Poland is the largest beneficiary of the EU funds. Since 2008 their use has been increasing systematically. From 2007 to 2013, Poland absorbed nearly EUR 80 billion from the EU budget. In 2013, which was the record year in that respect, the absorption exceeded EUR 16 billion.
Even upon deducting the membership fee we obtained the most money of all the EU countries. Besides, we are one of the countries that received the largest amounts as part of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Policy.
At the same time, Poland was a country most frequently visited by the ECA auditors. From 2007 to 2013, they screened 383 transactions concluded in Poland as part of the largest aid funds: agriculture and cohesion. Mistakes of diverse nature were detected in 128 transactions. This makes up 33.4 percent of cases investigated by ECA. It has to be remembered, though, that the EU average is 45.2 percent. Only four countries had fewer mistakes in transactions than Poland: Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium and Estonia.
This is among others due to the national supervision and audit system which operates effectively in Poland. This is no accident that the ECA positively evaluated the system for auditing transactions which were concluded as part of the Cohesion Policy. The positive evaluation of the ECA in this area is an exception among all the EU countries.
According to the ECA calculations, 4.7 percent of the EU budget was spent improperly in 2013. The reasons included irregularities identified in all member states as part of all the EU policies. 2007 was the worst year in that respect and 2009 was the best one.
The significance of the errors identified by the ECA varied. The most severe ones were the least frequent. In 2013, the ECA referred 14 cases to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Those were cases where auditors suspected swindle or embezzlement of the EU money. The great majority of investigated irregularities are of formal or content-related nature. The auditors point to breaches of various provisions, non-compliance with some requirements or erroneous interpretation of a project principles. Most mistakes appeared where the funds management is divided between the European Commission and member states. And this is how two policies with the biggest number of wrong transactions are managed: regional policy and rural areas development. This is an outcome of overlapping management systems, the multitude of legal provisions and - above all - the range of both policies: their beneficiaries are millions of people.
Nearly 40 percent of errors identified in 2013 EU-wide, concerned single elements of a project which should not be financed as part of that project. 22 percent of irregularities was about transferring money to companies which did not meet all requirements. 21 percent was related to inadequate tenders, and 14 percent was related to incorrect estimation of agricultural land surface.
Poland, despite its outstanding results, will continue to be audited by the ECA. This is a follow-up of the EU funds division. In the new budget perspective Poland will remain one of the key beneficiaries. That is why, cooperation with the Polish Supreme Audit Office is so important for the ECA. By the way, according to the ECA it is very efficient. NIK was the first of all European Supreme Audit Institutions to which ECA offered comprehensive cooperation in the audit of the EU programme for fighting enzootic diseases. ”This unique proposal is a sign of the ECA’s confidence in our institution and our country” - NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski commented on the cooperative audit.
