A bill currently discussed in the Greek parliament is putting obstacles to potential audits by the European prosecutor on EU funds for “confidential” activities, news website News247 has revealed, causing strong reactions. A European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV that “there are no secret funds” coming from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
News247.gr reported over the weekend that the bill includes provisions that, in practice, equate the role of the European Public Prosecutor with that of the Economic Prosecutor’s Office in Athens. As a result, the changes seem to put obstacles in investigating cases involving funds, which are characterised as “confidential”.
The website stressed that the bill comes when government spending classified as “secret” has skyrocketed in Greece over the past three years.
Another investigative website Inside Story recently reported that for 2021 the amount of “confidential costs” was budgeted at €54.2 million, but in the end, almost twice the amount was spent, some €97.5 million.
Of these, almost a quarter was spent by the secret services.
Contacted by EURACTIV, a European Commission spokesperson said there are “no secret funds under the RRF”.
“The RRF is a performance-based instrument. As such, payments are made to member states upon successful fulfilment of agreed milestones and targets that represent the achievements of member states in implementing the reforms and investments in their plans.”
Asked if the European Commission could fund a public body or agency which does not make the contracts it signs public, the EU spokesperson replied that it is up to member states to decide on the level of information to be shared with the public beyond what the Commission publishes on the RRF website and on the recovery and resilience scoreboard.
“The Commission is not involved in the national procedures and the practical implementation of RRF-related measures in member states”.
“Greece does not need to provide those contracts to justify the fulfilment of a milestone,” the EU spokesperson said, adding that these contracts should always be accessible.
“Under the RRF Regulation, member states must retain and ensure access to documents for audit and control purposes, to the extent that those relate to the implementation of measures of their recovery and resilience plan,” the EU spokesperson added.
Minister of Justice Konstantinos Tsiaras said he discussed the issue with EU Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi and left the door open for amendments in the following days.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
