Article 12 Status of the Audit Authority

In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 59(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and with Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, the Audit Authority shall function independently from the Responsible Authority. Functional independence shall be deemed to exist when there is no direct hierarchical relation between the Audit Authority and the Responsible Authority, and the Audit Authority has full autonomy in its opinions and declarations.

All audit work shall be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted audit standards.