Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-16-Speech-3-231"
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"en.20051116.18.3-231"2
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".
I can assure the honourable Member that these are matters that we take extremely seriously. Indeed in the remarks that were made by my ministerial colleague the Foreign Secretary in this House this afternoon, he made clear that ‘failure to sign off accounts for the eleventh successive year, which is very poor, affects the climate of debate in all our countries’. So at every level of the British Government and in the course of our Presidency, we have recognised the need to take forward work on this issue. That is why we have been working with the Commission to improve financial management and control of the budget.
In January 2005, the Commission introduced a new accounting system, which should offer the Court of Auditors better information as the basis for giving a positive opinion on the presentation of accounts. The new system, I understand, will be used to produce the accounts for 2005. The Presidency also secured Member States’ agreement at the 8 November ECOFIN Council on a package of further proposals for improvements in financial management and control, known as I described in my earlier answer as the roadmap, which the Commission has put forward.
So I can assure the honourable Member that this is not simply a matter of concern to the British Presidency, but one which, in the course of that ECOFIN meeting and in support of the renewed efforts of the Commission, we have been determined to take forward. He is generous in acknowledging the fact that this problem, because it is a real problem for the European Union, long predates the British Presidency. I hope that in the course of the six months of the British Presidency, we will have been able to play our part in resolving what has been a long-standing issue, which has brought no credit to the European Union and on which I hope a way forward can be found in the months and years to come."@en1
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