On 13 November, the European Court of Auditors gave a favourable opinion on the 2023 accounts of 12 Joint Undertakings under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. However, the auditors point to some areas requiring extra care, such as securing contributions from private partners up to the agreed levels.
The auditors report significant risks concerning the ‘Fusion for Energy’ Joint Undertaking responsible for the European contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. In particular, they believe that the revision of the ITER project milestones to take account of significant technical changes and cost increases will have a considerable impact on the cost of completing delivery obligations, now estimated at €21.2 billion.