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 expenditures last year. The European Court of Auditors, based in Luxembourg and responsible for auditing the EU budget and funds, published its annual report on the Union's 2023 expenditures. SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN ERRONEOUS EXPENDITURESAccording to this report, there was a concerning increase in the error rate of expenditures from the EU budget last year. The error rate for erroneous expenditures was 3% in 2021, 4.2% in 2022, and this rate rose to 5.6% in 2023. Thus, approximately 10.7 billion euros in errors were made in the EU's 2023 expenditures of 191.2 billion euros. IRREGULARITIES AND WEAKNESSES IDENTIFIED IN EXPENDITURESAdditionally, some of the 48 billion euros spent from the EU's COVID-19 economic recovery fund were found to have irregularities. Weaknesses were identified in payment and control systems. The pressure on the EU budget also increased. The EU's unpaid liabilities, which were 452.8 billion euros in 2022, reached a record level of 543 billion euros by the end of 2023. The total debt of the EU, which was 348 billion euros in 2022, climbed to 458.5 billion euros in 2023. High inflation negatively affected the EU budget. Due to inflation, a loss of approximately 13% in purchasing power of the Union budget is projected by the end of 2025. The risks associated with the repayment of financial aid provided by the EU to Ukraine also increased the pressure on the EU budget. The EU's aid to Ukraine reached 33.7 billion euros in 2023, more than doubling compared to the previous year.
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