At a plenary session in Brussels on Thursday 9 November, MEPs approved the extension of the mandates of two auditors from the European Court of Auditors, Bettina Jakobsen from Denmark (521 votes in favour, 16 against and 30 abstentions) and Tony Murphy from Ireland, the current President of the European Court of Auditors (496 votes in favour, 19 against and 33 abstentions), as well as the candidacy of Alejandro Blanco Fernández (431 votes in favour, 108 against and 32 abstentions), proposed by Spain. The EU Treaty allows each Member State to propose its own candidate for the Court of Auditors. After consulting the European Parliament, the Member States nominate the candidates for a six-year term of office. The European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) vetted these three candidates, and the final decision now rests with the EU Member States. (PLD)