The estimated error rate for the EU budget rose to 3.8% in 2025.

Omissions

• The ECA sets a 2% materiality threshold; the 3.8% overall error rate is thus well above it, a context the speaker did not mention but which does not affect the accuracy of the figures.
• The 3.8% figure refers to budget expenditure accepted in the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 (€176.3 billion of the €216.4 billion total payments, the remainder being Recovery and Resilience Facility spending), so it does not cover RRF spending.
• Cohesion policy's 6.6% error rate is the highest of the main spending headings, up from 5.7% in 2024.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — 2025 EU audit in brief (Annual reports concerning the 2025 financial year)Our overall estimated level of error for budget expenditure accepted in the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 is 3.8 % (2024: 3.6 %). ... Affected by material error? Estimated most likely level of error. €18.3 billion. Yes. 6.6 % (2024: 5.7 %).
• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors — Annual reports concerning the 2025 financial yearIn 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 ...
• 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 ... the estimated level of error in EU spending rose to 3.8 per cent, from 3.6 per cent in 2024.