Latest news with #EuropeanCourtofAuditors
Daily Tribune
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
EU ‘off the pace' in global microchip race: auditors
The EU is lagging behind in the global race to produce microchips, and looks set to fall well short of its target to claim a fifth of the world's market, the bloc's auditors said Monday. 'The EU urgently needs a reality check in its strategy for the microchips sector,' said Annemie Turtelboom, a member of the European Court of Auditors. 'This is a fast-moving field, with intense geopolitical competition, and we are currently far off the pace needed to meet our ambitions.' The disappointing outlook for the European Union comes despite Brussels passing a flagship Chips Act in 2023 aimed at bolstering production in the bloc. Turtelboom said that at current growth rates, the EU was 'nowhere close' to reaching its target of having a 20% share of the global microchip market by 2030.
Euronews
26-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Key labour market challenges unaddressed by multi-billion post-pandemic funds, say EU auditors
ADVERTISEMENT Reforms introduced by member states under the EU's €650 billion post-pandemic recovery fund (RRF) have had only a limited impact on their labour markets, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). 'Brussels uses RRF funds as an incentive for EU countries to undertake important structural reforms and make their economies more resilient,' said Ivana Maletić, the auditor in charge of the report. 'However, in the area of labour market policies, the reforms bypassed some structural issues that are of particular importance for EU citizens,' Maletić added. Under the so-called Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU linked funding for member states to economic and social reforms for the first time, including in the area of labour and employment policies. In their national recovery and resilience plans, EU countries included 98 labour market reforms of different scope and ambition, but the majority did not meet expectations or align with the level of ambition set in the regulation, according to the new audit. The reforms substantially addressed only 40% of the key national recommendations, marginally addressed 26%, and did not address 34%. 'This was really striking — to find that basically two-thirds of country-specific recommendations in the field of labour markets were not at all or only marginally addressed,' the lead auditor told reporters on Wednesday morning. The audit argues that some national reforms had the potential to address structural challenges in the labour market, such as the French reform of unemployment insurance, while others are unlikely to have a lasting impact, such as a 2021 German Social Guarantee. Four countries — Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, and Slovakia — did not include any reforms to tackle the EU's recommendations. 'Moreover, there is so far no evidence for about half of the reforms that they have led to tangible results or impacted the member states' labour markets,' Maletić said. Overall, the proposed reforms have achieved some outputs, but specific targets, like those related to gender equality, which is highly prominent in the RRF regulation, are only addressed by 10% of the introduced labour market reforms. 'We live in a time where resources are very scarce, and we really have to try to use them in the best way and get the best value for money,' the Luxembourg-based auditor argued. The EU's financial watchdog has called on the Commission to create a framework for assessing the results of reforms, ensuring that national plans properly address key challenges and thoroughly checking that the targets and milestones set out in the reforms are being met. 'We are not against this change of approach from cost reimbursement to performance-based, but when we do this, we have to be careful that we have baseline figures, that we know what we want to achieve in the different policy areas, and that we can measure whether we are achieving these or not,' Maletić stressed. The auditor concluded that there is still 'significant' room for improvement in designing, implementing, and measuring the results of these reforms. ADVERTISEMENT The Commission accepted or partially accepted the auditors' recommendations, while stressing that it has 'no legal basis' to require member states to introduce new reforms and investments to address specific additional challenges identified in the country recommendations. The EU executive also noted that the proportion of challenges addressed in the national recovery plans could be higher, as investments were not considered in this audit, but are crucial to address certain types of challenges relevant to the audit theme (e.g. skills development or active labour market measures). The institution finally recalled that measures not specifically dedicated to these policy areas may also contribute to addressing labour market-related challenges.
Euronews
25-02-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Noise pollution directive: a far cry from effective
A study by the European Court of Auditors, released in January, underlined the lack of EU-wide noise reduction targets and also pointed to lax monitoring of noise pollution in many countries. More than 30% of the European population is exposed to noise levels harmful to humans. The young are the most sensitive, with more than 60,000 children in Europe suffering from cognitive and learning problems as a result. The Environmental Noise Directive has been in place for over 20 years but has never been revised, leading to government inaction in many countries where there are no legally binding targets. "Member states are required to produce plans to monitor the level of noise in the busy parts of the road network and in cities. But beyond reporting to the Commission, they don't actually have to do anything and a few governments have been reluctant even to produce these noise maps on time," said Robert Hodgson, who reports on the environment for Euronews. Prolonged exposure to harmful noise can cause cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health diseases, and citizens euronews spoke to in Brussels and Athens expressed many concerns. "When I wake up in the morning, there's the sound of horns honking on my street. These are things that can affect my mood throughout the day and my life in the long run," said a young resident of Brussels. "Surely they could take some measures, they could reduce the decibels produced by the exhausts and use better technology," added an Athenian. EU-wide noise reduction targets missing According to the World Health Organisation, noise levels are considered excessive when they exceed 53 dB; a lower bar than the 55 dB threshold set by the European Union. Road traffic is the main source of noise pollution (80%), followed by rail traffic (15%) and air transport (1%). Austria, Cyprus, Czechia, France and Luxembourg are the EU member states with the highest percentage of urban residents exposed to excessive noise. The European Commission has set a new target to reduce the number of people chronically affected by noise pollution by 30% by the end of this decade. The EU executive also said that it might look into reviewing the directive and setting a binding target if it deems this necessary, but decisions will not be taken before 2029. "We need a better monitoring system and clearer provisions on what amounts to noise pollution and what are the specific obligations of member states," insisted Peter Agius, a centre-right member of the European Parliament form Malta that has been active in this field within the Public Health and Committee. "Some definitions are sometimes vague and are interpreted in different ways in different member states," he added. It's a sign of poor implementation that more than half of the 27 Member States have not provided data on noise pollution, as required by the EU directive. Experts warn that without more ambitious action, the number of people suffering serious harm from transport noise could even increase. Watch the video here!
Russia Today
08-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
NATO troops unable to move quickly across EU
The EU would be unable to move a major military force within the bloc's territory in case of need, a recent report by its financial watchdog stated this week. Bureaucratic hurdles and chaotic logistical planning would prevent a swift deployment, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) concluded in the document . Brussels has already spent all of its budget allocated for improving military logistics between 2021 and 2027 without achieving the stated goal of 'moving military staff, equipment, and supplies swiftly and seamlessly,' the ECA said in a statement accompanying the report. Funding worth €1.7 billion ($1.76 billion) was spent in just two years and no money was 'left in the pot by the end of 2023,' the report said, adding that organizing military movements within the bloc could still face 'significant delays.' Member states still need to file a notification of cross-border movement 45 days in advance in order to get authorization, according to the paper. One nation's tanks can also be outright banned from crossing into the territory of a neighboring EU member simply because they are heavier than allowed by the neighbor's road traffic regulations, the report said. Military logistics directions can also include infrastructure like bridges that are not suitable for heavy equipment, requiring armor to take a major detour, it added. Read more France to double military spending – Macron The ECA blamed the chaotic planning and management structure for the setbacks. 'Governance arrangements for military mobility in the EU are complex and fragmented, without a single point of contact, which makes it difficult to know who does what,' it said. With the allocated military mobility budget spent, there will be 'a significant gap of over four years' before any more funds will be available, it warned. 'Projects were funded mainly in the east of the EU, but the bloc hardly funded any projects at all on the southern route towards Ukraine' the watchdog said. The ECA – an independent auditing body with a college consisting of individual members assigned by each EU member state – has been critical of Brussels' defense policy initiatives over the past several years. In 2024, it warned that the European Defense Industry Program could fail to reach its goals despite a €1.5 billion budget due to a poor balance between policy objectives, funding, and the timeline for implementation. The program could result in resources 'spread across a wide array of projects that may not have a measurable impact at EU level,' it said. In 2023, it stated that the EU was lacking a long-time strategy on defense spending, while also warning later the same year that financial assistance to Kiev could add tens of billions of euros to the bloc's debt due to Ukraine potentially being unable to repay its loans.
