The Contact Committee (CC) is an assembly of the Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions of European Union Member States and the European Court of Auditors (ECA). CC meetings provide a forum for knowledge and experience exchange in the field of auditing of European funds and other issues related to the European Union.
Role of national parliaments after the Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon provides more powers to national parliaments. They are authorised, for example, to voice their opinions on the compliance of a draft EU legal act with the principle of subsidiarity. What does it mean, in practice, for Supreme Audit Institutions? Parliaments, in order to give opinions on EU projects, will have to deepen their knowledge on EU funds management and control in the Member States. Close relationships between national parliaments and SAIs can therefore make the former more interested in the results of audits conducted in this fields.
President of the NIK Jacek Jezierski referred in the CC forum on the NIK’s experiences in cooperation with the Polish parliament. He discussed the contacts with parliamentary committees which bring mutual benefits: NIK representatives present their knowledge and proposals and at the same time get acquainted with the opinions and needs of the MPs. Moreover, parliamentary committees provide the NIK with information on areas that call for auditing.
EU Financial Regulation
Changes in the EU Financial Regulation make a very important topic for European SAIs, so the revision of the Regulation was discussed during the October CC meeting. The CC debated on the extension of Member States’ duties in the field of auditing of the implementation of the EU budget, and on a tolerable error in auditing of certain areas of the EU budget. The proposal to set a tolerable risk of error proved to be very controversial. The Heads of European SAIs were very critical about the idea. They claimed that the concept may be understood as a consent to make more errors, although it is not the intention of the European Commission, and it may hamper the activities aimed at improving management and control systems.
The next meeting of the Contact Committee will be held in October 2011.
