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This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by Lusa.

TCU identifies failures in MRR payments in Portugal

by AI | 10.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

“Portugal has a very big challenge here to fulfill the RRP by 2026. It is particularly relevant because it is one of the main beneficiaries,” said João Leão, the Portuguese member of the ECA.

The audit report points out flaws in Portugal

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) reveals that some milestones and targets “were not satisfactorily met” by Portugal in payments from the European Union (EU) Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM), which finances the PRR.
In its annual audit report on the finances of the European Union (EU) in 2023, published today, the ECA indicates that it has observed that some “milestones/targets were not satisfactorily met in payments to Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Portugal”, as well as Spain and Italy.
In statements to the Portuguese press at the presentation of the document, the Portuguese member of the ECA, João Leão, said that “there are some cases identified in Portugal,” which are “varied and are under reservation,” exemplifying issues concerning “public procurement issues, regarding electric vehicle charging points, and about the green procurement strategy.”
“There are seven situations in Portugal’s case, one of a quantitative nature, in which the milestones and targets were not being met,” he specified.
According to João Leão, it is now up to the European Commission to “follow up,” possibly “asking Member States for additional information or to take additional actions to meet the milestones and targets.”
“Portugal faces a very big challenge here to meet the PRR by 2026. It is particularly relevant because it is one of the main beneficiaries,” added the former Portuguese Finance Minister and ECA member since March of this year.
Created to mitigate the economic and social consequences of the covid-19 pandemic and facilitate digital and green transitions, the RRM finances the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRP), such as the Portuguese one, for reforms and investments until the end of 2026.