Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694844216654.pdf (Malta)
DIPARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA Press Release PR 162870en 14.12.2016 PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES European Court of Auditors Report 2015 presented to Parliament “For a reform to work it has to be built on transparency and accountability, together with strong financial foundations.
Citizens cannot possibly begin to consider trusting the European Union Institutions unless they are convinced that we are appropriately taking care of their money and that we are keeping a good account of how we are doing this.” This was the message delivered by Mr Leo Brincat, Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) when on Monday, 12 December 2016 he presented the Court’s Annual Report covering the financial year 2015 to Deputy Speaker Ċensu Galea and then to a joint session of the Public Accounts Committee, the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee as well as the Foreign and European Affairs Committee.
The ECA Member said that European citizens are interested in the source of the budgetary funds; how they are spent; what is the present financial situation; and whether the accounts represent a true and fair view, as well as whether the estimated overall level of error remains significantly above the materiality threshold of 2%.
People want to know whether the European Institutions are transparent in the way they manage these finances, even more so at a time when public interest and awareness are becoming increasingly evident as to the determination of whether there were errors, waste and/or potential fraud during the past financial year.

Saying that the level of error stood at 3.8% does not mean that €5bn from the EU finances were wasted.
What would have actually happened is that, at the testing stage the ECA would have verified whether the EU budget was used in accordance with their intended purpose, whether the costs charged were properly calculated, and whether the eligibility conditions were adhered to.

In fact, the percentage of 3.8% refers specifically to this.

The report clearly shows that errors relate mainly to ineligible costs being declared by beneficiaries.
Additionally, some of the projects that were examined did not meet eligibility conditions set out in the regulations and/or the national eligibility rules.

Mr Brincat announced that while the European administrative expenditure had the lowest estimated level of error (0.6 %), the Court again found the highest estimated levels of error in EU spending under ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’ (5.2 %) and for ‘Competitiveness for growth and jobs’ (4.4%).
Attachments: photos Page: 1 of 3 3, CASTILLE PLACE, VALLETTA VLT 2000 Tel +(356) 2200 1700 Fax +(356) 2200 1775 press.releases@gov.mt www.doi.gov.mt The ECA Member remarked that if the Commission, authorities in the Member States or independent auditors had made use of all information available to them, they could have prevented, or detected and corrected a significant proportion of the errors before the related payments were made.
Mr Brincat highlighted the expressed EU Audit’s concern that the Commission has not produced a cash flow forecast covering the next 7 to 10 years.

He made this remark in view that such a forecast would enable stakeholders to anticipate future payment requirements and budgetary priorities.

The ECA Member also welcomed the spending of EU money in line with the principles of sound financial management: economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
In the 2015 Annual Report, Malta is mentioned generally in the context of the reporting data on all 28 Member States, as well as being sampled for reviews in the Court’s assessment of the European Commission’s control systems.

During 2015, no specific findings on Malta were reported in the Annual Report.

Mr Brincat announced that he has been assigned to the new Chamber V of the ECA - ‘Financing and administering the Union’, with the primary responsibility of the Annual Report on EU Revenue (Chapter IV).
He has further announced that he has also been appointed to a Working Group responsible for the enhancement of the institutional relations of the Court.

During the meeting, Mr Brincat explained in detail the Court’s commitment to further renew and strengthen itself, after pointing out that the ECA is presently facing a number of new challenges and opportunities.
He invited and encouraged all the stakeholders to become more acquainted with ECA’s opinions and reports, and said that we are at a crucial time when the European Court of Auditors is increasingly moving away from limiting itself to mere sound financial management, to rapidly widening its scope so to include better economic governance.
Mr Brincat explained and provided an indicative list of the increasingly growing number: of Special Reports produced by the Court in the past months; of the Landscape Reviews that depict a panoramic view of the topical issues and priorities through a cross-cutting approach, that include inputs from a good number of sources; as well as of the Performance Audits that have the purpose of directly reaching out to the citizens.
He concluded by saying that as the Court is approaching the 40-year mark since its establishment, its commitment towards its interinstitutional enhancement and strenghtened links with stakeholders is increasing thus, helping it to continue working towards fulfilling its own mission statement.

Note to editors The European Court of Auditors is the independent external audit institution of the European Union established by the EU Treaty.
The ECA plays a crucial role in ensuring effective EU accountability to citizens for the public funds put at stake to meet EU objectives by identifying risks to the financial interests of EU citizens; providing independent assurance on EU financial management; PR 162870en Page: 2 of 3 DIPARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI – DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA and advising policy makers on how to improve the use of EU public funds.
The Court of Auditors operates as a collegiate body of 28 Members, one from each Member State.
The college adopts: Annual reports (on the EU budget and the European Development Funds, covering the reliability of accounts, the regularity of income and spending and performance issues); Specific annual reports (on EU agencies and bodies); Special reports (assessing the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of selected areas of the EU budget); Landscape reviews (on selected areas of EU policy, analysing broader challenges and long term trends) and Opinions (on new or revised rules and regulations with financial impact audit reports and opinions by the Court).
ECA’s publications contribute to public oversight of the implementation of the EU budget and to informed decision-making on EU governance arrangements, policy and programme design and the allocation of EU funds.

Spending totalled €145.2 billion in 2015, or around €285 for every citizen.

It represented 2.1 % of the total general government spending of EU Member States.
The full 2015 Annual Report of the European Court of Auditors, together with other materials, including at be and http://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/AR2015.aspx the ECA website accessed videos, photos can on PR 162870en Page: 3 of 3 DIPARTIMENT TAL-INFORMAZZJONI – DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION MALTA