The European Accounts Chamber reported that the expenses from the Restoration of the European Union created to mitigate the economic consequences of Covid-19, in the field of environmental protection and climate change were overstated by 34.5 billion euros.
The Counter Chamber, located in Luxembourg and is responsible for the audit of the EU budget and funds, published a report on the use of green funds as part of the 700-millionth program of economic recovery from Covid-19.
The report notes that “the EU restoration fund is probably not as green as it was declared.” It is emphasized that the contribution of the fund to climatic actions and the green transformation remains uncertain.
The report reminded that at least 37 percent of the fund should be aimed at climatic actions, and indicated that “according to the EU commission, by February 2024, measures that support the climatic goals of the EU amounted to 42.5 percent of the recovery fund, then There are 275 billion euros. “
However, the report also indicated that this amount was overestimated by billions of euros, more precisely by 34.5 billion euros.
In addition, the report mention that there were problems with reporting on real expenses for climatic purposes and with some projects that were unlawfully classified as “green”.
“during the study, it was revealed that some projects classified as green were actually not directly related to green transformation” – indicated in the report.
In particular, the costs of digitalization of water systems or certain administrative costs were included in green expenses, although they did not contribute to climatic purposes.