Birgit Schäfer

European Court of Auditors (ECA)

Birgit Schäfer is the Head of the Legal Service of the European Court of Auditors (ECA). In this role, she provides legal advice and support to the ECA in all its areas of activities, e.g. on questions concerning the ECA’s audit rights and the legality of EU expenditure, relations with anti-fraud bodies (OLAF and EPPO), ethics, procurement procedures and staff matters.

Previously, Birgit was a member of the Legal Services of the ECA (2001-2017) and of the European Parliament (2017-2022). At the European Parliament, she acted in particular as an investigator in administrative inquiries and assisted the Appointing Authority in disciplinary proceedings.

Before becoming an EU official, Birgit was a judge at the district court in Trier (Germany). She studied law at the universities of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and Leicester (UK), specialising in legal history and EU law.