International Shia News Agency

7bn euros wasted in EU in 2013

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – European Union auditors say the bloc wasted seven billion euros (8.78 billion dollars) worth of tax payers’ money last year, Press TV reports.

According to a European Court of Auditors (ECA) report released on Wednesday, the seven billion is referred to as “errors” in budget allocations.

ECA member Lazaros Lazarou said during a press conference that “4.7 percent out of the total expenditure of 148 billion euros has been spent without adhering to the laws and regulations.”

“The commission and the member states need to take more care how they spend EU funds. In particular they need to pay more attention to getting the kind of results the citizens of the European Union expect to see from the spending of the European Union money,” said ECA President Vitor Caldeira.

The ECA report shows that the most error-prone spending areas in 2013 were related to regional policies, such as energy and transport with an error rate of 6.9 percent, and rural development, including environment, fisheries and health with 6.7 percent.

The ECA report stated that the EU budget should focus on gaining results and not on “just getting funds spent.”

 

Source:PressTV

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