Letter informs House of Representatives of the drawbacks of the European Commission's proposal

The House will debate Brussels' proposals to reform the EU Financial Regulation in the course of September. In its letter to the House, the Court of Audit wrote that the Commission's ambitions were relatively low, even in comparison with the resolutions already passed by the European Parliament. The way in which the European Commission wishes to render account in the future will require the member states to issue far less detailed statements than the annual member state declaration the Netherlands has published in recent years. According to the Commission, it will not be necessary for a Dutch minister to declare on behalf of the government that European funds in the Netherlands have been spent correctly and on the designated goals. The House would thus no longer be able to hold the minister to account for the declaration. Under the proposals, the Court of Audit would no longer have a clear role to express an opinion at national level and it would accordingly not submit a report to the House of Representatives. The Court of Audit calls on all EU member states to improve their accountability by issuing annual member state declarations at national level. Improvements could also be made regarding the dates set for the submission of subsidiary accounts, and their publication could be laid down in the new Financial Regulation.

The Court of Audit also informed the House of Representatives of the consequences of the proposed changes in the error rate permitted for the implementation of European policy. Discussion is useful but until the costs and benefits of controls are clear, the Court of Audit thinks changes in the tolerable rate of error are premature.