The Dutch national auditor has criticised Nato for not having its administration in order and for not being transparent about its spending.

In a letter to parliament, the national auditor says the Netherlands and other Nato member countries do not know how much money goes to the organisation each year or what happens to that money.

The administrative backlog dates back decades and matters are not helped by Nato’s habit of labelling much of its expenditure ‘undisclosed’. The national auditor has been warning parliament about the situation nearly every year since 2007.

‘There is no certainty about expenditure or accountability for the billions of euros provided for military and civilian aims,’ the auditor says. ‘Nato is financed by public money and must be properly accountable for what it spends.’

It has now opened a website in English, www.courtofaudit.nl/english/nato-transparency, where it has published all the public information it has about Nato finances.