Press release, 16 September 2014
“Effective interinstitutional cooperation is a decisive factor in achieving the common objective of efficiently using EU funds and thus bringing the maximum benefit to citizens.” That was the main message conveyed by the auditors from the European Court of Auditors at the conference on Challenges in Accountability and Public Audit, which was held in the Seimas. EU auditors expressed their appreciation of excellent cooperation with the National Audit Office of Lithuania, which is often held up as an example of good practice to other Member States, and expressed their aspirations for deeper cooperation with other national institutions such as the Lithuanian Government and the Seimas.
Jolita Vaickienė, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Audit, agreed that a closer link between national and EU institutions was necessary: “EU funds constitute one third of the Lithuanian budget. We all — the Government, the Seimas and other national institutions — are responsible to our partners in the European Union for an appropriate and transparent use of this money. Therefore, we must first ensure the quality of the primary audit as well as continuous parliamentary scrutiny so that we can assume responsibility for the results achieved. We have to create such a reporting and control system that could enjoy the confidence of both our citizens and the European Union. We are on the right track but there is still room for improvement.”
The Chair of the Committee expressed hope that the ideas mooted at the conference would encourage national and European institutions to regard each other as colleagues contributing to the common objective of bringing the maximum benefit to the Lithuanian people as well as the European Union as a whole.
Jolita Vaickienė, Chair of the Committee on Audit, tel. +370 5 239 6670
Lina Milonaitė, Adviser to the Office of the Committee on Audit, tel. +370 5 239 6017
