10-10-2018 09:00
How can we better communicate the results of EU spending to citizens?
In recent years, the European institutions have started to introduce performance-based budgeting, meaning that the control of EU spending is including increasingly performance-based auditing in addition to the traditional compliance audit. These changes require a review of whether the policy for communicating the results of EU spending to the media and citizens is still adequate.
The workshop discussed the question of how the discharge of the EU budget can be better communicated. There is an obvious mismatch between the overall positive and successful financial management of the EU and its bad image created through the few cases of fraud, mismanagement or errors. Is it possible to improve communication on the side of the institutions (Parliament, Commission, Court of Auditors) with the effect that media and citizens get a more balanced and reality-based picture of the EU's budget?
Can the gap between institutional communication and media's and citizens' perception be bridged? What might be the impact for communication resulting from the move towards more performance audit? Experts from institutions and media, academia and international organisations have were invited to present their views and to discuss them with the CONT Members.
Rapporteur: Derek Vaughan