Pinxten denied renewal of #CourtofAuditors mandate

Budgetary control MEPs have refused to endorse Karel Pinxten (pictured) as a Court of Auditors member for Belgium, writes Martin Banks.

Pinxten, a member of the Court of Auditors (CoA) since 2006, was seeking a renewal of his mandate. His candidacy was turned down by 13 votes to 10 with two abstentions in a secret ballot at the budgetary control committee.

No reason was given for his rejection.

In separate ballots, the Committee endorsed  Hannu Takkula and Pietro Russo as CoA members for Finland and Italy respectively.

Takkula, currently a MEP, would take up the duties at the CoA for the first time, while Russo would serve a second term. All candidates still face a vote by the full parliament at a date yet to be set.

Takkula first served as a MEP from 2004 to 2014 and re-entered the European Parliament in 2015. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 1995 to 2004. He was endorsed with 13 votes to nine with two abstentions.

Russo, a former judge, first became  member of the CoA in 2012. He was endorsed with 17 votes to four, with four abstentions.

The  Court has 28 members, one from each member state. They are appointed for a renewable term of six years. The Council, after consulting the European Parliament, decides on the candidate presented by each country.

To prepare for a hearing in Parliament, a candidate is asked to answer a questionnaire prepared by the Budgetary Control Committee. At the hearing, candidates may make a five-minute opening statement, followed by a question and answer session with committee members.

Meanwhile, according to a new report from the Court, the Economic Adjustment Programmes agreed for Greece after the financial crisis broke out provided short-term financial stability and made some progress on reform possible.

But the CoA said the programmes only helped Greece recover to a limited extent and, as of mid-2017, had not succeeded in restoring the country’s ability to finance its needs on the markets.

The first Economic Adjustment Programme was for €110 billion in 2010, with two further programmes for €172.6 billion in 2012 and €86 billion in 2015. The programmes were aimed at establishing a stable economic situation in Greece by covering the economy’s financing needs in return for wide-ranging structural reforms, thereby preventing contagion across the rest of the euro area.

Baudilio Tomé Muguruza, the CoA member responsible for the report, said: “These programmes promoted reform and avoided default by Greece. But the country’s ability to finance itself fully on the financial markets remains a challenge”.

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