Court of Auditors of the European Communities

The Court is the taxpayers’ representative, responsible for checking that the European Union spends its money according to its budgetary rules and regulations and for the purposes for which it is intended. The Court has fifteen members, one for each Member State prior to the enlargement on 1st May 2004.

The Court’s observations on the management of the Union finances are published in its Annual Report, together with the replies of the institutions concerned. The Annual Report highlights the areas in which improvements are possible and desirable. The Report is examined by the European Parliament on a recommendation by the Council when it is considering whether or not to give a discharge to the Commission for its management of the budget.

The Reports are published in the Official Journal.

The Court’s opinions must be obtained as part of the procedure for adopting any legislation that is financial in nature, and these opinions (TypDoc CC) are included in Sector 5 of the CELEX database, which is available as the Proposals database.

For further information, visit the Court of Auditors Web site.