EU Budget Chief Demands Investigation into Spain's Use of Recovery Funds and Pension Accounts

Johan Van Overtveldt, President of the European Parliament's Budget Committee, has strongly criticized Spain for operating without an approved budget for several years, labeling the situation unacceptable within the Eurozone. In an interview, he expressed deep suspicion regarding Spain's financial accounts and specifically challenged the European Commission's explanation of how Spanish pension funds were utilized. Van Overtveldt argued that the Commission's justification for using excess liquidity for temporary expenses is unclear and lacks sufficient control mechanisms. He called for a thorough investigation to ensure that money from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM) was used for its intended purposes, citing concerns raised by the European Court of Auditors. Furthermore, he highlighted structural weaknesses in the RRM, noting that Spain and Italy received 45% of subsidies despite representing only about 25% of the EU's population and GDP. He suggested the distribution parameters were designed to stabilize these larger economies, reminiscent of reverse engineering. Van Overtveldt plans to coordinate with other parliamentary committees to demand precise explanations and ensure accountability for European taxpayers' money.