Plenary endorses Belgian candidate to be a member of the Court of Auditors

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  Former Belgian minister Annemie Turtelboom is seeking her first mandate
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  Council to finalise the appointment

MEPs endorsed the Belgian politician Annemie Turtelboom’s mandate for the European Court of Auditors (ECA) on Thursday.

Ms Turtelboom, currently a Member of the Belgian Federal Parliament, has previously held various ministerial posts at both federal and regional levels in Belgium. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics.

If appointed, she will replace Karel Pinxten, the current Belgian member of the ECA. His nomination for a third term in office was turned down by the European Parliament in November.

Ms Turtelboom was endorsed by 501 votes to 91 with 32 abstentions, following the Budgetary Control Committee's recommendations.

Next steps

Having consulted the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers will now decide on the appointment of the candidate.

Quick facts

The European Court of Auditors, the Luxembourg-based EU’s financial watchdog, has 28 Members, one from each EU member state. They are appointed for a renewable term of six years. The Council, after consulting the European Parliament, decides on the candidate presented by each country. If the opinion, adopted by Parliament, on an individual nomination, is unfavourable, the President asks the Council to withdraw the nomination and to submit a new one to Parliament. However, the Council can also proceed with the appointment of candidates rejected by the Parliament.