Special Report No 22/2014: Achieving economy: keeping the costs of EU-financed rural development project grants under control

Abstract:

A Special Report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in December 2014 revealed that EU Member States could make significant savings in rural development project grants while ensuring better value for money. While many weaknesses were found in the Member States’ control of the costs of rural development grants, the EU auditors identified workable, cost-effective approaches that could be more widely applied.

The European Commission accepted the findings and expressed its intention to work with the Member States to improve control of rural development costs in the next generation of rural development programmes.

ECA: Press Release, 15.12.14: Rural development: EU auditors identify good practices that could lead to real savings in project grants http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/INSR14_22/INSR14_22_EN.pdf

ECA: Special Report, No 22/2014: Achieving economy: keeping the costs of EU‑financed rural development project grants under control [PDF] http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_22/SR14_22_EN.pdf

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)31: Replies of the Commission to the Special Report by the European Court of Auditors 'Achieving economy: keeping the costs of EU‑financed rural development project grants under control' http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:031:FIN

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