Auditing and accountability in the European Union

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of financial accountability in the European Union. Financial accountability is a subset of administrative accountability and contributes to parliamentary accountability. Following an analysis of the meaning of financial accountability, the article explores the emergence and evolution of the European Court of Auditors, the "financial conscience' of the Union. It traces the establishment of the Court and the growing salience of financial management in the Union. The work of the Court became entwined in the drama of political accountability in the Union that led to the resignation of the Santer Commission in March 1999.