Annual reports on the implementation of the EU budget for the 2022 financial year and on the activities funded by the 9th, 10th and 11th European Development Funds (EDFs) for the 2022 financial year

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is an institution of the European Union(EU) and the external auditor of the EU's finances. In this capacity, we act as the independent guardian of the financial interests of all EU citizens, notably by helping to improve the EU's financial management. In line with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), our annual report on the implementation of the EU budget covers both revenue and expenditure. It presents our statement of assurance as to whether the EU's accounts are reliable and whether the EU budget has been used in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. This statement is supplemented by specific assessments for major areas of EU budget spending. A separate annual report covers the European Development Funds. The EU's general budget is adopted annually by the Council of the European Union and by the European Parliament. In May 2020, the Council of the European Union adopted NextGenerationEU (NGEU), a temporary instrument that was set up in response to the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is financed through issuing bonds. NGEU provides funding for the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), accounting for about 90 % of NGEU funding, as well as for top-ups to existing 2021-2027 MFF programmes, which have to be spent in line with sector-specific rules. Both the EU's general budget and NGEU funding are subject to the discharge procedure. Through this procedure, the Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the Council, decides whether the European Commission has satisfactorily met its budgetary responsibilities. Our annual report, combined as appropriate with our other products, provides a basis for the discharge procedure. Upon publication, we forward our annual report to member states' national parliaments, the European Parliament and the Council.