The Czech Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) said on Monday that Czech recipients of European Union funds have learned to draw the money correctly on paper, but frequently channel it into projects that are not needed or that lose their purpose over time, according to iROZHLAS.

The conclusion comes from NKÚ's summary report on EU funds management in the Czech Republic, which also notes the country is due over 1.3 trillion crowns ($56bn) in EU funds for 2021-2027, per Novinky.

EU cohesion policy runs on shared management: member states, not the European Commission, select and approve individual projects, while Brussels audits compliance with eligibility criteria and procurement law — not whether a project still serves a genuine need once built.

Hypothesis: the Czech findings reflect a bloc-wide weakness in cohesion-fund oversight, not a national one. Supporting this: EU audit mechanisms are built around compliance and absorption rates rather than the ongoing relevance of spending, a feature common to all member states drawing cohesion money. Against this: NKÚ's report covers only the Czech Republic, and no comparable findings from other national audit bodies are cited here.

EU governments are currently negotiating the bloc's next multiannual financial framework, covering the years after 2027, in which cohesion funding is traditionally one of the largest and most contested budget lines. Whether that debate tightens the link between cohesion spending and demonstrated need remains to be seen.

This article is general information, not legal advice.