The EU’s auditors have failed to sign off Brussels accounts for the 22nd year in a row, claiming that they are ‘materially affected by error’. Some examples of waste include a project where the team tasked with repaving a 1 kilometre footpath in Italy ended up buying a €4,000 mountain bike, a €3,500 panoramic spyglass and donating €10,000 to a local church from their budget. An agency in Mozambique claimed €874,309 for office and lab supplies but provided no proof the items were ever bought. The accountants had an ‘adverse opinion’ of the legality and regularity of EU payments, a term which is used only in serious cases of error. Congratulations to the EU, 22 years in a row…