Not all is well with EU spending. Errors in EU spending remain persistently high, and the quality of the results is questionable. Several root causes of the mediocre quality of the EU budget have been identified. However, little is known about how member states plan and implement public investments, and little effort has been made to ensure independent assessments of projects. National systems for public investments vary considerably but have never been properly described or analyzed. Trust in national investment systems will be even more important if member states get more leeway in investment decisions. One recommendation for policymakers is to include in the negotiation package on the EU budget a process to benchmark the mechanisms member states have in place for selecting national and EU investment opportunities. Well-developed national investment systems are a prerequisite for EU added value.
About the author:
Prof. Dr. Adriaan Schout is Senior Research Fellow at Clingendael.