European Court of Auditors - wikipedia European Court of Auditors Court of Auditors Official emblem Institutional overview Formed 1977 Jurisdiction European Union Headquarters Luxembourg, Luxembourg 49 ° 37 ′ 22 '' N 6 ° 8 ′ 49 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 49.62278 ° N 6.14694 ° E ﻿ / 49.62278 ; 6.14694 Institutional executive Klaus - Heiner Lehne Website eca.europa.eu The Court of Auditors ( European Court of Auditors, ECA ) ( French : Cour des comptes européenne ) is the fifth institution of the European Union ( EU ). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg. Contents 1 History 2 Functions 3 Organisation 3.1 President 3.2 Secretary - general 3.2. 1 List of Secretaries - General of the European Court of Auditors 4 Criticism 4.1 Declaration of Assurance 4.2 Size 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Council of Europe This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Europe Executive Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland Committee of Ministers President : Anders Samuelsen Legislature Parliamentary Assembly President : Stella Kyriakides European Congress President : Jean - Claude Frécon Judiciary European Court of Human Rights President : Guido Raimondi Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice European Commission against Racism and Intolerance Law Convention on Human Rights Convention on Cybercrime Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings Oviedo Convention Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse Istanbul convention Members Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Main article : History of the European Union The Court of Auditors was created by the 1975 Budgetary Treaty and was formally established on 18 October 1977, holding its first session a week later. At that time the Court was not a formal institution ; it was an external body designed to audit the finances of the European Communities. It replaced two separate audit bodies, one which dealt with the finances of the European Economic Community and Euratom, and one which dealt with the European Coal and Steel Community. The Court did not have a defined legal status until the Treaty of Maastricht when it was made the fifth institution, the first new institution since the founding of the Community. By becoming an institution it gained some new powers, such as the ability to bring actions before the European Court of Justice ( ECJ ). At first its audit power related only to the European Community pillar of the European Union ( EU ), but under the Treaty of Amsterdam it gained the full power to audit the finances of the whole of the EU. Functions Despite its name, the Court has no judicial functions. It is rather a professional external investigatory audit agency. The primary role of the court is to externally check if the budget of the European Union has been implemented correctly, in that EU funds have been spent legally and with sound management. In doing so, the court checks the paperwork of all persons handling any income or expenditure of the Union and carries out spot checks. The court is bound to report any problems in the Court 's reports for the attention of other states and institutions, these reports include its general annual report as well as specific and special reports on certain bodies and issues. The Court 's decision is the basis for the European Commission decisions ; for example, when the Court found problems in the management of EU funds in the regions of England, the Commission suspended funds to those regions and prepared to fine those who did not come back up to acceptable standards. In this role, the Court has to remain independent yet remain in touch with the other institutions ; for example, a key role is the presentation of the Court 's annual report to the European Parliament. It is based on this report that the Parliament makes its decision on whether or not to sign off the European Commission 's handling of the budget for that year. The Parliament notably refused to do this in 1984 and 1999, the latter case forced the resignation of the Santer Commission. The Court, if satisfied, also sends assurances to the Council and Parliament that the taxpayers ' money is being properly used, and the Court must be consulted before the adoption of any legislation with financial implications, but its opinion is never binding. Organisation The ECA 's premises in Luxembourg The Court is composed of one member from each EU state, each of whom is -- after a hearing in the Budgetary Control Committee and a non-binding majority - vote in the committee as well as in the plenary of the European Parliament -- appointed unanimously by the Council of the European Union for a renewable term of six years. They are not all replaced every six years, however, as their terms do not coincide ( four of the original members began with reduced terms of four years for this reason ). Members are chosen from people who have served in national audit bodies, who are qualified for the office and whose independence is beyond doubt. While serving in the Court, members can not engage in any other professional activities. As the body is independent, its members are free to decide their own organisation and rules of procedure, although these must be ratified by the Council of the European Union. Since the Treaty of Nice, the Court can set up `` chambers '' ( with only a few Members each ) to adopt certain types of reports or opinions. The Court is supported by a staff of approximately 800 auditors, translators and administrators recruited as part of the European Civil Service. Auditors are divided into auditor groups which inspect and prepare draft reports for the Court to take decisions upon. Inspections take place not only of EU institutions but of any state which receives EU funds, given that 90 % of income and expenditure is managed by national authorities rather than the EU. Upon finding a fault, the Court -- possessing no legal powers of its own -- informs the European Anti-fraud Office ( OLAF ), which is the EU 's anti-fraud agency. The Court is also assisted by the Secretary - General of the European Court of Auditors, elected by the Court, who -- along with general management and assistance to the President -- draws up draft minutes and keeps archives of decisions, as well as ensuring the publication of reports in the Official Journal of the European Union. President The members then elect one of their number as the President of the Court for a renewable three - year term. The election takes place by a secret ballot of those members who applied for the presidency. The duties of the President ( which may be delegated ) are to convene and chair the meetings of the Court, ensuring that decisions are implemented and the departments ( and other activities ) are soundly managed. The president also represents the court and appoints a representative for it in contentious proceedings. The current President is Klaus - Heiner Lehne, elected on 13 September 2016. He succeeded Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira ( of Portugal ), elected in 2007. Previous presidents have been Sir Norman Price ( 1977, United Kingdom ), Michael Murphy ( 1977, Ireland ), Pierre Lelong ( 1981, France ), Marcel Mart ( 1984, Luxembourg ), Aldo Angioi ( 1990, Italy ), André Middelhoek ( 1992, Netherlands ), Bernhard Friedmann ( 1996, Germany ), Jan O. Karlsson ( 1999, Sweden ), Juan Manuel Fabra Vallés † ( 2002, Spain ) and Hubert Weber ( 2006, Austria ). Secretary - General The Secretary - General is the European Court of Auditors most senior member of staff. Appointed for a renewable term of 6 years, he is responsible for the management of the Court 's staff and for the administration of the Court. In addition, the Secretary - General is responsible for the budget, translation, training and information technology. List of Secretaries - General of the European Court of Auditors Patrick Everard - 16.10. 1989 to 9.2. 1994 Edouard Ruppert - 25.2. 1994 to 30.6. 2001 Michel Hervé - 1.7. 2001 to 31.10. 2008 - France John Speed ( ad interim ) - 9.10. 2008 to 15.3. 2009 - UK Eduardo Ruiz Garcia - 16.3. 2009 to present ; nominated until 15.3. 2015 - Spain Criticism Declaration of assurance Since 1994 the Court has been required to provide a `` Declaration of Assurance '', essentially a certificate that an entire annual budget can be accounted for. This has proved to be a problem, as even relatively minor omissions require the Court to refuse a declaration of assurance for the entire budget, even if almost all of the budget is considered reliable. This has led to media reports of the EU accounts being `` riddled with fraud '', where issues are based on errors in paperwork even though the underlying spending was legal. The auditing system itself has drawn criticism from this perception. The Commission in particular has stated that the bar is too high, and that only 0.09 % of the budget is subject to fraud. The Commission has elsewhere stated that it is important to distinguish between fraud and other irregularities. The controversial dismissal in 2003 of Marta Andreasen for her criticism of procedures in 2002 has, for some, called into doubt the integrity of the institutions. It is frequently claimed that annual accounts have not been certified by the external auditor since 1994. In its annual report on the implementation of the 2009 EU Budget, the Court of Auditors found that the two biggest areas of the EU budget, agriculture and regional spending, have not been signed off on and remain `` materially affected by error ''. Terry Wynn, an MEP who served on the Parliament 's Committee on Budgetary Control and reached the position of chairman, has also backed these calls, stating that it is impossible for the Commission to achieve these standards. In a report entitled EU Budget -- Public Perception & Fact -- how much does it cost, where does the money go and why is it criticised so much ?, Wynn cites consensus that practice in the EU differs from that in the USA. In the USA, the focus is on the financial information, not on the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, ' So, other than in Europe, the political reaction in the US to the failure to obtain a clean audit opinion is only `` a big yawn '' '. By comparison, the Comptroller and Auditor General for the United Kingdom stated that there were 500 separate accounts for the UK, and `` in the last year, I qualified 13 of the 500. If I had to operate the EU system, then, because I qualify 13 accounts, I might have to qualify the whole British central government expenditure ''. Despite the problems, the Barroso Commission stated that it aimed to bring the budget within the Court 's limits by the end of its mandate in 2009. The ECA made clear in its year report for 2010 that `` Responsibility for the legality and regularity of spending on Cohesion Policies starts in the Member States, but the Commission bears the ultimate responsibility for the correct implementation of the budget ''. In previous reports, the ECA has noted that `` Regardless of the method of implementation applied, the Commission bears the ultimate responsibility for the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts of the European Communities ( Article 274 of the Treaty ) ''. Size The size of the court has also come under criticism. Owing to the one - member - per - state system, its members grew from nine to twenty - seven as of 2007. Attempting to get consensus in the body has thus become more difficult ; this led to the number of its special reports per year shrinking from fifteen to six between 2003 and 2005, despite its staff growing by 200 over the same period. Some proposals have been for its size to be reduced to five members or just one, possibly with an advisory board with members from each member state. However, neither the European Constitution nor the Treaty of Lisbon proposed any changes to its composition, despite calls by former court members and MEPs to embrace change. See also National Audit Office ( United Kingdom ) Cour des Comptes ( France ) Federal Court of Auditors of Germany Chamber of Accounts ( Greece ) Swedish National Audit Office Government Accountability Office ( US ) Australian National Audit Office National Audit Office ( China ) Bundesrechnungshof Supreme Chamber of Control of the Republic of Poland Netherlands Court of Audit Court of Audit of Belgium Rigsrevisionen References ^ Jump up to : `` European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. ^ Jump up to : Bösch, Herbert ( 18 October 2007 ). `` Speech by Herbert Bösch, Chairman of the European Parliament 's Committee on Budgetary Control ''. Europa ( web portal ). Retrieved 17 October 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Institutions of the EU : The European Court of Auditors ''. Europa ( web portal ). Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2007. Jump up ^ `` Power of audit of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` EU may force region to repay cash ''. BBC News. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007. Jump up ^ `` Budgetary control : 1996 discharge raises issue of confidence in the Commission ''. Europa ( web portal ). 1999. Retrieved 15 October 2007. Jump up ^ `` Consultative powers of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Composition of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Organisation and operation of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Glossary : The European Court of Auditors ''. Europa ( web portal ). Retrieved 15 October 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Organisation of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Presidents of the European Court of Auditors ''. CVCE. Retrieved 28 April 2013. ^ Jump up to : Mulvey, Stephen ( 24 October 2006 ). `` Why the EU 's audit is bad news ''. BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2007. Jump up ^ `` Protection of the European Union 's financial interests -- Fight against fraud -- Annual Report 2009 ( vid. p. 5 ) '' ( PDF ). Europa. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` OpenEurope ''. OpenEurope. Retrieved 14 September 2011. Jump up ^ `` EU Budget -- Public Perception & Fact ( vid. II. 1.2 ; Conclusion ) ''. Terry Wynn. Retrieved 22 December 2010. Jump up ^ Karlsson, Jan ; Tobisson, Lars. `` ' Much talk, little action ' at European Court of Auditors ''. European Voice. Retrieved 15 October 2007. External links Official website Archives of the European Court of Auditors at the Historical Archives of the EU in Florence European Court of Auditors page on CVCE.eu European Union articles History Timeline Pre-1945 1945 -- 57 1958 -- 72 1973 -- 93 1993 -- 2004 Since 2004 Predecessors Timeline Founders European Coal and Steel Community ( 1951 -- 2002 ) European Economic Community ( 1958 -- 1993 / 2009 ) Euratom ( 1958 -- present ) European Communities ( 1967 -- 1993 / 2009 ) Justice and Home Affairs ( 1993 -- 2009 ) Geography Extreme points Geographic centre Largest municipalities Urban areas Larger urban zones Member states Regions ( first - level NUTS ) Special territories Politics Institutions European Council European Commission European Parliament Council of the European Union Court of Justice of the European Union European Central Bank European Court of Auditors Agencies Banking Border and coast security ( Frontex ) Disease prevention and control Environment Foreign affairs ( External Action Service ) Judicial cooperation ( Eurojust ) Law enforcement cooperation ( Europol ) Maritime safety Reconstruction Law Acquis Charter of Fundamental Rights Competition law Copyright law Directive Citizens ' Rights Directive Enhanced cooperation Environmental policy Four freedoms labour mobility Government procurement Journal Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification Legislative procedure Citizens ' Initiative Regulation Rural Development Policy Schengen Area Treaties opt - outs LGBT rights Politics Elections parliamentary constituencies Enlargement 1973 1981 1986 1995 2007 2013 Future Euromyths Political parties ( National parties by affiliation ) Euroscepticism Foreign relations Integration Parliamentary groups Pro-Europeanism Withdrawal ( Brexit ) 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Economy Budget Central bank Agricultural policy Fisheries policy Currencies Energy policy Euro Eurozone Free trade agreements Investment bank Investment fund Regional development Single market Societas Europaea Solidarity Fund Transport Galileo navigation system minimum wage average wage unemployment rate health expense per person Healthcare Health Insurance Card Driving licence European Common Aviation Area Culture Citizenship passports identity cards Cultural policies Demographics Douzelage Driving licence Education House of European History Institute of Innovation and Technology Laissez - passer Languages Media freedom Public holidays Religion Sport Telephone numbers Statistics Symbols Lists Concepts, acronyms, & jargon Agencies Books Companies Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants Largest cities by population within city limits Directives Tallest buildings Terrorist incidents Vehicle registration plates Theory Eurosphere Intergovernmentalism Multi-speed Neofunctionalism Optimum currency area Supranational union Outline Book Portal European Union portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Court_of_Auditors&oldid=821610696 '' Categories : European Court of Auditors European Union law Political corruption Government audit Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from April 2011 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Asturianu Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Mirandés Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Võro 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 21 January 2018, at 15 : 12. 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Question: when was the last time the eu was audited
Answer: 1994; 1994