The scale of financial fraud in the European Union is growing. This term encompasses illegal use of EU funds, embezzlement, and corruption, which can involve even high-ranking officials, as shown by financial scandals in recent years. Although the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and other institutions building the EU’s financial fraud-fighting structure improve effectiveness, they cannot detect all cases. Experts say this undermines citizens’ trust in the EU.
“Unfortunately, the European Union has a problem. Katargate revealed the situation in the EU, showing that corruption cases exist even in the European Parliament’s presidency. We hear of another appalling case where a senior European Commission official accepted gifts from certain countries and built improper relationships with them as an EU official — in short, he was susceptible to corruption. Sadly, I do not see positive results from the measures introduced by Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, right after the Katargate scandal,” said Bogdan Rzońca, Member of the European Parliament from Poland’s Law and Justice party, in an interview with Newseria.
In 2023, the President of the European Parliament proposed a series of anti-corruption reforms related to lobbying practices. Last year, the Parliament signed an agreement with EPPO allowing internal investigations into corruption cases. This was a response to the so-called Katargate scandal of 2022, in which 20 people, including MEPs, were accused of accepting bribes to promote Qatar’s interests in the European Parliament. Recently, there was public attention on an investigation regarding Huawei, where investigators are examining possible gifts given by company representatives to MEPs.
“We are again hearing that former Commissioner Reynders faces serious problems, as an investigation on money laundering has been prepared against him. He was responsible for the rule of law in the EU. Unfortunately, there is no good news here; corruption exists within the EU, and OLAF does not catch all such cases. It is very sad that the EU is losing significant funds this way,” added Rzońca.
According to last year’s special Eurobarometer survey, Europeans still consider corruption a serious problem. Sixty-five percent believe high-level corruption cases are not adequately prosecuted, while only 30% think government efforts against corruption are effective. Three in four companies see overly close ties between business and politics leading to corruption (79%) and believe corruption undermines competition among enterprises (74%).
In May, the European Parliament adopted a report on protecting the EU’s financial interests — combating financial fraud — emphasizing that organized crime increasingly uses corruption to infiltrate public administration and gain economic benefits. High-level corruption, including within EU institutions, not only affects the EU’s financial interests and economy but also undermines citizens’ trust in democratic institutions both in the EU and member states.
“We also heard about a very unfortunate incident involving buying opinions to secure positive assessments of the Green Deal. Huge sums were spent on NGOs, experts, professors, and scholars to praise the Green Deal, while in reality there was not much to praise or it was not necessarily only absolute praise. There needed to be some critical mass for the project, and maybe we would be in a different place today and entrepreneurs would not be complaining about the Green Deal,” commented the PiS MEP.
A similar issue was highlighted in an April report by the European Court of Auditors, which noted that EU funding granted to NGOs is not fully transparent. Information is fragmented and unreliable, and there is a lack of clear data on lobbying and advocacy activities by NGOs. Between 2021 and 2023, NGOs received €7.4 billion in funding under key internal EU policy areas such as cohesion, scientific research, migration, and environment — €4.8 billion from the European Commission and €2.6 billion from member states. However, auditors cautioned that these data should be treated carefully, as there is no comprehensive reliable overview of total EU funding to NGOs.
“The scale of abuses in the EU is unfortunately expanding and involves very high-ranking people in the European Commission, European Parliament, and MEPs. There are investigations, arrests, explanations, but also concerns about spending on NGOs that serve certain EU interest groups rather than the entire EU. I have to say the anti-corruption measures in the EU have so far failed,” said Bogdan Rzońca.
According to a European Parliament resolution, the total number of financial fraud and irregularity cases reported by EU and national authorities rose by 9% in 2023 compared to 2022. This is a record-high level and continues a five-year upward trend. Total funding involved in these cases reached €1.9 billion, 7.3% more than the previous year.
The Parliament’s resolution calls for greater efforts to combat financial fraud, proposing, among other things, stronger cooperation between relevant Commissioners and Directorates-General in the European Commission to increase efficiency. Most MEPs agree that protecting the EU’s financial interests requires accelerating digital transformation, which facilitates knowledge sharing and data access and processing. Cooperation between administrative and judicial authorities conducting investigations at both EU and member-state levels is also essential.
“I believe the European Parliament should have greater budgetary powers. Currently, frankly speaking, there is a big conflict with the European Commission, which received such competencies that it stopped listening to the Parliament. This is very dangerous and is apparent on many levels of relations between the Commission and the Parliament. To put it bluntly, the European Commission has ‘broken away’ from other EU institutions, does what it wants, and is beyond Parliament’s control. This is very dangerous for the future of the entire EU. We, as the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), support the European Union but as a union of brotherly, equal, and solidaristic nations and states — not one where some countries are blackmailed by the Commission while others receive greater benefits,” said the PiS MEP.
