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Pietro Russo

Pietro Russo became a Member of the European Court of Auditors on 1 March 2012. He is a member of Chamber IV “Revenue, Research and internal policies, and Institutions and bodies of the European Union”.

Born in Syracuse, Italy, in 1952

Education

First class degree in Law cum laude from the University of Catania (1975) Admission to the bar (1977)

Professional experience

In 1977 Pietro Russo was admitted to the bar. From 1977 he worked as a judge in various courts. In 1985, he joined the Italian Corte dei Conti, where he worked at the Palermo office as public prosecutor, senior public prosecutor (1987) and principal public prosecutor (1989).

Mr Russo was seconded to the European Court of Auditors as a national expert in 1991, where he worked until 1992 in the sector responsible for auditing the European Regional Development Fund. Between 1993 and 2003, he served as the head of the private office of the Italian Member of the Court. In 2003, he returned to Italy, where he joined the Corte dei Conti’s central audit section for state administrations and became a member of the full advisory bench of the joint chambers; from 2005 to 2008, he represented Italy at the College of Auditors for the Athena mechanism for financing EU military operations, where he was elected President on 30 June 2010; from 2008 to 2011, he represented Italy as member of the Board of Auditors of the European Defence Agency (EDA), which he chaired from 30 June 2010. Since 1996, he has also been a member of the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office in Angers. Since 2009, he has represented Italy as a member of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN).

Mr Russo has held a number of public posts, including the following: expert representing Italy in GRECO, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against corruption, member of the Committee on the evaluation of investments and support for the programming and management of environmental measures at the Ministry for the Environment; member of the Interministerial Committee responsible for considering applications for compensation and contributions in relation to losses incurred by citizens overseas, at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Mr Russo has delivered talks at conferences and seminars in the field of Community law, particularly with regard to the audit of the Community budget and the fight against fraud. He is also the author of numerous case notes and articles, published in legal journals in Italy and abroad, in the fields of civil law, civil procedure, administrative law, public accounts, comparative law and European Union law. He also taught as a visiting professor in the organisation of Community institutions at the University of Catania.

Publications

“La Corte dei Conti italiana dopo la riforma e la Corte dei Conti Europea dopo Maastricht: mutamenti e nuove occasioni di lavoro comune”, in Rivista della Corte dei Conti n. 2/1994.

“La Corte dei Conti – Istituzione comunitaria: note in tema di capacità processuale”, in Il Foro Amministrativo, n. 6/1994.

“Il problema del Marchio Frazionato ed il nuovo regime del marchio comunitario”, in Giustizia Civile, n. 2/1995.

“The administrative liability of the officials of the European Communities. Problems and Prospects”, in The European Union Review, n. 2/1997.

“Controlli, uno sguardo sull’Europa – Evoluzione della certificazione dei conti”, in Italia Oggi, 18 July 2002.

“La certificazione dei conti pubblici in Italia e in Europa: raffronti comparativi“, in Rivista della Corte dei Conti (n. 5/2002) and the Convention minutes “La certificazione dei conti pubblici in Italia e in Europa: Tradizione e Prospettive evolutive”, organized by the Corte dei Conti.

“Le contrôle des dépenses des collectivités décentralisées en Italie”, in Administration – Revue de l’Association du Corps Préfectoral et des Hauts Fonctionnaires du Ministère de l’Intérieur, March 2002.

“Il controllo successivo della Corte dei Conti sulle Amministrazioni dello Stato dopo le riforme degli anni ’90: una sistemazione concettuale”, in Rivista della Corte dei Conti, n. 4/2004.

“El procedimiento de ratificación del Tratado de Lisboa: situación actual”, in Legal Today.com, 2008.