Europese Rekenkamer presenteert jaarprogramma 2006 aan Europees Parlement (en)

ECA/06/1

Speech by Mr. Hubert Weber, President of the European Court of Auditors

Brussels, 21 february 2006

Mr Chairman, Members of the European Parliament,

It is a pleasure for me to present to you the work of the European Court of Auditors for this year, as set out in our 2006 work programme.

As you know, the Court issues two main types of publications: its Annual Report - a substantial document setting out its financial audit findings in the form of the Statement of Assurance (or DAS) - and Special Reports, setting out the results of its performance audits of specific budgetary areas or management topics. In addition, the Court issues Specific Annual Reports, mainly on the Community bodies and Agencies, as well as Opinions on proposals for new or revised legislation. In 2005 the Court published 5 Special Reports, 20 Specific Annual Reports and 11 Opinions, as well as its 2004 Annual Report on the general budget and on the European Development Funds.

At any given time the Court has a number of performance audit tasks ongoing. During a particular year, some of them will be at the planning and preparation stage or at the fieldwork stage whilst other audit tasks will reach completion - generally resulting in the publication of a Special Report.

Consequently, my presentation will give an overview, in respect of 2006, of:

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  the audit tasks nearing completion, which are likely - subject to decision by the Court - to be published during this year: and
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  a number of on-going and new audit tasks that may result in a report being written and published at a later stage.

However, before going into details with regard to the 2006 work programme, I would like to outline a number of issues affecting, or likely to affect, the Court of Auditors during 2006.

The Financial Regulation requires the Court's Annual Report from the 2005 financial year onwards to be completed one month earlier than previously. This means that the publication - and presentation to this Committee - of the Annual Report will need to be brought forward from the usual mid-November date to the last week of October. This new timetable, and in particular the associated reduction in the amount of time after the year end closure to do the underlying audit work, poses a significant challenge for the Court.

This year's DAS work will be challenging for another reason: the 2005 financial year is the first that the Communities Annual Accounts will be established under the accruals-based accounting principles. The opening balances will be the crucial starting point for our audit of the reliability of the accounts, requiring specific attention and extra resources. In this respect, we note critically that the Commission has not yet finalised the establishment of the opening balances for 2005.

Over the years, the Court has continued to develop its DAS approach. The Court intends to go on doing so, in order to adapt to changing circumstances and to better meet the needs of its users. It is now, therefore, particularly important to take into account the impact of accruals-based accounting among other things. As the audit work supporting the 2005 DAS is currently ongoing, these changes will apply from the 2006 financial year onwards.

The Court will shortly make decisions relating to the form and content of the Annual Report in order to take account of the consequences of the Commission's introduction of Activity Based Budgeting and Activity Based Management. In doing so, the Court is particularly concerned that its reporting should better reflect the new structures for budgeting, management and accountability.

Enlargement has increased the size of the Court, its resources and its audit field. We continually endeavour to work to improve our organisation and working methods in order to be more efficient and effective. I consider it to be particularly important for the Court to produce its reports more quickly by ensuring greater concentration of its available resources on individual tasks.

As announced at the time of the presentation of the 2004 Annual Report, the Court has now, in line with best practice, begun to carry out a self-assessment in order to establish its own strengths and weaknesses and to establish an action plan for remedial measures. A peer review of its organisation and methods will follow and will be carried out by professional experts from other Supreme Audit Institutions. The objective of the review will be to critically assess the quality of the Court's management and output, and identify corrective action needed.

Before I talk about the main themes of the 2006 work programme, broken down by budget area, I would like to say a few words about Special Reports that are currently in the pipeline, for which the audit work has been completed and which are currently going through our pre-publication procedures. They are:

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  an audit of the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) which assessed the extent to which the Commission's management was conducive to the economic, efficient and effective implementation of the TEN-T programme;
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  an audit of the contribution of the European Social Fund in combatting early school leaving which ascertained the extent to which the Commission has adequate procedures to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the European Social Fund co-financed actions;
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  an audit of the performance of projects financed under the TACIS programme in the Russian Federation, carried out in cooperation with the Russian Chamber of Accounts.

The Court will continue to keep this Committee informed of the progress of Special Reports in the pipeline and awaiting publication, to allow you to plan your own work and reporting.

I now wish to focus on the details of our work programme for 2006 for each budgetary area in turn by outlining the performance audit tasks likely to be completed during the year, as well as some of the principal new audit tasks to be started:

Within agricultural policy we are currently completing an audit on the effectiveness of producer organisations in the fruit and vegetables sector. The Court's audit aims to contribute to the Commission's reform of this agricultural market area. In 2006 this audit topic will be expanded to cover also the new Member States.

Another audit which should provide an active contribution to reform is the Court's examination of aid granted for the cultivation of grapes intended for the production of dried grapes.

Our audit of rural development investments examines the extent to which the policy is effective, and that of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) assesses the efficiency and reliability of this key management and internal control tool. For the latter, the work already undertaken on the EU 15 will be completed by an audit of the new Member States during 2006.

An audit on the management of the milk quotas in the new Member States is also on-going.

The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and enlargement will be the key focus for audits starting this year. One of the most important measures in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is the single farm payment. The audit of single payment scheme entitlements is intended to provide assurance as to the extent to which the entitlements allocated to each farmer, on which future direct payments will be based, have been established in accordance with the regulations and correctly assessed and recorded in the new Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). Another audit project concerns the issue of legislative compliance in the implementation of Regulation 386/90 on customs' inspections in the new Member States. The customs authorities of Member States are in fact required to inspect a certain percentage of exports with regard, among other things, to the description, quantity, origin and quality of the products for which export refunds have been granted. The audit is intended to provide assurance that the measures adopted by the new Member States comply with the Regulation. In addition, the Court will begin an audit which will examine the appropriateness of the monitoring of the Commission's pre-enlargement measures for export refunds.

Regarding structural measures, two performance audits are planned to be completed during this year: one on the quality of ex-post evaluations of the 1994-1999 Structural Fund programming period; and another on large-scale projects, examining whether major infrastructure and production sector investments have been managed in accordance with the principles of economy, value for money and effectiveness.

In addition, the Court will start a number of new audits in the current year, including Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession projects in the new Member States. The aim of this audit is to establish whether these ISPA projects have been carried out as planned and whether they have contributed to the process of integration and economic development in the new Member States. Other new audit topics are state aid schemes related to regional development in view of their coming review by the Commission, gender equality in the labour market and the technical assistance used in the management of the Structural Funds programmes.

In the internal policies and research area , the Court's audit of the scientific and socio-economic impact of the European RTD framework programmes is planned to be completed during the year. The audit assesses how far Community research programmes contribute to the Lisbon objectives and the adequacy of Commission systems for evaluating the impact of indirect RTD actions.

New tasks for 2006 include an audit of the risks associated with the management of vocational training activities, including Leonardo, and an audit of the evaluation of management system for TEN-Energy programmes, including the coordination of various initiatives in the area of energy and the relations between research and policy initiatives.

As regards external action , our audit of ECHO's humanitarian aid for the Tsunami disaster assesses the rapidity of the response, coordination with other donors, control procedures and whether the projects achieve their results and were sustainable. The Court is actively cooperating in this field with INTOSAI, the world federation of supreme audit bodies.

The Court will also complete its audit on the MEDA programme, concluding on the adequacy of Commission's management and the contribution of the programme to economic reform and social development in the partner countries. The Court's findings should make a useful contribution to the revision of the programme by the Commission and Council in 2006, and the preparation of the next round of country programming.

The other audits likely to be completed during 2006 in this area include one on the environmental aspects of development cooperation - covering the management and results of environmental protection projects as well as the consideration of environmental aspects of other development projects - and another on the Community Assistance to Reconstruction Development and Stabilisation programme in the Balkans. The latter seeks to determine whether management structures and systems, in particular those in the European Agency for Reconstruction, ensure the achievement of the programme objectives.

In respect of pre-accession strategy, the Court's audit of Phare investment projects in Bulgaria and Romania is in the process of being concluded. The audit assessed the results of the investment components of Phare-supported projects in these countries. The audit examined whether the projects were in line with Phare objectives, operating as intended and sustainable.

An audit of pre-accession aid to Turkey will be launched in 2006, and it should also produce findings about the extent to which the Commission was able to learn from its experience of delivering earlier pre-accession aid to other countries.

Under the administrative expenditure heading, the Court will complete its audits of the EU institutions' expenditure on buildings as well as of translation expenditure by the Parliament, the Commission and the Council.

Among new audit tasks for 2006 in this area are the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal organisation and management of the European Personnel Selection Office EPSO: and the regularity and value for money of contracts for purchase and lease of IT services and equipment.

Finally, in the area of revenue, the Court intends to consolidate its previous observations and recommendations on VAT/GNI with a view to contributing to the ongoing discussions on the future of the EU's own resources system. In addition, the Court is carrying out an audit of administrative cooperation for the application of VAT in Intra-Community trade, including managing the risk of carousel fraud.

In addition, the Court's opinion on numerous draft regulations is likely to be requested in the course of the year. Notably, those:

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  concerning rules for the participation for the undertakings, research centres and universities in actions under the 7th Framework programme and for the dissemination of research results for 2007-2013 period: and
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  an update of the implementing rules for the Financial Regulation, once the ongoing revision is completed.

As you can see from my descriptions, the 2006 work programme is extensive. I am aware that the European Parliament - and this Committee in particular - are among the key users of the Court's audit reports and Opinions. The Court aims to produce professional and objective reports that are as useful and relevant as possible to you in exercising your power of control over the implementation of the European Union finances and the political decision-making process. I hope the work programme which I have presented accords with these concepts.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your kind attention.