01 December 2006
Ed Balls, the economic secretary to the Treasury, has challenged other European countries to follow the UK's lead and set up robust accounting procedures for the spending of European Union funds.
The EU's accounts, which have been qualified by the European Court of Auditors for 12 years in a row, were an 'annual embarrassment', Balls said.
In a speech to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales' annual conference on November 20, Balls said he had set out plans to publish an annual statement on the UK's implementation of EU spending, prepared to international accounting standards, which will be audited by the National Audit Office.
'Similar initiatives are being developed in the Netherlands and Denmark. And, because success requires action right across Europe, I am also writing today to my European colleagues encouraging them to act in a similar way,' Balls said.
'All member states must accept their responsibilities to work together to achieve the clean bill of health for the EU's accounts that taxpayers deserve.'
He also criticised the current Budget as not fit for the twenty-first century. He noted that 40% was still spent on the Common Agricultural Policy, while more than 60% of Structural and Cohesion Fund expenditure was still directed at rich member states.
Balls repeated his accounting challenge at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels the following day.
'You cannot make the pro-European case if the accounts are qualified every year. It is damaging to the European interest for us to be in this position,' he said.
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