The scale of fraud in the EU is increasing. This concept includes both the illegal usage of EU funds, embezzlements and corruption, which may even affect high-ranking officials, as has been shown by the financial scandals of fresh years. The European Public Prosecutor's Office, the European Anti-Fraud Office or another institutions building an EU anti-fraud structure, although improving efficiency, are incapable to identify all specified cases. According to experts, this undermines citizens' assurance in the EU.
– Unfortunately, the European Union has a problem. Qatargate exposed the situation in the European Union, showing that corruption situations are even in the European Parliament's bureau. We are proceeding another gruesome situation erstwhile an crucial European Commission authoritative accepted gifts from any countries and built inappropriate relations with them as an EU official, in short, he was prone to corruption. So, unfortunately, I do not see the affirmative effects of these assumptions, which were adopted by Mrs Roberta Metsola, the European Parliament's marshal, immediately after the Qatar affair – says Newseria Bogdan Rzoniec, associate of the European Parliament of Law and Justice.
The EP president proposed a number of anti-corruption reforms on lobbying practices in 2023. Last year, Parliament signed an agreement with the EPPO, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, according to which it allows interior investigations into corruption. This is the consequence of the alleged Qatargate scandal of 2022, in which 20 people, including Euro MPs, were accused of taking bribes for promoting Qatar's interests in the European Parliament. Recently, there has been quite a few talk about the investigation into Huawei, in which investigators are investigating possible gifts presented by representatives of the company to MEPs.
– We are proceeding again that erstwhile Commissioner Reynders is having terrible problems due to the fact that he is being prepared to analyse money laundering against him. Commissioner liable for the regulation of law in the European Union. So unfortunately we do not have good information here, the corruption situations are in the European Union, OLAF [European Anti-Fraud Office - ed.] not all these situations are caught. It is very sad that the Union is thus losing crucial resources – says Bogdan Rzoniec.
According to last year's peculiar Eurobarometer, Europeans inactive consider corruption a serious problem. 65% assesses that high-level corruption cases are not sufficiently prosecuted, but only 30% – that government efforts to combat corruption are effective. 3 out of 4 companies believe that besides close links between the business planet and politics lead to corruption (79%) and that corruption undermines competition among companies (74%).
The EP, in May, adopted a study on the protection of the European Union's financial interests – the fight against fraud, stressed that organised criminal groups are increasingly utilizing corruption to infiltrate public administration and reap economical benefits. High-level corruption, including in the EU institutions, not only affects the financial interests of the Union and the full EU economy, but besides undermines citizens' assurance in democratic institutions both in the EU and in the associate States.
– We have besides heard of a very sad incidental involving buying opinions for the affirmative Green Deal. immense money was spent for NGOs, experts, professors, scholars to praise the Green Deal, while there was truly nothing to praise or not only absolute praise could flow towards the Green Deal. It besides took a small critical mass for this venture, and possibly present we would be in a different place and entrepreneurs would not complain about this Green Deal – evaluates the Euro MP from the Law and Justice.
The European Court of Auditors highlighted a akin issue in the April report, assessing that EU backing to NGOs is not full transparent. Information on this subject is fragmented and unreliable and there is no clear data on the lobbying and advocacy activities carried out by NGO. Between 2021 and 2023, NGOs were awarded EUR 7.4 billion in key EU interior policies specified as cohesion, research, migration and the environment, of which EUR 4.8 billion was provided by the Commission and EUR 2.6 billion by associate States. However, the Court's auditors stressed that these data should be treated with caution as there is no credible view of the EU backing allocated to NGOs.
– Unfortunately, the scale of abuse in the European Union is widening, and it concerns both the people who are very advanced in the European Commission, in the European Parliament and besides the Euro MPs. There are investigations, there are arrests, there are explanations, but it is besides about spending money on non-governmental organisations, which simply work for any of the European Union's environments, not the full European Union. So I gotta say that those measures that were intended to prevent corruption in the European Union have so far failed - This is Bogdan Rzoniec.
The EP resolution shows that in 2023 the full number of cases of fraud and irregularities reported by EU and national competent authorities increased by 9% compared to 2022. This level is record-high and continues the upward trend over the erstwhile 5 years. The full backing related to these cases amounted to EUR 1.9 billion and was 7.3 percent higher than the year before.
In its resolution, the EP called for greater efforts to combat fraud. It proposes, among another things, strengthening cooperation between the applicable Commissioners, Directorates-General in the EC to make this fight more effective. The effective protection of the EU's financial interests, according to most Euro-Parliamentarians, besides requires accelerating the digital transformation, which facilitates cognition sharing and access to and processing of data. Cooperation between administrative and judicial authorities investigating both the EU and associate States is besides necessary.
– I believe that the European Parliament should have more budgetary power, but we are now, and this must be said explicitly, in a major dispute with the European Commission, which has received specified powers that it has stopped listening to the European Parliament. This is very dangerous and it is resounding on many levels of relations between the European Commission and the European Parliament. In pictorial terms, the European Commission has "took care" of the another institutions of the European Union, is doing what it considers to be done and that is out of the control of the European Parliament. This is very dangerous for the future for the full European Union. For we as the EHR are for the European Union, but the Union of fraternal nations, solidarity nations, equal nations and states, not blackmailing any countries by the European Commission and giving greater benefit to another countries – points out the Euro MP from the PiS.
For: newseria.pl
