ECA presents audit report on EU Commission “Infringement procedures”

On Tuesday 17 December 2024, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish a report looking at the way the Commission detects and corrects breaches of EU law.

About the audit

The Commission is responsible for overseeing the application of EU law by member states and to enforce compliance. An upcoming audit report will look at whether the Commission ensures timely detection, follow-up, appropriate monitoring and reporting of infringement cases. The EU auditors examined how long does it take to enforce EU law and how effective are the processes for deterring non-compliance and for sanctioning breaches.

The ECA member responsible for the audit is Lefteris Christoforou. The report and a press release will be published on the ECA’s website at 5.00 p.m. CET on Tuesday 17 December 2024.

About the topic

The European Commission, as “the guardian of the Treaties”, is responsible for overseeing the application of EU law by member states and taking appropriate action to enforce compliance. EU regulations apply automatically; directives require full “transposition” (incorporation) into national law. However, in both cases, member states are responsible for implementation. The Commission has the discretionary power to initiate formal infringement procedures if breaches are detected.

The ECA’s special reports set out the results of its audits of EU policies and programmes or management topics related to specific budgetary areas. The ECA selects and designs these audit tasks to be of maximum impact by considering the risks to performance or compliance, the level of income or spending involved, forthcoming developments and political and public interest.​​