The Court of Auditors of the European Union published its annual activity report for the year 2022 on Thursday 4 May and reviewed the various publications on the problems facing the EU in its various spending and policy areas.
“The EU27 are allocating more money than ever before. This is why we will continue to play a crucial role in addressing the challenges facing the EU and building public confidence”, commented Tony Murphy, President of the European Court of Auditors.
Audit reports and visits
In 2022, the Court published 47 documents including the annual reports on the budget and on the 44 EU agencies, but also 28 special reports, eight opinions on legislative proposals and an analysis paper.
With the post-Covid-19 recovery, on-site audit visits have increased compared to 2020 and 2021 without returning to the 2019 level. In 2022, the Court spent 2,039 days doing on-the-spot audit visits in Member States and outside the EU (compared to 857 days in 2021, 1,190 in 2020 and 3,605 in 2019).
Work programme for 2023
In November 2022, the Court published its work programme for 2023 and beyond and indicated that it would publish 82 special reports and analytical papers. Twenty-one audits will focus specifically on climate change, the environment and natural resources.
One of the Court’s main priorities is the Next Generation EU recovery instrument and 12 audit reports focusing on the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ will be published.
Annual report on the EU budget for 2021
The Court notes that the Union’s expenditure amounted to €181.5 billion in 2021, which is equivalent to 1.3% of the combined Gross National Income of the 27 Member States. The Court also gave an “adverse opinion” on EU spending.
The error level for the year 2021 was between 2.2% and 3.8% and high-risk expenditure represented 63.2% of the population examined (compared to 59% in the previous year).
Evaluation of the implementation of the recommendations
The Court also measures the implementation of the recommendations it addresses, including to the Commission and other institutions, in the reports published in 2018. “100% of the 14 recommendations in the 2018 annual report and 85% of the 325 recommendations in the special reports published in 2018 have been implemented, either in full, in almost all respects or in some respects” the report says.
Budget of the Court of Auditors
The budget of the Court of Auditors amounted to over €162 million in 2022, an increase of about 1.5% of the EU’s total administrative expenditure. The 2023 budget amounts to €175 million.
To see the European Court of Auditors’ annual activity report (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/6pj (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)