The
Commons
European Scrutiny Committee has called for a debate on the twelfth
successive refusal by the
European
Court of Auditors to give a positive statement of assurance on the
European Commission’s 2005 accounts.
MPs on the committee accepted that while the report contains evidence of
‘some’ fraud and irregularities, it is not primarily concerned with fraud
against the EU budget but shows that ‘further improvements in financial
management and control’ are needed. They demanded the government justify its
‘continued optimism’ that matters are improving.
The UK decided in November to proceed with a
National Audit
Office proposal to audit an annual statement on EU expenditure in
Britain and submit its opinion to the UK Parliament – alongside similar
initiatives in The Netherlands and Denmark.
Further reading
EC
urges greater auditor competition
EC
hands out hefty fines for subsidy fraud
Auditors
give EU accounts their 12th qualification
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