Achieving economy : keeping the costs of EU‑financed rural development project grants under control; Special report No 22/2014

Member States implement a large part of the EU's rural development policy by providing grants towards the costs of investments and other projects undertaken by farmers, rural businesses, associations and local authorities. The Court found that some Member States had poorly designed systems for checking that the costs of these grants were reasonable. Workable and cost-effective approaches existed but were not widely followed. The Court outlines good practices found in the course of its audit, and concludes that there is considerable scope for making real savings in rural development project grants in the 2014-20 period by applying these good practices.