European Court of Auditors

Cooperation between the National Audit Office of Lithuania and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) dates back to the so-called Luxembourg Declaration signed in 1996 which defined the objectives of co-operation between the SAIs of Central and East European Countries and the ECA.

An important forum for cooperation with the ECA is the Contact Committee consisting of the Heads of all the SAIs of the EU Member States and the President of the European Court of Auditors. It is autonomous, independent and non-political and works to enhance co-operation among its members in order to improve external audit and accountability in the EU field.


The NAOL also participate in the activities of the Liaison Officers Committee and the Working Groups on specific audit topics:

° Common Auditing Standards

° National SAI Reports on EU Financial Management

° Structural Funds, and

° Activities in the VAT Area.

Cooperation with the European Court of Auditors takes place in the form of ECA audit missions during which audits of the use of European Community funds in the Member States are performed. During such audits the National Audit Office of Lithuania provide the ECA with practical and logistic support as well as specific knowledge of the audited area.

The NAOL also maintain direct relations with the ECA. In February 2006 the delegation of the NAOL lead by the Auditor General visited the ECA whereas in September of the same year a reciprocal visit to Lithuania was paid by the President of the ECA. During the meeting the heads of the institutions exchanged ideas on the topics of common interest.

European Commission

We cooperate with the European Commission in performing audit missions meant to examine the use of European Community funds in Lithuania. Auditors of the NAOL participate in seminars and conferences organized by the European Commission's Directorates-General wherein audit questions as well as issues of the European Union funds and internal control system are analysed.

European Parliament

The NAOL co-operates also with the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (COCOBU). In October 2006 we invited vice-chairman of the COCOBU to make an intervention at the Meeting of representatives of SAIs, Parliamentary Audit Committees and the Ministries of Finance of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia concerning the accountability system in the European Union, whereas in November 2006 COCOBU invited the Auditor General to share experiences and best practices in the meeting on strengthening the functions of the COCOBU.