Europees parlement: verbeteringen nodig in budget controle (en)

Although control of EU spending has improved and errors are down, more needs to be done, said Budgetary Control Committee MEPs on Tuesday as the Court of Auditors presented its 2008 report. The presentation launched the 2008 discharge procedure.

"There are three main problem areas: structural and cohesion funds, EU external actions and the relationship between the Member States, Council and Commission", said 2008 discharge rapporteur Boguslaw Liberadzki (S&D, PL), commenting on the presentation.

The Court of Auditors estimates that at least 11 % of the total amount reimbursed for cohesion policy in 2008 should not have been paid out. There are also high levels of errors in the accounts for structural funds and EU's external actions, it said.

Member States fail to check on use of EU funds

Audit Commissioner Siim Kallas i presented the Commission's own annual financial report for 2008. Jorgo Chatzimakrakis (ALDE, DE), urged him to get tough with Member States that are failing to check on the use of EU funds within their territories: "Mr Kallas, can't you point finger at the Member States? It must be possible for repeat offenders to be named and shamed. The Parliament would be only too happy to help you flex your muscles."

Ingeborg Grässle (EPP, DE), also called for better checks: "We, the Parliament, adopt the budget, but we also need to be certain that the funds go to where we envisage."

The Court reported that in general, the proportion of errors was down on previous years, notably in the area of agriculture and natural resources, where it is now below 2 %. To continue this positive trend, President of the Court Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira suggested better supervision, clearer and simpler rules and reviewing programmes with high levels of errors. He also reiterated that most reported errors are due not to fraud, but to misinterpretations of EU rules or failures to check on payments.

Next steps

The Court of Auditors will present its 2008 report to plenary on 26 November in Strasbourg. The Budgetary Control committee will then arrange a series of hearings in late 2009 and early 2010. The final plenary vote on the 2008 discharge is scheduled for the 19-22 April 2010 session.

Committee on Budgetary Control