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European Court of Auditors
Composition
The Court of Auditors is made up of one national from each Member State, chosen from the ranks of those who, in their respective countries, work or have worked for an auditing institution or are particularly qualified for that work and whose independence is beyond doubt. The members of the Court of Auditors are appointed by the Council, acting by qualified majority after consulting the European Parliament, for a term of six years.
Powers
The Court of Auditors is responsible for examining all revenue or expenditure accounts of the Community or any Community body, in order to ensure that the EU spends its money in accordance with budgetary rules and regulations and respecting administrative and accounting principles. Its task is to ensure the soundness of financial management.
Subject of the audits of the Court of Auditors are the Community institutions and the Member States, as well as anybody managing revenue or expenditure on behalf of the Community and any natural or legal person in receipt of payments from the Community budget. Audits in the Member States are carried out in collaboration with the competent national bodies or departments, which are obliged to forward any document or information requested by the Court of Auditors.
The Court of Auditors provides the Council and the European Parliament annually with a statement of assurance regarding the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. An annual report presenting the Court’s observations on the management of Community finances is forwarded to the Community institutions and published in the Official Journal. The report highlights those areas in which improvements are possible, and even desirable. The institutions’ replies to the Court’s observations are also published in the Official Journal.
The Court of Auditors also has advisory powers. The other EU institutions may in certain cases ask the Court of Auditors for its opinion.
Finally, the Court may comment on specific issues in the form of special reports which are also published in the Official Journal.
The European Economic and Social Committee
Composition
The European Economic and Social Committee comprises representatives of the various social and economic aspects of society, in particular farmers, transporters, workers, businessmen and tradesmen, the professions, consumers and the public in general.
The members of the Economic and Social Committee are proposed by the Member States and appointed by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, for a period of four years. They comprise three groups, representing employers, employees and various economic and social interests.
Powers
The Economic and Social Committee has a consultative role. It puts forward the views of its members and defends their interests in policy discussions with the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.
The Committee is an integral part of European decision-making: it must be consulted before any decision involving economic and social policy. It may also, on its own initiative, issue opinions on other topics which it considers important or at the request of the institutions.