Reception for Members of the European Court of Auditors

Ljubljana, 4.10.2012  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, hosted a reception for the Members of the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

In his address, President Türk pointed out that the European Union is still in the process of development and that the public has high expectations in respect of the quality of the quality of the decision-making process, transparent and appropriate use of public funds and the general quality of work of various EU institutions.

According to the President, the economic crisis has increased public attention to these issues and reinforced expectations of improved efficiency, effectiveness and quality of auditing and other methods of establishing the legitimacy of national, EU and international public institutions.

President Türk recalled that we had recently witnessed a number of discussions that revealed the need to deal with this issue within the context of the general question of legitimacy of institutions, as people ask themselves at this time of crisis whether the institutions are working as they should. He stressed that the question of legitimacy required continued consideration, as it meant a voluntary acceptance of authority and the appropriate level of voluntary acceptance of authority could not easily be determined at a given moment.

These issues are also present in Slovenia, the President observed. He explained that Slovenia was facing complex decisions relating to fiscal balance and the adoption of structural reforms, which required an appropriate legitimacy level and that it was something not easy to achieve. President Türk pointed out that the gap between legitimacy and legality of decisions had already caused serious political problems in the past.

"We must consider carefully and creatively the whole set of measures that necessary to ensure an appropriate legitimacy level to all public institutions. The audit has an important role in this context", underlined President Türk and expressed his wish that the auditing function should develop at the EU level in a harmonious and, if possible, also simple manner.

On this occasion, President Türk was awarded a Medal of the European Court of Auditors, which he received from the hands of the President of the European Court of Auditors, Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira.