The European Court of Auditors has added its voice to concerns over the current proposals for the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS). If the EEAS is established as a new institution, as High Representative Ashton has proposed, the Court warns that this will lead to much complexity over financial management and considerable uncertainty regarding the management of the budgets of the new EU delegations.

“We fully agree with the European Court of Auditors' reservations concerning complexity and uncertainty of funds management in the Union's delegations”, said Inge Grässle MEP, the EPP Group's Rapporteur on the financial regulation for the European External Action Service's (EEAS).

“The European Parliament has taken its stand: already in 2009 we asked for the incorporation of the EEAS into the Commission's administrative structures”, Grässle said. “This is a solution which favours the transparency and efficiency of the Union's external service. It originates from our good experience with the administrative integration of OLAF, the European office for the fight against fraud, into the Commission which has produced excellent results for the past decade.”

“The plans submitted so far do not match our requirements by far. They will mingle responsibilities and blur individual decision-making, doing away with 10 years' hard work and good progress in the area of budgetary control”, Grässle added.

Read the European Court of Auditors Opinion in full at: European Court of Auditors

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