The headline often appears in the anti-European press. They also say that the accounts have not been signed off for 19 years in a row.  The Daily Mail fumed that, “Auditors yesterday refused to sign off the EU accounts for the 19th year in succession”. The Express chipped in too, “for the 19th year in a row, the auditors refused to sign off Europe’s annual accounts”. Ukip MEP Paul Nuttall pounced on an opportunity too good to miss, tweeting: “EU accounts have now failed to be signed off for 19 years in a row”.

It isn’t as straightforward as that. Auditors often find problems with figures, it’s what they’re paid to do. In this case, it wasn’t a question of fraud, or major financial problems, but a few cases where spending rules had not been scrupulously followed. Read Stuart Bonar’s full article.