Summary

The European Commission’s anti-fraud strategy covers the main elements needed to protect the EU budget, but the related action plans are often not ambitious enough, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Reporting on the strategy’s effectiveness primarily concentrates on implementation status, rather than on results achieved or actual impact. From 2021 to 2027, the Commission and the EU member states together manage an annual EU budget of up to €200 billion. Both the Commission and national authorities are responsible not only for making sure that this public money is spent properly, but also for combatting fraud and other illegal activities. Due to the growing size of the EU budget, anti-fraud measures have become even more important, as fraud methods are evolving with emerging trends in crime. Artificial intelligence makes fraud schemes cheaper to develop, easier to scale and harder to detect, while cross-border economic activity within the EU increases the complexity of the fight against illegal practices. Given this context, the Commission needs a strong anti-fraud framework and reliable checks to prevent fraud, identify suspicious cases, and correct problems when they arise. The auditors found that roles within the Commission’s anti-fraud framework are generally clearly defined. However, they noted that corporate oversight should receive more information to strengthen its role. The auditors also found that while the Commission’s anti-fraud strategy follows the main principles of fraud-risk management, weaknesses remain in risk assessment. Relevant information sources – including external expertise – were not always used systematically, and the Commission’s various departments did not always update their anti-fraud strategies on time. This makes it harder for the Commission to maintain an up-to-date overview of fraud risks.