CITIZENS’ TRUSTFULNESS
MIROSŁAW PIOTROWSKI
Every year milliards euro are spent contrary to provisions of the European Union. Some critics of this organization say that it is even better because they will be utilized more rationally.
‘European institutions somehow lost EU citizens’ trustfulness’ – said Klaus-Heiner Lehne, the chairman of the European Court of Auditors. These words were said during presenting the annual report of controllers. The European Court of Auditors can be compared to the Polish Supreme Control Chamber. It controls realization of EU expenditures of EU countries and EU institutions. The European Court of Auditors consists of 28 members – each of them is appointed by particular EU countries. It is not a long time since our country has been represented by the former euro-deputy Janusz Wojciechowski, who was the chairman of the Supreme Control Chamber. In the latest report, controllers said that in the previous year 5.5 milliard euro had been spent wrongly from the EU budget, which is nearly 4 per cent of all expenditures. A year earlier it was much worse, but this is a poor consolation for them. On contrary to the assignment, EU means were spent both by EU countries and by officials of the European Commission and this is what worries the chairman of the European Court of Auditors, who was a prominent politician of the German party CDU. What is more, this tendency has existed for many years. And it means that every year milliards euro are spent not according to EU provisions. Some critics of this organization say that it is even better as they will be utilized more rationally. The lobbying talks suggest that irregularities proved by the European Court of Auditors may be much higher in practice. As far as I know, controllers base only on documents sent officially, compare them, that is arrange them together mechanically. Officials of the European Court of Auditors do not have, however, powers to investigate the matter more deeply and have been postulating for a long time to authorize them to do it. For the good of the EU tax-payer, certainly. For the time being, without any result. However, if one checked whether what is on paper, is reflected in reality…Then it might turn out that citizens’ trustfulness to the European Union must be searched for with the proverbial candle in hand.
AA
„Niedziela” 44/2016