Politics
Discharge: MEPs sign off EU budget for 2022
The European Parliament on Thursday granted discharge to the Commission, all decentralised agencies and the development funds.
The annual discharge is a crucial part of Parliament’s budgetary oversight role. Its purpose is to hold the EU institutions accountable for spending the EU budget according to EU rules, principles of sound financial management and the EU’s political priorities. In their scrutiny process, MEPs take into account the annual report published by the EU Court of Auditors.
Parliament can decide to grant, postpone or reject the discharge for each EU institution and body.
With more than 95% of the EU’s expenditure managed by the European Commission, MEPs generally endorse its budgetary management (by 438 votes in favour, 167 against and 5 abstentions), but they criticise the high error rate in the 2022 spending. This rose to 4.2%, up from 3% in 2021 and 2.7% in 2020, prompting MEPs to warn against underestimating the level of risk.
Similarly, the EU’s outstanding commitments in 2022 have reached a record-high (€450 billion, largely due to the NextGenerationEU package). They are also concerned about member state reporting and control systems for the EU’s recovery and resilience funds and warn of the risk they pose to the EU’s financial interests.
In the resolution that accompanies the discharge decision, MEPs regret the “political contradiction” in disbursing the previously suspended funds to Hungary in exchange for its endorsement of aid for Ukraine. They warn the Commission against “watering down” the EU’s climate goals and ask to speed up the pace of investments, noting that in 2022 the European Union fell short of the efficiency needed to achieve the goals set for 2030, 2040 and 2050.
Misuse of EU money by Hamas and diversifying the EU aid to Palestine
With 305 votes in favour, 245 against and 44 abstentions MEPs adopted an amendment voicing concerns about “credible reports” that EU money “could have been partially misused” by Hamas and that UNWRA staff could have been involved in terrorist acts, MEPs urge the Commission to diversify the recipients of EU support to Palestinian civilians and to include the WHO, UNICEF and the Red Crescent. They also urge the Commission to guarantee independent controls of UNRWA.
Alleged COVID-19-related misuse of EU funds
Parliament also voices concern about the alleged COVID-19-related misuse of European Union funds in Spain and Czechia for the purchase of medical equipment and urge the Commission to rely on external auditors if there is a “severe lack of capacity in a member state”, and call for in depth ex-post audits for all contracts awarded without procurement. They also point to another recently uncovered alleged fraud in Portugal involving European Regional Development funds.
Appointment process for the new EU SME Envoy
In an amendment adopted by 382 votes in favour, 144 against and 80 abstentions, MEPs criticise the politicised process to appoint the EU’s SME Envoy “despite having been outqualified (…) by the two remaining female candidates from underrepresented Member States”, and who is an outgoing MEP from “President von der Leyen’s own German political party”. They ask the Commission to select a new candidate using a “truly transparent and open process”.
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“The budget is the most effective tool to deliver our political priorities, to improve the lives of citizens and to act in the face of crises of all kinds. That is why it must be protected by all means from any irregular use, be it errors or fraudulent behaviour”, rapporteur Isabel García Muñoz (S&D, Spain) said. “We need greater simplification and flexibility, without undermining controls, measures to improve the absorption of funds and to make progress in digitisation to improve the management of European funds and fight fraud and corruption more effectively”, she concluded.
Listen to the plenary debate on Wednesday evening that preceded the vote.
Council
MEPs agreed (by 515 votes to 62 and 20 abstentions) to delay the vote on the Council discharge until the next plenary, awaiting a decision by member states to provide Ukraine with missile protection systems.
Find here the vote results on all discharge decisions for every EU institution and agency.
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Commission has approved a new round of 135 projects under the Technical Support Instrument (‘TSI’), to support Member States to prepare, design and implement a total of 390 reforms in 2025.
The selected projects will help the Member States address reforms in key priority areas to strengthen the Union’s resilience and competitiveness and to improve citizens’ lives across the EU. Two-third of the projects are linked 15 flagship projects aimed at addressing common reform needs in the EU, such as impoving the quality of public administration, provide a better business environment for SMEs, or to make energy systems fit for the green and digital transition.
TSI helps Member States to deliver on key political priorities
In line with the key priority to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness, the TSI will support 109 reforms to help Member States improve their business environment, close the innovation gap, build a net-zero economy, and promote the Union’s economic security. For example, the TSI will support 38 reforms in 22 Member States to reduce unnecessary administrative burden for SMEs, to promote start-ups and scale ups and to enable them to be more productive, competitive and resilient.
More than 130 reforms to support the digital transition have been selected in 2025, with a strong focus on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and innovative technologies. These will support Member States to reap the productivity gains from technology towards tomorrow’s economy. For example, with the project “FutureProof Education”, the TSI will support schools in Germany, Sweden, and Ireland to develop guidance for the responsible and meaningful use of AI in schools, as well as to set up AI literacy programmes.
Supporting collaboration among Member States towards a modern and efficient public administration
In 2025, 40 multi-country projects will address common challenges of Member States through the TSI. Multi-country projects promote the development of common approaches and include peer learning and the exchange of best practices. For example, 14 Member States will work together to effectively implement EU tax legislation to modernise and simplify tax and customs procedures and reduce the administrative burden for SMEs.
Enhancing the capacity of Member States’ public administrations and their cross-country collaboration is vital for the modernisation of our Union. This year, 119 reforms supported by the TSI will assist Member States in strengthening their public administrations to effectively tackle current and future challenges. In line with the ComPAct communication adopted in October 2023, TSI will support efforts of the Member States to converge on closing skills gaps, enabling digital transformation, and preparing administrations to lead the green transition.
Background
The TSI helps Member States deliver on their reform agenda in a wide range of policy areas. It provides tailor-made expertise to Member States’ authorities who apply for support on an annual basis. It does not come in the form of financial support but consists of the provision of high-quality and tailored expertise and knowledge and can take the form of strategic or technical advice, studies assessing reform needs, training, or in-country missions by experts.
The TSI has been providing technical support to all 27 Member States to implement more than 2000 cutting-edge reforms in a wide range of areas such as revenue administration and public financial management, public administration and governance, growth and business environment, labour market, education and social services, migration, and financial market and access to finance. So far, the TSI has supported close to 500 reforms linked to the Recovery and Resilience Plans.
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The Commission has today paid an advance of €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to Spain to help finance its recovery efforts following the October 2024 DANA storm in Valencia. This is the maximum amount allowed under the EUSF as advance payment.
Spain’s official EUSF application for DANA-related damages, submitted in January 2025, is currently being assessed by the Commission. Once this assessment is concluded, the Commission will make a proposal for the total amount to be granted from the EUSF to Spain.
Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, stated: “The DANA storm has caused profound devastation in Valencia with hundreds of lives lost and many homes and infrastructure destroyed. Our commitment to supporting the people and the region through this challenging recovery remains unwavering.”
The EU Solidarity Fund is a post-disaster relief instrument providing financial support to EU Member States and candidate countries for their recovery efforts in the aftermath of severe natural disasters.
The funding can be used to restore essential infrastructure such as energy, water, health, education, or telecommunications systems, as well as for measures to protect cultural heritage or for clean-up operations. Granting an advance payment does not prejudge the final amount of the EUSF assistance to be granted, which will depend on the Commission’s assessment of Spain’s application and on budgetary availability.
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Politics
European Urban Initiative: 20 innovative projects selected to transform cities across Europe
The European Commission and the Hauts-de-France Region, as the Entrusted Entity for the European Urban Initiative (EUI), have announced the results of the third call for innovative actions. With €94 million in funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 20 selected projects from 13 EU Member States will test innovative solutions in real urban environments, supporting cities in their transition to a greener and more digital future. Projects include giving a second life to used EV batteries in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and repurposing vacant public buildings for the needs of the community in Košice, Slovakia. Each project will receive up to €5 million from ERDF, co-financing 80% of the eligible costs.
Beyond their implementation in selected cities, these projects will serve as blueprints for other urban areas across Europe. A part of this funding will also support knowledge transfer and the replication of successful solutions tested by these projects in other EU cities, further amplifying their societal and economic impact.
The full list of winners can be consulted on EUI website.
Background
In the 2021-2027 programming period, Cohesion policy has a strong urban dimension, and its support to sustainable urban development has been reinforced to help cities take active role in designing and implementing policy responses to their local challenges and needs.
As a result, cohesion funds will invest over €100 billion in cities, with more than €24 billion directly managed by cities for designing and implementing investments under Cohesion policy programmes.
The EUI is a key instrument of the European Union’s Cohesion policy, specifically targeting city authorities to strengthen urban innovation and capacity- and knowledge-building for sustainable urban development. The EUI allows cities to test innovative and creative solutions to address their specific urban challenges, ensuring that the solutions developed and tested are transferable and replicable across other EU cities.
The 20 projects selected today will join to the community of 36 ongoing projects selected within the previous two calls: the first call (in 2022), which focused on the New European Bauhaus, and the second call (in 2023), which was dedicated to themes on greening cities, sustainable tourism, and harnessing talent in shrinking cities.
With a budget of EUR 395 million, the EUI builds on the legacy of the Urban Innovative Actions, the Commission’s initiative implemented during the 2014-2020 programming period, but it has a stronger focus on innovation led by cities themselves and on sustainability of innovation as well as replicability in other cities.
Beyond innovation, the EUI supports the capacities of all urban areas across the EU. It provides evidence for policymaking and shares knowledge on sustainable urban development, including via the Urban Agenda for the EU and Portico, the European urban knowledge platform.
The experience of the EUI implementation will also contribute to the preparation of a comprehensive EU Agenda for Cities in the course of 2025 that is aimed at taking stock of EU initiatives and instruments the European Commission has put in place over the years with a view to streamlining and simplifying the current support and making it accessible to all potential city beneficiaries. The Agenda also aims to examine how to enhance processes through which the concerns of cities could be stronger reflected in future EU policy making. The call for evidence concerning the content of the Agenda targeted at the public at large will soon be opened at the Have your say portal of the European Commission.
More information
Selected projects
European Urban Initiative
Cohesion Data Platform
Kohesio Projects Platform
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