EU auditors’ annual report on the EU budget

Publication

The annual report will be available on the ECA’s website eca.europa.eu in 24 EU languages on Thursday 10 October from 00.01. This will include:

• annual reports on the EU budget for 2023 and the European Development Funds
• a summary document entitled “2023 EU audit in brief”
• a press release
• a FAQ sheet
• ​an infographic sheet

About the annual report

Each year, the auditors check the EU accounts and provide their opinion on two questions: whether the accounts are accurate and reliable, and to what extent there is evidence of money having been received or paid out in error (known as ‘regularity’ and ‘legality’). They publish the results of this work in the ECA’s annual report.

In 2023, EU spending from the EU budget amounted to €191.2 billion, with a further €48 billion spent under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

Background information

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is the independent external auditor of the European Union. Its audit reports and opinions are an essential element of the EU’s accountability chain. They are used to hold to account those responsible for implementing EU policies and programmes: the Commission, other EU institutions and bodies, and administrations in Member States.

The ECA warns of risks, provides assurance, indicates shortcomings and good practice, and offers guidance to EU policymakers and legislators on how to improve the management of EU policies and programmes.