The European Court of Auditors is conducting an audit to evaluate the effectiveness of EU measures in supporting the rule of law in the Western Balkans. The candidate countries of Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as the potential candidate countries of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are being analyzed by the auditors, who will establish whether the EU presence is actually having a significant role in the rule of law of these countries. “Rule of law is a non-negotiable prerequisite for EU membership. Yet, Western Balkan countries are still facing issues concerning corruption and how their public institutions function, which hinder their accession to the EU”, said Juhan Parts, the Member of the European Court of Auditors, adding that “Our audit will examine whether the EU genuinely helps them achieve progress in these fields, so that they can soon be on their way to joining the Union.”
According to the press release from ECA, the rule of law includes “the following six principles: equality before the law, legal certainty, separation of powers, independent and impartial courts, transparent and democratic legislative procedures and effective judicial review.” ECA will determine in particular whether the support for the rule of law from the EU was appropriately designed; if it was used well to address key issues; and if the EU support resulted in concrete and sustainable improvements in line with EU standards.
The European Court of Auditors is one of the seven institutions of the European Union. It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management.
