European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control

Although, officially, the letter is not the first stage of this procedure to withhold EU funds, most experts regard it as such: if the governments fail to provide adequate answers to the Commission's questions, a suspension of EU funds will be a step closer.

The European Parliament has approved a new mechanism to protect the EU budget and taxpayers' money. The Parliament's Rapporteur, Finnish EPP Group MEP Petri Sarvamaa, endorses the decision that should cut EU funding for those Member States who risk principles of sound financial management by violating the rule of law.

The European Union's anti-fraud body said almost 140,000 liters of dangerous hand sanitizer have been seized across the region since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

European leaders failed to reach an agreement on the allotment of the EU top jobs on Sunday night, with the presidency of the European Commission, the highest prize, as the major bone of contention.

60 percent of the European fraud cases which were scrutinized in Bulgaria, were rejected or terminated by the prosecutor's office. This was found in a special report by the European Court of Auditors on the fight against fraud with funds from the European Cohesion Funds over the last five years.

Former chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and candidate for European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi was subpoenaed to appear on March 7 before the Magistrates' Investigation Section in the case where she is accused of abuse of office, bribery and false testimony, judicial sources told AGERPRES on Thursday.

Romania took control of the Council of the EU's rotating presidency on January 1 and will be responsible for ensuring the continuity of the EU's work until June, reported DW. 

The former Communist country only joined the EU in January 2007 and has been at odds with Brussels regarding the rule of law, separation of powers and corruption.

The EU's dependence on gas imports will increase to 83% in 2040 compared to the current 70%. This was stated by EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Miguel Arias Cañete in the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday.