On 25 February, the European Commission adopted a framework to enhance its financial risk management and compliance to address the significant growth of the Union’s financial operations.
The Commission expanded the role of the independent Chief Risk Officer, currently held by Iliyana Tsanova since 2021. This role now oversees all financial activities, including borrowing, debt management, lending operations, budgetary guarantees, and assets under management.
In recent years, the Union has increasingly relied on various financial instruments to optimise the use of public resources. These operations have supported investments and economic recovery in the Member States, assisted Ukraine, and supported neighbouring countries.
“Strengthening the role of the Chief Risk Officer is a testament to the EU’s commitment to maintaining high standards of financial risk oversight. The use of loans and budgetary guarantees will remain an essential instrument to drive the EU’s political priorities and support investments for climate transition, competitiveness and external action. As we navigate an increasingly complex financial landscape, these measures ensure that the EU remains prepared to address emerging challenges with robust risk management practices,” Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, stated.
Strengthening risk management aligns with the Commission’s commitment to robust governance of the EU budget. The Chief Risk Officer plays a key role in the ‘three lines of defence’ model for risk governance. This model includes Commission departments managing financial operations as the first line of defence, the Chief Risk Officer as an independent second line, and the Internal Audit Service as the third line.
By implementing this framework and establishing an independent Chief Risk Officer, the Commission has acted on all recommendations from the European Court of Auditors’ special report 16/2023 on EU debt management.
