The European Commission has been criticised over the way it hires and uses external consultants “which does not fully ensure that it maximises value for money or fully safeguards its interests”.
A report by the watchdog body, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) found that the amount the Commission spends on external consultants had risen from €799 million ($A1.2 billion) in 2017 to €971 million ($A1.46 billion) in 2020.
According to the report, there were clear issues as there was no definitive framework for using external advisory services.
Commenting on the report, ECA member, François Roger-Cazala said outsourcing some tasks could be useful and sometimes necessary.
“However, the European Commission should make sure that in doing so it maximises the value obtained for the amount of money disbursed,” Mr Roger-Cazala (pictured) said.
The auditors warned there were risks “related to the concentration of service providers, over-dependence and conflicts of interest which are not sufficiently monitored”.
The report stated there were also issues with how the added value of consultants’ work was assessed.
According to the report, the Commission relied on these external services as they provided a cheaper alternative to hiring staff on-site.
The study comes after criticism last year concerning the Commission’s use of the ‘big four’ consultancy firms, PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte.
Mr Roger-Cazala said the Commission had agreed to implement the report’s recommendations, which included greater transparency as well as developing measures to decide on whether outsourcing work was necessary.
“At the moment, that is not happening enough,” he said.
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