The European Parliament mission, which visited Spain from Monday to examine the transparency and effectiveness of the Government’s management of ‘Next Generation EU’ funds, concluded its work this Wednesday, concluding that the Government can improve the transparency of data. , to alleviate bureaucracy and to give more importance to management together with autonomous communities. This is the result of the communiqué read out by the head of the mission, the German. Monika Hohlmeier (European People’s Party, PPE) acknowledged that his statements before the visit questioning the whereabouts of the money Europe had delivered to Spain may have been misinterpreted.
“We haven’t discovered any of its species. fraud or violationBefore the German added, “What we see here is something we will definitely see in all the countries we visit.” turn off the tap To Spain in any way”, Hohlmeier concluded after reading a declaration accepted among the members of the European mission.
German MEP European People’s Party In meetings with government representatives, he read that he was “curious” about the possible impact of the embezzlement crime reform that the Executive is promoting in prosecuting potential corruption crimes. “We demand zero tolerance for corruption, and the Government told us yes, it is committed to that cause,” Hohlmeier said.
European mission
The European Parliament delegation, which has visited Spain since Monday, consists of Germany. Monika Hohlmeier (from the European People’s Party), People’s Member of Parliament for Portugal Jose Manuel Fernandessocialists isabella garcia (Spain) and Caterina Chinnici (Italy) and Jorge Buxade (Vox). They participated as accompanying members of the parliamentary mission and without contributing to the preparation of the final report. Isabella Benjumea (PP), Eider Gardiazabal (PSOE), Eva Poptcheva, Susana Solis (citizens) and Ernest Urtasun (Catalonia in Comú). In addition, representatives of the European Court of Auditors and the European Commission are expected to attend as ‘observers’.
The first vice president on the meeting agenda of the mission, Nadia Kalvino with the Minister of Finance Maria Jesus Montero and with the Minister of Social Security, Jose Luis Escriva. Also with regional councilors of Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, Andalusia and Extremadura. Also meetings with representatives of CEOE, Anfac, Spanish Chamber, ATA, Digitales, Adigital, Ametic, AEB and UGT-Fica. In addition, interviews were planned with four journalists from El País, El Mundo, ABC, The Objective and Follow the Money, as well as partners from the consulting firms E&Y and PWC.
results
Hohlmeier’s statements before his trip to Madrid –“We will go to Spain because the Government does not tell us where the bailout funds are” – they had contributed to the escalation of tensions in what soon came to be perceived as a visit of “men in black” from Europe against Spain. “We didn’t come here to complain out of the love of criticism. We are here to put our finger on the sensitive spot for the good of everyone and make things right.
The main purpose of the visit was to learn about the control and inspection system of money from European funds designed by the Government. Finance Minister María Jesús Montero showed them how the systems known as ‘were.Coffee‘ And ‘Minerva“We were able to convince ourselves of its workings,” Hohlmeier said at a press conference, which is designed to track the destination of European money delivered from Brussels to its final recipient (person, company or institution). , but wanted more transparency so that journalists and the public could access the data quickly.
The government was also asked for more flexibility in the management of funds –eliminating unnecessary bureaucracies– and greater involvement of autonomous communities in the design of spending programmes.
In a meeting with Nadia Calviño, she wondered about reforming the crime of embezzlement, but Hohlmeier acknowledged this Wednesday that it was not the subject of the visit.
different assessments
“I think our visit was overly politicized, and I was finally convinced that the mission was rigorous and technical, factual and not based on political exercises that had more to do with the electoral struggle.” Press conference of United We Can Member of the European Parliament Hohlmeier Ernest Urtasun.
Of course, not all MEPs participating in the control task value the results in the same way. “We still do not know exactly what the funds were spent on and we still do not have lists of final beneficiaries,” said the Spanish MP from the Popular Party. elizabeth benjumea, implying that these data are not yet available to journalists and the general public (Hohlmeier acknowledged that these data are available to administrations and control bodies).
For the socialist AP Isabel Garcia MunozBut the result is clear: “Spain knows where the money is, and now the head of the Parliament and the Budget Control Commission knows too.” Regarding the correction of the crime of embezzlement, “This was not the purpose of our duty. If it were, we would have taken it to the agenda. As the President said, we are not competent in this matter. They just asked the Ministers a few questions at the last minute”.
With transfers and credit volumes that could exceed €150,000 million between 2021-2026 (of which 77,000 million will be in transfers), Spain is the second most beneficiary of this mechanism, after Italy. Spain is also the most advanced country in implementing this mechanism: it is the first country to receive the first fund payment (in 2021) and the only country where payment of the third tranche has already been authorized. This is why it was the subject of the State Department mission’s first on-site visit to the country. European Parliament Budget Control Committee. The Commission will expand its work to other countries.