I agree when you spend billions on a project you want to get good oversight. I would argue this bill protects against corruption in the form of the EU appointing half the national board, allowing citizens to report not only corruption but wasteful spending and allowing an imposition of an emergency board if corruption is found as well as allowing reclaiming of funds. This is not by any means a carte blanche on corruption I will however in spirit of this concern add an additional amendment
X.If any government is found to be misusing money or using money in a fraudulant manner the EDA and Commissioners may take them to the European Court of Justice which may then impose a fine of up to 1.5 times the amount of the funds misused as well as block any access to any financial support for any schemes from the EU until appropiate anti-corruption reforms are instituted.
Whatever your concerns are around corruption it is clear three already busy commissioners cannot handle applications and this has been demonstrated by the lack of EDA funds given out. I would also be happy for the EDA head to be elected or selected by all nations governments and parliaments in a manner of the countries choosing for their vote to seperated out the grant deciding freeing up the other commissioners to do their main jobs of talking to nations and coming up with big picture solutions. What is clear is the current system doesn't work , as 0 Euros has been given out in 6 months so far. We have 47 billion Euros sitting there just not being spent that is 47 billion euros that needs to be spent and that could have otherwise if its not going to be spent be currently being spent by governments in their own nation states rather than paying an EU membership fee for the money to be sitting in an EU agency account for a year before being returned. Frankly if I gave a department or worker a task and it wasn't done or money and it was just sitting there for 6 months in business without even being processed I would be firing that department or worker yet we are letting incompetence happen here in the EU that is actively harming the European people.
James Mizrachi-Roscoe, Councillor for United Duchies
The Kingdom of Spain
