The EU wants to recover €600M in funds that it believes were used irregularly

BarcelonaThe European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, has urged the European Union to recover almost 600 million euros from European funds, as it believes they have been used "improperly" during 2025. It is now up to national authorities and European institutions to decide how to proceed with the information provided by this independent body, which last year opened 250 new investigations and closed 200, according to the annual report published this Monday. In addition to the money it believes should be returned to the European budget, it also stopped the disbursement of 18 million.

OLAF has highlighted alleged irregularities in the use of agricultural subsidies in some EU countries, among which it explicitly named Spain, Greece, Portugal, and France. It has also seen an increase in possible infringements in the defense sector, especially in research and procurement projects.

By country, last year it concluded eight investigations into the use of European funds in Spain, five of which with recommendations, after having closed only one in 2024. In contrast, Romania is the territory where it closed the most cases last year, with a total of fourteen, although it issued recommendations in six, one less than in Hungary and Poland, which received recommendations in seven cases each.

OLAF has the duty to control all expenses of the Community institutions, from structural funds to agricultural policy and external aid. It is also responsible for pursuing illicit cross-border trade, customs infringements, and environmental fraud. It boasts and assures that in the last ten years it has "helped to recover" about 6.8 billion euros, despite having lost 110 jobs in the last fifteen years.