The EUROSAI Governing Board (GB) held its 52^nd meeting virtually, on the 12^th of November 2020 and with the participation of observers and other guests, as foreseen in the EUROSAI regulations. The meeting was preceded by reflections to honor the 30^th Anniversary of EUROSAI, whose foundation took place in Madrid precisely on that date, but back in 1990. Mr. Seyit Ahmet Baş, President of EUROSAI, presented the “Memorial Plantation Area” in Ankara, an initiative of the SAI of Turkey. The trees have been planted under the names of all EUROSAI member SAIs, its former Presidents, the Secretariat, the Working Groups and the Task Forces, to honor this anniversary and in the hope that our regional cooperation remains as deeply rooted as those trees, lasting forever. Ms. Maria José de la Fuente, Secretary General of EUROSAI, recalled the special moment of transformation that Europe was undergoing at the time that EUROSAI was founded and she highlighted how gratifying it was to see representatives of several of the founding SAIs at the meeting, which demonstrates the value of the Organization and their strong commitment, which will help EUROSAI in coping with the current challenges.

The main decisions taken during the 52^nd meeting of the GB are the following:

• To take note of the 2019-2020 EUROSAI activity report and entrust the Secretariat with the task of leading the re-launch of the EUROSAI website, in close coordination with other key players and the incoming holder of the communication portfolio.
• To take note of the consolidated progress reports of the EUROSAI Strategic Goals and Governance Portfolios for the period June 2019-November 2020 and approve the update of the overall Operational Plan. Equally, the GB took note of the individual progress reports submitted by the GB members related to their Portfolios and the report of the Coordination Team.  Additionally, the GB took the following related decisions:
  • The draft of the EUROSAI Communication Framework was endorsed by the GB and will be submitted to the Congress for approval. The GB took note of the EUROSAI brand book presented by the Secretariat.
  • The GB approved the SAI of Ukraine’s proposal to host the VI EUROSAI-ARABOSAI Joint Conference, in 2022, on the topic of “SAI’s auditing the effectiveness of climate change policy”.
  • Following a proposal from the co-leaders of SG2, a representative from the SAI of Romania was chosen to join the INTOSAI TFIAP as EUROSAI representative.
• The 2019-2020 Activity Reports of the ITWG, WGEA, WGAFADC, TFA&E and TFMA were taken note of. The ITWG Work Plan 2021-2024 was transitorily approved and will be submitted to the XI Congress for endorsement, for the GB not to take any decisions that extend beyond the XI Congress.
• The GB took note of the 2019 EUROSAI Financial Report, the auditors’ report and their management letter. The GB supported the auditors’ recommendation to analyze actions to use of the cumulative surplus to support members in facing IT challenges derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly from a methodological and capacity building perspective.
• The written reports submitted by the INTOSAI Secretariat, the EUROSAI representatives in the INTOSAI GB and IDI were taken note of by the GB.
• The proposal of the incoming EUROSAI Presidency (the SAI of Czech Republic) to hold an administrative virtual XI Congress on 14-15 April 2021 and an in-person follow-up conference -for plenary sessions, workshops, and marketplace and social program-, in Prague and when feasible, either in autumn 2021 or spring 2022 was approved by the GB.
• The GB approved the admission of Kosovo* National Audit Office (KNAO) as a EUROSAI member. The effectiveness of this admission decision was linked to the amendment of the Statutes by the upcoming XI Congress, given that modifications are needed in the EUROSAI regulations (mainly in the Statutes and Financial Rules) to include the criteria for assigning KNAO to a contribution group and calculate its annual contribution to the EUROSAI budget (article 16 of the Statutes determine that members' contributions are fixed according to the classifications used by the UN Organisation, but no such UN reference is currently available in this case).

Moreover, for safeguarding neutrality with regard to the status of the territory of Kosovo*, it was decided that EUROSAI documents, papers and products should include the following footnote whenever the term Kosovo* is used: “* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence”.