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Objectives The main objective of the publication is to analyse the significance and role of the European Court of Auditors in the system of management and control of the spending of funds from the European Union budget. The basic thesis of the publication is that the European Court of Auditors is an audit institution and functions within an audit system. Furthermore, the positioning of the European Court of Auditors among audit institutions brings with it a different perception of the institution. The descriptive aim of the publication is to show the link between the ECA as an audit institution and the trust it enjoys, and to analyse whether, by functioning as an audit institution, it has a greater influence on the proper spending of public funds from the EU budget then by being a control institution. Material and methods By characterising the audit institution and presenting the scope of ECA's tasks and competences, based on the dogmatic-legal as well as the theoretical-legal and, to a small extent, the historical-legal method, the author shows that ECA is not, as it is commonly classified in the Polish legal doctrine, a control institution. Results It was submitted that the ECA is not a controlling institution as commonly shown in the legal doctrine. Conclusions The analysis presented above demonstrates the functions and tasks of ECA as an audit institution. Iit is necessary to sort out the nomenclature and classification of ECAs in the Polish legal doctrine.