The European Court of Auditors (ECA) would like to thank all those working to save lives and fight the pandemic, and express its support for everyone affected and their families. We call on each individual to follow the public health instructions. We are continuing to make every effort to reduce the effect of the pandemic on our staff and minimise the risk to them and to their families. While we strongly encourage teleworking as the preferred option, staff wishing to work on the premises have been able to do so on a rotational basis since 15 June.

At the same time, we have done everything we can to continue providing an effective public audit service in the EU and deliver timely audit reports, opinions and reviews. We have thoroughly analysed the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on our work processes and products, and as a result were able to resume publication in mid-April.

In parallel, we have revised our 2020 work programme in response to the unprecedented challenges the EU and its Member States are facing across a broad range of policy areas. Where appropriate, we re-scoped our ongoing tasks and adjusted the approach and timeline to take account of changing circumstances. We decided to discontinue four tasks and add two reviews with a specific focus on the COVID-19 crisis. We are also fully operational to respond swiftly to requests for opinions on COVID-19 related matters, as demonstrated in recent months.