I WOULD like to thank Philip Roe for his comment “It is significant that the accounts for the EU have never been released for public scrutiny” (Letters, September 5).

It prompted me to try and find out if this is true. It is not. It took me only a few minutes to find the website of the European Court of Auditors and was fascinated to find I could read annual reports on EU accounts in 20-plus languages dating back to 1977.

I learned that the European Court of Auditors is the EU’s external auditor which “acts as the independent guardian of the financial interests of the citizens of the Union” and that accounts are prepared to “internationally accepted accounting standards for the public sector and for the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them” (general introduction to annual budget report).

This also states that it “contributes to improving EU financial management”.

It’s clearly apparent in the documents I saw, covering a 40-year period, that the auditors look at areas of weaknesses and strengths, make recommendations for improvement which are monitored then further recommendations made and implemented.

The information is out there.

Why pretend it isn’t?

Mary Kendall, Wheldrake, York