Scrutiny
Scrutiny
Every democratic parliamentary and governmental system has its checks and balances. In the EU on the member states is strong. The Commission is the "guardian" of the Treaty helped by the EU-Court. The scrutiny on the Commission is on the contrary weak:
- Under his statute, the official who investigates complaints is not permitted to see all documents in the Commission.
- The Court of Auditors does not get all the figures and documents it asks for and has not been able to approve all underlying transaktions since 1994.
The European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee is very critical of the EU Commission's book-keeping, which has also been criticised by the Court of Auditors for several years. Despite this, accounts were always granted final approval (discharged).
See also Andreasen, Buitenen and Censure.
http://www.europarl.eu.int/comparl/cont/site/default_en.htm
