The Commission on 10 October proposed new legislation that would force EU countries to disclose the beneficiaries of funds they receive from EU coffers. The legislation would cover farm subsidies which alone make up around 40% of the total EU budget.
Siim Kallas, the EU Commissioner in charge of Anti-Fraud and Administrative Affairs, said: “The proposal is now on the table. We hope it will be supported.”
According to Kallas, the arguments for disclosure are “compelling”. “Transparency on the beneficiaries of EU funds would increase public understanding” of the EU and boost its legitimacy, he said.
The announcement is part of a wider effort to make the EU more transparent and regain citizen’s confidence in the European project after the no votes in France and Netherlands last year.
But before the legislation is agreed, Kallas announced that the Commission will do its share straight away and disclose the spending of its centrally managed funds, which make up make 22% of the overall EU budget.
Green Party MEP Elisabeth Schroedter called on the German government, which so far does not disclose the details of its funds, to follow the Commission’s lead. She rejected the government’s argument that releasing such information would damage business interests.
The vast majority of EU funding (76%) - including funds disbursed under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and regional policy - is made available only at the discretion of the member states. So far, only eleven EU countries have chosen to publish the data.
