European Court of Auditors’ 2016 activity report

As the guardian of the EU’s finances, we at the European Court of Auditors believe that the functioning of our institution should be transparent. In addition to publishing the results of our audit work in reports, opinions and other publications, we provide information about our institution in annual activity reports.

Our 2016 activity report gives a comprehensive account of our activities and internal management and the resources we used during the year to carry out our role. We continued to audit the EU institutions and other bodies, as well as all EU funds received by the Member States, non-EU countries, international organisations and other parties. We produced annual reports on the EU budget and the European Development Funds, as well as on all EU agencies and many other bodies across the Union. Our record 36 special reports of the year cover a large range of topics and we highlight two of them: one on external migration, which illustrates the relevance of our work on EU spending beyond its borders; the other on EU maritime transport, showing the risks of inefficiencies in the Union’s spending to increase its external competitiveness. We also issued two opinions on new or revised EU legislation with significant financial impact: one on the EU Antifraud Office’s (OLAF) supervision and the other on the extension of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), and developed a new range of publications - briefing papers. For our work to make a difference, it is essential that we communicate effectively the insights we gain to our stakeholders at EU and national level. During the year, we further enhanced our cooperation with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Most EU money is, however, spent in the Member States. It is therefore equally important that EU citizens, whose financial interests we protect, hear from us and about our work.

To reach as many readers as possible, our 2016 activity report is available in 23 EU languages in print-friendly (pdf) and online browsing optimised (html) versions.

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Activity reports

Audit reports and opinions

Governance

Budget and accountability