Europese Rekenkamer wenst versterking positie in Grondwet (en)

Adopted at the meeting of the Contact Committee of the Heads of the Supreme Audit institutions of the European Union and the Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the Acceding Countries Prague on 9-10 December 2003. The Contact Committee of Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the European Union, having considered the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe as elaborated by the European Convention, wishes to express its opinion on the position of the Court of Auditors in the draft Treaty:

I.

The Contact Committee would like to state that an institution entrusted with external audit of public finance should be placed at the same level as the bodies it audits. Therefore, it considers that the mentioning of the European Court of Auditors among the 'other institutions and bodies' is not appropriate. The right place for the external auditor of public finance is, in the opinion of the Contact Committee, in the 'single institutional framework'.

II.

The Contact Committee is of the opinion that independent of the outcome of the IGC on the above mentioned issue, the Treaty (Article III-312, par. 3) should be amended in order to ensure the European Court of Auditors its own part in the budget. A separate budget is one of the guarantees of the independence of any Supreme Audit Institution.

ENCL.

Letter to Intergovernmental Conference

List of Presidents of the Supreme Audit Institutions

President of the Intergovernmental Conference

Palazzo Chigi

Roma

ITALIA         10 December 2003

We, the Contact Committee of the Heads of the European Union Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and the European Court of Auditors, together with the Heads of the Supreme Audit institutions of the 10 Acceding Countries want to express to you our concern about the change of the status of the European Court of Auditors, proposed in the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. In the Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice, the European Court of Auditors was established as one of the five institutions of the Union. In the proposed draft of the Constitution there is a new concept of a separate "single institutional framework" and of "other institutions and bodies".

Given that the institutions included in the proposed "single institutional framework" should reflect and promote the values of the European Union, we firmly believe that the European Court of Auditors should be part of this group. Its exclusion could convey, albeit unintentionally, an inappropriate message about the value the European Union attaches to accountability and good financial management.

In addition we take the view that it is of fundamental importance that the European Court of Auditors, as the institution entrusted with external audit of the European Union's finances, should not be accorded a lower status than the institutions it audits. Accordingly the view of all the Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions attending our meeting in Prague today is that the European Court of Auditors should be restored to its original position in the institutional framework of the European Union.

Our concern and unease on this matter is expressed in a Resolution which the Contact Committee and the Heads of the SAIs of the Acceding Countries approved unanimously. We attach a copy of the Resolution to this letter. We also attach a full list of the Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions who were present at our meeting in Prague.

Meeting of the Contact Committee

of the Heads of the Supreme Audit institutions (SAIs) of the European Union,

with the participation of the Heads of the SAIs of the Acceding Countries

Prague, 9-10 December 2003

EU Member States