52003TA0522(01)

Report

on the accounts drawn up by the Secretary-General of the Convention on the future of the European Union for the financial year 2002 (started on 21 February 2002 and ended on 31 December 2002), together with the comments of the Secretary-General of the Convention

(2003/C 122/01)

1. This audit report concerns the Fund for the financing of the Convention on the future of the European Union, set up by Decision No 2002/176/EU(1) (21 February 2002) of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council.

2. In conformity with Article 248 of the Treaty, the Court has examined the financial statements, summarised in Tables 1 and 2, in respect of the management of the Fund for the financial year ended 31 December 2002. In accordance with Article 13(1) of Decision No 2002/176/EU, the budget was implemented under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the Convention. This responsibility included drawing up and presenting the financial statements(2).

3. The Court carried out its audit in accordance with its auditing policies and standards. These have been adapted from generally accepted international auditing standards to reflect the Community nature of the context within which the Court works. The Court examined the accounting records and applied the auditing procedures it deemed necessary in this context. Through this audit the Court obtained a reasonable basis for the opinion expressed below.

4. The Court's examination enabled it to obtain reasonable assurance that the accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2002 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are, on the whole, legal and regular.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at its meeting of 10 April 2003.

For the Court of Auditors

Juan Manuel Fabra Vallés

President

(1) OJ L 60, 1.3.2002, p. 56.

(2) A large amount of the human and material resources needed for the functioning of the Convention was supplied by the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Furthermore, national Governments and Parliaments met the expenses of their representatives to the Convention.

Table 1

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2002Source:

Summary drawn up by the Court of Auditors on the basis of financial statements drawn up by the Convention's Secretariat General.

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Table 2

Revenue and expenditure account for the financial year 2002Source:

Summary drawn up by the Court of Auditors on the basis of financial statements drawn up by the Convention's Secretariat General.

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Comments of the Secretary-General of the Convention

The Secretary General has no comments to make on the Court's observations.