Presentation by Tony Murphy, European Court of Auditors, at the SIGMA conference of the network of Supreme Audit Institutions of EU Candidate and Potential Candidate countries and the European Court of Auditors. This conference was hosted by the Turkish Court of Accounts, it took place in Ankara on 8-9 November 2016.

1. Effective lines of
communication and
relationships with Parliaments
Presentation of practical examples
of the ECA-EP communication
08-09 November 2016
Ankara, Turkey
Tony Murphy
Head of the Private office of Mrs. Ivanova,
Dean of Chamber II
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2. EU’s
independent
external
auditor
Carries out the
audit of EU
finances
Contributes to
improving EU
financial
management
Promotes
accountability
and
transparency
Acts as the
independent
guardian of the
financial
interests of the
citizens of the
Union
Mission of the ECA
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3. EU institutions
Executive
Development
impetus
Political
direction
Monetary
policy and
supervision
External
audit
Legislative
European Parliament
Judiciary
Court of Justice of the EU
Slide 3

4. The European
Court of Auditors
Examines all
revenue and
expenditure in the
accounts of the EU
and its agencies
and decentralised
bodies Assesses whether
financial
management has
been sound
Provides
a Statement
of Assurance on
the reliability of the
accounts and the
legality and
regularity of the
transactions
underlying them
Delivers opinions
at the request of
one of the EU
institutions and
reviews on its own
initiative
Assists the
European
Parliament and the
Council by
providing the audit
reports used in the
discharge
procedure
Draws up reports
and opinions that
have no binding
force but are of
help to those
managing EU funds
Has no judicial
powers
* The ECA’s role and tasks are
set out in articles 285, 286 and
287 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the EU (TFEU)
Tasks of the ECA
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5. ECA products
Opinions and reviews
Issues of EU legislation and
public sector management
and audit
Special reports
Selected audits on
specific budgetary areas
or management topics,
mainly performance
audit
Audit reports and opinions
Annual reports
Statement of assurance on
compliance of EU budget
with rules, and findings on
results achieved (also
EDFs)
Specific annual reports
Financial audit of EU
agencies, decentralised
bodies and other
institutions
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6. Communication strategy of ECA
Main steps:
 Appointment of a Member for Institutional Relations;
 Appointment of a Spokesperson;
 Creation of Communication and Institutional Relations Unit;
 Online publishing of reports: improved functionalities.
Slide 6

7. Continuous communication activities with the
Budgetary Control Committee (1)
Slide 7
 All ECA reports are presented and
discussed in the Budgetary Control
Committee, a working document is
prepared by MEP Rapporteurs;
 Frequent contacts established at
Members’ level and at operational level
with secretariat and MEP assistants;

8. Continuous communication activities with the
Budgetary Control Committee (2)
Slide 8
 Institutional relations team attends all
Budgetary Control Committee meetings
and provides feedback to the ECA;
 The ECA provides the EP committees
with an indicative timetable on
publication of reports on a regular
basis.

9. Other activities, relating to the Budgetary
Control Committee (1)
Slide 9
 Visit of the Budgetary Control
Committee Rapporteur concerning the
discharge procedure to the ECA;
 Annual meeting of Budgetary Control
Committee Members with ECA
Members;

10. Other activities, relating to the Budgetary
Control Committee (2)
Slide 10
 Presentation of the ECA Annual Work
Programme to the Budgetary Control
Committee and discussion on possible
areas of interest;
 Participation of ECA Members to
Budgetary Control Committee’s fact-
finding delegations.

11. Interaction with specialised committees
Slide 11
 Members of other specialised
committees systematically invited to
presentations of ECA Special reports in
Budgetary Control Committee;
 Special reports presented in other
specialised committees;
 Members of ECA invited on an ad-hoc
basis to discuss Special reports at
preparatory meetings of specialised
committees.

12. Communication with other bodies of the
European Parliament
Slide 12
 ECA attends meetings of the
Conference of Committee Chairs to
discuss areas of interest and the
Annual Work Programme of the ECA;
 Established cooperation with EP’s
Directorate-General Internal Policies
(DG IPOL);
 Established cooperation with EP’s
research service (EPRS).

13. Relevant communication actions
 Introduction of the Stakeholders Management System (SMS);
 Weekly internal briefings provided to discuss new developments;
 Survey on MEPs’ perceptions of the ECA;
 Meetings of ECA Chambers with relevant EP specialised committees.
Slide 13

14. Next steps…
 Deepening ECA awareness of the EP’s needs and improving
responsiveness to EP’s requests;
 Further enhancing relations with national and regional Parliaments in the
28 Member States;
 Organising high-level conferences on topics of interest for key
stakeholders.
Slide 14

15. Contact details
Tony Murphy
Head of Cabinet of Mrs. Ivanova, Dean of Chamber II
Tony.murphy@eca.europa.eu
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Contact us at: ECA-info@eca.europa.eu
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