European Court of Auditors
📢 News from the #EUauditors, external auditor of the #EUbudget, and independent guardian of the #EUfinances.
🔐 Data Protection Statement: link.europa.eu/YmkdTc
🌱 On #WorldEnvironmentDay, we publish our 2025 carbon footprint report.
📉 Total emissions: 7,433 tCO₂e
📊 –31% since 2014, despite increased staff levels
👥 –35% emissions per person
These results reflect sustained efforts under EMAS to reduce our environmental impact.
📘 Discover the report and our next priorities: https://link.europa.eu/kNPM8F
📗The latest edition of the ECA Journal, focusing on the EU's digital transition and AI, has just been published. Dive into insightful articles and expert perspectives by accessing the journal online here: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/JOURNAL-2026-01
💸 From 2021 to 2027, the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu and the EU member states together manage an annual #EUbudget of up to €200 billion.
💡 How well is the EU protecting its budget against #fraud?
📅 Find out on 18 June at 17:00 (Luxembourg time), when we publish our report on the Commission’s #AntiFraud strategy.
🌈 Celebrating Luxembourg Pride with an inspiring exchange
💙 A heartfelt thank you to the EIB PROUD group for sharing their personal experiences during today’s hybrid event, “The diverse journey of rainbow families”, hosted by the European Court of Auditors.
📢#EUmoney for home renovation does not achieve high energy gains, the EU auditors say. Easy-to-realise projects are largely financed to the detriment of more profound renovation work which would yield greater long-term results.
💶 €43 billion from the EU’s COVID cash pot #RRF were earmarked for the energy-efficient renovation of residential buildings
🏢🏫🏚️ EU support does not favour renovations with the biggest energy savings
♻️ The cost-effectiveness of renovation measures is not ensured
“An #AntiFraud strategy on paper is not enough. To protect #EUmoney effectively, the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu must take a more ambitious approach and focus more on results.”
— Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz, Member of the European Court of Auditors
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-18
📌 How the EU deals with the digital transition and AI? 🤔
📗 The next edition of the #ECAJournal, to be published at the end of May 2026, will cover one of the EU’s key priorities: the #digitaltransition, and particularly the potentially disruptive impact of #artificialintelligence on all areas of the economy and society.
👉 Read more: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/news/NEWS2026_05_NEWSLETTER_04
📢 The EU’s 🆘 #disaster safety net 🆘 has some loose threads, the auditors say. #rescEU has become an important back-up for Europe’s disaster response, but it shows some weaknesses.
🚨 €2.9 billion allocated to rescEU from the 2021-2027 #EUbudget
🚨 #Funding not always directly linked to identified needs
🚨 #Sustainability of funded projects beyond their end date is not assured
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-17
🚨 #rescEU is the EU’s #emergency reserve for #disasters — from #wildfires and #pandemics to the impact of Russia’s #war against Ukraine.
🆘 Is rescEU ready for Europe’s next big emergency? 🤔
📌 Find out on 25 June at 17:00 (Luxembourg time)
Luxembourg is more than a financial centre. It is also one of the EU’s main administrative hubs. With 13 EU institutions, bodies and agencies and around 14,500 staff, it offers many paths into EU work, from traineeships to permanent roles.
📌 This guide explains where to work, what types of roles are available and how to apply: https://workinluxembourg.com/news/working-for-the-eu-institutions-in-luxembourg-how-to-apply
“Well-developed #infrastructure is a step towards meeting the EU’s accession criteria. The Western Balkans’ #transport projects are progressing too slowly to connect the region to the core EU transport network by 2030. The European Commission should improve the selection, monitoring and sustainability of projects, and enhance the visibility of EU-funded transport projects in the region.”
— Laima Andrikienė, Member of the European Court of Auditors
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-16
“The EU’s strategic #emergency reserve #rescEU has clearly shown its value by providing help when national capacities have been stretched. However, for the reserve to be more effective, future #EUfunding must be better targeted, projects must be built to last, and reimbursement procedures for response actions must be simplified”.
— George Marius Hyzler, Member of the European Court of Auditors
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-17
🎥 “You gain valuable insight into what the European institutions communicate and how they work in practice!” 💬 Sanne, a #trainee in the Dutch translation team of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social, shares what makes her work as a translator so interesting.
👉 Apply for our #traineeship by 31 May: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/traineeships
🇪🇺 30 years of Europe Day in Luxembourg!
Celebrate with us on 10 May at Wiltz Castle and discover Europe’s diversity through cultural activities, music and culinary specialities in the European village. 🎉
Join us tomorrow for an online discussion on our Opinions on the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Hear key insights on the future of cohesion and agricultural policy, from the ECA Members Alejandro Blanco Fernández, Iliana Ivanova and Ivana Maletić.
🗓️ 2 June, 10:00-12:00 (Luxembourg time)
👉 Register now, and take part in the exchange on the benefits and risks of the proposed MFF legal framework:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ECAOpinionsonnewMFF
📗 #ECAJournal | ✏️ “The Architecture of Intelligence” – an article by Matt Stroud, investigative journalist.
For most of its history, AI advanced quietly. The technology did useful work in pockets, in fraud detection, image classification, and recommendation engines, but it remained largely invisible to the public.
That changed when three things converged: new model architectures, enormous datasets and industrial-scale compute.
📖 Read the article: https://buff.ly/De3t6OL
⏳ 1 day left! You still have time to apply to our #traineeship. Here is your chance to gain real experience while working at the @EUauditors@mastodon.social in #Luxembourg 🇱🇺 🌍
👉 Apply by tomorrow: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/traineeships
⚠️ The EU has not done enough to get rid of considerable barriers that EU businesses have faced for years when providing their services in another EU country. This is the conclusion of a new report by the @EUauditors@mastodon.social.
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-13
📢 Last call to register for the ECA Summer School in Public Auditing in Malta!
⌛ Registrations close on 3 June, so don’t miss your chance to join this year’s discussions on “Auditing in a New World Disorder” in Valletta from 9 to 12 June 2026.
📋 The updated programme is available here: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ContentPagesDocuments/Events/2026/Agenda_ECA_Summer_School_2026.pdf
👉 Register now: https://www.um.edu.mt/events/publicauditing2026/
👔 #Youth #employment has long been a key labour-market challenge for EU countries.
💼🤝🏽 Is the EU getting the job done?
🎯 What works and what doesn’t?
📅 Find out on 4 June at 17:00.
📗 #ECAJournal | 💭 “I have no doubt: AI’s advantages far outweigh all the negatives!” – an interview with Jorg Petrovič, ECA Member and Reporting Member for the ECA’s AI strategy.
💡 He not only explains the key issues of the AI strategy, but gives specific examples of how it affects our audit work.
📖 Read the interview: https://buff.ly/8WNEJ3P
📢 The EU Innovation Fund: too slow for the clean-tech sector
💡 The EU Innovation Fund’s potential for competitiveness and fighting climate change is undermined by slow deployment
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-11
“EU #renovation funding for private homes should go to those projects with the greatest potential for cutting #energy use. However, we saw all too often that #RRF funds went where they were easiest to spend, not where they would make the biggest difference”.
— Nikolaos Milionis, Member of the European Court of Auditors
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-20
📗 The latest ECA Journal is out, putting the EU’s digital transition and AI in the spotlight. Gaston Moonen’s editorial opens this edition, which brings together insights from EU representatives, including ECA Members, as well as researchers and auditors.
📖 Read more: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/JOURNAL-2026-01/JOURNAL-2026-01_EN.pdf#page=5
“Business in the EU continue to face an uphill struggle in providing cross-border services. 60% of barriers in the EU’s single market from more than 20 years ago persist.”
— Hans Lindblad, Member of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-13
📢 The @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu’s #AntiFraud strategy covers the main elements needed to protect the #EUbudget, but the related action plans are often not ambitious enough, the auditors say.
Key findings:
💸 Commission and EU member states together manage an annual budget of up to €200 billion
📝 Anti-fraud strategy suffers from some flaws in risk assessment
🎯 Action plans often lack ambition to meet the strategy’s objectives
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-18
At the @EUauditors@mastodon.social, we celebrate leadership, equality and the power of women to shape stronger public institutions.
In January 2026, women Heads of the EU and Ukraine Supreme Audit Institutions met in Madrid and signed a joint statement highlighting the transformative role of women in public administration worldwide.
📖 Read the Madrid Declaration here:
https://ecademy.eca.europa.eu/pluginfile.php/488/mod_resource/content/2/Madrid%20declaration.pdf
“EU support for #youth #employment needs to demonstrate that it delivers lasting value. Without clearer objectives and better evidence of long‑term results, it is difficult to know whether public funds are truly making a difference for young people.”
— Carlo Alberto Manfredi Selvaggi, Member of the European Court of Auditors
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-15
⚠️❗EU support for #youth #employment needs further work to deliver lasting results, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors published today.
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-15
“The contribution of the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions needs to be more timely, and they should assess the impact of their work in a systematic way.”
— Katarína Kaszasová, Member of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-12
“The Innovation Fund has strong potential to strengthen the EU’s clean-tech innovation and competitiveness while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, slow deployment and significant project delays and terminations have limited results so far.”
— João Leão, Member of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social
#InnovationFund #Competitiveness #CleanTech #GreenhouseGasEmissions
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-11
📢 The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) are the EU’s advisory bodies.
🗣️ Do they support participatory governance?
📅 Find out on 26 March, at 17:00 CET.
EU businesses should face ⛔ no discrimination ⛔ no barriers ⛔ no unjustified restrictions when providing their services in another EU country.
🚨 Is the cross-border provision of services working smoothly, in the EU single market?
📅 Find out on 25 March, at 17:00 CET.
EU Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest programmes for competitiveness in the clean-tech sector.
💡 How effective is the Innovation Fund in supporting EU clean-tech competitiveness?
📅 Find out on 19 March at 17:00 CET.
“In #nuclear safety, one thing is crystal clear: prevention is infinitely better than cure. While the EU remains an important global player in #nuclearsafety cooperation, it should develop an all-round and up-to-date strategy.”
— Marek Opioła, Member of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-08
⚠️ The impact of EU advisory bodies – the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of the Regions (EU CoR) – on policymaking is not systematically measured. This is the conclusion of a new report by the @EUauditors@mastodon.social.
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-12
📗 #ECAJournal | ”#Europeandefence taking priority: political and financial considerations” – an article by Robert Pszczel, Senior Fellow at the #Security and #Defence Department of the Centre for Eastern Studies and former NATO diplomat.
📖 Read the article: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/JOURNAL-2025-02/JOURNAL-2025-02_EN.pdf#page=100
📢 Today, the @EUauditors@mastodon.social issued two opinions on the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu’s legislative proposals in the field of culture, democracy and media, covering the #Erasmus+ and #AgoraEU programmes.
Read the opinions 👇
🔗 Erasmus+: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/OP-2026-12
🔗 AgoraEU: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/OP-2026-11
The dream of an EU #energy revolution at local level is being slowed down by technical and legal hurdles, according to a new report from the @EUauditors@mastodon.social.
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-10
The European Court of Auditors stands for equal rights, justice, and action for all women and girls. Strong institutions are built on diverse perspectives, and we reaffirm our commitment to equality, inclusion and equal opportunities for all women.
📢 On 12 March, the @EUauditors@mastodon.social will publish two opinions on the @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu’s proposals for the next #EUbudget in the field of culture, democracy and media. The opinions will cover the #AgoraEU and #Erasmus+ programmes.
📢 The EU needs to step up a level on improving global #nuclearsafety.
⚠️ The @EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu should be more strategic in the way it supports the countries outside the EU in enhancing their #nuclear safety, according to a report by the @EUauditors@mastodon.social published today.
🔗 Read the report 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-08
📗 #ECAJournal | "Rebuilding #Europe’s defences: how to drive a coordinated #defence surge" – an article by Luigi Scazzieri, Senior Policy Analyst for defence at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).
📖 Read the article: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/JOURNAL-2025-02/JOURNAL-2025-02_EN.pdf#page=89
“As the EU races to meet its climate and energy goals, citizen-led energy remains a compelling idea – ideal in theory, but challenging in practice. The EU now needs to sweep away legal hurdles and technical roadblocks to make it work effectively on the ground.”
— João Leão, Member of the @EUauditors@mastodon.social
🔗 Read more 👇
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications/SR-2026-10
📗 #ECAJournal | 💭 ‘The trust building industry includes providing criticism’ – an interview with Lucian Romașcanu, ECA Member since 1 July 2025.
With a career of 40 years in both the private and the public sectors, Mr Romașcanu brings a lot of experience to the ECA and also plenty of enthusiasm for his new tasks and the EU as a whole.
📖 Read the interview: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/JOURNAL-2025-02/JOURNAL-2025-02_EN.pdf#page=109


