Transparency and oversight in the Commission’s MFF proposals on a performance-based EU budget: lessons learned from the RRF

The briefing argues that the RRF’s broad legal framework, confidentiality, and “financing not linked to costs” gave the Commission and Member States wide discretion, allowing large sums to fund national projects with limited EU-level relevance and weak scrutiny. It stresses that reforms are especially hard to measure, so disbursements often hinge on procedural milestones rather than substantive performance. On this basis, it criticises the Commission’s MFF package for importing the model without clearly defining EU priorities or setting operational requirements that constrain discretion. The core fix is legislative: tighten priority-setting, reconsider the centrality of national plans, and reduce built-in information asymmetries, rather than relying on ex post oversight alone.