52003TA1230(07)

Report

on the financial statements of Eurojust for the financial year 2002, together with Eurojust's replies

(2003/C 319/07)

CONTENTS

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THE COURT'S OPINION

1. This report is addressed to the European Parliament and to the Council in accordance with Article 36 of Council Decision 2002/187/JHI(1).

2. The Court has examined the financial statements of Eurojust for its first financial year, which ended on 31 December 2002. In accordance with Article 36 of Council Decision 2002/187/JHI of 28 February 2002, the budget was implemented on the responsibility of Eurojust's Administrative Director. This responsibility includes the drawing-up and presentation of the financial statements(2), in accordance with the internal financial provisions set out in Article 37 of the Council Decision. The Court of Auditors is required pursuant to Article 248 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to audit those accounts.

3. The Court performed its audit in accordance with its auditing standards and policies. These have been adapted from generally accepted international auditing standards to reflect the specific characteristics of the Community context. The Court examined the accounting records and applied such other audit procedures as it deemed necessary in the circumstances. By means of this audit the Court obtained a reasonable basis for the opinion expressed below.

4. This examination has enabled the Court to obtain reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2002 are reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, are legal and regular.

5. Eurojust, which became operational at the end of 2002, was set up pursuant to Council Decision 2002/187/JHI in order to step up the fight against serious organised crime. Its objective is to improve the coordination of investigations and prosecutions covering the territory of more than one Member State of the Union, as well as that of non-member countries. Eurojust is financed from the general budget of the European Union, except as regards the salaries and emoluments of the national members and their assistants, which are borne by their Member State of origin.

6. Table 1 shows the implementation of the appropriations for the financial year 2002. The revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet published by Eurojust for the financial year 2002 are presented in summary form in Tables 2 and 3.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at its meeting of 15 and 16 October 2003.

For the Court of Auditors

Juan Manuel Fabra Vallés

President

(1) Decision of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust (OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1).

(2) As required pursuant to Article 36(1), the final accounts for all the revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2002 were drawn up on 9 September 2003 and forwarded to the Parliament, the Commission and the Court of Auditors. The Court received them on 10 September 2003. A summarised version of these financial statements is published in the tables annexed to this report.

Table 1

Eurojust - Implementation of the budget for the financial year 2002Source:

Data compiled by Eurojust. These tables summarise the data supplied by Eurojust in its own financial statements.

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Table 2

Eurojust - Revenue and expenditure account for the financial year 2002

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Source:

Data compiled by Eurojust. These tables summarise the data supplied by Eurojust in its own financial statements.

Table 3

Eurojust - Balance sheet at 31 December 2002Source:

Eurojust data. These tables summarise the data supplied by Eurojust in its own financial statements.

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Eurojust's Replies

Eurojust welcomes the Court's concluding statement that the examination of Eurojust's accounts for the budget year 2002 confirms that the annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, are legal and regular.