Commission remains the scapegoat for national accounting errors

10.49.24am GMT Mon 18th Feb 2008

Budgetary oversight of the EU's accounts remains a concern for Graham Watson MEP and his constituents across the South West and Gibraltar. However as EU finance ministers meet to prepare the forthcoming Spring economic summit and adopt a recommendation to the European Parliament granting discharge to the Commission for accounts of the 2006 budget year in accordance with article 276 of the Treaty, the Dutch finance minister, Wouter Bos, has called for all countries to submit annual statements summarising national auditing of EU funds.

Graham Watson criticised Europe's Member States for allowing this issue to "drag on so long without resolution, poisoning the media with untruths of EU financial irregularity."

"As long as Member States refuse to provide details of their own annual audit checks, the European Commission will remain the convenient scapegoat for everyone's accounting errors. Under current financial rules, the Commission is legally responsible for the implementation of the budget but the Member States bear direct responsibility for setting up proper control systems and conducting the audit controls in the relevant sector legislation."

The current Financial Regulation entered into force in May 2007 yet

despite this legal requirement and promises from several countries to do so, the Dutch are currently the only country to have issued a political Declaration going beyond what is required by the current Financial Regulation. This Friday (15th February) is the deadline for Member States to submit their annual audit summaries, but some are still refusing to do so.