Yesterday was practically the last chance for Malta to appoint its representative, as the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee will hold hearings for the proposed members from the accession states later on this week.
Professor Bonnici, economic affairs minister in the pre-1996 administration and the post-1998 one, will thus be resigning from parliament and also from his post as one of the observers at the European Parliament.
It has recently been speculated that Prof. Bonnici turned down an offer to become parliamentary secretary in the Finance Ministry at the recent cabinet reshuffle following Dr Gonzi’s election as party leader and his appointment later as prime minister, but although he was seen going up the Castille steps on the day, he has not confirmed the rumours.
Since Prof. Bonnici was elected in a by-election, his successor as MP for the 12th district will have to be co-opted.
The European Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors is one of the five EU institutions. The other institutions are the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the Commission and the Court of Justice. Set up in 1977, the Court of Auditors has its headquarters in Luxembourg.
Its brief: auditing
The Treaty establishing the European Community confers upon the European Court of Auditors the main task of auditing the accounts and the implementation of the EU budget with the dual aim of improving financial management and the reporting to the citizens of Europe on the use made of public funds by the authorities responsible for their management.
Professional responsibility
The European Court of Auditors consists of 25 members originating from the 25 member states and appointed for a term of six years.
They are independent and have specific experience in the audit of public finances.
The court members elect their president for a term of three years.
The Court of Auditors has approximately 550 highly qualified staff, who come from the 25 EU countries and of whom about 250 are auditors.
Independence in its work
The European Court of Auditors’ independence vis-à-vis the other community institutions and the member states guarantees the objectivity of its audit work.
The Court of Auditors has free choice in the organisation and scheduling of its audit work and the publication of its reports.
‘Financial conscience’ of the union
The Court of Auditors examines whether EU budgetary revenue has been received and the corresponding expenditure incurred in a legal and regular manner. It places a particular emphasis on examining whether the financial management has been sound, i.e. it checks whether management objectives have been met while assessing to what extent and at what cost this has been done.
The European Court of Auditors thus helps to guarantee the citizens of Europe that the EU budget has been managed and implemented regularly and as effectively as possible.