MEPs urge tighter controls on spending

By Martin Banks

Date: 17/03/05

Parliamentary clearance of the European Commission's 2003 accounts moved a step closer yesterday (16 March) with MEPs urging tighter financial controls on EU spending in the member states.

The budgetary control committee's recommendation for discharge of the accounts will be put to a vote of the full European Parliament on 12 April.

In addition, the committee said that to deal with any existing weaknesses in the management of EU funds, each member state should have to state every year that proper control systems are in place.

MEPs want the Commission to draw up a report to this effect.

They say that if this principle is not accepted, the Council of Ministers and the Commission will be informed that it will be difficult for Parliament to reach an agreement on EU finances for the period 2007-13.

Committee members said that a system of this kind was needed because current supervisory systems and controls could not guarantee the "legality and regularity of transactions" where community funds were jointly managed by the Commission and the member states.

UK socialist MEP Terry Wynn, who drew up the committee's report, said he was proposing "a simple and clear national declaration of assurance".

"I want the current system of control to be further developed into a global disclosure statement for each member state," he said.

"This goal should be realised sooner rather than later. The financial management in the EU is, at present, not good enough."

The Commission supports the idea of a statement of assurance from the member states but does not believe it should go beyond what is foreseen in the proposals for financial provisions in agriculture and structural funds for the next financial perspectives period of 2007-13.

Under the agriculture proposals, the member states would have to accredit paying agencies and those bodies would be obliged to provide sufficient guarantees that the eligibility of requests and their compliance with Community rules were checked before payment was authorised.

For structural funds, the proposal includes an assurance provided by the member states about the management and control systems.

"We still need to reflect on the need and possibility for getting this assurance at political level in the member states," a Commission official said.

The problems with spending in the member states have provoked regular criticism from the Commission's external auditors, the European Court of Auditors.

Another criticism from the Court has been the Commission's ignorance as to its assets and liabilities.

The Commission yesterday published an upbeat report on progress in modernising its accounting systems.

Parliamentary clearance of the European Commission's 2003 accounts moved a step closer when the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee gave its recommendation for discharge of the accounts on 16 March 2005. This was to be put to a vote of the full European Parliament on 12 April. Meanwhile MEPs were urging tighter financial controls on EU spending in the member states.