This Thursday, the European Court of Auditors highlighted inconsistencies in the program presented by the European Commission for financial support to Ukraine, in particular the lack of additional guarantees and audit rights that would allow the entire process to be controlled with transparency.
According to a report from the European Court of Auditors (European ToC) published this Thursday, there are inconsistencies in the “Ukraine Facility”, the program announced at the end of June with legislation that will regulate financial aid to help Ukraine in reconstruction and requirements of application for pre-accession to the European Union (EU).
The European ToC considered that the European Commission must “clarify the transparency requirements for the beneficiaries of the funding, while ensuring that any exceptions are notified” to Brussels.
According to the court, the Commission must “limit exceptional financing for a certain period [quando é concedido]with a view to reassessing whether the situation in Ukraine still justifies it” and including reports from the European TOC among the documentation that serves as a basis for a possible decision to reduce support to the country invaded by Russia on February 24 of last year.
The European ToC also wants Brussels to “define a clear criterion for ‘satisfactory compliance’ with the Ukraine Plan” and request its review and modification when necessary.
The European Commission must, in the assessment made by the court, include clauses on audit rights in the European ToC so that this body can control the entire process of financial aid to Ukraine and access the records of everything that is done with money of the EU.
The European TDC also proposes the creation of additional guarantees that do not directly compromise the Union budget.
“In the absence of a provision rate, loans would be directly guaranteed by the ‘capacity’ of the EU budget. (…) this approach carries considerable risks for the EU budget,” they added.
In June, during a conference organized in London with the aim of raising support for Ukraine, the European Commission announced a program of 50 billion euros, between 2024 and 2027, to support the reconstruction of the country and bring it even closer to European standards. , with a view to subsequently achieving membership in the community bloc.
However, the European Parliament and the Council asked the European Court of Auditors for an opinion on this legislative package.
Source: TSF
