European Union Assists Kosovo S Public Administration in Implementation of Public Internal

PRESS RELEASE

European Union assists Kosovo’s public administration in implementation of Public Internal Financial Control

Pristina,24May

In the framework of its support to the reform in public administration, namely public finance management and accountability in Kosovo, the EU Office in Kosovo together with the project providing technical assistance organised a one day conference on “Public Internal Financial Control". The event provided a forum for senior representatives of Kosovo Government, the Office of the Auditor General, EC Directorate General for Budget as well as from the EU Office in Kosovo to exchange views and discuss the state of play and prospects for improvement of management and oversight of public finance.

The conference was be opened by Ramadan Avdiu, Deputy Minister of Finance. Speakers at this conference were also Christof Stock, Head of Operations at the EU Office in Kosovo, Robert Gielisse, Head of Public Internal Financial Control Department at DG Budget of the European Commission, Fatmir Plakiqi, Director of the Treasury Department in the Ministry of Finance, Kosum Aliu Director of the Central Harmonisation Unit for Internal Audit in the Ministry of Finance and project leader and expert, Ilse Schuster and Danijela Stepić.

Public Internal Financial Control, which includes Internal Audit and Financial Management and Control, sets an important framework for implementation of the acquis and for the creation of institutions capable of controlling the use of public funds, and thus provides support to the reform of the public administration system, as one of the milestones in Kosovo’s EU integration process. The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of senior managers in budget organisations on Public Internal Financial Control, in particular on adopted legislation, managerial accountability and the importance of PIFC for the EU integration process.

Deputy Minister Avdiu said:

that “Implementation of PIFC requires further strengthening of the administrative capacity in the Ministry of Finance, but even more in every budget organisation, because they provide the foundations for successful implementation of PIFC in Kosovo. Thanks to the support provided by several EU projects implemented so far, wehave made an obvious progress in capacity building in the Ministry of Finance, but that does not mean we will terminate the process, because we need to invest further efforts in supportingbudget organisations at central level as well as those at local level to build their capacity.”

Mr. Gieliesse said:

“Public Internal Financial Control leads to improved public services at best value-for-money. We fully endorse the administrative reforms currently on-going. Sound financial management should be at the heart of all who deal with tax-payers' money”.

The Conference was co-organized by the EU Office in Kosovo and the technical project financed by the European Union with 974,950EUR with the aim to support the Ministry of Finance in strengthening the internal control environment of the public administration. The project is implemented by a consortium led by GFA Consulting Group from Germany.