ECA visit to Poland

Between 19 and 22 April, a delegation of ECA Members visited Poland. The delegation, which was headed by ECA President Vítor Caldeira, also included Rasa Budbergytė, Iliana Ivanova, Igors Ludboržs, Henri Grethen, Pietro Russo, Kevin Cardiff, Klaus-Heiner Lehne and Augustyn Kubik.

The purpose of the visit, in line with the ECA strategy and its policy on communications and stakeholder relations, was to promote the ECA’s work and raise its visibility in Poland. The visit also provided an opportunity for discussion and exchanges of knowledge and experience with a number of Polish interlocutors.

The delegation was received by Bronisław Komorowski, the President of Poland, who awarded Mr Caldeira with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

In the Polish Senate, in the presence of representatives from the Polish and European Parliaments and the Polish SAI, the Members of the Court participated in an interesting debate about accountability and public scrutiny at both European and national level. These issues were also discussed at a separate meeting with the Speaker of the Polish Parliament.

The delegation went on to hold parallel meetings at three ministries: finance, infrastructure and development, and agriculture and rural development. The goal of these meetings was to present the relevant results of the most recent ECA landscape reviews and audits and to discuss the best practices of Polish government departments.

There was a final meeting with Minister Jacek Cichocki, the Head of Chancellery of the Prime Minister, who, on behalf of the Prime Minister, discussed Poland’s experience of managing EU funds.

The programme for the trip included visits to two EU-funded projects: the Copernicus Science Centre and an aquaculture project in Gołębiówka. The host and main interlocutor with the delegation was the Polish SAI, which offered invaluable support and assistance in organising the visit. The opening meeting with the SAI was devoted to the future of cooperation between the two audit institutions and concluded with a press conference.

Photo: ECA President Vítor Caldeira, President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski and ECA Member Augustyn Kubik