The European Court of Auditors has its seat in Luxembourg. It is responsible for the EU budget. It checks the legality of all income and expenditure. The money paid by each member of the bloc has to be used according to principles of sound management. This means that no money should be wasted on useless projects. The annually published report of the Court of Auditors contains information on whether these rules have been adhered to and the contributions of the EU members were used in a sensible way, for example, for building important roads or railway lines, or for protecting the environment. The Court of Auditors' report also says when EU authorities have used money improperly.

The Court of Auditors, which was founded in 1975, works independently. It helps the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union supervise the entire EU budget. Each member state of the EU has a representative in the Court of Auditors. The Council of the European Union appoints the members of the European Court of Auditors for a period of six years.