It was hailed by its cheerleaders as the moment when the EU transformed itself into a genuine fiscal union, issuing its own bonds, and spending money that would even out the differences in growth between regions.
It was a “turning point”, according to the economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, while the EU’s hyperactive President Ursula von der Leyen described it as “Europe’s moment”.
Well, perhaps. Where the money has been claimed, the EU has managed to issue the bonds, and raise the cash in the markets. Investing it well, however, has proved more difficult.
Earlier this month, Italian police arrested more than 20 suspects from across the bloc, at the request of EU prosecutors, over a suspected fraud of more than €600m. During the raids, police seized Rolexes, gold jewellery, Lamborghinis and Porches, which gives us an idea of where at least some of the cash went.
It does not stop there. Last week, the website Politico reported that the authorities are investigating the way that €2.5bn of Covid recovery funds earmarked for Greece had been awarded to a small group of telecoms companies in the country, with offices raided by the Greek competition commission, and an investigation opened by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
It is too early to speculate on the possible outcome of these investigations. But the suspicion must be that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Consider how the fund’s biggest project, a bridge linking Sicily to the mainland, has yet to break ground. Despite the words of gushing EU bureaucrats, there was surely always a risk of fraud and corruption in handing out such vast sums.
