The European Court of Auditors (ECA) insists it had the right to look into the role of the European Central Bank in Greek bailouts, according to the Lisbon Treaty and a European Parliament resolution, and is now seeking ways to access the documents the ECB has refused to hand over.
ECA told EURACTIV.com that EU auditors were mandated to audit the operational efficiency of ECB’s management, in line with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the ECB.
“We are currently examining further options for access to documents necessary to carry out our audit work,” the auditors noted.
On 16 November, ECA published a report assessing the effectiveness and results of the Greek bailouts. But the ECB refused to provide access to some requested information, citing banking confidentiality. The auditors were consequently unable to report on the ECB’s role in the Greek programmes.
In their report, EU auditors pointed out that the ECB had questioned the Court’s mandate in this respect and the documentation provided by the Bank was insufficient.
The limitations of the Court’s audit mandate with regard to the ECB were already cited in the 2014 landscape review of EU accountability and public audit arrangements.
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Source: euractiv.com
