In an opinion published on Monday 8 October, the members of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) voice their hopes that the institution's formal role will be explicitly set out with regard to the creation of a potential European Monetary Fund (EMF).
This opinion directly echoes the European Commission's proposals of December last year concerning the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) (see EUROPE 11920). The institution suggests converting the current European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into an EMF, to be governed by EU law, whereas the ESM is currently governed on an inter-governmental basis. The Commission considers that the EMF should be answerable to the European Parliament, amongst others.
The auditors report that they "welcome the aim of the Commission proposal to bring the ESM within the EU legal framework".
Looking at the conditions under which the Court of Auditors would exercise its audit responsibilities, they call for the "ECA's role as independent external auditor of the EMF [to be] explicitly stated" in the text on the EMF. The competences of the various players involved in the audit procedure should also be clearly defined.
The auditors add that the "ECA should be given a clear and formal role in the discharge procedure of the EMF".
They also touch upon audit questions in the framework of the current ESM. This analysis is particularly relevant, as there no longer seems to be any question of the ESM becoming an EMF any time soon (see EUROPE 12105). They suggest in the opinion that the mandate of the members of the Board of Auditors of the ESM be extended or renewable, to ensure a degree of continuity.
The auditors also make recommendations concerning the information provided in reports issued by the Board of Auditors of the ESM. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)