The European Union is forking out more than €300,000 on a TV show set on the small tropical island of Madeira, prompting outrage in some quarters.
A special episode of the Portuguese show Preço Certo, or The Price is Right, will receive a total lump sum of €359,747.50, most from EU public funds, but with €50,000 provided by the island’s own authorities.
However, the extent of the spending has sparked criticism, leading Portuguese MEP João Pimenta Lopes to directly question the European Commission over the decision. Given the scale of the sum, Lopes wondered why the EU money could not be used “for other pressing needs in Madeira, including housing, support for producers, healthcare and education?”
The pay-out may also add to concerns over the handling of taxpayers’ money, on both the EU and the Portuguese levels. In addition, Portugal has been at the centre of recent scandals regarding its state-owned airline, TAP, which forced ministers to resign and almost brought down the government.
The Price is Right is one of the most-watched programmes on Portuguese TV. In May, a three-hour special was filmed on Madeira, apparently to help promote the island’s tourism sector and boost the economy.
Miguel Albuquerque, the president of the autonomous island, defended the EU decision. After playing a starring role in the show, he said that “there are no reasons for a commission of inquiry”, and that in excess of €300,000 was “money very well invested”.
With the Madeiran Government having already paid the total sum to the media company responsible for making the TV show, it appears island authorities are now waiting on an EU committee decision to reimburse them. Commissioner Wojciechowski wrote that the application was “still under analysis.”
He also highlighted that Member States are responsible for ensuring that EU-funded projects meet “all eligibility conditions”.
He then told Lopes to take his concerns over the matter to the Portuguese authorities.
The Madeira incident comes amid a raft of questions about how the EU checks and prevents corruption occurring with the funds it hands out.
In March, the EU’s main anti-corruption watchdog, the Court of Auditors, warned that there was an “accountability gap” in EU project financing, mainly in post-Covid recovery funds.
The problem, it said, was essentially that the EC distributes billions in funds for projects to Member States but fully relies on the Member States to ensure that those funds are not being misspent.
Ultimately, the Auditors pointed out, the EC cannot fully check how EU money was being used.
