In payments to nine EU member states, the European Court of Auditors found RRF milestones and targets that had not been satisfactorily fulfilled.

Omissions

• The nine member states were affected out of 37 RRF payments made in 2025, i.e. the problem affected a minority of RRF disbursements, though the ECA qualified it as a material issue.
• The ECA examined a sample of milestones and targets; the underlying audit finding is that 16 of the 420 milestones and targets examined did not comply with RRF requirements — the speaker does not quantify the proportion, which could leave an exaggerated impression of scale.
• The claim reproduces the ECA's own formulation almost verbatim, so it is a faithful citation of the Court's finding rather than an independent characterisation.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — 2025 EU audit in brief (Annual Reports concerning the 2025 financial year)"In 2025, RRF expenditure amounted to €45.4 billion. ... These concerned nine of the 37 RRF payments (and related clearings of pre-financing) in nine member states ..." and, per the publication page: "In payments to nine member states we identified instances of milestones and targets that had not been satisfactorily fulfilled, as well as issues involving double funding and the eligibility period."
• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — Annual reports concerning the 2025 financial year"In 2025, EU payments totalled €216.4 billion: €176.3 billion in spending from the EU budget, and a further €40.1 billion from the Recovery and ..." (annual reports for the 2025 financial year, including the RRF chapter)
• SecondaryThe Brussels Times — "The devil in the details: How the EU misspent 3.8% of the 2025 budget""In payments to nine member states, ECA identified instances of milestones and targets that had not been satisfactorily fulfilled, as well as ..."