Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden have jointly expressed significant concern that the estimated error rate for the 2024 EU budget stands at 3.6%, remaining above the 2% materiality threshold and leading to an adverse audit opinion for the sixth consecutive year. In a Council note published on 2 October 2026, the four member states specifically identify expenditure under heading 2 (Cohesion, resilience and values) as the primary driver of these errors, and call on the European Commission and all member states to implement the European Court of Auditors' recommendations, improve controls, simplify complex rules, and increase focus on result-based performance indicators.
Persistent high error rates
The document, which feeds into the EU's budgetary control and discharge procedure for the 2024 financial year, highlights that the 3.6% error rate has triggered an adverse audit opinion from the European Court of Auditors for the sixth consecutive year. The four member states argue that this persistent situation undermines financial accountability and the credibility of EU spending. They stress that the errors are concentrated in cohesion policy, where complex rules and multiple layers of management increase the risk of non-compliance.
Calls for simplification and performance focus
The signatories urge the European Commission to simplify the regulatory framework for EU funds, particularly for shared management programmes, and to shift towards result-based performance indicators rather than solely compliance-based checks. They also call on member states to strengthen their national control systems and to make full use of the Court's recommendations. The note does not propose new legislative measures but serves as a political signal ahead of the discharge debate in the European Parliament and the Council.
Trade-offs and stakeholder impacts
The push for simplification and performance-based controls involves trade-offs: while it could reduce error rates and administrative burdens for national authorities and beneficiaries, it may also reduce the level of detailed ex-ante checks, potentially increasing the risk of ineligible expenditure. For EU taxpayers, lower error rates would improve value for money, but for cohesion policy beneficiaries, simpler rules could ease access to funds. For the European Commission, implementing the recommendations would require additional resources for oversight and technical assistance. National authorities in the four signatory states may face pressure to reform their management and control systems, while other member states with higher error rates could come under scrutiny.
Next steps
The Council note will be considered in the context of the 2024 discharge procedure, where the European Parliament will decide whether to grant discharge to the Commission for the 2024 budget. The Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control is expected to hold hearings and prepare a report, with a plenary vote likely in early 2027. The Council will also adopt its own recommendation on discharge, taking into account the views expressed by member states.
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