The European Court of Auditors (ECA) today published its work programme for 2022 and beyond, listing its strategic areas and audit priorities. These will cover a broad range of issues, reflecting the EU’s main challenges and key concerns. Foremost among them will be the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ambitions to fight climate change. The auditors will scrutinise these areas, and others, to establish whether the EU is using taxpayers’ money effectively to deliver on its mandate and commitments.

The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a heavy impact on the lives of European citizens, and will continue to do so for some time. In the meantime, the EU is also putting into practice its aspirations to fight climate change and to move towards a more modern, resourceefficient and competitive economy. Consequently, post-COVID recovery programmes and measures to fight climate change will receive EU financial assistance on an unprecedented scale. 

The ECA’s 2022+ work programme has been drawn up with these particular challenges in mind. It contains a list of 79 special reports and reviews that EU auditors intend to publish in the coming years. These are linked to strategic priority areas. For example, 16 reports are envisaged for the “EU response to COVID-19 and post-crisis recovery” spending and policy area, on issues such as the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and the right to free movement during the pandemic. The ECA will also publish a series of audit findings on the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, which accounts for € 672.5 billion in grants and loans to be used to support investment and reforms, with a focus on the ecological and digital transition. Under the heading “climate change, environment and natural resources”, the ECA will deliver 17 reports, including on biofuels, energy taxation, illegal fishing and animal transport.

Read the Work Programme of The European Court of Auditors in its entirety here.