1997 discharge: EC general budget, 6th and 7th European Development Funds EDF

OBJECTIVE: to present the consolidated management account and balance sheet of the European Union for the 1997 financial year (vol. IV). CONTENT: this document presents the consolidated management account and balance sheet of the European Union for the 1997 financial year, accompanied by explanatory notes. It sets out the method used to consolidate the 1997 financial statement and the accounting principles which governed how the management account was drawn up: continuity of activities, principle of caution in order to avoid overestimating assets and underestimating liabilities, consistency of accounting methods and principle of no offsetting between assets and liabilities. The way in which financial interventions were carried out is presented in a separate document (vol. I). The aim is to present the financial statements of the European Union clearly and accurately, in order to achieve healthy financial management and ensure that accounts can be compared from one financial year to the next.�