Nominations for Members of the European Court of Auditors (Cyprus and Malta)

As set out in Article 285 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the European Court of Auditors (ECA) shall consist of one national of each Member State. Article 286 (2) TFEU further specifies that each Member State has the right to propose its candidate. The Council then adopts the list of Members as proposed by the Member States. Often, this is a partial renewal of the Court - only one or a few Members are appointed, as the mandates of the Members may expire at different points in time. The Council can only act after consulting the European Parliament; in practice, the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is responsible and the Member-designate of the ECA makes a statement before the committee and has to answer its questions. CONT then votes on the nomination and thus issues a recommendation to plenary, which votes within two months of receipt of the nomination. In case of an unfavourable opinion, the President shall ask the Council to withdraw its nomination and to submit a new nomination (Rule 129 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure). However, Parliament’s opinion is not binding for the Council.