Rekenkamer keurt uitgaven EU goed, maar blijft zeer kritisch (en)

The European Court of Auditors presented its report on how EU funds were spent in 2007 at a meeting of the Budgetary Control Committee today. Although the accounts themselves have been approved without qualification, the same cannot be said of the "transactions underlying the accounts": the Court said that for the 14th year in a row it was not able to issue a "statement of assurance" that the EU money has been spent well and according to the rules in all policy areas.

The Court has some good news as well. Expenditure on administration and for economic and financial affairs (enterprise, internal market, etc.) got a clean bill of health, as did the revenue side of the EU budget. There were improvements in internal policies and external actions, though not enough to affect the overall judgement. But the policy areas of agriculture, research, energy and transport, external aid, development and enlargement, education and citizenship are still "affected by material levels of error". The most prone to error are funds to promote economic and social cohesion, where some 11 per cent of the spending was not in line with the rules.  In other policy areas the level was between 2 and 5 per cent. 

Court of Auditors President Vítor Manuel Da Silva Caldeira took care to point out that this concerns irregularities such as the omission of a public tendering procedure or the co-financing of VAT.  Asked by Jean-Pierry Audy (EPP-ED, FR), who is the rapporteur on the 2007 discharge, about possible fraud and the ratio between fraud and irregularities, Mr Caldeira said that the Court is not a judicial authority and can only notify others, i.e. the EU fraud-fighting office OLAF, when it finds clear indications of possible fraud. This year, the Court had done so nine times. He also stressed that 80 per cent of the EU budget is managed at the final beneficiary level by the Member States.

More on-the-spot checks?

In order to improve the situation, Mr Caldeira advocated more on-the-spot checks, although it should be considered, he added, whether the cost of making such checks would outweigh the benefits. The budgetary authority - Parliament and the Council - should take a political decision on what would be a level of "appropriate tolerable risk". Mr Caldeira also called for a simplification of the regulatory framework.

Committee chair Herbert Bösch (PES, AT) pointed out that 2007 had been a particularly challenging year, as it was the first one under the new financial framework.  It will also be the last discharge exercise for a Commission which had set itself the task of obtaining a positive statement of insurance from the Court during its term of office, which began in 2004.

The Budgetary Control Committee will now proceed to have a series of hearings of Commissioners. The final vote on the 2007 discharge is scheduled to take place at the April 2009 plenary session.

10/11/2008

In the chair : Herbert BÖSCH (PES, AT)

Procedure: Budgetary discharge for 2007