On 21 December 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), Mihails Kozlovs, for a discussion on the annual report by the ECA concerning the financial year 2021 and other current matters involving the work of the ECA.
Edgars Rinkēvičs thanked Mihails Kozlovs for the initiative to provide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with in-depth information on the ECA’s annual report concerning the financial year 2021. The Minister also underlined that he highly valued reports and opinions by the ECA. Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed his hope for a further successful cooperation with the ECA on the promotion of transparency of the European Union’s budget and functioning and on the fostering of good governance practices.
During their conversation, Mihails Kozlovs presented to the Foreign Minister the ECA’s report for the financial year 2021 with analysis of the European Union’s budget expenditure and policy in a number of areas. The officials also discussed the results of recent performance audits related to the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, the assessment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and other matters involving the EU budget.
Background information
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Auditors has been the EU’s external auditor since its establishment in October 1977. The overarching task of the ECA is through independent, professional and impactful audit work, to assess the economy, effectiveness, efficiency, legality and regularity of EU action with the aim of improving accountability, transparency and financial management and thereby enhancing citizens’ trust as well as responding effectively to current and future challenges facing the EU.