BUDAPEST: EU Commissioner of Justice Vìra Jourová said on Friday that she is ready to simplify rules controlling cohesion expenditure if Hungary and Poland join the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). This is a major departure in the Commissioner’s approach compared to her threat a few months ago that member states refusing to join EPPO risk losing access to EU funds beyond 2020.
Eyeing Budapest and Warsaw, Jourová said that she would propose for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to “simplify” and “soften” cohesion rules if countries agree to come under the new EU prosecutor’s oversight, she told a group of journalists today, EurActiv reported.
She argued that in the current system there are “too many actors” and rules to ensure a better spending of EU funds. But instead of improving the quality of EU budget management, they overheat the system.
“I always want to keep control and order, but I don’t want to enable duplicity of controlling bodies in member states,” she said.
In her view, once the EPPO is fully operational in 2020, the new body would act as a deterrent. As a result, less preventive rules would be needed to avoid mismanagement or fraud committed using EU funds.
