Spring Session EUROSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing

On 15 and 16 May 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO) Malta is hosting the Spring Session of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) Working Group on Environmental Auditing (EWGEA). Seventy-eight delegates from 30 state audit institutions are participating in this hybrid meeting. Through collaboration among its members, the Working Group selected Energy Security as the theme for the Spring Session. From a Supreme Audit Office’s point of view, the critical importance of this topic stems from its socio-economic and environmental impact on countries as well as the substantial funds allocated by governments to reliably and affordably meet energy needs while minimising vulnerabilities to supply disruptions, price fluctuations, and geopolitical risks to energy security.
In the Meeting’s opening address the Auditor General Mr Charles Deguara remarked that NAO Malta recognises the importance of energy security to all of society. He added that, as a small island state, while Malta’s challenges in securing its energy needs may have similar traits to other countries, these tend to be more pronounced. In his address, the Auditor General noted that the hosting of this event in Malta represents an important milestone for the National Audit Office (NAO), particularly since this Office was among the very first participants of this Working Group. The EUROSAI WGEA was established in 1999. Its vision is to improve the management of natural resources and the environment in each country represented in the working group, and to make Europe a leading region in the area of good natural resources and environmental management in the public sector. Through its activities, EUROSAI WGEA aims to promote a spirit of cooperation based on integrity, open communication, and professional excellence.
Dr Andy Kerr, Chief Strategy Officer, Climate-KIC Holding B.V and Prof. Ing. Cyril Spiteri Staines from the University of Malta delivered the meeting’s keynote presentations. Another keynote speech by Ms Elina Bardram from the European Commission, will be delivered tomorrow morning. The Spring Session will also include presentations by SAIs on topics related to the energy security theme. These discussions will focus on the methodologies adopted, challenges encountered as well as audit findings, conclusions and recommendations proposed by the respective SAIs when auditing this sector.
This year the EWGEA will be also commemorating its 25th Anniversary where the Spring Session being held in Malta will be taking time to celebrate this milestone. The Heads of SAIs Poland, Norway and Estonia will be delivering commemorative speeches in their roles as the incumbent or previous chairs of the EWGEA.
Further information on the event and the EWGEA can be accessed from: https://www.eurosaiwgea.org/