EU auditors bemoan continued financial mismanagement and corruption – but at least the books are straight

The European Court of Auditors has again criticised the extent of fraud and mismanagement in European Union (EU) spending and institutions but it has – at last – confirmed that the EU’s accounts are accurate. For the first time since the EU moved to accruals-based from cash accounting in 2005, the Court has issued clean (‘unqualified’) opinion on the EU’s consolidated accounts (for 2007). These, it announced, “give a fair presentation, in all material respects, of the financial position of the European Communities and the results of their operations and cash flows.”