19
Oct
2022
Watch
Presentation of the Court of Auditors' annual report 2021 (debate)
Madam President, the first thing I want to do is to congratulate Tony on his appointment to this very, very important role. And I think it is brilliant that we have an actual auditor at the head of this organisation. I think it is also very important that we have someone who comes from a working class background as our head auditor and the head of this organisation. Because when you come from a working class background, you don’t say, ‘Ha, well I spent 97% of it well, and sure, 3% is only gone,’ because if you do, you might not be able to turn on the light. Every last penny matters. That’s why I think it is important that we have someone like him in the position, and I really, really welcome it. On the RRF, we have a problem; the Court of Auditors has a problem. We are dealing with ordinary people’s money. However, exactly how this money is being spent is without any real auditable trail. The idea that national authorities can, in effect, audit themselves is a bad joke. As for milestones and targets, to me it is like having a unit of speed to find a stone’s throw – however long you can throw a stone; it is different for everyone – every so often, depending on how you decide every so often is. We need a massive improvement. But I think we’ve made a good start by appointing this guy. I think he’ll make big changes.