29/02/2016
The EU co-finances investments in rural infrastructure with
the aim to improve competitiveness of the agricultural and
forestry sectors and increase the quality of life in rural
areas. This audit examined whether the Member States
and the European Commission have achieved value for
money with the funds allocated. The audit found that the
need for EU rural development funding was not always
clearly justified, coordination with other funds was weak
and selection procedures did not systematically direct
funding towards the most cost-effective projects. The
Commission and the Member States have not collected
adequate information on the effectiveness or efficiency of
the measures funded, making it difficult to direct future
policy and manage the budget by results.
Special report no 25/2015: EU support for rural infrastructure: potential to achieve significantly greater value for money
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