- In 2025, EU auditors spent a total of 4,368 days in the field, both within and outside the EU.
- Audit teams consist of two to three auditors, and missions last from a few days to a couple of weeks.
- Drones are used to audit POSEI banana plantations in the Canary Islands and coastal projects in Portugal.
- Visits are conducted in cooperation with member states' supreme audit institutions to avoid duplication.
- Countries receiving large EU allocations via agriculture, cohesion and RRF funds attract the most audit attention.
From desk to fieldwork
When people think of auditors, they often picture desks, documents, and endless spreadsheets. At the European Court of Auditors (ECA), that is only the starting point. Auditing EU funds means going where the money goes: from Brussels meeting rooms to coastal projects in Portugal, and even banana plantations in the Canary Islands. These on-the-spot checks bring audit work to life, helping auditors to see for themselves how EU money is spent, and whether it delivers what has been promised.
The audit process in practice
Every audit begins at the ECA in Luxembourg, where auditors dig into documents, shape their approach, and decide where closer attention is needed. But paperwork alone rarely tells the full story. To understand how EU funds are managed in practice, auditors need to go into the field.
Audit teams usually consist of two or three auditors, and missions can last from a few days to a couple of weeks. Within the EU, these visits are often carried out in cooperation with the supreme audit institutions of the member states concerned, thus helping to ensure efficiency and avoid duplication.
Who gets visited – and how often?
The European Commission, as the primary manager of the EU budget, is one of the ECA's main counterparts. Auditors also visit other EU bodies, national authorities in the member states, international organisations handling EU funds, and ultimately final beneficiaries themselves. This is where policies meet reality: auditors follow the trail from policy decisions to concrete projects on the ground – whether it concerns infrastructure, agriculture, or environmental protection.
In 2025 alone, EU auditors spent a total of 4,368 days in the field, both within and outside the EU. Where auditors go is no coincidence. It depends largely on where EU money is spent:
| Spending area | Impact on audit attention |
|---|---|
| Agricultural policy | Large expenditures across many member states – high audit activity |
| Cohesion policy | Larger shares to lower-income countries – focused follow-up |
| Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) | Newer, large funds – growing audit needs |
| POSEI programme (outermost regions) | Specific geographical areas – targeted visits |
Countries that receive larger shares of funding naturally attract more audit attention.
Drones as a new audit tool
Drones are becoming a valuable audit tool at the ECA. In the Canary Islands, auditors used a drone to capture aerial images of a banana plantation receiving EU support under the POSEI (remoteness and insularity) programme, which is designed to alleviate the geographical and economic handicaps of the EU's outermost regions. In Portugal, drones helped to document EU-funded coastal protection projects, such as beach nourishment, cliff stabilisation, and dune restoration.
Aerial views offer something traditional site visits cannot always provide: a broader perspective on how projects are implemented on the ground. They strengthen audit evidence, and bring a new visual dimension to reporting.
From Luxembourg to the air
While every audit starts in Luxembourg, it rarely stays there. It moves – across borders, across spending areas, and sometimes even into the air – bringing auditors closer to the real impact of EU policies.