§ Mr. BlizzardTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his response to the refusal of auditors to approve the accounts of the European Union. [140819]
§ Mr. MacShaneIt is disappointing that the Court of Auditors (EGA) has again been unable to give a positive Statement of Assurance, though we note that the ECA did find the accounts to be reliable overall, as it has every year. We will be working with the ECA to address the specific problems they identified. But it is important to note that revenue, commitments, administrative expenditure and pre-accession aid did receive a positive Statement of Assurance. In addition, it noted improvements in the management of the agriculture budget, especially in the area of payments and in the Integrated Administration and Control System. The Government believes that the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation on 1 January 2003 will produce further improvements in financial management and accountability. The ECA also commented favourably on the progress made to reform financial management in the Commission—and noted the ambitious timetable172W for this. We expect the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee to debate the report in the usual way in February 2004.