{
  "id": 12857047,
  "title": "EU debt could hit €1 trillion by 2027 as spending errors rise, auditors warn",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/eu-debt-could-hit-1-trillion-by-2027-as-spending-errors-rise-auditors",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-08T11:13:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euronews",
    "slug": "euronews",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/08/eu-debt-could-hit-1-trillion-by-2027-as-spending-errors-rise-auditors-warn"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The European Union's debt is expected to surpass €1 trillion by 2027, according to the European Court of Auditors (ECA), which warned of rising spending errors in its latest report. The ECA urged policymakers negotiating the 2028-2034 budget to avoid replicating the weaknesses of the pandemic-era stimulus scheme in the proposed budget. The auditors estimated that 3.8% of last year's EU budget spending, excluding the recovery fund, violated EU or national funding rules, a significant increase from 3.6% in 2024. Error rates were particularly high in cohesion funding for jobs, growth, and regional development, as well as agriculture and the environment. The European Commission, which oversees the EU budget, put its own cohesion estimate at 2.3%, but the auditors believed it was likely underestimated. The Commission also claimed that the error rate was comparable to the previous year but significantly lower than in 2023 and 2022. Outstanding EU borrowing increased by over 20% to €738.9 billion last year, with potential debt reaching €1 trillion by 2027, largely due to the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) recovery package. The Commission proposed a fixed €24 billion annual payment to repay NGEU debt, but interest alone could reach €93 billion over seven years. Liabilities backed by the EU budget could reach €664 billion by 2027. The Commission's €2 trillion proposal for the next budget would largely follow the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) model, but 9 of the 37 RRF grant payments last year breached the stipulated rules. The auditors cautioned that this could result in governments receiving EU money for delivering less than originally promised.",
  "summary": "EU auditors said 3.8% of the bloc's spending last year breached funding rules, warning that borrowing could hit €1 trillion by 2027 and that the next long-term budget risks repeating the flaws of the COVID-era recovery fund, as the Commission defended its controls.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}