The Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency was the only EU agency whose management of EU funds in 2011 was not approved by the Budgetary Control Committee on Tuesday. In other votes, the European Commission and other EU institutions and agencies passed the committee's budget "discharge" test, but the decision on whether to approve the Council of Ministers' bookkeeping was once again postponed.

Defects in the EU's nuclear decommissioning programmes in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia include cost overruns, delays, lack of coordination and supervision, diffused responsibilities, too much money going to unrelated energy projects and ill-informed priority setting, say Budgetary Control Committee MEPs in a resolution voted on Monday.

Errors in EU spending on research and rural development almost doubled in 2011 compared to 2010, said the European Court of Auditors in its annual report, present to Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee on Tuesday. MEPs will now investigate how this happened and why the Court could not give a positive opinion on total EU spending.

EU member states will have to share specific information on fraud cases involving EU funds on their territory with the EU Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), under a hard-won agreement between the European Parliament, Council and Commission, approved by the Budgetary Control Committee on Monday.

Budgetary control MEPs recommended on Wednesday afternoon to refuse to grant the Council discharge for its spending in 2010, following the Council's complete lack of cooperation with the committee. It also voted by a narrow majority to recommend rejecting the accounts of the European Environment Agency.

Romania's nomination of Leonard Orban to join the European Court of Auditors was rejected by Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee on Wednesday. The vote was 12 in favour, and 14 against, in a secret ballot. Mr Orban's candidature will nonetheless be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole in October. Mr Orban was nominated after the Romanian authorities withdrew the candidature of Mr Mircea Vasile Popescu.

Bulgaria's nomination of Iliana Ivaonova to join the European Court of Auditors was endorsed by Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee on Monday. Ms Ivanova is currently a Member of the European Parliament for the EPP group. Her candidature now goes to the full Parliament for a final vote on Wednesday 13 June.

The EU Medicines Agency, Environment Agency, Food Safety Authority and Council of Ministers all failed to win the Budgetary Control Committee's approval on Tuesday for the way in which they spend EU funds. All other EU Institutions and agencies were granted budget management "discharges" (approvals).

The European Commission's 2010 budget spending was approved by Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee on Monday under the "budget discharge procedure". Committee MEPs criticized the lack of sanctions for mismanagement in Member States and the use of financial engineering instruments and pre-financing of EU projects. Commissioner Semeta assured the committee that he would strive to improve management in these areas.

Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee on Thursday voted for Spain's new nominee to join the European Court of Auditors, Mr Baudilio Tomé Muguruza.