EU spending overshoots by €6 billion
It has today been reported that the European Union incorrectly paid out an additional €6 billion in EU grants with much of the funding going towards regional development and the agricultural budget. Yet again it has been confirmed that lax financial regulations and an inability to stick to the rules was the main culprit for the massive overspending.
The EU has been the subject of much speculation with regards to fraud and inappropriate payments in the past and while nothing has been proved in recent times, the disappearance of over €6billion does not bode well for the future reputation of the Union. The EU budget has increased dramatically over the last decade as more and more countries apply to join with many receiving billions of euros in funding and grants to bring their financial systems and market frameworks up to EU standards.
At a time when the UK taxpayer is literally scraping by, the announcement of this massive overspend could not have come at a worse time for the UK government. This will further highlight the EU Treaty referendum which never was and the fact that many consumer groups in the UK are still heavily opposed to increased year-on-year British contributions to the EU.
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