European Court of Auditors

⚠️ The EU’s marine protected areas often fail to receive effective protection, and the EU is unlikely to meet its 2030 marine conservation targets, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. Key findings 👇️

🌊 ‘Marine protected area’ status does not guarantee effective protection 🌊 Ambitious EU targets for marine protection are unlikely to be met 🌊 The difficult but necessary balance between environmental protection and socio-economic impact is yet to be achieved 🔗 Read the report 👇

✅ The EU’s research partnerships – comprising 12 #JointUndertakings (JUs) and assimilated bodies – kept their finances in good order overall in 2025, according to the annual audit by the European Court of Auditors.

Key findings: 📌 Around 800 employees and a €4 billion payment budget in 2025 📌 Global Health EDCTP3 had a qualified audit opinion on payments 📌 ITER nuclear fusion project is at risk of additional cost overruns and delays due to significant and ongoing changes to technical design requirements

📢 Starting soon 🕒 14:15 CEST: ECA President @tonymurphyeca.bsky.social, together with ECA Member Jan Gregor will present our Annual Report on the EU finances for 2025 to the @europarl.europa.eu’s Plenary session held in Strasbourg.

📺 Watch the meeting live: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...

⚠️ The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (#RRF) has done little to resolve longstanding weaknesses in public administrations in the member states, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors.

Key findings: 🏛️ Some €50 billion from the COVID fund earmarked for public administration 🏛️ Insufficient focus on structural issues and few significant results achieved 🏛️ Proposed new EU budget only partially addresses performance monitoring weaknesses

⚠️ Funding for close-to-market research under the “industrial leadership” priority of #Horizon2020 – the EU’s 2014-2020 research flagship programme – was not sufficiently geared towards commercialisation of innovative ideas and products, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors.

Key findings: 🔬 €17 billion made available between 2014-2020 to strengthen #innovation and growth potential of EU businesses 🔬 Funding for close-to-market #research did not systematically target projects with highest potential 🔬 Participants’ economic performance and innovation capacity not tracked

💶🌍 ECA Annual Report on the #EUfinances: the EU’s rising debt burden could weigh heavily on future budgets.

💶🌍 ECA Annual Report on the #EUfinances: under the #RRF, EU countries receive funds for achieving predefined milestones or targets. Of the 37 RRF grant payments made to member states in 2025, 9 did not comply with the stipulated rules and conditions.

💶🌍 ECA Annual Report on the #EUfinances: for traditional #EUbudget spending, errors were both significant and widespread. For the 7th consecutive year, we issue an adverse opinion on #EUspending.

Today, ECA President @tonymurphyeca.bsky.social and Reporting Member Jan Gregor presented the 2025 Annual Report on the #EUfinances before the @europarl.europa.eu's @cont.europarl.europa.eu at their extraordinary meeting in Strasbourg. 📷 © European Union. Source: European Parliament

The presentation was followed by a hearing with Commissioner @piotrserafin.bsky.social. 🎥 Watch the presentation: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream... 📷 © European Union. Source: European Parliament

📢 The estimated level of error in #EUspending remains too high, according to the European Court of Auditors’ Annual Report on the #EUfinances for 2025. 💶🌍

This matters for citizens, because weak spending checks can undermine confidence that funds reach eligible projects and deliver the intended results. It also matters for policy makers, as negotiations are continuing on the EU’s next long-term budget for 2028-2034.

Our Annual Report is coming soon. But what is it exactly? And why should it matter to you? Each year, every EU citizen contributes around €500 to the EU budget. In our upcoming Annual Report, we assess whether EU money spent in 2025 was used correctly, and whether it delivered the intended results.

📗 #ECAJournal | 💬 ‘Professionalism is the key trademark of the ECA’ – an interview with @danielcaspary.bsky.social, ECA Member since 1 March 2026. 📖 Read the interview: buff.ly/nF8m3J5

📗 #ECAJournal | 💬 ‘Supreme audit institutions are pillars of democracy!’ – an interview with Pierre Moscovici, ECA Member since 1 January 2026. 📖 Read the interview: buff.ly/I9xz4qg

“The EU has made progress in building a #cybersecurity cooperation framework, but it is not yet working as effectively as it should. When a serious cyber incident occurs, timely and actionable information is essential... ” — George-Marius Hyzler, Member of the European Court of Auditors

🛡️👨🏻‍💻🌍 EU measures suffer from shortcomings when it comes to detecting and responding to significant and large-scale #cybersecurity incidents, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. Key findings 👇️

🔐 €1.4 billion from the 2021-2027 EU budget allocated to cybersecurity 🔐 EU networks enable member state cooperation, but limited information-sharing reduces their added value 🔐 European Cybersecurity Alert System not yet operational 🔗 Read the report 👇

📗 #ECAJournal | 💬 'For democracies legitimacy comes from protecting the rights of their citizens, also on AI…' – an interview with Michael McNamara, Member of the @europarl.europa.eu and European Parliament rapporteur on AI.

“If producer organisations are to help #farmers to stand up to large buyers and provide consumers with a wide variety of European #fruit and #vegetables, the rules must be simpler, national support more consistent, and membership more attractive.” — Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, ECA Member