1. At the latest within six months following the end of the financial year, European political parties and European political foundations shall submit to the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament, in an open, machine readable format, the following:
(a)
their annual financial statements and accompanying notes, covering their revenue and expenditure, assets and liabilities at the beginning and at the end of the financial year, in accordance with the law applicable in the Member State in which they have their seat;
(b)
an external audit report on the annual financial statements, covering both the reliability of those financial statements and the legality and regularity of their revenue and expenditure, carried out by an independent body or expert;
(c)
the list of donors and contributors and their corresponding donations or contributions reported in accordance with Article 25(2), (3) and (4).
At the latest within six months following the end of the financial year, the European political parties and European political foundations shall also send a copy of any submission referred to in the first subparagraph to the Authority and to the competent National Contact Point of the Member State of their seat. That copy shall be in an open, machine readable format.
2. Where expenditure is implemented by European political parties jointly with national political parties or by European political foundations jointly with national political foundations, or with other organisations, evidence of the expenditure incurred by the European political parties or by the European political foundations directly or through those third parties shall be included in the annual financial statements referred to in paragraph 1.
3. The independent external bodies or experts referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), shall be selected, mandated and paid by the European Parliament. They shall be duly authorised to audit accounts under the law applicable in the Member State in which they have their seat or establishment.
4. European political parties and European political foundations shall provide any information requested by the independent bodies or experts for the purpose of their audit.
5. The independent bodies or experts shall inform the Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament of any suspected illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the financial interests of the Union. The Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall inform the National Contact Points concerned thereof.
1. Control of compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with their obligations under this Regulation shall be exercised, in cooperation, by the Authority, by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and by the competent Member States.
2. The Authority shall control compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with their obligations under this Regulation, in particular in relation to Article 3, Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), Article 4(3), Article 5, Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), Article 11(5) and (6), and Articles 25, 26 and 27.
The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall control compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with the obligations relating to Union funding under this Regulation and under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. In carrying out such controls, the European Parliament shall take the necessary measures in the fields of the prevention of and the fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union.
3. The control by the Authority and by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall not extend to compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with their obligations under applicable national law as referred to in Article 19.
4. European political parties and European political foundations shall provide any information requested by the Authority, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament, the Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or Member States which is necessary for the purpose of carrying out the controls for which they are responsible under this Regulation.
Upon request and for the purpose of controlling compliance with Article 25, European political parties and European political foundations shall provide the Authority with information concerning contributions made by individual members and the identity of such members. Moreover, where appropriate, the Authority may require European political parties to provide signed confirmatory statements from members holding elected mandates for the purpose of controlling compliance with the condition laid down in Article 3(1), point (b)(i).
Implementation and control in respect of Union funding
1. Appropriations for the funding of European political parties and European political foundations shall be determined under the annual budgetary procedure and shall be implemented in accordance with this Regulation and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
The terms and conditions for contributions and grants shall be laid down by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament in the call for contributions and the call for proposals.
2. Control of funding received from the general budget of the Union and its use shall be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
Control shall also be exercised on the basis of annual certification by an external and independent audit, as provided for in Article 28(1).
3. The Court of Auditors shall exercise its audit powers in accordance with Article 287 TFEU.
4. Any document or information required by the Court of Auditors in order to enable it to carry out its task shall be supplied to it at its request by the European political parties and the European political foundations that receive funding in accordance with this Regulation.
5. The contribution and grant decision or agreement shall expressly provide for auditing by the European Parliament and the Court of Auditors, on the basis of records and on the spot, of the European political party which has received a contribution or the European political foundation which has received a grant from the general budget of the Union.
6. The Court of Auditors and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament, or any other external body authorised by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament, may carry out the necessary checks and verifications on the spot in order to verify the legality of expenditure and the proper implementation of the provisions of the contribution and grant decision or agreement, and, in the case of European political foundations, the proper implementation of the work programme or action. The European political party or European political foundation concerned shall supply any document or information needed to carry out this task.
7. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 18 ) , with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with contributions or grants under this Regulation. If appropriate, its findings may give rise to recovery decisions by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament.
All technical support provided by the European Parliament to European political parties shall be based on the principle of equal treatment. It shall be granted on conditions no less favourable than those granted to other external organisations and associations that may be accorded similar facilities, and shall be supplied against invoice and payment.
1. The Authority shall impose financial sanctions in the following situations:
(a)
non-quantifiable infringements:
(i)
in the event of non-compliance with the requirements of Article 11(5) or (6);
(ii)
in the event of non-compliance with the commitments entered into and the information provided by a European political party or European political foundation in accordance with Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), Article 4(3) and with Article 6(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (k);
(iii)
in the event of non-compliance with the obligations under Article 5(1);
(iv)
in the event of non-compliance with the obligations under Article 5(2);
(v)
in the event of failure to transmit the list of donors and their corresponding donations in accordance with Article 25(2) or to report donations in accordance with Article 25(3) and (4);
(vi)
where a European political party or a European political foundation has infringed the obligations laid down in Article 28(1) or Article 29(4);
(vii)
where a European political party or a European political foundation is in one of the situations of exclusion referred to in Article 138(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509;
(viii)
where the European political party or the European political foundation concerned has at any time intentionally omitted to provide information or has intentionally provided incorrect or misleading information;
(ix)
where, in accordance with the verification procedure provided for in Article 15, it is established that a European political party or a European political foundation has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement of the applicable rules on the protection of personal data;
(b)
quantifiable infringements:
(i)
where a European political party or a European political foundation has accepted donations and contributions that are not permitted under Article 25(1) or (6), unless the conditions laid down in Article 25(7) are met;
(ii)
in the event of non-compliance with the requirements laid down in Articles 26 and 27.
2. The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament may exclude a European political party or a European political foundation from future Union funding for up to five years, or up to 10 years in cases of an infringement repeated within a five-year period, when it has been found guilty of any of the infringements listed in paragraph 1, points (a)(vii) and (viii) of this Article. This is without prejudice to the powers of the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament as set out in Article 235 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, the following financial sanctions shall be imposed on a European political party or a European political foundation:
(a)
in cases of non-quantifiable infringements, a fixed percentage of the annual budget of the European political party or European political foundation concerned as follows:
(i)
up to 5 %;
(ii)
from 5 % to 10 % if there are concurrent infringements;
(iii)
from 10 % to 15 % if the infringement concerned is a repeated infringement;
(iv)
from 15 % to 20 % in the case of further repeated infringements;
(v)
a third of the percentages set out in points (i) to (iv) if the European political party or European political foundation concerned has voluntarily declared the infringement before the Authority has officially opened an investigation, even in the case of a concurrent infringement or a repeated infringement, and the party or foundation concerned has taken the appropriate corrective measures;
(vi)
50 % of the annual budget of the European political party or European political foundation concerned for the preceding year, if the European political party or European political foundation concerned is in one of the situations of exclusion referred to in Article 138(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
(b)
in cases of quantifiable infringements, a fixed percentage of the amount of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, in accordance with the following scale, up to a maximum of 10 % of the annual budget of the European political party or European political foundation concerned:
(i)
100 % of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, where those sums do not exceed EUR 50 000;
(ii)
150 % of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, where those sums exceed EUR 50 000 but do not exceed EUR 100 000;
(iii)
200 % of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, where those sums exceed EUR 100 000 but do not exceed EUR 150 000;
(iv)
250 % of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, where those sums exceed EUR 150 000 but do not exceed EUR 200 000;
(v)
300 % of the irregular sums received or not reported, or of the sums used for funding prohibited under Article 27, where those sums exceed EUR 200 000;
(vi)
one third of the percentages indicated in points (i) to (v) if the European political party or European political foundation concerned has voluntarily declared the infringement before the Authority and/or the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament has officially opened an investigation and the party or foundation concerned has taken the appropriate corrective measures.
For the application of the percentages indicated in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, each donation, contribution or sum used for funding prohibited under Article 27 shall be considered separately.
4. Whenever a European political party or a European political foundation has committed an infringement justifying the imposition of a financial sanction and the same behaviour justifies the removal from the Register of that European political party or European political foundation, the Authority shall only proceed to the removal from the Register of the European political party or European political foundation concerned.
5. The Authority shall recover the corresponding amounts from the European political party or European political foundation in respect of which the financial sanctions have been imposed.
6. The sanctions laid down in this Regulation shall be subject to a limitation period of 10 years from the date of commission of the infringement concerned or, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, from the date on which those infringements ceased.
7. Where a decision of the national supervisory authority as referred to in Article 15 has been repealed, or where a remedy against such decision has been granted, provided that all national remedies have been exhausted, the Authority shall review any sanction imposed pursuant to paragraph 1, point (a)(ix), of this Article at the request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned.
Where the Authority imposes a financial sanction in the situations referred to in Article 32(1), points (a)(vii) or (viii), it may, for the purpose of recovery pursuant to Article 36(2), establish that a natural person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the European political party or European political foundation, or who has powers of representation, decision or control with regard to the European political party or European political foundation is also responsible for the infringement, in the following cases:
(a)
in the situation referred to in Article 32(1), point (a)(vii), where, in the judgment referred to in that provision, the natural person has been found to be also responsible for the illegal activities concerned;
(b)
in the situation referred to in Article 32(1), point (a)(viii), where the natural person is also responsible for the conduct or inaccuracies concerned.
Cooperation between the Authority, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and the Member States
1. The Authority, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and the Member States via the National Contact Points shall share information and keep each other regularly informed of matters related to funding provisions, controls and sanctions.
They shall also agree on practical arrangements for such exchange of information, including the rules regarding the disclosure of confidential information or evidence and the cooperation among Member States.
2. The Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall regularly exchange views and information on the interpretation and implementation of this Regulation.
3. The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall inform the Authority of any findings which might give rise to the imposition of sanctions under Article 32(1) to (3), with a view to enabling the Authority to take appropriate measures. The Authority shall make a decision on the imposition of sanctions within six months.
4. The Authority shall inform the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament of any decision it has taken in relation to sanctions, in order to enable him or her to draw the appropriate consequences under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
Corrective measures and principles of good administration
1. With a view to fully comply with the obligations referred to in Article 41, before the Authority’s final decision relating to any of the sanctions referred to in Article 32(1), points (a)(i) to (vi), the Authority or the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall give the European political party or the European political foundation concerned an opportunity to introduce the measures required to remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time, which shall not normally exceed one month. In particular, the Authority or the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall allow the possibility of correcting clerical and arithmetical errors, providing additional documents or information where necessary or correcting minor mistakes.
2. Where a European political party or a European political foundation has failed to take corrective measures within the period of time referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the appropriate sanctions referred to in Article 32 shall be decided.
Termination of a funding decision with future effect
1. The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall terminate a funding decision addressed to a European political party or a European political foundation with future effect on the following grounds:
(a)
a decision to remove the European political party or European political foundation from the Register, provided that it is not based on the grounds for removal from the Register laid down in Article 21(1), point (a)(iv); or
(b)
a sanction decision adopted pursuant to Article 32(1), points (a)(vii) and (viii).
Other grounds for the termination of a funding decision with future effect may be provided for in the contribution or grant agreement.
2. A decision to terminate the funding decision with future effect shall take effect on the date specified in it or, if no date is specified therein, on the date on which it is notified to the European political party or European political foundation.
3. The termination of the funding decision with future effect shall have the following consequences:
(a)
the contribution or grant agreement shall be terminated from the date referred to in paragraph 2;
(b)
payments by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall be limited to the reimbursable expenditure actually incurred by the European political party or the eligible costs actually incurred by the European political foundation up to the date referred to in paragraph 2;
(c)
expenditure or costs incurred by the European political party or European political foundation from the date referred to in paragraph 2 shall be qualified as non-reimbursable expenditure or ineligible costs;
(d)
the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall recover any Union funds unduly paid, including:
(i)
Union funds that have been spent on non-reimbursable expenditure or ineligible costs; and
(ii)
any unused Union pre-financing that has not been spent before the date referred to in paragraph 2, including unspent Union funds from previous years; and
(e)
the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall recover any amounts unduly paid from a natural person in respect of whom a decision pursuant to Article 33 has been taken, taking into account where applicable, exceptional circumstances relating to that natural person.
Withdrawal of a funding decision with retroactive effect
1. On the basis of a decision taken by the Authority removing a European political party or European political foundation from the Register, based on the ground for removal from the Register laid down in Article 21(1), point (a)(iv), the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall withdraw funding decisions addressed to the European political party or European political foundation concerned with retroactive effect from the date of adoption of that decision.
2. The withdrawal of a funding decision with retroactive effect shall have the following consequences:
(a)
the contribution or grant agreement shall be terminated from the date of the notification of that termination to the European political party or European political foundation concerned;
(b)
all expenditure or costs incurred by the European political party or European political foundation shall be qualified as non-reimbursable expenditure or ineligible costs; and
(c)
any amount paid under the contribution or grant agreement, and any unspent Union funds from previous years, shall be considered to be undue payments and shall be recovered under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.
