The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is a standing committee of the European Parliament. It scrutinises the implementation of the European Union budget, examines the use of EU funds and prepares Parliament's decisions on whether to grant discharge to the institutions and bodies responsible for implementing the budget.
Responsibilities
The committee is responsible for examining the implementation of the Union budget and the accounts and balance sheets of the European Union, its institutions and bodies. It considers whether EU funds have been managed legally, efficiently and effectively and may recommend improvements intended to strengthen financial management and accountability.
Its remit includes:
the control of the implementation of the EU budget and of the European Development Fund; preparation of Parliament's decisions on the discharge procedure, including the internal discharge procedure; examination of the accounts and financial statements of the European Union, its institutions and EU-funded bodies; oversight of the cost-effectiveness of different forms of EU financing; consideration of fraud, corruption and other irregularities affecting the implementation of the EU budget; relations with the European Court of Auditors, including consideration of its reports; and relations with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), including the protection of the European Union's financial interests.
The discharge procedure is one of the committee's principal responsibilities. On the basis of the annual reports of the European Court of Auditors and information supplied by the institutions concerned, the committee prepares recommendations on whether Parliament should approve, postpone or refuse discharge for the implementation of a given financial year's budget.
Chairs
The following table lists the chairs of the committee since 2004.
Name Political group Member state Took office Left office Szabolcs Fazakas PES Hungary 2004 2006 Herbert Bösch PES Austria 2007 2009 Luigi de Magistris ALDE Italy 2009 2011 Jan Mulder ALDE Netherlands 2011 2014 Ingeborg Gräßle EPP Germany 2014 2019 Monika Hohlmeier EPP Germany 2019 2024 Andreas Schwab EPP Germany 2024 Incumbent
Members
10th Parliament, 2024–2029
The committee consists of 30 full members. Its current composition is shown below, with the chair and vice-chairs indicated in italics.
European People's Party Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats European Conservatives and Reformists Renew Europe Andreas Schwab, Germany, Chair Caterina Chinnici, Italy, Vice-Chair Jacek Protas, Poland, Vice-Chair Georgios Aftias, Greece Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, Spain Monika Hohlmeier, Germany Kinga Kollár, Hungary Tomáš Zdechovský, Czechia Claudiu Manda, Romania, Vice-Chair José Cepeda, Spain Giuseppe Lupo, Italy Marit Maij, Netherlands Csaba Molnár, Hungary Carla Tavares, Portugal Cristian Terheș, Romania, Vice-Chair Joachim Brudziński, Poland Dick Erixon, Sweden Gilles Boyer, France Olivier Chastel, Belgium Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Netherlands Patriots for Europe Greens–European Free Alliance The Left Europe of Sovereign Nations Tamás Deutsch, Hungary Virginie Joron, France Ondřej Knotek, Czechia Julien Sanchez, France Daniel Freund, Germany Rasmus Nordqvist, Denmark Jonas Sjöstedt, Sweden Pasquale Tridico, Italy Arno Bausemer, Germany Non-Inscrits Fidias Panayiotou, Cyprus
Substitute members
The committee's substitute members are listed below.
European People's Party Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats European Conservatives and Reformists Renew Europe Paulo Cunha, Portugal Dirk Gotink, Netherlands Niclas Herbst, Germany Andrey Kovatchev, Bulgaria Janusz Lewandowski, Poland Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Romania Karlo Ressler, Croatia Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Spain Lucia Annunziata, Italy Jens Geier, Germany Maria Grapini, Romania Eero Heinäluoma, Finland Yannis Maniatis, Greece Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, France Carlo Fidanza, Italy Bert-Jan Ruissen, Netherlands Șerban Dimitrie Sturdza, Romania Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Romania Michal Wiezik, Slovakia Patriots for Europe Greens–European Free Alliance The Left Europe of Sovereign Nations Csaba Dömötör, Hungary Roman Haider, Austria Annamária Vicsek, Hungary Erik Marquardt, Germany Terry Reintke, Germany Younous Omarjee, France Alexander Jungbluth, Germany Non-Inscrits Grzegorz Braun, Poland
Research support
The committee's work is supported by the research services of the European Parliament. These services provide studies, briefings and other analyses concerning budgetary control, the discharge procedure, fraud prevention, financial accountability and the protection of the European Union's financial interests.
Publications prepared for the committee are made available through its online database of supporting analyses and through the European Parliament's Think Tank. The database is updated as new studies and briefings are published.
See also
Budget of the European Union Discharge procedure European Court of Auditors European Anti-Fraud Office European Public Prosecutor's Office European Parliament Committee on Budgets
References
External links
Official website Supporting analyses European Parliament Think Tank