Speech – Presentation of the 2008 Annual Report to the Council of the European Union

In a speech given on 18 November 2009, Mr Caldeira, President of the European Court of Auditors, said 'In short, we have four key messages in this year’s annual report. First, the EU accounts are reliable for the second year running. Secondly, the level of irregularity in the transactions underlying the accounts has decreased overall in recent years mainly due to the improvements in agriculture. But irregular payments are still too high in some areas, in particular Cohesion. Thirdly, the Court’s recommendations from previous years on how to improve systems continue to be valid as it takes time before relevant measures can be deemed to be effective. And lastly, simplification remains a priority.'

European Commission: SPEECH/09/453: Remarks following presentation of the European Court of Auditors' annual report on the 2008 budget http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/09/543&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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