The European Union employs a variety of public accountability measures to review and reform budgets across government. As the EU's budget is at risk of
maladministration
Maladministration is the actions of a government body which can be seen as causing an injustice. The law in the United Kingdom says Ombudsmen must investigate maladministration.
The definition of maladministration is wide and can include:
*Delay ...
, every year 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 ( ...
reports on the management of the budget. European Union auditors have stated that as they implement more
transparency and
double-entry book-keeping systems, it is likely to improve budget management.
In order to strengthen the means of fraud prevention, the Commission established the
European Anti-Fraud Office
The European Anti-Fraud Office (commonly known as OLAF, from the french: Office européen de lutte antifraude) is a body mandated by the European Union (EU) with protecting the Union's financial interests. It was founded on 28 April 1999, unde ...
, also known as OLAF, on 28 April 1999, under the European Commission Decision 1999/352. The Office was given responsibility for conducting administrative anti-fraud investigations by having conferred on it a special independent status.
Auditing
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 ( ...
checks that all the Union's revenue has been received and all its expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular manner and that the EU budget has been managed soundly. The Court was established on 22 July 1975 by the Budgetary Treaty of 1975. The Court started operating as an external Community audit body in October 1977.
Transparency
The meetings of the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
(the relevant Minister from each member state) are mostly public. A webcast on the sessions can also be seen on the website of the Council.
Also, the standard of plenary sittings of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
is to
stream the debates over the Internet. In addition, the public can observe sittings directly from a separate gallery. Also, nearly all sittings of
Parliamentary Committees are observable by the public, except for certain matters such as requests for removal of the parliamentary immunity of a Member of the European Parliament.
In addition, the activities of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
are subject to
transparency. The monitoring of the Commission has to be performed by a body that is independent of the Commission, such as "European Anti-Fraud Office" (OLAF) that reports to the European Parliament.
OLAF website
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See also
* Resignation of the Santer Commission
* Marta Andreasen
Marta Andreasen (born 26 November 1954) is an Argentine-born Spanish accountant. She was employed in January 2002 by the European Commission as Chief Accountant,Andreasen, Marta: ''Brussels Laid Bare'', pg. 20. St. Edwards Press Ltd, July 2009 ...
- former Chief Accountant of the European Union. She criticises the European Union accounting system for being open to fraud.
* Paul van Buitenen
Paul van Buitenen (; born 28 May 1957) is a retired Dutch politician of the Europe Transparent Party who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009.
He was an assistant-auditor in the European Commission's Financial Control ...
- former auditor in the European Union who denounced fraud and mismanagement within the commission and the abuse of the EU expenses and staff allowance system.
* List of books on the European Union
List of books on the European Union:
* ''Brussels Laid Bare'' by Marta Andreasen (2009) St Edwards Press,
* ''Blowing the Whistle: Fraud in the European Commission'' by Paul van Buitenen (2000) Politicos Publishing,
* ''The European Dream'' ...
References
Books on the subject
* Andreas Oldag, Hans-Martin Tillack Hans-Martin Tillack (born 1961 in Königs Wusterhausen, near Berlin), is a German reporter, who grew up in Stuttgart.
He studied politology and sociology in Marburg and Berlin, worked for five years as reporter for taz before coming to Stern in ...
: ''Raumschiff Brüssel – Wie die Demokratie in Europa scheitert (''in German, ''Spaceship Brussels – How Democracy in Europe fails)'', Argon Verlag, 2003 (1st ed., hardcover), , / Fischer, Frankfurt 2004 (2nd ed.) ,
* Paul van Buitenen
Paul van Buitenen (; born 28 May 1957) is a retired Dutch politician of the Europe Transparent Party who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009.
He was an assistant-auditor in the European Commission's Financial Control ...
: ''Blowing the Whistle: Fraud in the European Commission'', Politicos Pub, 2000, ,
External links
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accountability in the European Union
European Union law
Political corruption
Corruption in Europe
Transparency (behavior)
de:Korruption in der Europäischen Union
es:Oficina Europea de Lucha contra el Fraude