The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is a
committee of the European Parliament. with 30 permanent members. It can be seen as the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
's internal "political watchdog", seeking to identify undesirable developments within EU institutions and other bodies and then to elaborate constructive suggestions for improvement.
The committee's chair as of 2022 is Monika Hohlmeier.
Responsibilities of the committee
The Committee on Budgetary Control is responsible for the control of the implementation of the European Union's budget, meaning that the taxpayers' money is spent efficiently, effectively and according to EU law. In close cooperation with the
Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...
, it audits the accounts of EU institutions and suggests improvements in order to ensure sound financial management. It considers fraud and irregularities in the budget implementation, and suggests measures aimed at preventing and prosecuting such cases. In this context, it liaises with the union's Anti-Fraud Office
OLAF
Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...
to strengthen the fight against fraud and corruption.
The
discharge procedure is the main tool at hand of the parliamentarians in the committee. During this procedure it scrutinises the implementation of the EU budget by all actors involved, i.e. inter alia the commission, Parliament, other institutions and agencies, on the basis of the yearly annual report of the
European Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...
. For this purpose, the committee organizes hearings to which it invites members of the examined bodies. The parliamentarians then transmit detailed questions about the activities and the performance of the respective proceeding working year (x, e.g. 2011). This process usually starts in October of the following year (x+1, e.g. 2012) and is then voted in the committee in March and in the Plenary in April of the next following year (x+2, e.g. 2013).
Overview of Discharge Procedure 2011, Budget Control Committee of the European Parliament, retrieved 29 May 2013.
See also
*European Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...
*Santer Commission
The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer (former Prime Minister of Luxembourg).
The body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of ...
References
External links
*
{{EuroparlCommittees
Budgetary