MEPs to meet national MPs over EU funds

MEPs on the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee are to hold a special hearing next week (9-10 October) with their counterparts from the budgetary control committees of national parliaments.

The meeting will focus in particular on accounting for the use of EU funds whose management is shared between the European Commission and national administrations.

The Parliament’s budgetary control committee, known by its French acronym as Cocobu, has been pressing for national administrations to be more accountable for the administration of Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) payments and structural funds.

MEPs called in their resolution on the 2003 spending for member states’ finance ministers to make signed declarations of assurance on the proper use of EU funds. That suggestion was rejected by EU finance ministers. Dutch MEP Jan Mulder, who drafted Parliament’s report on the 2004 spending, proposed that the member states should make a declaration for each major sector of spending. Instead of one signature from the finance minister, Parliament is now suggesting that national administrations should be left to identify the relevant bodies that should be accountable and make the declarations.

In advance of the meeting, Mulder, who is drafting a report on the issue, has circulated questions to the national parliamentarians, including: "What is your impression of the effectiveness of the EU control systems in your member state?" and "What, in your opinion, should be done in order to address the weaknesses identified by the European Court of Auditors?"

Mulder points out that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has repeatedly stated that the main problems with the legality and regularity of EU spending are in the member states and not with the Commission.

"The fact that member states are free to organise these controls in the way that each considers best, given its institutional and administrative structure, results in a rather heterogeneous quality of member states’ control standards," Mulder said in a document prepared for the meeting.

He added: "The fundamental problem is that no-one in the member state is taking overall ­responsibility for the quality of the control and supervision at national level and that the information transmitted to the Commission and the Court of Auditors is not always good enough."

The Commission, for its part, has been backing the Parliament’s efforts to get greater accountability from national administrations. It has also been pressing for national administrations to make public the names of those who receive CAP payments and regional aid.

The hearing will also discuss how the national control committees treat the annual report of the ECA and will discuss whether national audit institutions should be given a greater role in controlling the use of EU money in member states.

Mulder has found that the national audit institutions differ in their views. Some argue that their role is to answer to the ­national parliament. ­Others seem more open to co-operating with the Euro­pean Court of Auditors.

Next week’s meeting will be chaired jointly by Szabolcs Fazakas, chairman of ­Cocobu, and Anni Sinne­mäki, chairman of the Finnish parliament’s subcommittee for administration and control.

Those scheduled to attend include German member of parliament Jans-Joachim Fuchtel, vice-chairman of the Bundestag’s audit committee and British member of parliament, Edward Leigh, chairman of the House of Commons’ public accounts committee.

MEPs on the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee are to hold a special hearing next week (9-10 October) with their counterparts from the budgetary control committees of national parliaments.