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LAURA CHRISTINE ULRICH QJ-02-15-731-EN-C ROADS TO EUROPE TO ROADS EUROPE TO ROADS EUROPE TO ROADS ROADS TO EUROPE HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS LAURA CHRISTINE ULRICH CHRISTINE LAURA ULRICH CHRISTINE LAURA ULRICH CHRISTINE LAURA ISBN 978-92-9241-998-1 doi:10.2865/759383 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 print ISBN 978-92-9241-998-1 doi:10.2865/759383 QJ-02-15-731-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-9241-999-8 doi:10.2865/006480 QJ-02-15-731-EN-N This publication was produced with the support of the European Court of Auditors. Translation of: Wege nach Europa. Heinrich Aigner und die Anfänge des Europäischen Rechnungshofes. © European Union, 2016 Text: Laura Ulrich. Photos: reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged except photos on pages 37 and 55. For these photos permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. Photos on front cover: © European Union; Photo on back cover: © Sami Sarkis/Getty Image Printed in Italy PRINTED ON ELEMENTAL CHLORINE-FREE BLEACHED PAPER (ECF) LAURA CHRISTINE ULRICH ROADS TO EUROPE HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 7 FOREWORD VÍTOR CALDEIRA President of the European Court of Auditors Heinrich Aigner (1924-1988), as a Member of the European Parliament, was deeply committed to setting up a comprehensive budgetary control framework at the European level and was the real driving force behind the establishment of the European Court of Auditors. Without any exaggeration, we can say that our Institution owes its creation to him. This excellent book by Laura Christine Ulrich, which we have the great pleasure to present in its English edition, provides the first comprehensive and well-documented personal and political biography of our founding father. In particular, it gives a very illuminating and well researched account of the historical context, in the early nineteen seventies, which led to the genesis of the European Court of Auditors. The ‘special relationship’ between Aigner and ‘his’ Institution continued even after the approval of the Treaty of Brussels (1975) and the establishment of the Court in October 1977. Heinrich Aigner went on to be the first chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, a position he ROADS TO EUROPE 8 held until his premature death in 1988. In that capacity, he entered into close and regular dialogue with the Court and its Members, including its former President Marcel Mart, never hiding that his views sometimes diverged with those of the Court as he fought for the Parliament, the elected body, to have greater influence over the Commission. In September 1973, when first arguing in favour of a new European Audit Institution, Heinrich Aigner recalled a guiding principle that is as relevant now as it was then, ‘The role of the European Community is to serve the nations which it unites and their citizens. The latter have a right to expect that the money flowing into “Europe” is put to good use and spent in accordance with the principle of sound financial management’. It is important to note that Heinrich Aigner emphasised the right of ‘citizens’ to be informed about the use of their money. He could have simply referred to ‘taxpayers’. Instead, as a passionate representative of the people and a convinced democrat and European, Aigner deliberately chose to refer explicitly to European citizens. The Court of Auditors went on to achieve the full status of a European Institution as Aigner had originally advocated. And during the more than 35 years since our founding, we have never lost sight of the fact that we were established to serve European citizens. For that reason, I am very pleased to introduce this book about a great European, who continues to inspire us in our mission to help improve democratic accountability for the use of EU funds. Luxembourg, September 2015 HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 9 FOREWORD DR INGE GRÄSSLE MEP, Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control Politics, Max Weber wrote, means ‘drilling slowly and forcefully through hard boards with passion and moderation in equal measure’. As the story of Heinrich Aigner MEP’s life and impact illustrates in this book, the politics of European budgetary control also demand perseverance and fortitude, firm convictions and pragmatism in forging alliances. I am delighted that, with this book, my predecessor as Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control is receiving the attention that he and his lifetime of great service to Europe deserve. The significance of Heinrich Aigner’s role in creating the European Court of Auditors and introducing budgetary control at a political level by the European Parliament cannot be stressed enough. During his many years as an MEP, he saw his continually repeated calls for independent external audit first gain majority support in the Parliament, before becoming part of the European institutional set-up by virtue of a unanimous summit decision and subsequent treaty amendment. Only after Aigner’s death did the Court of Auditors attain the EU institution status for which he had always striven. ROADS TO EUROPE 10 Aigner also left his mark on the nature of budgetary control at a political level, including its central component: the decision on whether or not to grant discharge in respect of the management of the budget for a particular year. Having already been the driving force on the former ‘Control Subcommittee’ of the Parliament’s Committee on Budgets, he succeeded in establishing a permanent Committee on Budgetary Control following the first elections by direct suffrage in 1979 and, as its Chair, made history again in 1984 by refusing to grant discharge to the Commission in respect of its management of the budget for the 1982 financial year. At the same time, he laid the foundations for closer links between audit and the political side of budgetary control, which to this day remain the key to an effective partnership between the Court of Auditors and the Parliament. He faced constant resistance, occasionally even from within the ranks of the Parliament hierarchy, who regarded trouble-free cooperation between institutions as more important than uncovering and punishing irregularities, waste and fraud at the expense of the European taxpayer. This made all the more important Aigner’s focus on creating a European network, beyond institutional, national and party boundaries, of like- minded individuals for whom the issue of budgetary control was just as much of a concern as it was for him; with their help, he ultimately achieved what initially seemed impossible. I would like to thank the book’s author, Laura Christine Ulrich, and its publisher, the European Court of Auditors, for keeping alive the memory of a great European. Heinrich Aigner’s impact continues to motivate and inspire those of us involved in EU budgetary control today. Brussels, September 2015 HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 11 CONTENTS PREFACE 15 1. INTRODUCTION 17 Subject matter and structure 20 Literature review 23 Sources 26 2. HEINRICH AIGNER – THE ROAD TO POLITICS 29 Origins and upbringing in Bavaria 30 War experiences inspire commitment to Europe 31 Studies in Erlangen, starting a family and early career in Munich 32 Rising through the ranks: from Junge Union to the Bundestag 34 Appointment to the European Parliament until first direct elections in 1979 42 ROADS TO EUROPE 12 3. ROAD TO EUROPE 47 Involvement in the Paneuropean Union 47 ‘The key to the fate of the 20th century’ — visions for Europe 50 Values and general aims in European politics 50 Promoting the concept of Europe to the public 51 Development aid as a political tool for Europe 54 Ideas for a supranational European order 56 4. THE CAMPAIGN FOR BUDGETARY POWERS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 59 The initial situation in the 1960s 60 First achievements: the Luxembourg Treaty (1970) 63 The establishment of the European Court of Auditors: the Treaty of Brussels (1975) 66 5. A NEW INSTITUTION FOR THE COMMUNITIES: DESIGNING THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 70 Conflicts of interest: differing ideas on how to organise the Court 70 From the final communiqué of the Copenhagen summit to the Brussels Treaty 70 The European Court of Auditors: from the founding Treaty to the start of work 75 Aigner’s motives and contribution 78 HEINRICH AIGNER AND THE GENESIS OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS 13 The beginnings of the European Court of Auditors: cooperation with the new body 81 Heinrich Aigner’s expectations 81 Making contact with the new body: first steps 82 6. HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS: THE FIRST DIRECT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS IN 1979 AND THE BUNDESTAG ELECTIONS IN 1980 86 An election campaign for Europe — and for Franz Josef Strauß? 86 The Paneuropean Union’s Europe Day in Munich: cross-party rally or CSU election campaign? 87 Election campaign for Franz Josef Strauß 89 Acceptance back home: how Aigner’s work as an MEP was perceived in Bavaria 90 Electoral turnout and support in the Upper Palatinate 90 Heinrich Aigner and the CSU 92 7. FOCUS ON EUROPE: THE TAXPAYER’S ADVOCATE — AIGNER’S FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD IN THE COMMUNITIES 94 The creation of the Committee on Budgetary Control 94 Setting an example for internal control 97 Wrangling with the Commission: the 1976/77 Malt Affair 97 The refusal to grant discharge for the 1982 financial year 98 The audit ‘flying squad’: external control 102 ROADS TO EUROPE 14 8.

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