EU auditors fear higher contributions and inadequate oversight
The European Court of Auditors warns that the proposed EU budget could bring more debt and insufficient visibility on results.
The European Court of Auditors warns of risks in the proposed EU budget for 2028–2034. According to the auditors, the combination of new borrowing, more flexible funds and limited oversight could lead to higher contributions from member states without making it clearer what the money delivers.
In July 2025, the European Commission proposed a long-term budget of nearly 2 trillion euros at current prices. According to the European Court of Auditors, that represents a substantial increase on the current multiannual budget for 2021–2027. The proposal still has to be discussed by the member states and the European Parliament and is therefore not an approved budget.
The auditors assessed twelve parts of the proposal. Their overarching judgement is that the far-reaching changes do not automatically make financing better. The Court sees particular risks in the greater role of national plans, the merging of existing policy areas and the possibility of shifting money more easily between objectives.
One important issue is the proposed financing. The plans include new borrowing, including for investment and support for Ukraine. If new European sources of revenue are not approved, the Court says two outcomes are possible: member states will have to contribute more proportionally, or the budget’s ambitions will have to be scaled back.
The Court also fears that the new European Fund will operate in the same way as the coronavirus recovery fund. Under that system, money is paid out when milestones and targets are achieved, rather than on the basis of declared project costs. This can make policy simpler, but the auditors say it requires reliable information about results and costs.
A separate audit of the coronavirus recovery fund showed, according to the AP news agency, why that warning is relevant. The European Court of Auditors was unable to fully trace billions of euros to the ultimate recipients or expenditure. Among the largest recipients publicly identified in the ten countries examined were mainly governments and implementing bodies; little information was available about private recipients.
The criticism does not mean that the European Court of Auditors rejects the proposed budget or that EU money is necessarily spent incorrectly. The institution advises European lawmakers to strengthen conditions, oversight and access to information before reaching an agreement. The negotiations will ultimately determine how much the Netherlands pays, which programmes receive funding and how much scope the European Commission gets to shift resources.
For the Netherlands, the distribution between joint investment and national contributions is particularly important. The Netherlands is among the countries that traditionally focus closely on budgetary discipline and oversight, while other member states want more joint funding for areas including security, climate and economic development. In its advice, the Court takes no political side, but says that greater flexibility must not automatically be assumed to produce better results.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The European Commission has proposed an EU budget for 2028–2034 of nearly 2 trillion euros at current prices.
- The European Court of Auditors has summarised twelve opinions on parts of that proposal.
- The Court warns of additional debt, potentially higher contributions and inadequate oversight and results information.
- The proposal has not yet been finally approved.
- The European Court of Auditors is an independent audit institution and does not decide on the political priorities of the EU budget.
Left
Arguments Joint European borrowing may be necessary to finance climate action, social cohesion, security and economic development. The emphasis should be on public value and oversight of companies and governments receiving money, not only on low national contributions.
Values Solidarity, public investment, social protection and democratic accountability.
Consequences Less joint investment could widen disparities between member states. At the same time, inadequate transparency could undermine trust in European policy; strong conditions and openness are therefore needed.
Centre
Arguments A larger and more flexible budget may be defensible if the European Union can demonstrably act more quickly and efficiently. This requires clear objectives, independent oversight, comparable data and sustainable financing before new borrowing is undertaken.
Values Institutional reliability, proportionality, feasibility and budgetary discipline.
Consequences A compromise could allow joint investment without a blank cheque, but would require lengthy negotiations on revenue, oversight and the division of powers.
Right
Arguments The warnings confirm that the EU should be cautious about joint debt and large central funds. Member states must take responsibility for their own spending, while European programmes should be smaller, easier to oversee and more clearly limited.
Values National responsibility, thrift, transparency and limited transfer of powers.
Consequences A stricter budget could limit contributions and risks, but could also mean that European ambitions in areas such as defence, climate or regional support are implemented more slowly.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article’s core is based directly on the European Court of Auditors’ advice and the Commission’s original budget proposals. The context on the coronavirus recovery fund was separately confirmed by AP; no inaccuracies were found.
- confirmed In July 2025, the European Commission proposed an EU budget for 2028–2034 of nearly 2 trillion euros at current prices. — The European Commission presented the proposal in July 2025; the European Court of Auditors gives its size as nearly 2 trillion euros at current prices. source
- confirmed The European Court of Auditors assessed twelve parts of the budget proposal. — The Court says its overview is based on twelve opinions on parts of the proposed budget. source
- confirmed The Court warns that new borrowing could lead to higher contributions from member states if new sources of revenue do not materialise. — This is stated in the main messages of the ECA overview on financing the EU budget. source
- confirmed The proposed European Fund largely builds on the implementation model of the coronavirus recovery fund. — The ECA describes the new fund as being largely based on the model of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. source
- confirmed In a separate audit, the European Court of Auditors was unable to fully trace billions of euros from the coronavirus recovery fund. — AP reported this on the basis of a new ECA report and described problems with traceability and missing information about recipients. source
- confirmed In the ten countries examined, the largest publicly disclosed recipients were mainly governments and implementing bodies. — This is explicitly described in the AP report on the ECA audit. source
- confirmed The negotiations on the budget will ultimately determine the Dutch contribution and the allocation of programmes. — This concerns a proposal for the multiannual EU budget; decision-making lies with the member states and the European Parliament. source
Editor's note
It is certain that the European Commission has made a proposal for the EU budget for 2028–2034 and that the European Court of Auditors sees risks relating to debt, oversight, transparency and measuring results. The final size, sources of revenue and allocation remain uncertain; negotiations on these issues are still under way.Sources
- EU budget 2028-2034: The ECA’s view: Many changes may not make it better — European Court of Auditors
- An ambitious budget for a stronger Europe: 2028-2034 — European Commission
- EU auditors sound alarm over billions in COVID recovery funds that can’t be clearly traced — Associated Press
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „begroting europese unie”
- RTL Nieuws — „begroting europese unie”
- NOS — „begroting europese unie”