Liberals call on governments to take EU accounts responsibility

12.14.03pm GMT Tue 15th Nov 2005

Baroness Sarah Ludford, MEP for London and deputy leader of the British Liberal Democrat MEPs, is calling for radical changes to be made to the accounting procedures of the European Union. The EU's budget amounted to €100bn in 2004, just under 1% of Europe's gross national income.

In their report on the 2004 accounts published today, the EU's Court of Auditors finds a continuing improvement in the European Commission's own money management, but an unacceptably high rate of error 'notably within the member states'. Thus they have refused to deliver a positive 'Declaration of Assurance' concerning the legality and regularity of EU financial transactions.

Sarah Ludford and her fellow MEPs from the European Liberal Democrats are calling for a thorough overhaul of the process of evaluating the annual spending, in particular, proper attention to the way national governments spend EU money within their own countries.

She commented:

"The public will again assume that fraud is widespread and the Brussels bureaucracy incompetent. But Europe's governments cannot be allowed to pass the buck since they are responsible for 80% of EU spending such as farm and regional funds."

"Gordon Brown and his fellow finance ministers have refused to accept responsibility for the money spent by their own administrations, yet the Court of Auditors has failed to target their role or specify what extra steps must still be taken before EU accounts can be certified as healthy."

"If Gordon Brown refuses to account for how the Treasury disburses EU money on the ground in the UK, it is no wonder that the European Commission cannot guarantee transparent financial control. The House of Commons should collaborate closely with MEPs to correct weaknesses in British management of EU money. "

"Neither Labour nor Conservative politicians in Britain can point the finger of blame, given that the accounts of our own Department for Work and Pensions have not been given a clean bill of health by auditors for the past 16 years!"

ENDS