Valeriy Patskan: Cooperation with the European Court of Auditors is an important step on the way to the EU standards implementation in the activities of the Accounting Chamber

28.09.2022 12:00

The Chairman of the Accounting Chamber, Valeriy Patskan, met with representatives of the European Court of Auditors (the ECA) in Luxembourg and discussed issues of further cooperation. The ECA is one of the seven independent institutions of the EU, whose status and powers regarding the audit of EU funds are enshrined in the Treaty on European Union.

In particular, at a meeting with the Administrative Committee of the ECA, which includes the heads of all five ECA chambers, the parties focused on the issue of monitoring the effective use of EU funds and tools for its implementation. It is about 5 billion euros of macro-financial assistance for support in war conditions, which Ukraine will receive urgently from the EU. The relevant decision was approved by the European Council on September 20, 2022. This financial assistance will be an additional significant contribution to provide the economic and financial stability of Ukraine.

"The funds will be used to strengthen the economic stability of our country, restore and be able to pay off the debts. The ECA will monitor the effectiveness of this assistance. The goal is to ensure the protection of the financial interests of the European Union. Ukraine should also take effective measures to properly control and prevent any fraud and corruption in the use of European funds," Valeriy Patskan said.

He assured his European colleagues that the Accounting Chamber keeps on improving the principles of public transparency, accountability and sustainability in Ukraine, even under martial law.

Valeriy Patskan presented the President of ECA and the Head of the Administrative Committee Klaus-Heiner Lehne with the award of the Chairman of the Accounting Chamber for his significant contribution to the development of cooperation between institutions, which reached the highest level of partnership during his presidency.

In addition, Valeriy Patskan met and talked with the ECA member for institutional relations Rimantas Sadzius.

"Five specialists of the Accounting Chamber currently work at the ECA under our joint agreement with the President of the ECA, Mr. Klaus-Heiner Lehne. They take over the practical experience within the budget system of the European Union, participate in audits of EU funds as members of ECA audit groups," Valeriy Patskan said.

Rimantas Sadzius stressed that this level of cooperation is unprecedented: "From the ECA's side, this is evidence to gain close cooperation, at the same level as EU member states," he said.

Valeriy Patskan emphasized that this is an important step on the way to the EU standards implementation in the activities of the Accounting Chamber and Ukraine’s achievements of the criteria for EU membership.