Fraud
Up to 10% of the community budget is subject to fraud, according to various studies. Every year, the Court of Auditors makes critical reports on fraud and maladministration. It has the right to audit any person or organisation handling EU funds.
The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is the European Parliament committee charged with producing reports relating to the European Union's Budget. The mission of the Committee on Budgetary Control is to assure the citizens of the European Union that EU funds are raised and spent effectively and properly and that they are correctly allocated to the tasks which the Union has been asked to perform.
Because of the complexity of the Community budget, individual members of the Committee on Budgetary Control specialise in particular Community policies and prepare the EP's response to the Court of Auditors special reports in their field. The committee is responsible for:
1. The control of the implementation of the budget of the Union and of the European Development Fund, and the decisions on discharge to be taken by Parliament, including the internal discharge procedure and all other measures accompanying or implementing such decisions;
2. The closure, presenting and auditing of the accounts and balance sheets of the Union, its institutions and any bodies financed by it, including the establishment of appropriations to be carried over and the settling of balances;
3. The control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank;
4. Monitoring the cost-effectiveness of the various forms of Community financing in the implementation of the Union's policies;
5. Consideration of fraud and irregularities in the implementation of the budget of the Union, measures aiming at preventing and prosecuting such cases, and the protection of the Union's financial interests in general;
6. Relations with the Court of Auditors, the appointment of its members and consideration of its reports;
7.The Financial Regulation as far as the implementation, management and control of the budget are concerned.
Links
European Court of Auditors: http://eca.europa.eu
Committee on Budgetary Control: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/comparl/cont/site/default_en.htm