EU Auditors publish briefing on Commission’s fraud controls
The European Court of Auditors has today published an Audit Brief on European Commission action to reduce fraud. Audit Briefs are a new type of publication from the EU auditors. They provide background information based on preparatory work undertaken before the start of an ongoing audit task and follow the announcement of the audit. They are designed to be a source of information for those interested in the policy and/or programmes being audited.
The auditors are currently conducting an audit of how the Commission manages the risk of fraud in EU spending. The audit will focus on fraud prevention and fraud response and will include contributions from NGOs, academics and prosecutors, as well as Europol and Eurojust.
In a 2015 Eurobarometer survey of perceptions of fraud and corruption affecting the EU budget, 71% of respondents thought that fraud occurred “rather frequently” and 60% felt that “corruption is significant in the EU institutions”. This represents a significant increase compared with the 2008 flash Eurobarometer, when 54% thought fraud happened rather frequently and 44% felt that corruption occurred in EU institutions.
Fraud is difficult to measure. It can only be established through a criminal court procedure. In 2016, the total value of fraud detected within the EU Budget was an estimated €391 million, according to figures drawn from the European Commission, the Member States and the candidate countries. However, due to several factors in the way the figures are collected and reported, this estimate may be too low.
The audit is led by ECA Member Juhan Parts. The final audit report is expected to be published in spring 2018.
Press release: EU Auditors publish briefing on Commission’s fraud controls
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