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The leaders of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) and the European Court of Auditors met within the annual meeting of the Contact Committee (CC) of the EU’s Supreme Audit Institutions, which takes place on June 21-22 in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. SAI’s leaders from 8 candidate and potential candidate countries for EU accession and representatives of SIGMA – a joint initiative of the OECD and the EU – also participate within the meeting as observers.
The delegation of the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (CoARM), led by the President of the institution, participates for the first time in the meeting of this important European forum, the CoARM being accepted as an observer of the Contact Committee in August 2022. Obtaining the status of observer was boosted by the efforts made by the Court of Accounts during two years of negotiations, started before the Republic of Moldova obtained the status of a candidate country. Thus, the Court of Accounts holds primacy among the institutions of the country's parliamentary system in this context, being admitted within an important structure of the European Union.
The central topics discussed are audit priorities in the EU states, energy efficiency and security, issues related to the EU Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, as a central element of the NextGenerationEU plan, etc.
The meeting is chaired by José Tavares, President of the Court of Auditors of Portugal, which currently holds the presidency of the Contact Committee. The President of the Contact Committee welcomed the new participants of the Committee – the Courts of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, which joined the EU SAI’s forum in 2022 as observers. Mr. Tavares wished the leaders of the aforementioned supreme audit institutions success on the path to EU accession, noting the CC's support for these important aspirations. During the event, the position of President of the CC will be taken over by the supreme audit institution of Cyprus.
In the context of the event in Lisbon, working sessions are also organized within the Network of Supreme Audit Institutions from candidate and potential candidate countries for EU membership. The network is a structure that operates alongside the EU Contact Committee and is a forum for cooperation, exchange of knowledge and professional experience in order to develop the capacities of member SAIs on the path to EU accession.
The CoARM has been a member of this structure since the end of 2022 and is involved in the work of the working group that developed the revised document on the establishment and activity of the structure - the Cooperation Framework of the Network, along with the SAIs of Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina (the current President of the Network) and SIGMA. The document is to be approved by SAIs members of the Network and will form the basis of the further activity of the structure.
The participation of the Court of Accounts in the activity of the Contact Committee and the Network will contribute to strengthening the capacities of the institution and increasing cooperation with SAIs from EU member countries, which will ultimately contribute to the implementation of the country's European Agenda, on the dimensions included in Chapter 32, Section II "External Audit".
