequately meet payment needs.  

Some far-reaching simplifications were adopted in the Common Provisions Regulation and 
as part of the new legislative framework for the CAP (in particular thanks to its new delivery 
model). 

23  Core  performance  indicators  are  listed  in  the  annex  of  the  regulations  underpinning  each  spending 
programme.  
24 European Commission, Directorate-General for Budget, Green bonds – Impact and allocation report – NGEU 
report 2023, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023. 
25 See paragraph 16 - 2023/2129(DEC). 
26 See paragraph 18 - 2023/2129(DEC). 
27 Further information on the level of the RAL is included in: (i) the EU’s 2023 annual accounts; (ii) Working 
Document  V  attached  to  the  2025  Draft  Budget;  and  (iii)  the  annual  report  on  the  long-term  forecast  on  the 
future inflows and outflows of the 2025-2029 EU budget. The Commission also provides relevant information 
to the Parliament and the Council during dedicated meetings three times a year. 

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The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)28 provides additional flexibilities 
for  spending  dedicated  to  one  of  the  three  priorities  of  the  platform  across  11  EU 
programmes.  Right  after  the  entry  into  force  of  the  STEP  Regulation29,  the  Commission 
started  providing  support  and  guidance  to  Member  States  –  through  meetings,  replies  to 
written  questions  and  webinars  –  on  the  functioning  of  STEP  to  make  the  most  of  the 
flexibilities provided. As mandated by the co-legislators, the Commission issued guidance30 
in May 2024 on certain provisions of the STEP Regulation, including clarifying its objectives 
and  sectors,  and  illustrating  the  conditions  for  technologies  to  be  considered  critical  under 
STEP. 

On Parliament’s call ‘on the Commission to take initiatives, such as technical assistance, to 
increase  the  absorption  rate  in  the  Member  States  on  a  permanent  basis’  and  to  ‘closely 
monitor  the  progress  of  implementation  in  Member  States  […]  and  to  deliver  a  country-
analysis  to  the  discharge  authority,  identifying  the  recurrent  problems,  as  well  as  the 
measures  taken  to  optimise  the  situation’31,  the  Commission  stresses  that  absorption 
patterns  vary  significantly  across  management  modes,  programmes  and  Member 
States.  

For  programmes  implemented  with  national  authorities,  the  Commission  helps  strengthen 
their  administrative  capacity  and  address  bottlenecks  in  investments  in  many  ways,  be  it 
through  technical  assistance  in  cohesion  policy,  the  technical  support  instrument32,  or 
measures supported by the RRF.  

In  addition,  following  the  adoption  of  the  2021-2027  cohesion-policy  programmes,  the 
Commission is participating in the work of the programmes’ monitoring committees. If 
there is any indication of issues hindering smooth implementation, the Commission provides 
advice  to  –  and  cooperates  with  –  the  Member  State  concerned  until  the  issue  is  resolved. 
Action  plans  can  be  agreed  with  the  Member  States  if  the  programmes  or  parts  of  the 
programmes are being implemented slowly.  

The  submission  of  data  to  the  Commission  on  the  implementation  of  programmes  falling 
under  the  Common  Provisions  Regulation  is  required  more  frequently  than  in  the  previous 
programming  period.  Data  must  now  be  submitted  five  times  per  year,  providing  the 
Commission  with  almost  real-time  data  on  implementation  progress  and  enabling  it  to 
promptly increase its support to Member States.  

Detailed  absorption  data  by  country  are  made  available  by  spending  programme.  For  the 
biggest  programmes,  information  can  be  found  under:  (i)  the  Recovery  and  Resilience 
Facility’s scoreboard; (ii) the cohesion open data platform33 and (iii) the Horizon dashboard.  

28  The  Strategic  Technologies  for  Europe  Platform  (STEP)  was  set  up  in  March  2024  to  support  European 
Industry and boost investment in critical technologies in Europe. STEP will raise and steer funding across 11 EU 
programmes  to  3  target  investment  areas:  (i)  Digital  technologies  and  deep-tech  innovation;  (ii)  Clean  and 
resource efficient technologies; and (iii) Biotechnologies.  
29 Regulation (EU) 2024/795. 
30 C/2024/3148. 
31 See paragraph 19 – 2023/2129(DEC). 
32 As set up by Regulation (EU) 2017/825.  
33 Covering cohesion-policy funding, the 2014-2022 and 2023-2027 European Agricultural Fund for Rural 
Development and the 2023-2027 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund.  

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5.  Looking ahead 

Lessons learnt from past discharge procedures  can inform reflections on the next long-term 
EU  budget.  One  of  the  key  takeaways  from  previous  discharges  is  that  the  way  funds  are 
disbursed  has  a  direct  impact  on  the  risk  of  error.  Complex  rules  and  too-rigid  delivery 
models are responsible for both: (i) a large share of spending errors; and (ii) putting pressure 
on the administrative capacity of those implementing the budget and those benefiting from it.  

The  preparation  of  the  next  MFF  will  represent  an  opportunity  to  explore  ways  to  further 
simplify  delivery  mechanisms,  reduce  the  administrative  burden  on  EU  and  national 
authorities  in  charge  of  implementing  the  budget,  as  well  as  the  administrative  burden  on 
beneficiaries,  while  keeping  a  strong  focus  on  sound  financial  management  and  on  the 
performance of the EU budget. 

* * * 

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