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Auditors slam poor oversight of cohesion spending

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Auditors slam poor oversight of cohesion spending

The EU’s cohesion funds aim to reduce social and economic disparities between the richest and poorest regions, but both the Commission and member states are failing to adequately oversee their spending, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

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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.     

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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Palestinian journalist, 19, killed in Israeli raid after receiving threats

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Palestinian journalist, 19, killed in Israeli raid after receiving threats

Hassan Hamad was killed in an attack on his home in Jabalia camp, taking the total number of journalists killed to 175.

Israeli forces have killed Palestinian journalist Hassan Hamad in an air strike on his home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, days after the slain journalist said he was warned by an Israeli officer to stop filming in Gaza.

With the killing of the 19-year-old journalist, whose work appeared on Al Jazeera and other networks, the number of Palestinian journalists killed since the war began has risen to 175, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says at least 128 journalists and media workers are among the more than 41,000 people killed since Israel launched the devastating war on Gaza in October 2023.

Colleagues and the Government’s Media Office in Gaza confirmed Hamad’s death, saying the journalist’s home was deliberately attacked to silence him after he received threats.

“Hassan Hamad, the journalist who did not live past the age of 20, resisted for a full year in his own way. He resisted by staying away from his family so they wouldn’t be targeted. He resisted when he struggled to find an internet signal, sitting for an hour or two on the rooftop just to send the videos that reach you in seconds,” a post on Hamad’s X account posted by his colleague said.

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“At 6am (03:00 GMT), he called me to send his last video. After a call that didn’t last more than a few seconds, he said, ‘There they are, there they are, it’s done,’ and hung up,” the colleague added.

Hamad had been documenting Israel’s war in Gaza for more than a year and worked as a freelance TV reporter.

According to Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini, a few days before Hamad’s death, he had been threatened by an Israeli officer through a Whatsapp message and several calls, ordering him to stop filming in Gaza.

“‘Listen, If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we’ll come for you next and turn your family into […] This is your last warning’…” Hussaini posted on X, sharing the message Hamad had received.

The Israeli government has not yet commented on his death.

“Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in a statement on Friday.

“Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze,” he added.

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

In the first Lonely Island song of the 50th season of “SNL,” the beloved trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer debuted “Sushi Glory Hole,” a humorous take on a fictional app where you can find sushi in a hole in a bathroom around New York.

“SNL” alumna Maya Rudolph, who has been portraying presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris during the new season, was on hand for the video. “Gentleman, what do you have for us today?” she asked in the video opener.

“Sushi glory hole,” rapped Samberg. “Imagine that. Instead of getting strange [expletive] you’ll be getting a snack.” A long refrain of “Hear us out, hear us out, hear us out,” played on loop as the trio tried to get others on board with their idea.

Dressed as 1980s businessmen, the Lonely Island members, and Bowen Yang, rapped about sushi in bathrooms, with suggestive lyrics, singing, “So drop to your knees and get ready for some fish.” The digital short featured funny evocative imagery of slices of sushi being presented through holes in bathroom walls. The trio rapped, “Hit the bathroom stall, and find a sushi-sized hole in the bathroom wall.”

“Hit the map,” they said, showing a phone with a lit-up map with “SGH” locations all around Manhattan, where one could find a sushi glory hole. They rapped on, defending the unorthodox food-related business idea, saying, “You got nothing to fear. It’s not weird. It’s sushi being through a hole in the wall.”

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They rapped about the different ideal circumstances for a “SGH.” Samberg sang about sushi glory holes in nightclubs and how it’s better than eating in the middle of a street. “Make a wish and prepare for some shockingly high-grade fish.”

“Don’t leave, hear us out. No substitutions or special requests,” they said.

Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze was this episode’s guest and musical group Coldplay was the musical guest.

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was “legal and legitimate” and that the “resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.” 

The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.  

Khamenei said Iran will not “procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty” in going after Israel, Reuters reports. 

The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.” 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday Prayers and a commemoration ceremony of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 4. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech. 

The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. 

“Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000,” the IDF wrote on X. “Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units.” 

ISRAEL BANS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIONS 

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Iran’s missile attack on Israel this week was “legal and legitimate,” Reuters reports.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said during a briefing.  

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets during the missile attack, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

 

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” he added. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

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