Team Leader PIFC (Public Internal Financial Control), European Commission

Robert de Koning is a senior advisor in the European Commission and team leader for Public Internal Financial Control (PIFC) issues in DG Budget. He holds a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands. He has worked for the Dutch Ministry of Finance, the Asian Development Bank and as financial attaché for the Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU. He joined the European Commission in 1988. Initially involved in the control of European Funds spent in the Central and Eastern-European and former Soviet countries, he has been leading in developing the PIFC concept for EU-candidate countries from its inception in 1994. His present activities relate to developing PIFC in the remaining Candidate, western Balkan and European Neighbourhood countries. Mr de Koning has written a book (January 2007) on Public Internal Financial Control: the European Commission initiative to build new structures of Public internal control in applicant and third-party countries (www.pifc.eu).