Toespraak voorzitter van de Europese Rekenkamer Caldeira bij presentatie werkplan 2011 aan Europarlement (en)

Mr Chairman,

Honourable Members of the Committee,

Ladies and gentleman,

It is an honour for me to address you today at the start of my second mandate as President of the European Court of Auditors. And I very much look forward to continuing to work with your Committee during the period of my mandate.

Indeed, the Court’s relationship with this Committee is essential to its ability to fulfil its responsibility under the Treaty to assist the European Parliament and the Council in exercising their powers of control over the budget as well as to fulfil its mission: to contribute to improving EU financial management; and, to promote accountability and transparency.

During the last three years the Court has been engaged in an internal reform process, following a self assessment and a peer review of the design and operation of the Court’s audit management framework. As a result, we developed a strategy for 2009 to 2012 to address the areas for improvement identified; setting as an overall goal to maximise the impact of the Court’s work.

Many of the related priority actions in the strategy have been completed, including amending the Court’s rules of procedure to establish Chambers as provided for by the Treaty. The remaining actions will be carried out during 2011 and 2012. However, these actions can not - on their own - guarantee that we achieve the impact we seek. Attaining that goal also requires the continuing confidence and trust of our stakeholders, including your Committee, in us and in our work.

In matters of trust, openness and transparency are essential. That is why the Court has articulated a clear set of values, so that our stakeholders know that we are committed to:

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  the independence, integrity and impartiality of our institution;
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  the professionalism of our work;
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  adding value through that work; and
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  the excellence and efficiency of our people and organisation.

These are the values on which we have built our reputation over many years as well as the trust which exists between our institutions. They are what inspire us to achieve the goals we have set in our strategy for 2009 to 2012. And they will guide our work in 2011.

Independence, integrity and impartiality are, of course, necessary pre-requisites for any credible external audit institution.

The Treaty provides the Court with a number of safeguards which will continue to function in 2011: our status as an institution, collegial decision making, and a rigorous public procedure for appointing members.

However, these safeguards alone are not sufficient to build trust and confidence. There are other requirements.

First, members and staff need to adhere to the highest ethical standards in their work and in their relationships in order to maintain their independence and the Court’s impartiality. This we will continue to do in 2011 as we have in the past.

Second, the Court must continue to report what it finds in a balanced way. It must neither exaggerate the problems it finds nor underestimate them. And it must place them in their proper context.

We achieve this by giving auditees a fair hearing before reports are published and by ensuring that all the evidence and assertions in our reports have been rigorously tested by internal review procedures, as well as thoroughly discussed by Court members.

Third - to uphold its reputation - the Court must be, and be recognised as, transparent and accountable itself.

That is why the discharge procedure for the Court itself is so important and why we take it so seriously. It is why, for example, we engage an independent external auditor to certify our accounts each year and publish the results.

It is also why we have developed key performance indicators which we report on in our Annual Activity Report. And this year, for the first time, we will include indicators related to our stakeholders’ satisfaction with our work.

Finally, it is why we asked an expert team of auditors, drawn from other supreme audit institutions in Europe and beyond, to carry out a peer review in 2008 and published the results.

In 2011 we will continue to follow up the results of that peer review and we will make the preparations for another to take place in 2012, as foreseen in our strategy for 2009 to 2012.

The Court’s embrace of peer review as a tool, not only of accountability but also for continuous improvement, demonstrates its commitment to professionalism.

The Court is committed not only to implementing the most up-to-date professional standards but also to being at the forefront of developments in public audit and administration.

In 2011 the Court will apply the new international standards on auditing adopted in November 2010 by the international Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions.

The Court made a considerable contribution to the development of many of these standards, actively participating in the relevant working groups of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.

In 2011 we will continue to work with other audit institutions to develop innovative and more harmonised approaches to the audit of EU funds both by the Court and by the audit institutions of the Member States.

Mr Chairman,

In selecting and planning the tasks included in the 2011 work programme the Court’s overriding concern has been to add value. This includes aiming to be more pro-active in our use of resources.

In 2011 the Court plans to publish 45 Annual Reports, comprising the annual reports on the general budget and the European Development Fund as well as special annual reports on agencies and other bodies.

The single biggest task carried out by the Court is the audit of the general budget - or DAS audit - which forms the basis of the Court’s annual report. It includes a statement of assurance on the reliability of the EU’s consolidated accounts and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them as well as chapters containing specific assessments for the main areas of expenditure.

As I informed you last year, the Court set up a Think Tank of its members, supported by experienced external experts, to look at ways in which the Court could develop further its financial audit of the general budget.

As a result, the Court decided to redefine the scope of the specific assessments in its annual report on the implementation of the budget. First, the annual report on the 2010 budget will include a new specific assessment called “Research and internal policies” covering expenditure on research and other internal policy areas, which were previously the subject of separate specific assessments.

Then, for the annual report on the 2011 budget, there will be separate specific assessments on “Agriculture” and on “Rural development” as well as on “Regional policy, Energy and Transport” and on “Employment and social affairs”. The specific assessments on “External aid, development and enlargement” as well as on “Administrative expenditure” and on “Revenue” will retain their existing scope.

This redefinition of the domains of specific assessments aims at taking better account of stakeholder needs, including those of this Committee. It will better reflect the differences in the respective risk profiles and characteristics of the different domains and it will significantly reduce the financial imbalances between them. It also takes due account of considerations of efficiency and resource constraints.

The annual report on the 2010 budget will take account of the work of other auditors where appropriate, as well as the annual activity reports of the Directors General of the Commission, including their use of the Annual Summaries of Member States.

In parallel, the Court is exploring how it can add value by working with national audit institutions. To this end, we are conducting a financial audit pilot project with the National Audit Offices of the Czech Republic and the Netherlands involving coordinated audits on the legality and regularity of agricultural expenditure. This pilot project should be completed this year, including an evaluation of the experience.

As regards the administrative expenditure of the institutions, the annual report on the 2010 budget will include the results of testing the supervisory and control systems of all institutions, including the European Council and Council. In 2011, the Court will also consider the impact on its audit of the establishment of the European External Action Service.

As the number of agencies, executive agencies, joint undertakings and other bodies continues to grow, so do the reporting responsibilities of the Court and the pressure on its resources.

In this context, the Court’s Opinion No. 6/2010 on the proposal for a new Financial Regulation, suggests how the Commission’s proposals on the audit of agencies might be revised in order to permit the Court to continue to fulfil its mandate in a cost effective way.

Once the Court has met its statutory audit obligations to provide annual reports, its remaining audit resources are available for carrying out compliance and performance audits which lead to special reports.

These audits provide a significant opportunity for us to add value by focusing on high risk areas and by addressing topics of particular relevance to stakeholders. In particular, such audits enable the Court to report on the quality of EU spending.

The work programme provides a list of the topics upon which the Court plans to publish special reports and conduct audit work in 2011.

As regards published reports, the Court issued a special report in January on the new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument which assesses the results of launching this instrument in the Southern Caucasus.

Three more special reports are planned to be published shortly:

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  The first, on the Commission’s Management of General Budget Support in ACP, Latin America and Asian Countries;
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  The second, on EU Development Assistance for Basic Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, including analysis of the results achieved in reducing gender inequalities in primary education, and
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  The third, on the Commission’s management of the System of Veterinary Checks for Meat Imports.

During the remainder of the year, the Court aims to publish further special reports on a range of topics relating to the headings of the Union’s 2007-2013 financial framework, including on “financial engineering”, “the SME guarantee facility”, “E-government”, and “the Single Payment Scheme” as well as a follow up to the Court’s special report 1/2005 on the management of the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Work will also start in 2011 on a number of tasks on a range of topics. More information on these and all the other audit tasks in the 2011 work programme are presented in the appendices of the published document. In addition to audit reports, the Court also issues opinions. These opinions are either issued at the request of other institutions on the financial implications of legislative proposals or at the Court’s own initiative, for example, as contributions to the public debate on EU financial management.

2011 will see a number of significant legislative proposals and decisions which will have a considerable impact on EU financial management for many years to come.

First, there is the new Financial Regulation as well as its Implementing Rules and the framework Financial Regulation for the agencies which flow from it.

Then there are those relating to the EU budget review, including the decisions on Own Resources and the new Multi-annual Financial Framework after 2013, as well as the proposals for sectoral legislation for the main areas of EU expenditure. The Court welcomes the opportunity to assist the reflections of this committee on the issues involved. And we, therefore, look forward to the exchange of views to be held in April on the Court’s Opinion No. 1/2010 on the risks and challenges of improving the financial management of the EU budget and on Opinion No. 6/2010 on the proposal for the Financial Regulation.

In addition to financial reform, there are likely to be further developments in EU economic governance as part of the response to the economic and financial crisis. The Court intends to monitor these developments closely, in particular the aspects relating to the audit, accountability and transparency arrangements of any permanent stability mechanism.

All-in-all this is an ambitious work programme for 2011. The Court’s capacity to deliver it depends, to a large extent, on its past and present commitment to the excellence of its people and to the efficiency of its organisation.

To this end, the Court will continue to maintain its efforts to recruit the right staff and to make further progress to reduce the number of vacant posts.

The Court will also continue to support the ongoing professional development of its staff through structured programmes of professional training and career development.

In addition, the Court is committed to building on recent progress towards achieving an appropriate gender balance in all parts and levels of the organisation. As regards the efficiency of our organisation, the Court will continue to implement the measures in its strategy for 2009-2012 related to the goal of making best use of its resources, including those to develop the DAS audit, strengthen communications policy and improve management systems.

In 2011, the Court also expects to begin reaping the full benefits of its recent reform to establish Chambers and streamline its decision making procedures.

Mr Chairman,

Honourable Members of the Committee,

The relationship between the Court and this Committee is essential to building the trust and confidence of citizens in the ability of the Union to spend its funds wisely. Working towards that goal is a responsibility we share and a common challenge we face. By working together again in 2011, as we have in previous years, I am confident that we can continue to build on what we have already achieved to the further benefit of EU citizens in the future.