Commissioner Serafin, in a written answer on 30 June 2026, signalled that the European Commission is tightening transparency and traceability requirements for EU spending in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2028-2034, responding to a European Court of Auditors (ECA) report that criticised insufficient data collection under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The answer, to a question by S&D MEP Mihai Tudose, points to the 2024 Financial Regulation and the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans as the main vehicles for enhanced data obligations, affecting Member States, EU institutions, and all entities implementing the EU budget.
The Commission acknowledges the ECA's special report on RRF transparency but stresses that the Court did not find deficiencies in the Commission's application of the RRF legal framework. Serafin notes that under the RRF Regulation, the Commission has no legal mandate to systematically request actual cost data, though Member States may voluntarily submit such information when revising their plans. The answer reiterates that the RRF already includes obligations for Member States to prevent fraud and collect data on payments.
Looking ahead, the Commission's new rules will require collection and publication of data on amounts committed, including breakdowns by recipient, and information on beneficiaries, final recipients, contractors, and subcontractors. This data will be made available through a centralised Single Gateway website, which will also incorporate the enhanced Financial Transparency System. The measures aim to address the ECA's criticism of insufficient traceability of funds from source to final destination, a problem Tudose called 'unacceptable'.
Stakeholders most impacted include national authorities, which will face new administrative burdens to collect and transmit detailed data; EU institutions, which will need to manage and publish the expanded information; and recipients of EU funds, whose financial details will become more transparent. The Commission's approach balances increased transparency with the existing legal limits of the RRF, where cost verification remains voluntary. The new requirements will take effect from the 2028-2034 MFF, with the Single Gateway expected to become operational in the coming years.