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Mr Kevin Cardiff, the ECA Member responsible for the report has commented that: “The level of trust and confidence in the European Union has dropped, and we have to consider whether part of restoring its citizens’ confidence, as well as improving the EU’s overall performance, hinges on the level of accountability, in a representative democratic setting. This review should help to foster a debate among policy makers, parliamentarians and the audit community, at EU and member state level, about how current accountability and audit arrangements should be developed in the coming years”
In its role as the guardian of the EU citizens’ financial interests, the ECA reviewed existing EU accountability and audit arrangements so as to understand the nature of the challenges, gaps and overlaps that may exist at EU and Member State level. This review describes the basic accountability and audit arrangements applicable to the EU’s many institutions and agencies. It places special emphasis on those bodies to which special arrangements apply because of the nature of their functions or legal structures and on the implications of the period of economic and financial crisis for accountability arrangements.
In the landscape review, the ECA puts forward a model for accountability based on six elements: 1) clearly defined roles and responsibilities, 2) providing public assurance to the public about the achievement of EU policy objectives, 3) democratic oversight by parliaments, 4) creating feedback mechanisms for ensuring improvement over time, 5) giving strong mandates for the independent external audit of EU bodies in relation to accounts and performance, 6) making adequate provision for audit recommendations to be implemented and followed up.
Against the background of the financial crisis and developments in EU economic, budgetary and monetary integration, the EU’s auditors call for greater cooperation between the ECA and the Member States’ parliaments and auditors, so as to provide the public with a more complete and comprehensive overview of how resources are used to meet EU objectives. It feels that it is time to re-think public accountability and audit within the EU, and this review points out various accountability and audit gaps, as well as overlaps in the current arrangements that need to be addressed.