The European Court of Auditors

 

The European Court of Auditors is responsible for verifying that European funds are collected and used correctly at all times. It contributes to improving the financial management of the EU.

It is made up of 1 member from each of the member countries. It was created in 1977 and is based in Luxembourg.

The European Court of Auditors acts as an independent external auditor of the EU, this means that it looks after the interests of all taxpayers of European citizens. It has no legal capacity but contributes to better management of the EU budget by the European Commission and reports on the Union's finances.

Another of the functions of the European Court of Auditors is the following:

- Audits EU income and expenditure to verify that the perception, use, profitability and accounting of funds are correct.

- Supervise any person or organization that manages European funds. This is done through all kinds of spot checks by the EU institutions, notably by the Commission, the Member States and the countries receiving Union aid.

- Prepare conclusions and recommendations addressed to the European Commission and national governments within the audit reports.

- If there is any suspicion of fraud, corruption or other illegal activities, inform an institution called the European Anti-Fraud Office.

- It is responsible for preparing an annual report for the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Parliament analyzes it to approve the EU budgets by the Commission.

- Facilitates expert opinions for all EU policymakers on financial management and citizen accountability.

It publishes opinions on the new legislation in the financial field, along with other types of documents such as position, studies or specific publication related to financing, among other possibilities.

To be effective, the Court is an institution independent of the traditional ones of the union. For this reason, you have the full right to decide the following:

- What you submit to an audit.

- How will you do it.

- Where and when do you present the conclusions of the study?

Taxation work is especially focused on the European Commission, this is because it is the body responsible for drawing up the EU budgets. It also collaborates with the authorities of each country to manage European funds.

The members of the tribunal are appointed by the Council, after consulting Parliament. The term is renewable every 6 years. The president is for 3 years, is a term that is also renewable.

The TCE usually carries out some audits of different types, they are the following:

- Financial audits: in this type of audits we will see if the real financial situation is being respected at all times by the accounts presented. The results and flows of a treasury in a given year or year as it is commonly called are also investigated.

- Compliance audits: these audits check whether the financial transactions are within the current regulations.

- Performance audits: it is checked whether the EU funding achieves the necessary objectives using the fewest resources possible and in the most economical way.

The Court of Auditors is divided into different audit groups that are responsible for preparing the reports that become official when they are approved by the members of the court.