The EU’s research Joint Undertakings: “Clean accounts, and transactions mostly compliant with the rules”

The European Court of Auditors has issued unqualified (“clean”) audit opinions on the accounts of the European Union’s 41 agencies and signed them off as reliable. The auditors also issued clean audit opinions on the financial transactions for 40 of the agencies, and a qualified opinion in one case.

The EU agencies are distinct legal entities set up by secondary legislation to carry out specific technical, scientific or managerial tasks that help the EU institutions design and implement policies.

“The EU’s agencies make a significant contribution to the implementation of policies and programmes in areas of vital importance to European citizens’ daily life, such as health, safety, security, freedom and justice,” said Rimantas Šadžius, the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the annual audits of the agencies. “As auditors, we are therefore pleased to report that their accounts presented a fair view of their finances and that their revenue and payment transactions complied with the rules in most cases. However, we have made a number of recommendations, in particular in relation to further improvements in their operational efficiency.”