The European Court of Auditors (ECA), the EU's independent external auditor, is committed to being at the forefront in developing public sector auditing. The intellectual work by scholars and researchers from all disciplines on issues such as public spending, auditing and accountability in the European Union is of great importance to the ECA.
The 2022 ECA Awards focus on a topic closely linked to the ECA's mission and work:
'Accountability gaps in the European Union'. By proposing this topic, the ECA intends to provide both an incentive and recognition for original research focusing on the accountability, transparency and audit gaps that have emerged in the rapidly changing EU's institutional and financial architecture.
The EU institutional set-up has never been more complex and diverse. Over the last 15 years, the EU has been confronted with an unprecedented series of crises: the 2007-2008 economic and financial crisis, the 2009 sovereign debt crisis, the 2015 migration crisis, the UK's withdrawal from the EU in 2020, the public health and economic crisis due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A number of very fast-moving developments, linked to the EU’s response to the multiple crises, has brought yet further complexity into the EU’s architecture, and raised new questions about accountability. In all this complexity, the need for identifying and closing accountability gaps in the EU’s institutional and financial architecture is more urgent than ever before. By focusing the 2022 edition on the theme of 'accountability gaps in the EU', we at the ECA intend to call on European scholars and researchers of all disciplines to contribute to this common reflection.
Nikolaos Milionis, ECA Member, Chair of the 2022 ECA Awards selection panel
The ECA Awards are named after a person who has actively contributed to the ECA’s reputation as an EU institution. The 2022 edition of the Awards pays tribute to the memory of João Figueiredo (1955-2021), who served as the Portuguese ECA Member from October 2016 until his sudden death on 30 June 2021.
The 2022 ECA Awards consist of:
— A 'Publication Award' for peer-reviewed academic publications (articles and books). The 'Publication Award' is open to researchers and scholars, for a peer-reviewed publication (article in an academic journal or book), which must have been published on or after 1 January 2017.
— A 'Thesis Award' for a Master's or a PhD thesis. The 'Thesis Award' is open to postgraduate candidates who successfully completed a Master's or a PhD programme on or after 1 January 2017.
To be eligible to apply for one of the ECA Awards, candidates must be EU nationals. Non-EU nationals are only eligible to apply if they currently work at or completed their thesis at a university in the EU.
The deadline for applications is 7 November 2022.