EU accounts rejected for 11th year

IRELAND was again the fourth biggest recipient of EU money last year despite having the union’s second highest GNP, according to the audited accounts.

But auditors have refused to sign-off the EU’s annual accounts for the 11th consecutive year.

Hubert Weber, president of the European court of auditors, offered a damning indictment of accounting practices, telling MEPs that “the vast majority of the payments budget was again materially affected by errors of legality and regularity”.