To protect the EU's financial interests and detect fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest, it is necessary to know who benefits from EU funds. However, publicly available data are currently fragmented and often incomplete, complicating the process of identifying the final beneficiaries of EU funding. The European Parliament and its Committee on Budgetary Control have consistently called for transparency in the allocation and use of EU funds. The ultimate goal is to enable the tracing of funds, and ensure targeted and effective EU spending. When it comes to the EU's Next Generation EU recovery instrument and its main component, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Parliament has maintained its focus on ensuring transparency. The RRF is a temporary instrument designed to release substantial financial support to EU Member States within a limited time (December 2026 at the latest). It is performance-based: unlike other EU spending programmes, RRF payments to Member States are not linked to the eligibility of a beneficiary, project, and declared costs, but to the satisfactory achievement of predefined milestones and targets. Funds enter the national budget and are further distributed within the Member State. Because of these characteristics, as well as its size and the timing and purpose of the instrument's creation (amid the COVID-19 pandemic), public interest in how RRF funds are spent is high. Parliament has thus sought to increase the transparency of RRF implementation by introducing the requirement for Member States to report regularly on the 100 largest final beneficiaries of RRF funds, and publish the data on dedicated national online portals. Information as to where and on what RRF funds are spent is meant to increase the transparency of how the EU helps address common challenges, and improve its credibility. This is especially important as alleged cases of fraud emerge in the media and are reported by the European Public Prosecutors Office. Since 2023, data on the top 100 recipients has been accessible on the European Commission's Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. Member States are expected to continue updating the data twice a year. While all have complied, there is some concern that in practice the definition of 'final recipient' used in the RRF Regulation does not guarantee the desired level of transparency. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

«The fact China will not attend this conference does not mean it does not favor peace,» Mao Ning stressed

On May 14, the Georgian parliament passed the law «On Transparency of Foreign Influence» in the third reading, which led the European Union to threaten suspending the country's integration into the organization

Beijing intends «to permanently deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in all directions,» China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning emphasized

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has signed into law a bill on foreign agent transparency Read Full Article at RT.com

The Serbian Progressive Party has won elections in the capital, Belgrade, and most other municipalities, SNS leader Milos Vucevic has said Read Full Article at RT.com

An ANC official says the party will not accept calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s removal as a condition for coalition Read Full Article at RT.com

Hunter Biden’s trial begins Monday on charges of lying on an official form when he bought a gun in 2018.

Jigjiga (HOL) - Heavy fighting erupted between rival armed forces from the Somali and Afar ethnic groups in villages located in the western Sitti region of the Somali regional state in Ethiopia.

Lundi 3 juin dès 7h40, Polynésie la 1ère vous donne rendez-vous en direct pour une édition spéciale consacrée au remaniement du gouvernement de Moetai Brotherson.

An 11-year-old mixed breed dog named Wilson who was trapped for two days in a culvert was finally rescued on Saturday thanks to the help of another dog and a slim local volunteer firefighter.

A group of Winnipeggers have come together to pitch establishing a national urban park near the city centre. The proposed site would include about 10 kilometres of park space — but not everyone is sold on the plan.

Rescue crews are on standby, waiting for a break in the weather so they can send in helicopters to where the mountaineers were last seen.

Le Gabon, à travers deux de ses ambassadrices, participent à la 3ème édition de la Classe Diplomatique Francophone, à l'Université Senghor d'Alexandrie, depuis le 26 mai 2024, ce jusqu'au 15 juin prochain. Il s'agit de Hermina Akazong Sabikana, Juriste de formation, Attachée Parlementaire à l'Assemblée Nationale de la Transition et Marina Sendza Imalet, en poste au Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. L'Université Senghor organise, depuis l'année 2022, une formation des jeunes Diplomates, (...) - DIPLOMATIE / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON

The dollar exchange rate was down by 0.44% at 89.71 rubles on Moscow Exchange, the euro was down by 0.4% at 97.33 rubles

Since March 2022, Canberra has provided the Kiev regime with a total of over 1.06 bln Australian dollars (over $700 mln)

Nikita Anisimov highlighted that together with Russian representatives, a large group of international observers from Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, representing the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, monitored the vote count

According to Mexico’s National Electoral Institute, Sheinbaum is in the lead with almost 57.3% of the vote after 25% of bulletins counted

It is reported that the enemy lost 14 drones, 51 observation posts and 4 equipment depots

President Biden’s son Hunter is charged in federal court in Delaware with making false statements while buying a gun and illegally possessing that gun.

[Premium Times] On Sunday, a meeting between representatives of the federal government, leadership of the National Assembly and officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) over the proposed national minimum wage ended in deadlock.

[Norwegian Refugee Council] For the second year in a row Burkina Faso is the world's most neglected displacement crisis, according to a new report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The normalisation of neglect is exacerbating needs and deepening despair.

[allAfrica]

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has married Moscow-born retired scientist Elena Zhukova Read Full Article at RT.com

G G Parikh, who fought for India’s independence against the British, hailed the recently concluded election in the nation of 1.4bn Read Full Article at RT.com

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has signed into law a bill on foreign agent transparency Read Full Article at RT.com

Minister of Justice and Community Services, Minister John Amos Nalau, led a delegation from various agencies under the Ministry of Justice and Community Services (MOJCS) on an outreach program in the South of Epi.

«Output growth strengthened amid sustained and robust customer demand, which drove the upturn in new orders,» the report said

Earlier on Monday, the Office of National Security led by Director Kim Tae-hyo held a working meeting

The price of futures contracts of WTI crude oil for July delivery was down by 0.61% at $76.72 per barrel

For two days, May 21-22, tourism stakeholders, buyers and sellers, and others took over the hall in Building A at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in St James. There were many attractive booths set up and operated by tourism businesses from all...

With Jamaica just concluding its observance of Child Month in May, a time dedicated to honouring and uplifting the nation’s youths, there is an urgent issue that needs attention, childhood eye diseases, particularly myopia. This condition is...

The University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) has partnered with the science, technology and sport faculties of two other regional universities for the second biennial staging of the Frontiers of Research in Caribbean Science and Technology (...

Caribbean-inspired innovations in technologies for the administration of justice in the courts were on show at UK Digital Week. Held last week (May 23-24), it was the staging of a special Justice Symposium hosted by the Commonwealth...

On the eve of Supreme Court Justice Andrea Thomas’ rejection of the habeas corpus application for incarcerated dancehall star Vybz Kartel and two of his three co-accused to be released on bail, Jamaican jurist Patrick Lipton Robinson argued that...