Status Outline of EU SAI Contact Committee Activities - October 2017

The report is based on a parallel audit on the “prudential supervision of medium-sized and small (’less significant’) institutions in the European Union after the introduction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism”. In the audit, 5 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) assessed the regulatory framework governing small and medium-sized banks in the EU as well as the design and conduct of prudential supervision. Two overarching findings emerged:
(1) The way in which banking regulation is transposed, and banking supervision of Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) is designed and conducted, varies across different EU Member States.
(2) Since the introduction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism – the first pillar of the European Banking Union – gaps in SAIs’ ability to audit banking supervision have emerged. This applies to national SAIs as well as the European Court of Auditors.
The Contact Committee urges actors at European and national level to strengthen the external audit of the public task of banking supervision. In a policy area where trillions of euros are at stake, accountability and democratic control should not be compromised.

The report is based on a parallel audit on “Contribution of the Structural Funds to the Europe 2020 Strategy in the areas of Employment and/or Education”. For the audit, 11 SAIs evaluated the design of Operational Programmes and analyzed the implementation of projects. They found that, overall, Operational Programmes provide an appropriate basis to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy. However, they found weaknesses in the design of the Operational Programmes and implementation process which should be addressed by the Commission and the Member States.“