2005 discharge: EC general budget, Court of Auditors

 The committee adopted the report by Daniel CASPARY (EPP-ED, DE) granting discharge to the European Court of Auditors for 2005. In its accompanying resolution, the committee reiterated Parliament’s hope that it would be possible to devise "a more rational structure" for the ECA before the next enlargement, and asked the Court to consider existing models with a view to reducing the total number of its members, including the possibility of a rotating system similar to that applying to the Governing Council of the European Central Bank or a system with a single Auditor-General. 

The report noted that declarations of ECA Members’ financial interests were kept "under confidential custody" by the ECA President, and stated that, as a matter of principle and in the interests of transparency, such declarations should be submitted by Members of all EU institutions and should be accessible on the Internet via a public register.

Lastly, the report noted with concern the ECA’s difficulty in recruiting qualified staff for several posts from the competitions organised by EPSO.