MEUSAC and the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Carmelo Abela met with representatives of social partners and civil society for an online meeting with Mr Leo Brincat, Member of the European Court of Auditors. At the meeting, Mr Brincat outlined the functions of the European Court of Auditors, with practical experiences on the work of this European Court.
This meeting served as an opportunity to better understand what this European Union institution does and its impact on our country as a Member State. There was also a time when participants intervened with questions and comments.
In his intervention, Minister Carmelo Abela said that transparency, integrity, and accountability are essential elements in a democracy. He said that although the European Court of Auditors is often not mentioned as much as the other institutions, as it certainly deserves, its work is very important to safeguard accountability and transparency in the collection and expenditure of Union funds.
He mentioned that the importance of this institution stems from the fact that after all its main task is to protect the financial interests of each and every one of us as citizens of the European Union. We can thus say that all the members of the Court of Auditors do this work on behalf of each and every one of the millions of citizens of the European Union.
“The citizens of the European Union rightly expect to be assured that their money is being spent well. This is an important principle regarding expenditure of European Union finances, which after all mostly come from the contributions of the Member States, and therefore of the citizens themselves”, said Minister Abela.
He added that it is crucial to have mechanisms in place to ensure that finances are spent in accordance with established regulations and that above all they are meeting the purposes for which they are used – to deliver the best results.
He concluded by saying that he will continue the work to strengthen MEUSAC, which helps to make the process of applications for European funds for entities and associations in our country, to be competitive and achievable.
The European Court of Auditors is considered to be the European Union’s external and independent auditor to protect the interests of European taxpayers, ensures that European Union funds are collected and used correctly, and helps improve the management of the European Union’s finances.
