The European Court of Auditors highlighted on Monday concerns regarding the transparency of fund tracking in the forthcoming long-term EU agriculture budget.

One of the issues outlined by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) about the European Union’s upcoming long-term agricultural funding plan is the insufficient transparency in the monitoring of public resource allocation.

As the institution responsible for overseeing EU financial management, the ECA is conducting several evaluations of the EU’s suggested budget framework for 2028-2034.

The latest review, published on Monday, centers on the European Common Agriculture Policy. Differing from prior EU financial plans, this new proposal grants individual EU member states the responsibility to develop their own national strategies, resembling the approach adopted by the EU Recovery Plan after the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the Monday report, the ECA flagged this as a source of potential unpredictability.

«Such a framework might cause uncertainty for fund beneficiaries at the planning phase regarding expected financial support,» the report states.

The auditors further noted that the proposal lacks explicit regulations on payments and oversight, which could expose funds to misuse. They also emphasized that the intricate nature of planning, approval procedures, and the legal context may foster ambiguities.

«This diminishes reliability for recipients, causes delays in fund distribution, and risks compromising the goal of simplification,» the auditors explained.

The report also points out the unclear timing of payments—whether they will be disbursed based on reaching predefined targets or after actual results are realized.

Negotiations over the next EU long-term budget continue among the Union’s institutions. According to three EU officials who spoke to Euronews under anonymity, while budget figures remain subject to debate, the fundamental structure of the plan is expected to stay unchanged.