The European Central Bank (ECB) assumed responsibility for banking supervision in 2014, as part of the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Its mission in this regard is to contribute to the safety and soundness of the banking system. There are about 120 banking groups in the euro...

The European Central Bank (ECB) supervises large banks in the Banking Union, assessing their prudential risks. This includes credit risk, which is when loans become non performing and threaten the viability of banks and sometimes the whole financial system. We found that while the ECB has...

In 2014, the EU established the single resolution mechanism (SRM) to ensure orderly resolution of failing banks with minimal burden to taxpayers, avoiding costly bail-outs. We assessed the appropriateness of the policy framework and organisational setup of resolution planning, as well as the...

With €3 billion for 2014-2020, the EU's SME instrument strives to support innovation in SMEs and start-ups by filling the gap in funding and increasing commercialisation of research results. We assessed whether the SME instrument delivers the expected benefits. Overall, we concluded that it...

To address migratory challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, the EU gradually adapted cohesion policy rules by adopting Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE). We examined whether member states used CARE and the cohesion policy funds available to address the needs of the refugees. We...

The External Action Guarantee (EAG) was created in 2021 by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe Regulation). It builds upon two pre-existing guarantee mechanisms: - the European Fund for...

To address migratory challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, the EU gradually adapted cohesion policy rules by adopting Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE). We examined whether member states used CARE and the cohesion policy funds available to address the needs of the refugees. We...

Our audit assessed whether the EU's financial interests and the single market are protected effectively against VAT fraud on imports when simplified import customs procedures are used. We identified gaps and inconsistencies in the EU regulatory framework and serious weaknesses in how member...

The European Fund for Strategic Investments aimed to tackle the EU investment gap by mobilising €500 billion of additional investments. It supported debt and equity instruments with an EU budgetary guarantee or own resources of the European Investment Bank. We conclude that the programme...

The European Fund for Strategic Investments aimed to tackle the EU investment gap by mobilising €500 billion of additional investments. It supported debt and equity instruments with an EU budgetary guarantee or own resources of the European Investment Bank. We conclude that the programme...