Changes between two versions

What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

From · plenary report· 10 Apr 2026

A-10-2026-0085

on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission and executive agencies and the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds

To · adopted text· 29 Apr 2026

TA-10-2026-0125

Discharge 2024: EU general budget - Commission

AI:What changed, in short

Adds a paragraph on protecting children's rights and addressing the deportation of Ukrainian children, and a paragraph honouring a Polish border guard and supporting frontline member states.13 20 Changes references to the Court of Auditors and the Court of Justice, affecting audit access and transparency provisions.15 21 22 23 Adds a call for measures to mitigate the EU-Mercosur agreement's impact on European agriculture.17 Renumbers several paragraphs and subparagraphs, and makes minor wording changes in paragraphs 7, 80, and 233.14 16 18 19 The other changes are formal: updated headings, titles, and procedure references for the decisions and resolution.1 2 3 5

9 changes of substance · 13 formal · 2 of wording only

Written by AI from the two texts only · read the changes before relying on it · 4 Sept 2026 · Report a problem

Changes to the text itself, in document order. Cover page, citations and punctuation-only edits are left out; they are under “Every difference”.

Changes of substance · 9

Change 13 Substance

AI summary:Adds a paragraph stressing the importance of protecting children's rights, expressing concern over the deportation of Ukrainian children, and calling for EU action to support tracing, reunification, and accountability.

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Added:3. Reiterates the paramount importance of protecting the rights of the child in all actions of the Union; expresses grave concern over the findings of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine regarding the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, as documented in its reports; underlines the need for the European Union, within its competences, to act as a constructive and reliable actor within the international legal and institutional framework, contributing to multilateral efforts aimed at identifying affected children, clarifying their whereabouts, supporting family tracing and reunification, and facilitating their safe return, in accordance with international law and the best interests of the child; stresses that Union policies and funding instruments should consistently support international cooperation for the protection of children’s rights, access to remedies, rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law;

Change 14 Substance

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 7 to 8 and adds a reference to the General Court judgment in case T-36/23, while otherwise restating the same transparency concerns.

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Changed:7.8. Stresses that transparency is not an abstract governance principle but a core element of an effective control environment; underlines that incomplete documentation, inconsistent registration practices or reliance on informal communication channels directly weaken audit trails and hinder the discharge authority’s capacity to assess legality, regularity and sound financial management; in that regard regrets that there have been numerous examples over the last years where the Commission failed to live up to reasonable standards of transparency and takes note of the judgment of the General Court in case T-36/23, Stevi and The New York Times v Commission; recalls that under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 text messages sent or received by Union officials will only be qualified as documents if they concern Union policy or decisions; emphasises that the Commission should ensure transparency practices meet high governance standards to guarantee that the discharge authority can fully assess legality, regularity, and sound financial management of the Union budget; notes the importance of timely responses to access-to-documents requests; encourages the Commission to strengthen its procedures to ensure that oversight bodies can fully assess legality, regularity and sound financial management; considers that failures to ensure proper documentation and transparency at senior leadership level risk undermining public trust, institutional accountability and the credibility of the Commission as guardian of the Treaties; calls on the Commission leadership to ensure full compliance with transparency obligations, proper registration of all work-related communications, including at the level of the President and Members of the College, and to strengthen internal procedures and accountability mechanisms in order to prevent similar shortcomings in the future;

Change 15 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 75 to 76 and removes the words 'European' and 'of Auditors' from the reference to the Court of Auditors, changing the audit access request.

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Changed:~~75.~~76. Recalls that the EIB Group has been allocated 75 % (EUR 19,6 billion) of the Union budgetary guarantee under the InvestEU Regulation; recalls also the discharge authority’s recommendations in its previous reports on the control of the financial activities of the EIB; notes the accountability and audit gaps in relation to the EIB’s operations, as identified in the Contact Committee statement CC 1/2025; stresses the need to align and adapt the audit framework to the EIB’s expanded mandate; urges the Commission to actively support the granting of full audit access for the ~~European~~ Court ~~of Auditors~~ to the EIB’s activities; underlines the need for comprehensive information on the EIB’s portfolio quality and risk management practices to enable meaningful democratic oversight of its operations; calls on the Commission to engage with the EIB in order to provide reporting on its portfolio quality to the discharge authority, ensure that risk assessment profiles for large-scale investments are subject to independent review and that the EIB discloses the lessons learned from cases where significant lending has resulted in default; stresses that public confidence in the sound management of Union-backed lending depends on the highest standards of institutional integrity; urges, therefore, the Commission to require the EIB to strengthen conflict-of-interest prevention mechanisms;

Change 16 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 80 to 81 and rephrases the sentence on efficient use of public resources, removing the phrase 'maximise climate impact' and restructuring the wording.

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Changed:~~80.~~81. Notes the Commission’s written reply that since 2021, EUR 12,63 million was spent on renewable hydrogen production and related infrastructure from the CEF renewable energy funding and EUR 187,21 million of CEF transport funding was spent on refuelling stations; notes further that between 2021 and 2024 the Commission allocated EUR 791,13 million in grants under the Innovation Fund to e-fuel projects; underlines the importance of allocating Union funds to support solutions with potential for long-term decarbonisation and scalability and of taking an evidence-based approach to emerging solutions in order to ensure the efficient use of public ~~resources, maximise climate impact~~resources and ~~ensure that public resources are~~maximise ~~used~~climate ~~efficiently;~~impact; stresses that all technologies need to be assessed on their effectiveness and scalability; calls for caution in the allocation of Union funds to technologies with an uncertain or limited long-term role in the decarbonisation pathway; stresses that achieving climate neutrality by 2050 is of decisive importance; emphasises the need to ensure a reliable, affordable and resilient Union energy supply; notes, in this context, that the Commission should promote a technology-neutral approach to research and innovation; calls in particular for the support of cross-border projects to foster genuinely European solutions in the field of energy supply, ensure the cost-efficient use of Union funds, strengthen the internal market, and create EU added value; calls on the Commission to ensure that funding criteria are based on measurable emissions reduction outcomes rather than prescriptive technology preferences;

5 more changes of substance

Change 17 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Adds a new subparagraph (viii) calling for measures to reduce adverse impacts of the EU-Mercosur agreement on European agriculture and to monitor those impacts.

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Added:(viii) introduce all possible measures aimed at reducing the adverse impacts of the EU-Mercosur agreement on European agriculture and the market position of European producers, and to reliably monitor the scale as well as the actual effects of these impacts;

Change 20 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Adds a paragraph honouring a Polish border guard killed in 2024 and calling for financial and operational support to frontline member states facing hybrid threats.

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Added:174. Honours the memory of Mateusz Sitek, a Polish border guard who was killed on 6 June 2024 while defending the Union's external border against a hybrid attack orchestrated by the Belarusian regime; stresses that the protection of the external borders of the Union is not an abstract policy objective but a matter of life and death for the men and women serving on the frontline; calls on the Commission to ensure that adequate financial and operational support is provided to frontline Member States facing hybrid threats at the Union's external borders;

Change 21 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 176 to 178 and removes the words 'European' and 'of Auditors' from the reference to the Court of Auditors, changing the entity invited to provide an estimate.

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Changed:~~176.~~178. Invites the ~~European~~ Court ~~of Auditors~~ to provide an estimate of the error rate for MFF heading 4;

Change 22 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 184 to 186 and changes the reference from 'European Court of Auditors' to 'Court', and adds a clause about constructive solutions when audit access is limited.

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Changed:~~184.~~186. Stresses that the rapid increase in Union defence and security expenditure in 2024 requires proportional audit arrangements, allowing effective access for the ~~European Court of Auditors,~~Court, OLAF and the EPPO to all relevant documentation, including projects with dual-use technologies; recalls that the Commission itself acknowledged that access to classified deliverables can be delayed where Member States are ‘originators’ of classification and underlines that, where audit access is limited for duly justified reasons such as the classified nature of projects, appropriate measures and constructive solutions should be pursued to ensure full compliance with financial oversight requirements and the sound management of Union funds;

Change 23 Substance under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

AI summary:Renumbers paragraph 233 to 235 and changes the reference from 'European Court of Justice' to 'the judgment of the General Court', and adds a sentence about informal exchanges.

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Changed:~~233.~~235. Underlines that transparency in the administration and access to information and documents are key elements of sound, accountable, and democratic governance; in that regard regrets that there have been numerous examples over the last years where the Commission has not lived up to reasonable transparency standards; takes note of ~~European~~the ~~Court~~judgment of ~~Justice~~the General Court in case T-36/23, Stevi and The New York Times v Commission; considers that informal exchanges must not replace official communication and that any information related to decision-making or workflow must be transmitted through official channels in full respect of transparency requirements; stresses that it is important for the credibility of the Commission that it ensures a strict implementation of the guidelines concerning the use of text messages in relation to workflows; recalls that under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 text messages sent or received by Union officials will only be qualified as documents if they concern Union policy or decisions;

13 formal changes: legal basis, citations, references, corrections

Change 1 Formal

AI summary:Updates the heading and title of the decision for the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency to reflect the adopted decision and add the procedure reference.