Analyzing public management policy cycles in the European Commission: oversight of budget control and the integrated internal control framework

The European Commission has experienced several public management policy cycles since the mid-1990s, during the Santer, Prodi, and Barroso presidencies. A specific public management issue included on the Barroso Commission's (2004-2008) policy agenda was based on indicators of significant irregularity in budget execution, signalled repeatedly by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in its annual Declaration of Assurance (DAS). The 'negative DAS' problem led to a declared Barroso Commission strategic objective to achieve a 'positive DAS' by 2009. The approach to a solution to this problem was 'integrated internal control', an international reference point within the accounting and auditing professions. The result was a centrally co-ordinated Commission project aiming to modify management and audit practices within both the Commission and EU Member States. This article reports on the 'positive DAS' and 'integrated internal control' policy cycle and explains its agenda-setting, alternative-specification, and decisional processes.