To provide safe, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy to households and enterprises, the European Union has set targets, among others, to reduce greenhouse gases, to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy consumption and to improve energy efficiency.
During the first session of the meeting the Heads of the EU SAIs shared their experiences related to auditing of measures taken by their national authorities to meet the energy targets by 2030, to ensure the safety of energy supplies and to increase the use of renewable energy. In Lisbon the Contact Committee Members agreed upon strategic strengthening of cooperation in terms of auditing relevant areas.
The second part of the meeting dealt with the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as part of which the EU provides over EUR 700 billion in the form of loans and subsidies to support reforms and investments undertaken by the EU Member States to alleviate economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. To use the support as part of that Facility, the Member States had to present the European Commission with their national recovery plans (NRP), providing details of reforms and investments to be completed by the end of 2026. The Heads of the EU SAIs discussed among others key challenges related to the RRF and NRP, conclusions drawn from past audits, as well as good practices that could be an inspiration for future audits.
NIK President Marian Banaś presented the Contact Committee Members with the report on NIK independence threats, prepared by the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI). Since NIK experienced significant difficulties when conducting independent audits of public spending, NIK was covered by the SIRAM procedure, i.e. a multi-stage process, which looks into SAI independence threats and provides advisory and support to SAIs and their heads to whom the threats are related. Based on the evidence gathered, consultations with the interested parties and an analysis made, the IDI experts stated that the threats relate among others to independence of NIK President and NIK Council Members, NIK’s audit mandate as well as unlimited access to information essential to properly conduct audits. The report confirmed its authors’ readiness to support each initiative or process aimed to strengthen the legal framework of those aspects.
At the end of the meeting, the Contact Committee Chair and President of the Portuguese Court of Auditors Mr. José F. F. Tavares handed over his function to the Auditor General of Cyprus Mr. Odysseas Ph. Michaelides who will hold it by the end of the following meeting scheduled for 2024.
Contact Committee (CC) is an autonomous and independent assembly. This apolitical body associates Heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the EU Member States and the European Court of Auditors (ECA). CC is tasked with the exchange of knowledge and experience about auditing EU funds and other issues related to the European Union. It not only provides mutual support but also initiates and coordinates joint efforts of the EU SAIs.
