Errors and weaknesses detected by the European Court of Auditors in the reports on the European Structural Funds 2000–2004

The present paper shows the weaknesses and the errors detected by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in the reports regarding the Structural Funds (the European Social Fund (ESF); the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, ‘Guidance’ section (EAGGF-Guidance), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG)), presented by 15 countries of the European Union from the year 2000 to 2004. We have classified the said countries in four groups, regarding the date of their EU incorporation. The main aim of our work is to highlight the errors made by the Member States on the management and control of the structural funds received from the EU, analysing the likely causes and consequences of such errors.