Paul Stephenson (Politics, FASoS) and Hartmut Aden (Berlin School of Economics and Law) co-organised the second of three workshops on financial accountability at EUFINACCO on 17-19 May. The event brought together 18 researchers and practitioners, including staff of the European Parliament and European Court of Auditors, as well as FASoS colleague Andreea Nastase, to explore EU budgetary accountability from a range of perspectives.
The EUFINACCO event followed on from the first workshop held at FASoS in May 2016, brilliantly organised by Dianne Borgignons. It brought together members of the growing network of scholars from various academic disciplines (political science, public policy, law, economics, sociology, history and criminology), all working on issues related to financial accountability in the EU. EUFINACCO has the status of UACES collaborative research network for the period 2015-2018. Its research pertains to, among other issues:
- questions concerning accountability, legitimacy, transparency
- fields of practice such as auditing, taxation, accountancy and budgeting
- stages of the policy process such as implementation and evaluation (ex ante / ex post)
- institutions such as the European Court of Auditors, European Parliament (Budgetary Control), European Commission, Anti-Fraud Office, European Central Bank
- institutional issues of reform, roles, design, leadership, culture, ethics, learning
- new instruments such as the European Stability Mechanism and European Semester
- policy areas, from the CAP and Structural Funds to CFSP and economic governance
- analytical lenses such as multi-level governance and theories of integration
A third event will be held in Bilbao in the Spring of 2018. The three co-convenors (with Maria-Luisa Sanchez Barrueco of Deusto University) are looking to develop the EUFINACCO network and brand beyond 2018, and remain open to new members.
