Citation
(2002), "Court of Auditors uncovers "significant weaknesses" in Socrates and Youth", Education + Training, Vol. 44 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2002.00444fab.009
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
Court of Auditors uncovers "significant weaknesses" in Socrates and Youth
Court of Auditors uncovers "significant weaknesses" in Socrates and Youth
The European Court of Auditors has uncovered significant weaknesses in management of the EU's Socrates and Youth programmes and recommends that some irregularities in individual projects be referred to the EU anti-fraud office. The court's report, which deals with payments made to the two programmes between 1995 and 1999, finds that management of the programmes is too complex and that the absence of clear objectives hindered effective evaluation by the Commission.
Regarding the Commission's technical-assistance office, which is responsible for 30 per cent of the programmes' management, the report highlights possible conflicts of interest, risks to EU assets and the high cost of management. The court also discovered deficiencies in the legal framework setting out the precise division of responsibilities between the technical-assistance office and the national agencies of the beneficiary countries, which manage the remaining 70 per cent. The agencies, said the court, had too few resources to carry out their job.
The court also highlights difficulties in establishing whether the programmes' objectives have been fulfilled, because of a shortage of analytical information. The court recommends replacing the technical-assistance office with an EU agency, clarifying the relationship between the Commission and national agencies, setting clear and measurable objectives, establishing effective implementation rules, improving control and monitoring at all levels and providing more effective and timely evaluations.