Over the past decade, the European Commission, as the institution responsible for
implementing the Community Budget, has taken an increasingly active interest in the effectiveness of
the control measures applied by Member States to Community funds. Indeed, it is in the common
interest of the Member States to exercise proper supervision of Community funds. The responses of
EU Member States’ Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to the Commission’s external audit procedures
and requirements are divergent for various reasons, including legislative ones. This issue overview
paper draws on the separate country papers which describe in more detail the different experiences of
selected national SAIs in their co-operation with the Commission’s services and the European Court
of Auditors (ECA). The present publication complements SIGMA Paper No. 19 Effects of European
Union Accession — Part 1, Budgeting and Financial Control on the impact of accession on budgeting
and financial control. In both cases, the approach adopted has been analysis of selected issues for
reflection and debate.
Effects of European Union Accession: Part II External Audit
SIGMA Papers
