Once Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia entered the Schengen Area, their eastern borders became the external border of the European Union and, simultaneously, the first stage of the transfer of animals from the east to the Community. The three states are obliged to protect their borders properly also with regard to epizootic safety. Sick animals entering the territory of these countries, could be a potential threat to almost 495 million inhabitants of the European Union.
Since epizootic safety is an issue of high importance, the NIK and the SAIs of Lithuania and Slovakia have decided to check whether the borders of their countries are protected appropriately. Audits have been carried out in the three countries, and their findings have been comprised in one joint report. On 14 December 2010, the report was signed by Auditor General of Lithuania Giedrė Švedienė, President of the Supreme Audit Office of Slovakia Ján Jasovský and President of the NIK Jacek Jezierski.
When asked about the objective of parallel audits, representatives of the SAIs of Lithuania and Slovakia emphasise the value of cooperation with their counterparts from the other states and the benefits of knowledge and experience exchange that this cooperation provides. Thanks to joint audits, Lithuanian, Polish and Slovak auditors had an opportunity to get acquainted with audit procedures applied in the countries of their neighbours. These experiences will be used in future audits work, both national and international. The latter, as the representatives of the three SAIs claim unanimously, should be continued.
From the left: President of the NIK Jacek Jezierski, Auditor General of Lithuania Giedrė Švedienė and President of the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic Ján Jasovský.
