Eerste jaarlijkse Rapport van de Activiteit van de Europese Rekenkamer (en)
ECA/08/15
Luxembourg, 18 July 2008
First Annual Activity Report of the European Court of Auditors i
ECA President Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira today presented the European Court of Auditors’ 2007 Annual Activity Report to the press.
The Court is the external auditor of the European Union i, dedicated to improving the financial management of the Union and acting as the independent guardian of the financial interests if its citizens. Through its audit reports it provides information directly to the auditees (mainly the European Commission) and to the decision-makers in the EU (the European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers), helping them to take action and ensure that EU money adds value and is spent in a correct way.
The Court has recently adopted a more ambitious stance in the area of communication through efforts to improve the readability of its audit reports and to provide more explanatory detail in its information notes, and through a reviewed website (www.eca.europa.eu).
The next step in this process is an Annual Activity Report, which provides an annual review of the Court's activities, the resources used and what has been achieved during 2007.
The Annual Activity Report is an important element in demonstrating the openness and transparency of the Court.
President Caldeira stated during the press conference: “Bringing the European Court of Auditors closer to EU citizens is one of our key objectives and part of our mission. We hope to contribute to promoting transparency and accountability, which we aim to achieve with this Annual Activity Report”.
Mr Caldeira presented the Annual Activity Report together with Mr. Heikensten, Member of the Court responsible for communication and Mr. Henri Grethen, Luxembourg Member of the Court.
Europe by Satellite will broadcast a news item on 18 July; its retransmission is scheduled for Tuesday 22 July.
For more details, see: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm?date=07/18/2008
European Court of Auditors
Communication and reports – Press Office
Phone: (+352) 4398 45224 – fax: (+352) 4398 46224 – mobile phone (+352) 621 55 22 24
12, rue Alcide De Gasperi - L - 1615 Luxembourg
e-mail: press@eca.europa.eu