Brussels, 17/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the view of the European Court of Auditors, the Commission has made considerable efforts to set in place and improve its approach to budgetary support in the countries of the ACP group (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) and the countries of Latin America and Asia. However, more could be done over increasing efficiency, by remedying the shortcomings identified in the methodology and in programme management. This is the main lesson drawn by the Court of Auditors in its special report (11/2010), which was published in Luxembourg on Wednesday 16 February and which assesses the efficacy of the Commission's management of its general budgetary support programmes.
The Court is pleased to note that all programmes systematically include macro-economic objectives, but takes the view that the objectives of the programmes do not take sufficient account of developments in the national development strategies of some countries favouring approaches focusing on growth to achieve their first objective - reducing poverty. It therefore recommends that the Commission lay greater emphasis on the specific areas in which its aid could bring greater added value.
The Court of Auditors notes that Commission has not yet set in place a single valid risk management framework to correctly assess its budgetary support programmes and reduce the risks. It therefore recommends structured assessments of risks to development, to better protect EU funds against loss, waste and inefficiency.
It recommends, too, that the Commission: - demonstrate that the amount allocated to individual programmes is appropriate in view of the objectives and the framework for dealing with risks and benefits; - carry out - with the partner country and in coordination with other donors - an assessment of priority capacity-building needs and focus on the areas where its support can provide most value added; - pay greater attention to the need to strengthen oversight bodies such as parliaments, civil society organisations and supreme audit institutions, seeking to monitor government use of budgetary resources; - strengthen its management of performance-related conditions and this should include a clear and structured process for assessments and disbursements; - define for each programme a dialogue strategy that sets out the objectives, content and modalities of the policy dialogue which is rightfully considered by the Commission to be a key component of its budget support programmes; - improve its reporting on the effectiveness of its budget support programmes to determine whether, and in what circumstances, budget support can make an effective contribution to poverty reduction. (A.N./transl.fl).