EU Financial Management

It is a shame that the consensus has broken down. To say that there is no real concern from Her Majesty’s Government is unfair nonsense. During the course of our presidency, I, together with others, made this a priority. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that, if he is talking about the credibility of the European Union and the relationship between it and taxpayers in the nation states, the issue is incredibly important. As long as the accounts continue to be qualified, they undermine and damage the credibility of the European Union as an institution. Perhaps the difference between us is that I am unhappy that the credibility and integrity of the European Union are undermined whereas I suspect that Conservative Members and, perhaps, one or two of my hon. Friends, are delighted for this continual undermining of the European Union as an institution to continue. The difference is that I want an improvement in the situation so that we cease to qualify the accounts with the consequence that the relationship between the European Union and taxpayers is improved. We should all share that objective. It is also true that the qualification is not, as it is often explained, largely to do with fraud; it is largely to do with inappropriate accounting methods and the difficulty of monitoring expenditure. I do not make any excuses, but sometimes 100 per cent. of the problem is defined as fraud, which is misleading and inaccurate. I share the reservations of the hon. Gentleman, and as long as the European Union’s accounts are qualified, any democratic politician should be concerned. Indeed, anybody who believes in the EU as an institution should be concerned and want the situation changed.