An estimated 3.8 per cent level of error in 2015 payments made by the European Union to member states was disappointing but lower than that of the previous financial cycle, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said in a meeting with MEPs today. 

Prof. Scicluna, representing the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council, was addressing members of the European Parliament's Budgetary Control committee.

The European Court of Auditors reported a 3.8 per cent level of error in 2015 payments but gave an overall positive opinion on the reliability of the EU's annual accounts. 

"As in previous years, we conclude that the 2015 EU accounts are reliable but spending continues to be affected by a material level of irregularity," ECA president Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira wrote last October when presenting his audit opinion. 

The level of error is an estimate of money that should not have been paid out because it was not used fully in accordance with EU rules. Examples of such irregularities include missing documentation or claiming reimbursement for ineligible items. 

With the EU having spent €145.2 billion in 2015, the 3.8 per cent level of error means that €5.5 billion in EU funds were misspent that year. 

In the 2014 financial cycle, the European Court of Auditors had calculated a 4.4 per cent level of error. According to auditors' guidelines, the level of error should remain below 2 per cent.

“We need European institutions to send a clear signal to EU citizens and taxpayers that EU funds are to be used in a responsible and accountable manner, with full respect to the principle of sound financial management," Prof. Scicluna said. 

The Maltese Finance Minister and sitting ECOFIN president reiterated the importance of having better, rather than more controls, warning that the cost of control might outweigh the benefits of such programmes.

He called on the European Commission to identify weaknesses in control systems and to take, or propose, appropriate action where necessary.