In the European Union, approximately 11 billion euros of improper expenses were identified last year. It was reported that there were irregularities in a portion of the 48 billion euro Covid-19 fund as well. The European Court of Auditors, established to prevent the misuse of European Union (EU) funds, reported that over 10 billion euros in errors were made in union spending last year. Based in Luxembourg, the European Court of Auditors, responsible for the audit of the EU budget and funds, published its annual report on the union’s 2023 expenditures. Consequently, there was a worrying increase in the error rate in spending from the EU budget last year. While the error rate was at 3% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022, it rose to 5.6% in 2023. Therefore, about 10.7 billion euros of errors were made in the EU’s 2023 expenditures totaling 191.2 billion euros. Additionally, irregularities were found in some of the 48 billion euro expenditures made from the EU’s Covid-19 economic recovery fund. Weaknesses were identified in payments and control systems. Pressure on the EU budget also increased. The EU’s outstanding commitments, which were 452.8 billion euros in 2022, reached a record level of 543 billion euros by the end of 2023. The EU’s total debt, which was 348 billion euros in 2022, escalated to 458.5 billion euros in 2023. High inflation negatively affected the EU budget. Due to inflation, it is forecasted that the purchasing power of the union’s budget will experience a loss of approximately 13% by the end of 2025. The risks in the repayments of the financial assistance provided by the EU to Ukraine also increased the pressure on the EU budget. The aid provided by the EU to Ukraine in 2023 reached 33.7 billion euros, more than doubling compared to the previous year.
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