European Court of Auditors
Coordinates: 49 ° 37 '23.4 " N , 6 ° 8' 55.2" E
 |
|
| State level | European Union |
|---|---|
| position | Supranational executive body (and part of the EU political system ) |
| founding | 1977 |
| Headquarters |
Luxembourg City Luxembourg
|
| Chair |
Klaus-Heiner Lehne Germany
|
| Website | eca.europa.eu |
The European Court of Auditors ( ECA for short ) is one of the organs of the European Union. It was established in 1975 by the Treaty amending certain financial regulations , began its work in 1977 as an independent supervisory body and was placed on an equal footing with the other bodies with the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 in 1993. The Amsterdam and Nice treaties further expanded his competencies. On the basis of Articles 285 to 287 of the TFEU, the ECA continuously checks the legality and proper use of all income and expenditure of the European Union . The seat of the Court of Auditors is Luxembourg .
composition
Each member state proposes a representative for the ECA who is professionally qualified and independent. These are appointed unanimously by the Council of Ministers after a hearing and a non-binding majority decision, first by the Budgetary Control Committee , then by the plenary of the European Parliament for a period of six years. At the head of the ECA there is a president , who is elected from among the members for three years (re-election is possible). The German Klaus-Heiner Lehne has been President since September 2016 . The members can form chambers for specific reports or statements . The highest official of the ECA is the General Secretary, who is appointed by the Court of Auditors and is entrusted with administrative tasks.
The employees (currently around 760) form test groups for specific test projects. You can at any time carry out audit visits to other EU institutions , in the Member States and in those countries that receive EU aid. However, he cannot take legal action - violations are reported to the other organs so that appropriate measures can be taken.
tasks
The main task is to present an annual report on the use made of European Union funds. The report is always prepared on November 30 of the following year and published in the Official Journal of the European Union with the statements of the institutions . The other organs of the EU should provide support when this report is being drawn up ( Art. 287 TFEU ). It serves the European Parliament as an aid to budgetary control and is the basis for the budget discharge of the Commission by the Parliament.
The report falls are satisfactory, the Court of Auditors presents these institutions a statement of assurance before, confirming the proper economies.
The ECA and the resignation of the Santer Commission
The work of the Court of Auditors reached a broad public in 1998 and 1999 when the European Parliament refused to discharge the Commission. The resignation of the Santer Commission took place because of the irregularities that had come to light, but not as a direct reaction to the report by the Court of Auditors. Since the Court of Auditors has issued statements of assurance (since the early 1990s), these have always been negative.
Cooperation with the European Parliament
In the course of the annual discharge procedure of the EU institutions and other bodies, the Budgetary Control Committee of the European Parliament decides on the discharge on the basis of the annual report of the Court of Auditors, which is usually published in November. The annual parliamentary hearings, which are provided for in the discharge procedure, start immediately after the publication of this analysis.
Differentiation from OLAF
The Court of Auditors is not the same as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). However, both organizations work together. If the Court of Auditors encounters irregularities or possible cases of fraud during its audit work, it forwards them to OLAF for further investigation.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.eca.europa.eu/de/Pages/History.aspx
- ↑ The College of the European Court of Auditors ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS - Guardian of EU finances - Structure
- ↑ The organization chart of the ECA ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Interview with the rapporteur for the budget discharge for 2007 ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , EP website, November 12, 2008
Web links
- European Court of Auditors website
- Provisions of the Lisbon Treaty relating to the European Court of Auditors
- Files of the European Court of Auditors at the Historical Archives of the EU in Florence
