Europe Familiarisation Scheme
I would like to report back briefly on the historic first visit of conveners of the Scottish Parliament to the European Parliament in Brussels between 19 and 21 March. There was a full programme of meetings and seminars on topics such as the Treaty of Nice and the European Parliament, democracy and legitimacy in the European Union, and interparliamentary linkages. There was also a panel discussion on Scottish interests in the EU. We visited Scotland House where we saw the communications facilities and other services that are on offer. It was a very useful first contact.
My interest was audit. I met the chairperson of the Budgetary Control Committee, Madame Diemut Theato, and attended one of that committee's meetings. It was very different from our meetings—there were many more members and the meeting was conducted in many languages.
The European Parliament has two major audit committees: the Budget Committee and the Budgetary Control Committee. Those two committees operate differently from our committees, but share some similarity with the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee and Audit Committee. In addition, Europe has a 15-person independent Court of Auditors, which is based in Luxembourg. The Court of Auditors is one of the five institutions of the EU. It audits accounts and the EU budget, with the aim of better financial management and reporting on the use of public funds by EU organisations. In part, its role is analogous to that of the Auditor General and Audit Scotland. The Court of Auditors has responsibility for more than €90,000 million—in other words, the entire European budget.
The Budget Committee defines the terms of financial accountability, the rules and definition of the Parliament's budgeting powers, and it sets the framework for scrutiny. It is a very powerful committee. As Jacques Santer found, the committee can bring down major figures if they have not done their jobs properly.
The Budgetary Control Committee has a massive range of responsibilities for controlling budget decisions of the European Parliament and other European institutions. I attended a meeting and met Madame Theato. I was supposed to meet her for only 20 minutes, but I spent an hour and a half with her. She was very generous with her time and we covered a wide range of European topics and budgeting issues. Madame Theato could not have been more helpful and I greatly appreciated the time that she gave me. I also met the president of the European Court of Audit, Jan Karlsson, as well as the director of budget, Herr Walter Hubl, who is an old colleague and friend of the Audit Committee's adviser, Dave Ferguson.
I found the first contact with the European Parliament most useful. I would like to build on the invitations that I received to visit the European Court of Auditors and to create lines of communication between the Scottish Parliament audit institutions and our European counterparts. Through Audit Scotland and the Audit Committee, I hope that we can build greater communication.
In the past, the committee has expressed its wish to ensure that Scotland remains informed of and at the forefront of best European and international auditing practice. Therefore, along with Audit Scotland and our officials, I would like to consider ways in which the Audit Committee can follow up on the first set of contacts and strengthen our ties and communications with the institutions of the European Parliament.
I appreciated the opportunity to see at first hand the committees and officials of Europe. I hope to consult with the committee and our officials on how further progress can be made. I have briefings and other information that I am happy to make available to members. The visit was a useful first step.