EU accounts ‘signed off’ but subject to errors
“The audit for the European Union has not been written off in 20 odd years”
BBC Question Time audience member, 20 October 2016
It depends on what you think ‘written off’—or ‘signed off’—means.
Auditors say the EU’s accounts are accurate and have been since 2007, but for the last 20 years they’ve also recorded significant errors in how money is paid.
It’s a bit like having a bank account that accurately records the transactions you’ve made, but some of them still shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Join 72,953 people who trust us to check the facts
Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.
Only a small minority of errors are proven cases of fraud, where people have deliberately tried to get money illegitimately, and the EU does recover some of the lost money later.