European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control

The committee is responsible for examining the implementation of the Union budget and the accounts and balance sheets of the European Union, its institutions and bodies. It considers whether EU funds have been managed legally, efficiently and effectively and may recommend improvements intended to strengthen financial management and accountability.^[2]

Its remit includes:

• the control of the implementation of the EU budget and of the European Development Fund;
• preparation of Parliament's decisions on the discharge procedure, including the internal discharge procedure;
• examination of the accounts and financial statements of the European Union, its institutions and EU-funded bodies;
• oversight of the cost-effectiveness of different forms of EU financing;
• consideration of fraud, corruption and other irregularities affecting the implementation of the EU budget;
• relations with the European Court of Auditors, including consideration of its reports; and
• relations with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), including the protection of the European Union's financial interests.^[2]

The discharge procedure is one of the committee's principal responsibilities. On the basis of the annual reports of the European Court of Auditors and information supplied by the institutions concerned, the committee prepares recommendations on whether Parliament should approve, postpone or refuse discharge for the implementation of a given financial year's budget.^[1]

The following table lists the chairs of the committee since 2004.

More information Name, Political group ...

	Name	Political group	Member state	Took office	Left office
	Szabolcs Fazakas	PES	Hungary	2004	2006[3]
	Herbert Bösch	PES	Austria	2007	2009[4]
	Luigi de Magistris	ALDE	Italy	2009	2011[5]
	Jan Mulder	ALDE	Netherlands	2011	2014[5]
	Ingeborg Gräßle	EPP	Germany	2014	2019[6]
	Monika Hohlmeier	EPP	Germany	2019	2024
	Andreas Schwab	EPP	Germany	2024	Incumbent[7]

Close

The committee's work is supported by the research services of the European Parliament. These services provide studies, briefings and other analyses concerning budgetary control, the discharge procedure, fraud prevention, financial accountability and the protection of the European Union's financial interests.^[8]

Publications prepared for the committee are made available through its online database of supporting analyses and through the European Parliament's Think Tank. The database is updated as new studies and briefings are published.^[9]

• Budget of the European Union
• Discharge procedure
• European Court of Auditors
• European Anti-Fraud Office
• European Public Prosecutor's Office
• European Parliament Committee on Budgets