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		EU Accounts - A Decade of Failure Tuesday, 16 November 2004 The European Union's Court of Auditors has been unable, for the tenth consecutive year, to give the EU's accounts the all-clear. The Court has been unable to offer a 'Statement of Assurance' on the grounds that: 'Once again the Court has no reasonable assurance that the supervisory systems and controls of significant areas of the budget are effectively implemented so as to manage the risks concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying operations.' The report indicates that: 'The Court's audit work has repeatedly shown that many irregularities occur in such expenditure.' In relation to the bulk of the expenditure the Court notes: 'In the absence of effective internal control procedures for miscellaneous revenue and advances, the Court cannot be certain that the transactions relating to the sundry item have been correctly and completely recorded.' Responding to the Court of Auditors Annual Report for 2003 East Midlands MEP, Roger Helmer, said: "Yet again this report questions the reliability of the Commission's accounting practices and the accounts themselves. The Court indicates that nearly 95% of the EU budget has serious problems with regard to accountability and effective spending. It is time that Tony Blair and his Government refused to sign off the EU's dodgy accounts. After ten years in the Commission, the latter five as Vice-President for Administrative Reform, Neil Kinnock's legacy to the taxpayer is a decade of failure."