ABSTRACT
The Treaty on European Union, Article 7, transformed the Court of Auditors from a ‘body assimilated to an Institution’ into an Institution of the Community. The change was intended to give the Court of Auditors higher status in recognition of its role in ensuring financial regularity in a Community accused of waste. There is one auditor per Member State. They are appointed by unanimous decision of the Council. The Economic and Social Committee owes its existence to French and German counterparts. They formed part of the mechanisms of the near-corporate state, in which tripartite consensus of government, employers, workpeople, was sought. Appointed members allocate themselves to nine special sections, which under the guidance of their chairman and of the draftsman appointed for each opinion, prepare a draft that is debated and voted on, with simple majorities, in a plenary session.
