The long-awaited visit of the European Parliament's budgetary control committee to Spain ends with a general approval, although with some requests for issues to improve. The president of the delegation, Monika Holhlmeier, who has visited the main economic centers and has spoken with their stakeholders, has expressed a conciliatory tone before returning to Brussels and has acknowledged not having encountered major problems in the form of fraud during the management of the European funds that are being administered by national authorities. The mission has left some "recommendations" related to transparency, the agility of procedures and the fight against corruption. On the reform of the crime of embezzlement, she has affirmed that this was not the reason for her presence.
After three days of visits, the ten MEPs leave admitting that Spain is complying with the regulations in force and with very different conclusions to that "I don't know where the money is" that he pronounced in January. "No, we have not discovered any fraud," he acknowledged in the subsequent press conference that he has put an end to the trip. Holhlmeier has valued as positive the "openness" that the ministries, the autonomous communities or the employers with whom they have interviewed have led.
On these issues to be improved by Spain, the budgetary control commission has highlighted that, although "many of the data are available to users, it is difficult to find them". "The search is meticulous and difficult", criticized Holhlmeier, who has asked the Government "that the information be published in a more accessible way and before".
Regarding the criticized CoFFEE information system, the control panel of the Ministry of Finance where all the calls and awards related to the Recovery Plan are dumped, the committee of MEPs has recognized that "it is operational", but with "delays". At this time, the department of María Jesús Montero is working with autonomous communities and town halls to upload the information used to carry out the audit into the system. "We recognize the efforts of the authorities," said Holhlmeier, although "we recommend that they facilitate their interoperability with other tools, such as Fenix", the European Commission's inspection platform." "It is not yet possible to trace the funds to the final recipient," the German concluded.
One of the main conclusions of the visit, and Holhlmeier has emphasized this, is the fight against corruption in the distribution of European funds, issues that the commission has recommended to the Government to reinforce. The delegation has concluded that there must be “zero tolerance”. A part of the MEPs also asked their interlocutors during these days in Madrid about the reform of the Criminal Code to reform the crime of embezzlement, showing their concern about the change, although finally, in their conclusions, they have admitted that this reform is alien to their visit and that, furthermore, they have not spoken with the Ministry of Justice.
"There should be no assumption for any person who commits corruption", in Spanish law, the commission has requested. "We want the Spanish government to set a line in budgetary control to fight corruption," he added. The Spanish authorities have communicated that yes, that they undertake to prevent fraud.
Regarding the pension reform, which is currently stalled and should already be approved, the German MEP has acknowledged that Spain is lagging behind in this milestone, but has concluded that "there is no prospect of cutting off the money tap for Spain". She has referred to the possibility of suspending European funds for this breach, an issue that she has left in the hands of the European Commission. She added that it is "a lively and dynamic issue".
