EU Parliament Joint Resolution on Lebanon of 12 July 2023 adopts RITE Report Recommendations

The EU Parliament Joint Resolution on Lebanon of 12 July 2023 showed real resolve in its fight against corruption by going further than pointing the blame at corruption in Lebanon. It also called for changes in funding practices by the EU through tighter project management and monitoring controls, greater transparency and accountability, for the investigation of wastage of funds, and greater coordination among donors. This follows on from RITE’s engagement and the recommendations of its Report.

Paragraph 12 of the Joint Resolution «Expresses its concern about numerous cases of mismanagement and fraud related to EU-funded projects due to the lack of transparency and oversight and poor selection and bidding criteria and record keeping; invites the Commission and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the case of the alleged misuse of EU funds for waste management facilities; underlines that the EU should oversee the projects and deliver funding in instalments following independent verifications for each phase of the relevant projects in order to compensate for Lebanon’s high risk of corruption; calls for the EU and its partners to publish all relevant documents allowing for independent scrutiny by civil society; underlines that such standards and best practices should be shared across all international donors who seek to help Lebanon, such as in the case of EU support for solid waste management in Lebanon; reiterates its call on the Commission to increase the accountability and monitoring of EU-funded projects in Lebanon; »