Source: European Parliament
The Commission would like to recall its public reply to Special Report 9/2025[1].
In line with the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation[2], payments to the Member States are solely based on the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets[3].
While the primary responsibility to ensure compliance with EU and national law, including compliance with public procurement and state aid rules lies with the Member States[4], the Commission put in place an effective control system which is fully in line with the RRF Regulation as agreed by the co-legislators.
The Commission carries out regular audits in all Member States to ensure they comply with these obligations. When the Commission has identified a serious deficiency in national control systems, and the Member State has failed to address it, the Commission has taken corrective action.
While the RRF Regulation allows Member States to make use of existing national budget management systems, they must comply with both EU and national law.
If a Member State fails to correct a serious RRF-related irregularity (i.e. fraud, corruption or conflict of interest), or seriously breaches its obligations under the Financing Agreement, the Commission can and will apply corrections and recover funds.
Following previous recommendations from the European Court of Auditors and the European Parliament, the Commission has strengthened further its audit strategy in 2023 and extended the scope of its audit work to systematically check Member States’ compliance with public procurement and state aid rules, including the effectiveness of these checks.
Based on this extended audit work, and considering all controls conducted and information available, the Commission maintains that it had reasonable assurance for the payments done in 2023.