Under the theme Sharing minds = Greater SAIs, the XII EUROSAI Congress took place on 27 and 28 May 2024, hosted by the Supreme Audit Institution of Israel, under the leadership of its President, Mr Matanyahu Englman, and carried out online as decided by the 59^th extraordinary meeting of the Governing Board of EUROSAI. Together with the Plenary Sessions of the Congress, the 61^st and 62^nd EUROSAI Governing Board meetings were held (on 27 and 28 May 2024, respectively).

At the beginning of the Congress, the Presidency Chrystal’s hand-over ceremony marked the beginning of the Israeli Presidency of EUROSAI.

Mr Kala addressed the Congress as outgoing EUROSAI president, and a video was displayed enhancing the role of the technical teams in the daily management of the Organisation. Hereafter, a crystal cube was presented by the Secretary General, Ms Enriqueta Chicano, to Mr Miloslav Kala in recognition and appreciation of his decisive contribution to the Organisation.

Also during the opening ceremony, Mr Engelman -incoming EUROSAI president-, delivered a speech, which was followed by the remarks addressed to the EUROSAI Congress by Mr Bruno Dantas, President of INTOSAI, and the Secretary General of the OECD, Mr Mathias Cormann.

Among the discussions held and decisions taken during the  sessions of the XII Congress, the following can be highlighted:

• The EUROSAI activity report (2021-2024) was presented by Secretary General and approved by the Congress.
• EUROSAI Strategic Goals and Governance Portfolios presented their final reports on their activities and main achievements during the strategic period 2017-2024, which was coming to its end at the XII Congress.

• The Congress endorsed the activity reports of  EUROSAI’s Working Groups (on Information Technologies, Environmental Auditing and the Audit of Funds Allocated to Disasters and Catastrophes), Task Force on Municipality Audit, and Network for Ethics. In addition, the Congress was also informed of the creation of a new Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals by the Governing Board at its 61^st meeting. The draft Resolutions proposed by all of them for the incoming period 2024-2027 were approved by the Congress. Moreover, the Task Force on Municipality Audit’s proposal of transformation into a Working Group on Municipality Audit was also approved.
• Mr Englman explained how the conclusions reached within the internal scan performed among EUROSAI members had been taken as the baseline to draft the new the EUROSAI Strategic Plan (ESP) 2024-2030 he presented, and which was approved by the Congress.
• The EUROSAI Financial Statements (years 2021, 2022 and 2023) were presented by the Secretary General of EUROSAI and approved by the Congress after taking note of the respective auditors’ reports.

• The Budget 2025-2027 (including the annual financial contributions of EUROSAI members) was also approved.

• After enjoying an imaginative futuristic video, the Pannel Discussion “State Audit in 2030” was held where the SAIs of Israel, of the European Court of Auditors and of the United Kingdom shared their insights in this regard.
• Voting processes were held to elect key positions in EUROSAI, as a result of which:

-   The SAI of Slovakia was elected to host the XIII EUROSAI Congress in 2027, and therefore  Mr  Ľubomír Andrassy was appointed as the First Vice-President of the Governing Board.

-   The SAIs of Italy and Sweden were elected members of the EUROSAI Governing Board for a tenure of six years (2024-2030).

-   The SAI of Bulgaria was renewed as auditor of EUROSAI, and the SAI of the Netherlands was elected as new auditor, both for the financial periods 2024-2026.

• The Congress took note of the report presented about the Statement on the situation in Ukraine adopted at the 56^th extraordinary Governing Board meeting and of the consideration that any resolutions by the Congress in this regard should be taken in an in-person meeting. The Project Group on Cooperation with SAI Ukraine, chaired by the SAI of the United Kingdom, informed the Congress on the initiatives being undertaken to better assist the SAI of Ukraine in an effective and coordinated way.

• The Congress also took note of the reports by the INTOSAI General Secretariat and by INTOSAI Development Initiative, in the framework of the close cooperation with EUROSAI.
• Finally, the Congress approved the Jerusalem Declaration, which concluded:

“By 2030, EUROSAI aims to strengthen the community of SAIs, becoming a leading organization and the primary source of relevant knowledge and tools, that contribute to the work of Supreme Audit Institutions, for the benefit of its members and citizens in the region. To remain its professionalism, relevant and leadership as an organization, EUROSAI needs to constantly assess and evaluate its operations to ensure that it meets the interests and needs of its members.”

A new strategic period has been triggered in which EUROSAI Community will endeavour to accomplish this conclusion.

When closing the XII Congress, and regarding the circumstances that had prevented an in-person XII Congress meeting as originally scheduled, Mr Englman shared his optimism that the situation would improve allowing a post-XII Congress in-person meeting to be held in Israel in 2025.

Congratulations to the SAI of Israel for the organisation of this successful on-line meeting of the XII EUROSAI Congress!!!