This briefing introduces the challenges that have been faced in delivering a discharge of the Council’s budget over the last decade, with particular regard to the Council’s executive activities. The authors analyse the institutional and legal constraints and put forward a number of recommendations aimed at achieving more accountability regarding the Council’s budget and executive expenditure without resorting to treaty reform.

Dr Giacomo Benedetto is Jean Monnet Chair, Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr David Rinaldi is Associate Research Fellow, CEPS and Maîtres de conférences, ULB Institute for European Studies. Dr Hartmut Aden is Professor at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. This paper was originally commissioned by the Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union of the European Parliament and is republished by CEPS with the kind permission of the European Parliament.