The EU’s control system over more than a third of its budget has failed in recent years to significantly curb spending errors, auditors in Luxembourg said in a report published today (8 July) – meaning that cohesion money is not being spent according to the EU and national rules. 

“We see that the Commission’s and member states system checks are not robust enough,” Helga Berger, the lead auditor, told Euronews.     

In the 2014-2020 budget cycle, the overall error rate in cohesion spending fell from 6% to 4.8% – an improvement, but still well above the 2% threshold.   

“The system should prevent errors, but if errors happen, the system should help to detect and correct them,” Berger noted, indicating substantial room for improvement in cohesion policy. 

There are three levels of control over EU cohesion funds. First, cohesion spending is checked by the national managing authorities, then by the member states’ audit authorities, and thirdly by the Commission, which is ultimately responsible for implementing the EU budget.     

Despite these layers of oversight, the ECA’s external auditors found 171 additional cases of errors, 170 of which could have been prevented by the audit authorities.  

Spain, Germany, and Portugal were found to have a disproportionate number of errors relative to the funds received.  

“We consider that these three member states in particular need to strengthen the detection capacity of their audit authorities, supported by the Commission,” the report stated.  

The EU auditors identified three root causes of irregularities in cohesion spending: inadequate management by member states, negligence or suspected deliberate non-compliance by beneficiaries, and problems with the interpretation of the rules.   

“Managing authorities are very decisive here,” Berger stressed. If these authorities fail to identify problems, subsequent checks depend on the effectiveness of the previous ones. 

The auditors estimated that national managing authorities could have prevented more than a third of the errors found between 2017 and 2022. 

EU Commission has work to do, say auditors

While campaigning for a second mandate, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pledged to simplify the EU budget, eliminate redundancies, and enhance efficiency. She even hinted at the possibility of linking the hundreds of billions of cohesion funds to economic reforms.  

However, the EU auditors cautioned that the Commission must improve its tools for detecting, preventing, and correcting errors in cohesion spending (which currently amounts to €392bn) to make these funds more effective. 

For example, the auditors recommend providing clearer guidance to member states, simplifying the rules, and conducting more compliance checks.  

“The Commission is currently focusing on a lot of desk audits,” Berger said, noting that these are insufficient for detecting erroneous spending. 

Berger emphasized the need for more compliance audits, as they offer greater value but are currently limited in number.  

“Both the Commission and the member states should work hand in hand with all players in the field to improve the system,” the lead auditor concluded.  

The EU executive does not have to give an official response to the review, as it does with its audit reports – but the auditors claim that despite some disagreement over the robustness of the control system, the Commission agrees that the error rate is above the 2% threshold.

Marvel has unveiled the first trailer for “Agatha All Along,” the upcoming spinoff of the hit Disney+ series “WandaVision.”

Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as Agatha Harkness in the “WandaVision” spinoff series. Jac Schaeffer, head writer of “WandaVision,” serves as executive producer and head writer for the show. Variety exclusively broke the news on the upcoming Marvel series for Disney+ back in October 2021.

The official logline reads: “The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road.”

The cast includes Aubrey Plaza as the witch Rio Vidal; Joe Locke as Billy Kaplan; Patti LuPone as Lilia Calderu, a 450-year-old witch; Sasheer Zamata as the sorceress Jennifer Kale; Ali Ahn; Debra Jo Rupp and more. The trailer mashes together genres as it begins like a hardboiled murder mystery with Hahn playing a detective investigating Wanda’s dead body (after she seemingly died at the end of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”). Then all sorts of witch mayhem ensues, and Agatha reunites with some old sorceress pals to regain her power.

In “WandaVision,” Hahn is first introduced as Agnes, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision’s (Paul Bettany) nosy neighbor in Westview. Eventually, she reveals her true identity as Agatha, a powerful witch who has lived for centuries due to her magical abilities. After an epic fight in the “WandaVision” finale between Agatha and Wanda, the superhero uses her powers to trap Agatha as her fake persona Agnes.

Before the title was revealed to be “Agatha All Along,” Marvel built up mystery around the series by calling it “Agatha: House of Harkness,” “Coven of Chaos,” “Darkhold Diaries” and “The Lying Witch With Great Wardrobe” — but it was clear Agatha was up to her witchy antics and fiddling with the title.

The hit song “Agatha All Along,” written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, also became an internet sensation after its debut in the seventh episode of “WandaVision.” Although the return of “Agatha All Along” for the spinoff has not been confirmed, the Oscar-winning songwriters spoke to Variety about the inspiration behind the iconic melody. 

“Agatha All Along” will debut with two episodes on Sept. 18 on Disney+. Watch the trailer below. 

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his first visit to Russia since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
• India’s relationship with Russia has become more fraught since Russia invaded Ukraine. India has maintained a neutral stance toward the conflict, advocating for a peaceful solution. Russia has grown closer to India’s rival, China.
• Russia is an important trading partner and defense supplier for India. Russian gear comprises some 60% of India’s military equipment, a researcher said. More than 40% of India’s oil imports come from Russia, according to analysts.

India’s prime minister begins a two-day visit to Russia on Monday, his first since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, a war that has complicated the relationship between the longtime partners and pushed Russia closer to India’s rival China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit will include a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, whom he last saw in Russia in 2019, in the far eastern port of Vladivostok. The two leaders also met in person in September 2022 in Uzbekistan, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bloc.

Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner for Moscow has grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China and India have become key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies that shut most Western markets off to Russian exports.

STAMPEDE THAT KILLED 121 IN INDIA WAS CAUSED BY SEVERE OVERCROWDING AND LACK OF EXITS, AUTHORITIES SAY

Under Modi’s leadership, India has avoided condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine while emphasizing the need for a peaceful settlement.

The partnership between Moscow and New Delhi has become fraught, however, since Russia started developing closer ties with India’s main rival, China, because of the hostilities in Ukraine.

Modi notably stayed away last week from the most recent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in Kazakhstan.

Chietigj Bajpaee, senior South Asia research fellow at the U.K.-based Chatham House, said India is becoming increasingly estranged from forums in which Russia and China play a prominent role.

“This is evident in India’s relatively low key presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization last year, and now the decision by Modi not to attend this year’s summit,” Bajpaee said.

A confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border dramatically altered their already touchy relationship as the rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed. Tensions have since persisted despite talks.

Those tensions have seeped into how New Delhi looks at Moscow.

“Russia’s relations with China have been a matter of some concern for India in the context of Chinese increased assertiveness in the region,” D. Bala Venkatesh Verma, a former Indian ambassador to Russia, told The Associated Press.

But Modi also will seek to continue close relations with Russia, an important trading partner and major defense supplier for India.

Since Western sanctions blocked Russian oil exports after the start of the Ukraine war, India has become a key buyer of Russian oil. It now gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia, according to analysts.

India is also strongly dependent on Russia for military supplies, but with Moscow’s supply line hit by the fighting in Ukraine, India has been diversifying its defense procurements, buying more from the U.S., Israel, France and Italy.

“Defense cooperation will clearly be a priority area,” Bajpaee said, adding that 60% of India’s military equipment and systems is “still of Russian origin.”

“We’ve seen some delay in the deliveries of spare parts … following the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “I believe both countries are due to conclude a military logistics agreement, which would pave the way for more defense exchanges.”

India has adopted a neutral stance, neither condemning nor condoning Russia’s war on Ukraine, and has called for negotiations to end the fighting. That in turn has bolstered Putin’s efforts to counter what he calls the West’s domination of global affairs.

Facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for actions over the war in Ukraine, Putin’s foreign travel has been relatively sparse in recent years, so Modi’s trip could help the Russian leader boost his image.

“We kind of see Putin going on a nostalgia trip — you know, he was in Vietnam, he was in North Korea,” said Theresa Fallon, an analyst at the Center for Russia, Europe, Asia Studies. “In my view, he’s trying to demonstrate that he’s not a vassal to China, that he has options, that Russia is still a great power.”

Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that Putin’s interactions on the world stage show he “is far from isolated” and that Russia is not a country to be discounted.

Trade development also will figure strongly in the talks, particularly intentions to develop a maritime corridor between India’s major port of Chennai and Vladivostok, the gateway to Russia’s Far East.

India-Russia trade has seen a sharp increase, touching close to $65 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, due to strong energy cooperation, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told reporters Friday.

Imports from Russia touched $60 billion and exports from India $4 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, Kwatra said. India’s financial year runs from April to March.

He said India was trying to correct the trade imbalance with Russia by increasing its exports. India’s top exports to Russia include drugs and pharmaceutical products, telecom instruments, iron and steel, marine products and machinery.

Its top imports from Russia include crude oil and petroleum products, coal and coke, pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, fertilizer, vegetable oil, gold and silver.