Making the best use of EU money : a landscape review of the risks to the financial management of the EU budget.
Date: 2014-11-25
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EU budget, budget policy, budgetary expenditure, financial management, implementation of the budget

EN

EUROPEAN
COURT
OF AUDITORS

Landscape 
review

Making the best use of EU 
money: a landscape review 
of the risks to the financial 
management of the EU budget

2014

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS
12, rue Alcide De Gasperi
1615 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG

Tel. +352 4398-1

E-mail: eca-info@eca.europa.eu
Internet: http://eca.europa.eu

Twitter: @EUAuditorsECA
YouTube: EUAuditorsECA

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2014

ISBN 978-92-872-1138-5
doi:10.2865/76000

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Luxembourg

EN 

2014 

Landscape 
Review

 Making the best use of EU 
money: a landscape review 
of the risks to the financial 
management of the EU budget

 
Contents

02

Page

Part I 

3–6 

Executive summary

Part II — Making the best use of EU money: a landscape review of the risks to the 

financial management of the EU budget

7 

Contents

8–19 

Introduction

20–21  What are the risks to good financial management?

22–32  What goes wrong and why?

33–35  What are the opportunities and what needs to be done?

36–42  Annex  I — Risks that can occur in spending the EU budget

Part III — Making the best use of EU money: a landscape review of the risks to the 

financial management of the EU budget: Individual fact sheets 

 44–46  Contents

 47–50  Revenue

 51–65  MFF 1 — Smart and inclusive growth

 66–75  MFF 2 — Natural resources

 76–78  MFF 3 — Security and citizenship

 79–90  MFF 4 — Global Europe

 91–97  MFF 5 — Administration

 98–102  Public procurement

 
 
 
07

Contents

Page

8–19 

Introduction

11– 19  What are EU finances and how are they administered?

11–14 

EU budget

14–15 

Specific actions in response to the financial and sovereign debt crisis

15–19 

The complex EU budgetary system

20–21  What are the risks to good financial management?

22–32  What goes wrong and why?

22 

Legality and regularity of EU expenditure: spending the money according to the rules

23–24 

Sound financial management: getting results from the EU budget

25–32 

Some specific risk factors

33–35  What are the opportunities and what needs to be done?

33 

Focus on results and EU added value

33–34 

Focussing on performance management

34–35 

Focussing on budgetary management

35 

35 

Control arrangements and the work of others

Mid‑term review

Annex I — Risks that can occur in spending the EU budget

 
Making the best use of EU 
money: a landscape review 
of the risks to the financial 
management of the EU budget

Individual fact sheets

44

Contents

Page

47–50  Revenue

47–48  What it covers

48–49  What we found

49 

49 

49 

50 

50 

Is the 2012 revenue received correct and complete, and is it well managed?

High risk factors

Way forward

Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

Need more information?

51–65  MFF 1 — Smart and inclusive growth

53–56  What it covers

56–57  What we found

56 

57 

Is the 2012 budget spent according to the rules? (Legality and regularity of expenditure)

Is expenditure well managed and does it have an impact? (Sound financial management)

58–60  High risk factors

60–61  Way forward

62–65  Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

65 

Need more information?

66–75  MFF 2 — Natural resources

66–68  What it covers

69 

69 

69 

What we found

Is the 2012 budget spent according to the rules? (Legality and regularity of expenditure)

Is expenditure well managed and does it have an impact? (Sound financial management)

Contents
Contents

45

70–71 

High risk factors

72 

Way forward

73–75 

Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

75 

Need more information?

76–78  MFF 3 — Security and citizenship

76–77  What it covers

77 

77 

77 

What we found

Is the budget spent according to the rules? (Legality and regularity of expenditure)

Is expenditure well managed and does it have an impact? (Sound financial management)

77–78 

Risk concerns

78 

78 

78 

Way forward

Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

Need more information?

79–90  MFF 4 — Global Europe

80–81  What it covers

82–83  What we found

82 

Is the 2012 budget spent according to the rules? (Legality and regularity of expenditure)

82–83 

Is expenditure well managed and does it have an impact? (Sound financial management)

84–87  High risk factors

84 

88 

88 

Specific risks drivers for geographical areas

Way forward

The Commission

89–90  Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

90 

Need more information?

Contents
Contents

46

91–97  MFF 5 — Administration

92 

93 

93 

93 

What it covers

What we found

Is the 2012 budget spent according to the rules? (Legality and regularity of expenditure)

Is expenditure well managed and does it have an impact? (Sound financial management)

93–96  High risk concerns

97 

97 

Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

Need more information?

98–102  Public procurement

98–99  What it covers

99–101  What we found

101 

102 

102 

What needs to be done/ 
What the Court has recommended in the past

Useful reading/ECA reports and opinions

Need more information?