• EN - English
  • RO - română
Parliamentary question - E-004586/2019(ASW)Parliamentary question
E-004586/2019(ASW)
European Parliament

Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission

3.4.2020

Written question

This EU financed project was contracted after the accession of Romania to the EU. The national authorities were responsible for ensuring the necessary permits and environmental impact assessments. They had to ensure sustainability of results and safeguard the continuous functioning of the sewerage system.

The Commission controls the implementation of pre-accession programmes in Romania ex-post.

The national authorities have not reported any irregularities concerning the project nor has any come to the attention of the Commission. Therefore, the Commission will address the Romanian authorities, for investigation of the problematic issues raised, and it may subsequently take corrective measures.

Following the provisions of Articles 317 and 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Member States shall take the same measures to counter fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union as for their own financial interests.

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013[1] sets out the obligations of a Member State in case of European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigation.

In addition, the Financing Agreement signed between the Commission and the national authorities for the programme[2] foresees that all resulting contracts are subject to supervision and financial control by the Commission. I n case of non-respect of the financing conditions, irregularity or fraud, the Commission can fully or partially recover the EU funding concerned.

Citizens may submit complaints to the Commission if they witness irregularities in the implementation of EU funded projects[3]. The Commission ensures follow-up of complaints. Citizens may also submit allegations of suspected fraud directly to OLAF online via the Fraud Notification System[4], via a webform[5] or via regular post.

As regards monitoring, the Commission applies different levels of controls to pre-accession programmes to ensure the sustainability of EU funding. The Commission considers that the monitoring in place is generally sufficient for pre-accession assistance managed by Member States.

Last updated: 6 April 2020
Legal notice - Privacy policy