Almost all European political parties have violated the rules regarding the use of EU funds in the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections.
According to an internal report of the European Parliament consulted by Politico, approximately 1.5 million euros were improperly spent by European political parties and foundations, out of a total of 74 million euros made available before the elections.
The only parties that did not have contested expenses were the European Greens and the European Democratic Party.
Parliament's audit found significant differences
The report was prepared by the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Finance (DG FINS) after verifying the expenses made by parties and foundations in the electoral campaign.
According to Politico, the data shows significant differences between the initial external audit and the European Parliament's final conclusions regarding the amounts considered eligible.
In some cases, the differences amount to tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros, which the organizations now have to refund.
Problematic contracts
The report points out several irregularities: costs deemed excessive or unnecessary, violations of public procurement rules, and indirect use of European funds to finance national parties.
The majority of the contested amounts - around 711,000 euros - stem from contracts considered non-compliant, overlapping services, and issues related to contract implementation.
The document even mentions outsourced projects that contained "a high percentage of content generated by artificial intelligence."
The European Parliament's press service stated that most identified issues relate to "administrative or procedural errors."
Some organizations requested reimbursements for already covered expenses
One of the most sensitive episodes described in the report involves two parties and two European foundations whose names are not mentioned in the document.
According to auditors, these entities requested full reimbursement from the European Parliament for expenses related to events and studies, even though those costs had already been covered by other entities later on. Essentially, the organizations attempted to recover the same amounts twice.
The report indicates that this practice had been observed in previous years as well, and the European Parliament's administration explicitly asked the involved organizations to abandon it.
Only 130,000 euros are publicly detailed
Out of the total of 1.5 million euros considered improperly spent, only 130,453 euros are publicly detailed in the report, along with the targeted organizations.
These include the Patriots grouping, Green European Foundation, Institute of European Democrats, and European Liberal Forum.
For the remaining amounts, no public explanations are provided, as the respective organizations chose to refund the money without contesting the auditors' conclusions.
How European parties reacted
The Party of European Socialists stated that it "is not affected by the raised issues" and is not involved in the situations described in the report.
The Wilfried Martens Centre, affiliated with the European People's Party (EPP), downplayed the auditors' conclusions, stating it's a routine annual procedure. "For us, this has always represented a negligible percentage of the budget, and 2024 was no different," the organization conveyed.
The European Democratic Party, one of the few formations without contested expenses, affirmed its commitment to "transparency, accountability, and sound financial management of European public funds."
Similarly, the Green European Foundation maintained that "the right to defense is important and must be consistently applied."
The FEPS Foundation, affiliated with European socialists, declined to comment, and several parties and foundations did not respond to requests from Politico.
Fraud suspicions and criticism of lack of transparency
Louis Drouneau, founder of the European Democracy Consulting organization, which monitors political party financing, says the situation raises serious questions.
"There might have been an attempt to fraudulently use public money," he told Politico.
The European Parliament stated that any suspicion of fraud or corruption should be reported to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or the European Public Prosecutor's Office, but the institution did not specify how many cases were referred further.
Transparency International also warns that European financial rules are so complex that it becomes very difficult to track exactly how European taxpayers' money is spent.
G.P.