The European Court of Auditors has issued a warning for Belgium in its annual report. Quite some European subsidies have not been used yet by various countries; Belgium may miss over 700 million euros if things have not been arranged by the end of the year.
Belgium may miss out on 723 million euros in European subsidies before the end of the year
Michaël Torfs
Published:
The EU had earmarked about 500 billion euros for various subsidies in its budget plans for 2014 to 2020. The cash is mostly meant to boost local economies, e.g. through the agricultural sector, small and middle-sized companies and initiatives to boost employment rates.
It now turns out that about 20 percent of the cash hasn't been used. For Belgium, this is almost 25 percent, which equals 723 million euros. If the right application procedures have not been initiated by the end of the year, the money will be lost for good, the Court of Auditors warns.
Belgium's former Interior Minister and former Flemish Finance Minister Annemie Turtelboom, who holds a seat in the Court of Auditors for Belgium, says it's not the first time that this happens. "Ever since I have been working here (since 2018), I see that Belgium has major problems to fully make use of the European budgets", she told the VRT.