Finland: “Still too many errors in use of EU budget”

Brussels –

There are still too many errors in the spending of EU funds, and for this reason, Finland will not vote in favour of the proposal for budget discharge (or final accounts) for 2024. This was announced by Finnish Finance Minister Riikka Purra upon her arrival in Brussels for the Eurogroup meeting. According to the Finnish minister, “the error rate in spending is still too high, and the Commission should take measures to reduce the margin of error.” Finland’s vote against the proposal will have no procedural consequences, as the budget report will still be approved. However, the political message has been sent.

Budget discharge is the approval of the use of common resources, how they have been used and spent during a particular year by EU agencies and the institutions. It is an annual accounting exercise conducted separately by the Parliament and the Council.