Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Questionnaire for the renewal of Members of the Court of Auditors

Performance of duties: lessons learnt and future commitments

1. What are your main achievements as a member of the ECA? What were the biggest setbacks?

It has been a great honour to contribute to the European Court of Auditors’ (hereafter referred to as the “ECA”) work in various roles over the past five and a half years:

I am currently serving as Dean of Chamber 1 – “Sustainable use of natural resources” since March 2022 (elected in March 2022 and re-elected in 2024 for a two-year term). As a Dean, I supervise the work of my audit chamber in close cooperation with the Director and my colleagues. Furthermore, I have a very active role in organising the programming for the ECA’s Work Programmes, especially as regards the audit tasks of Chamber 1. I have also been a member of several selection panels for the appointment of principal managers and directors of the ECA.

In my position as a Dean, I have been an active member of the Administrative Committee since March 2022. As a member of the Administrative Committee, I am part of a decision-making body, which decides on several important issues for the ECA ranging from the finances of the institution to human resources and various policies of the Court (buildings, environment, administration).

I served as a member of the Ethics committee of the ECA from September 2020 until July 2023 (3 years – 1 term). I was elected as Chair of the Ethics committee in July 2021. In this role, I contributed to the adoption of amendments to the ECA’s new Code of conduct for members and former members of the Court as well as its revision in February 2022. As Chair of the Ethics committee, I was in charge of implementing the new rules and developing a more effective and supportive framework for handling members’ external activity requests.

In June 2024, I have been appointed by the ECA as its alternate representative of the newly created Interinstitutional EU Ethics Body.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Luxembourgish member of the ECA, I was a member of the ECA’s crisis management committee responsible for the internal measures taken in response to the pandemic.

In addition to these roles, I have served two years (March 2020 – March 2022) as member of the Internal Audit Committee. In this role, I contributed to the revision of the Internal Audit Committee’s Rules of Procedure and the Charter of the Internal Audit Service (specifying roles and responsibilities).

I was a member of the Digital Steering Committee between March 2020 and June 2021. During this time, I contributed to the set-up of a development plan for the increased use of data and technology in audit.

As Luxembourgish member of the ECA, I am dedicating substantial time and efforts to supporting EU-wide initiatives aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of Luxembourg as seat for the European institutions. I therefore consider that the introduction of the housing allowance to support colleagues with the high cost of living in Luxembourg is a significant achievement for all institutions based in Luxembourg.

Since the beginning of my mandate at the ECA, I have been the reporting member of 12 audit tasks, whereof 3 reviews and 9 special reports:

- Review 1/2020 Tracking climate spending in the EU budget (presented to CONT/ENVI on 01/10/2020)

- Review 1/2021 The EU’s initial contribution to the public health response to COVID-19 (presented to CONT/BUDG/ENVI on 23/03/2021 and to PETI on 13/04/2021)

- Special report 20/2021 Sustainable water use in agriculture: CAP funds more likely to promote greater rather than more efficient water use (presented to AGRI/ENVI on 22/03/2022)

- Review 04/2021 EU actions and existing challenges on electronic waste

- Special report 09/2022 Climate spending in the 2014-2020 EU budget – Not as high as reported (presented to CONT/BUDG/ENVI on 07/11/2022 and to REGI on 08/11/2022)

- Special report 16/2022 Data in the Common Agricultural Policy – Unrealised potential of big data for policy evaluations (presented to CONT/AGRI on 13/07/2022)

- Special report 19/2022 EU COVID-19 vaccine procurement – Sufficient doses secured after initial challenges, but performance of the process not sufficiently assessed (presented to CONT/COVI on 13/10/2022)

- Special report 09/2023 Securing agricultural product supply chains during COVID-19 – EU response was rapid, but insufficiently targeted by member states

- Special report 18/2023 EU climate and energy targets – 2020 targets achieved, but little indication that actions to reach the 2030 targets will be sufficient (presented to CONT/ENVI on 20/09/2023)

- Special report 23/2023 Restructuring and planting vineyards in the EU – Unclear impact on competitiveness and limited environmental ambition (presented to AGRI on 19/03/2024)

- Special report 14/2024 Green transition - Unclear contribution from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (presented to CONT/BUDG on 28/01/2025)

- Special report 25/2024 Digitalisation of healthcare – EU support for member states effective overall, but difficulties in using EU funds (presented to SANT on 29/01/2025)

Ten of the above-mentioned reports were presented to committees of the European Parliament in different settings, whereof seven of these publications were presented to the CONT committee of the European Parliament (sometimes in joint meetings with other committees).

Currently, I am the reporting member for the ongoing tasks on LIFE Programme 2014-2020 (integrated projects) and on olive oil (control systems). Regarding Chamber 1 tasks foreseen in the Work Programme 2025+, I will be the reporting member for the audit task on the EU Chemicals Regulation.

Challenges are a natural part of any journey, but in my time at the ECA, I believe to have contributed to mitigate these. In the context of ECA’s work, there remains still room for manoeuvre in terms of communication with stakeholders. Our reports are often complex and not easily understandable to a broader audience, which limits their visibility. Nevertheless, each ECA member and our dedicated staff are working tirelessly to improve the clarity of our language, make our messages better understandable to the public and strengthen the visibility of ECA’s work. Despite ECA’s active communication across social media and traditional media as well as its strong relationship with the European Parliament, promoting ECA’s work within the Council and across the 27 Member States remains challenging as Member States’ interests are very diverse.

2. What are the main lessons learnt in your field of competences / results achieved in your duties and audit tasks?

As Dean of Chamber 1, I gained a lot of expertise in auditing the areas of sustainability, environment, climate, energy, health, agriculture, and food. One of the biggest challenges in our audits is to draft our special reports in a clear language, to promote our work and to make our work accessible to our stakeholders and to the citizens of the European Union. Communication and a good relationship with the European Parliament, and in particular the CONT committee, is very important.

In order to be accessible to the public, our special reports need to be drafted in an understandable language with clear messages and recommendations. The ECA Clear Language Awards, as introduced by my regretted colleague Mr. Brenninkmeijer, are a great example of our efforts in this area. I intend to continue his work for an open, transparent, and clear communication between our institution and its stakeholders. I was flattered that four special reports whereof I was the reporting member won prizes amongst the three best special reports in the Clear Language Awards of the European Court of Auditors. These achievements were only possible because I had the privilege of working together with very committed and skilled colleagues. Moreover, I am also supporting any efforts in making our recommendations more actionable as we need pragmatic solutions – not measures that risk increasing the administrative burden.

3. What added value could you bring to the ECA on your second term and/or particularly in the area you would be responsible for? Would you like to change your area of responsibility? What motivates you?

I believe that my experience, leadership, and commitment will allow me to bring continued and enhanced added value to the ECA’s work and mission. In my second term, if the European Parliament reconfirmed my mandate, I would ensure that we prioritise audits that help shape EU policy by providing clear, actionable insights for the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, and all other stakeholders. I will also focus on audits that can provide accountability for policy implementation and budget spending.

Moreover, it is important for the ECA to assess the effectiveness and the impact of EU programmes and not just the financial compliance. For this reason, I will ensure that while safeguarding and sustaining the Union’s public finances, the ECA will also audit the practical impact of strategic areas, as defined by the ECA’s 2026-2030 strategy, which encompass economic competitiveness and resilience, defence, and security as well as the Union’s transition to becoming climate-change resilient.

At the ECA, the collaboration between audit chambers is essential to ensure a unified approach to auditing EU finances and policies. I would like to further strengthen the collaboration between the audit chambers, creating synergies between different audit areas and ensuring that we approach audits from a more integrated/comprehensive perspective.

During my current mandate at the ECA, I have been the Dean of Chamber 1 and I have been the reporting member of several audits in the areas of sustainability, climate, energy, public health, water, agriculture and even food through which I gathered a significant experience in these fields. Nevertheless, I fully stand behind the principle that it is in the interest of the ECA that its staff and members should rotate between audit chambers. Although I really enjoy the work as Dean of Chamber 1, I remain open to the possibility of joining another audit chamber during my second mandate. I believe that embracing a new challenge and shifting focus would further enhance my skills as an auditor and broaden my expertise across different audit areas.

4. How do you make sure to reach the planned audit objectives of an audit task? Have you ever been in the situation where you could not realize the audit task and for which reasons? How do you operate in such controversial situations?

The setting up of ECA’s Work Programme and the planning phase of an audit are very important because the different steps help the audit team to determine whether an audit is realistic, actionable and likely to be useful. This phase also includes risk and quality assessments. From the beginning to the end of the audit, communication, transparency, foresight, and a problem-solving approach are necessary. Therefore, together with my private office, I work closely with the audit teams. I am attending meetings of issue analyses, drawing conclusions and I organise monthly meetings with my audit teams in order to discuss progress, set concrete deadlines and solve any potential issues.

I believe that a close collaboration between the members and the audit team as well as with the management of the Chamber is extremely important to ensure a good planning, timing, and high quality of our audits. So far, nearly all special reports, where I have been the reporting member, were adopted within 13 months. I could always reach the planned audit objectives.

Furthermore, in my capacity as a Dean, I have weekly meetings with the Director of Chamber 1 to discuss any issues relating to the management of Chamber 1 or problems regarding the tasks of the Chamber. This allows me to always be aware of the latest developments and act with foresight, if necessary.

5. If you were reconfirmed for a second mandate and hypothetically, if you were elected Dean of a Chamber in the ECA, how would you steer the work to define its priorities? Could you give us two or three examples of areas to focus on in the future?

I am very honoured that my colleagues in Chamber 1 elected me as their Dean in February 2022 and that I was re-elected in 2024. In general, as a Dean, together with the director of the Chamber, I coordinate the work of the Chamber, and I oversee the planning of the audit tasks. The priorities of a Chamber are aligned with the Work Programme of the ECA, which is in line with our multiannual strategic priorities (ECA Strategy). As a Dean, I also have a coordinating role at Chamber level during the development of the Work Programme through communication and discussions with the staff, directorate, and members on possible topics for the next programming period. Our selected topics are then forwarded to the Presidency to be discussed and decided upon at the College level, because the final decision on the Work Programme is taken by the College as a whole.

I also invest in knowledge management and training for staff, as continuous learning and upskilling is important. This also includes the training and mentoring of our young auditors. As a sponsor of the Marcel Mart Promotion of the ASPIRE Programme since 2022, I regularly organise informal activities for that group of then newly appointed auditors after their on-boarding process in order to keep the group together and to have informal exchanges about their work at the ECA.

Moreover, upon my election as a Dean, to enhance team spirit and strengthen personal connections, I was re-organising “away-days” and “field visits” on a regular basis for the whole Chamber (management, auditors, assistants). I believe that these events are very valuable for the staff. Staff appreciates the combination of training, workshops, conferences, or visits related to our audit topics with a social touch where they can talk to each other in a relaxed environment. This helps keeping the staff committed and motivated.

6. If you had to manage the selection of audit tasks in view of the preparation of the ECA annual working programme, on which basis would you make your choice among the list of priorities received from the Parliament and/or the CONT committee?

What would you do if a political priority does not correspond to the ECA risk assessment of the Union’s activities?

The audit suggestions which the Court receives from the European Parliament, as a main stakeholder of the ECA, are key to set up the ECA Work Programme.

The list of priorities of the CCC (Conference of Committee Chairs), such as any internal and external audit suggestions, is analysed by the ECA based on specific criteria, such as materiality, available resources, the ECA mandate, relevance for our main stakeholders (European Parliament and Council) and many more. Furthermore, the timeliness of the Court’s audits and their potential to inform policy decisions are also very important. The length of the list of CCC audit priorities underlines the significance of the ECA’s work and feedback.

In general, suggestions from all stakeholders are more likely to be taken on board if they can be designed and carried out as an audit, meaning objectively answerable audit questions can be formulated, and evidence exists, can be accessed and collected. However, ultimately, it is the Chambers, followed by the College as a whole, that decide collectively which audit ideas are incorporated in the next Work Programme based on its own priorities and its professional judgment whilst making sure that it is addressing the most important issues and producing high-quality and timely audits.

Management of portfolio, working methods and deliverables

7. Producing high quality, robust and timely reports is key:

– How would you ensure that the data used in an audit are reliable and that the findings are not outdated?

As regards the data used in our audits, we depend on the data and information which we receive from the Commission and the Member States, meaning on its reliability, completeness, and accuracy. The volume of data is constantly increasing, data becomes increasingly electronic, but more and more data is privately owned and thus very difficult to access. Moreover, accessing data from Member States, each of which has different IT systems, is very challenging.

In our audit work, we rely on the highest international professional standards (such as INTOSAI’s International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions). These require us to obtain audit evidence from different sources or methods to ensure its reliability. In addition to the evidence provided by the Commission and Member States, we collect data ourselves through on-the-spot visits and interviews. Furthermore, the ECA’s Data Team is supporting audit teams in using data analytics and to increase the transparency and accountability of audit results. To ensure that we make robust and up-to-date observations, the Court’s quality control team assesses the findings as well as the quality of underlying evidence and collected data before they are included in our reports. Our auditors always use their professional judgment and exercise their work with professional scepticism.

– How would you improve the quality and pertinence of the recommendations?

In general, the recommendations in the Court’s special reports are of good quality, concise and politically neutral. It is very important that we avoid formulating recommendations which are impossible to implement, or which would lead the Commission to introduce additional bureaucratic burdens either for the administration or for citizens. The recommendations need to be factual, concise, and feasible. Moreover, any recommendations of the Court should be cost-effective and avoid making the current legislation even more complex. We need to be careful not to be political.

In general, the recommendations in the Court’s special reports are of good quality, concise and politically neutral. An important indicator of the quality of our recommendations is how much of them are implemented by our auditees. According to the most recent statistics, more than 87% of our recommendations were implemented in full, or in some or most respects. The follow-up on our recommendations is also very important and helps us to get useful information and to improve our future reports.

8. The aim of the ECA’s reform is to establish a stronger accountability relationship between the audit team and the rapporteur member:

– Given your experience, do you think that the role of a member is to be more involved in the audit work?