Segnalazione dalla Corte dei Conti Europea - ECA

The EU manages its global economic relations through a trade and investment policy. 

Within the European single market, EU countries align their tax rules for goods and services through a customs union, enabling free trade across internal borders. 

Additionally, the EU supports its member states in harmonising their economic policies, including corporate and income tax levels.

 

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) plays a key role in ensuring accountability and transparency in the EU’s financial management. This edition of ECA Insights features recent audit findings on taxation and offers a sneak peek at two upcoming reports on the subject.

Audits on taxes, foreign investments and simplified customs

We recently carried out audits to assess the effectiveness of EU funding in areas such as taxes, foreign direct investments and authorised economic operators. Here are the key findings from our reports:

• Special report 27/2024: Combatting harmful tax regimes and corporate tax avoidance (Lotta ai regimi fiscali dannosi e all’elusione fiscale delle imprese). This report examines the EU efforts to combat harmful tax regimes and corporate tax avoidance, which can lead to significant revenue losses for member states and distortions in the internal market. The auditors identified shortcomings in how the rules were implemented and noted the absence of a common performance monitoring framework at EU and national level.
• Special report 27/2023: Screening foreign direct investments in the EU (Controllo degli investimenti esteri diretti nell’UE). In 2020, the EU established a framework for screening foreign direct investment (FDI) that may pose a threat to security or public order in the EU or its member states. The auditors assessed whether this framework was effective and efficient and found that six member states did not have a screening mechanism at all.
• Special report 13/2023: Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) (Operatori Economici Autorizzati (OEA)). The EU’s AEO programme was put in place to simplify customs for trusted traders, boost trade and supply chain security. Traders who meet a range of criteria may work in close cooperation with customs authorities and are entitled to enjoy benefits throughout the EU. The auditors examined whether the Commission provided a sound regulatory and monitoring framework and whether the member states implemented the programme properly. They concluded the programme supports trade and security, but that management, regulatory framework and implementation required improvements.

Upcoming reports on trade and taxation

The ECA is presently engaged in various audit tasks concerning trade and taxation. Throughout 2025, we will publish several special reports, providing important insights into these topics. Below, we outline two reports that will offer detailed assessments of the effectiveness and impact of EU policies and initiatives in these areas:

• EU Aid for Trade to least developed countries (Gli aiuti dell’UE al commercio ai paesi meno sviluppati). The world is currently facing multiple crises which have a significant impact on growth and development in the least developed countries, resulting in more people living in extreme poverty than before the pandemic. Our audit will assess how effectively the EU Aid for Trade policy is targeted and how well it is implemented in these countries.
• VAT fraud on imports (Frode IVA sulle importazioni). Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud negatively impacts the collection of the revenues for the EU and the member states. This 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.

Keep up to date with ECA publications, audit reports and insights by subscribing to the monthly ECA Insights or visiting the ECA website.