The error rate in cohesion policy stands at 6.6%, according to the Court of Auditors' 2025 audit

Omissions

• The ECA's 6.6% figure applies to the budget heading 'Cohesion, resilience and values', which bundles cohesion policy with other programmes, not to cohesion policy alone; the MEP's shorthand 'cohesion' slightly narrows the ECA category.
• Context omitted: the cohesion error rate rose from 5.7% in 2024 to 6.6% in 2025, but was 9.3% in 2023, so the 2025 figure is below the 2023 level despite the year-on-year increase.
• The overall estimated level of error for EU spending in 2025 was 3.8%, so cohesion is presented as the worst-performing spending area, which supports the speaker's broader narrative.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — '2025 – EU audit in brief' (Annual reports concerning the 2025 financial year)"'Cohesion, resilience and values' had an estimated level of error at 6.6 % (5.7 % in 2024)."
• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — Annual reports concerning the 2025 financial year (overview page)"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 Resilience Facility... The ECA will provide two separate opinions on the legality and regularity of expenditure: one on the EU budget and one on the RRF."
• SecondarySofia Globe — 'European Court of Auditors: Estimated 3.8% of the EU budget was misspent in 2025'"The error rate for cohesion funding rose from 5.7 per cent in 2024 to 6.6 per cent in 2025, while the rate for agriculture and the ..."
• SecondaryEU Insider — 'EU Auditors Warn Next Budget Faces a Significant...'"The Court estimates the error rate in 2025 spending at 3.8%, up ... The worst area was cohesion, where the rate rose to 6.6% from 5.7%."