On 28 July 2026, the European Commission published its 37th Annual Report on the protection of the EU's financial interests and the fight against fraud (PIF Report), covering 2025. The report introduces a new holistic anti-fraud cycle framework, consolidating data from all EU actors into a single document to enhance transparency and accountability. It covers the 2025 EU budget of EUR 199.4 billion in commitments and EUR 155.2 billion in payments, the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (EUR 1,202.8 billion), and NextGenerationEU (EUR 750 billion, 2021-2026). In 2025, 13,010 irregularities were recorded, a 7.6% decrease from 2024, but the total financial amount involved rose 12.8% to EUR 2.1 billion. Of these, 986 were fraudulent (down 32%), involving EUR 274.3 million (down 49.2%). The report highlights that prevention showed the most improvement, with early detection increasing and reducing costly recovery. However, investigation and prosecution remain lengthy, and recovery and sanctioning need further improvement.
The report is the first to structure findings around the anti-fraud cycle: prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, recovery, and sanctioning. It notes that detection remained stable except for a spike in 2024. The Commission used the report to announce several legislative and policy initiatives. For the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the Commission proposed a legislative package that would make Member State reporting of fraud mandatory and require national anti-fraud strategies. Political agreement on the Directive on combating corruption was reached in 2025; it entered into force on 31 May 2026, underpinned by the EU's first anti-corruption strategy. The White Paper on the anti-fraud architecture review is expected to lead to a Commission communication by end of 2026, potentially amending key legal acts governing EU anti-fraud actors.
The report's shift to a cycle-based framework aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of fraud risks and responses. The decrease in fraudulent cases but increase in financial amounts suggests that while fewer frauds are occurring, those that do are larger in scale. The push for mandatory national strategies and reporting reflects a desire to strengthen prevention and detection at Member State level. The upcoming legislative reforms could reshape the roles of OLAF, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and other bodies. Stakeholders most impacted include EU taxpayers, who benefit from improved protection of funds; Member State authorities, which face new mandatory reporting obligations; EU institutions, which may see their anti-fraud powers adjusted; and businesses and beneficiaries of EU funds, who may face stricter compliance requirements. The report sets the stage for further debate in the European Parliament and Council, particularly on the next MFF proposals and the anti-fraud architecture review.