Opinion of the European Central Bank of 5 December 2013 on the legal status of Lietuvos bankas’ assets and the scope of its public audit (CON/2013/85)
Date: 2013-12-05
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Lithuania, audit, central bank, national law, supervisory body

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 5 December 2013  

on the legal status of Lietuvos bankas’ assets and the scope of its public audit 

(CON/2013/85) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  11  November  2013,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Lithuanian 

Ministry of Finance for an opinion on a draft law amending the Law on Lietuvos bankas and on a draft 

law amending the Law on the State Audit Office (hereinafter together the ‘draft laws’). On 26 November 

2013, the ECB received updated draft laws, which form the basis of this opinion. 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning of the European Union and the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 

29 June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft laws relate to Lietuvos bankas. In accordance with the first sentence of 

Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted 

this opinion. 

1.  

Purpose of the draft laws 

1.1  The draft amendments to the Law on Lietuvos bankas are aimed at specifying the legal status of 

Lietuvos  bankas’  assets  in  order  to  address  concerns  about  the  institutional  and  financial 

independence of Lietuvos bankas. The draft amendments to the Law on the State Audit Office are 

intended to define the scope of the public audit of Lietuvos bankas conducted by the State Audit 

Office. 

As  part  of  the  preparations  for  the  introduction  of  the  euro  in  Lithuania,  the  draft  laws  aim  at 

dealing  with  the  Lithuanian  legal  non-convergence  issues  referred  to  in  the  ECB’s  Convergence 
Reports of 2010 and 20122. 

1.2  The draft amendments to the Law on Lietuvos bankas explicitly specify that the Lithuanian State’s 

ownership  in  Lietuvos  bankas  is  expressed  by  the  capital  of  Lietuvos  bankas  and  that  Lietuvos 

bankas has legal title to the assets belonging to it. 

1.3  The  draft  amendments  to  the  Law  on  the  State  Audit  Office  specify  that  the  public  audit  of 

Lietuvos bankas conducted by the State Audit Office: (a) is without prejudice to the activities of 

1 
2 

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
See the ECB’s Convergence Report, of 2012, p. 242. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

Lietuvos  bankas’  independent  external  auditors;  (b)  covers  Lietuvos  bankas’  performance  audit, 

with the exception of its European System of Central Banks and Eurosystem tasks; and (c) respects 

Lietuvos  bankas’  independence  and  prohibits  the  State  Audit  Office  from  giving  instructions  to 

Lietuvos bankas, the members of its decision-making bodies and staff as regards the performance 

of their tasks.  

In the Law on the State Audit Office, the term ‘performance audit’ is defined as ‘evaluation of the 

economy,  efficiency,  and  effectiveness  of  the  public  and  internal  administration  activities  of  the 
audited entity’3. 

2. 

Legal status of Lietuvos bankas’ assets 

2.1  The ECB welcomes the fact that the draft amendments to the Law on Lietuvos bankas clarify the 

legal status of Lietuvos bankas’ assets as well as the State’s ownership in Lietuvos bankas, which is 

expressed by the capital of Lietuvos bankas. 

2.2  The  ECB  also  welcomes  the  fact  that  the  legal  status  of  Lietuvos  bankas’  assets  is  specified  by 

virtue  of  the  law.  The  ECB  understands  that  the  requirement  for  Lietuvos  bankas  to  apply  to  an 

administrative authority, i.e. the State Enterprise Centre of Registers, with regard to the change of 
the  rights  in  rem  of  its  assets,  for  which  no  deadline  is  given4,  is  part  of  national  administrative 

procedures  and  does  not  make  the  specification  of  the  legal  status  of  Lietuvos  bankas’  assets 

conditional upon the actions of Lietuvos bankas or of those of the administrative authorities. 

2.3  Based  on  this  understanding,  the  draft  amendments  to  the  Law  on  Lietuvos  bankas  address  the 

ECB’s  concerns  as  regards  the  institutional  and  financial  independence  of  Lietuvos  bankas,  as 
raised in previous ECB opinions5 and Convergence Reports6. 

2.4  Since that clarification will continue to apply if and when Lithuania adopts the euro, the Law on 
Lietuvos bankas that will enter into force on the introduction of the euro in Lithuania7 should also 

be  amended  accordingly.  Additionally,  if  the  provisions  of  such  future  draft  law  amending  the 

abovementioned Law on Lietuvos bankas that will enter into force on the introduction of the euro 

in  Lithuania  are  different  from  the  provisions  of  the  current  draft  amendments  to  the  Law  on 

Lietuvos bankas, the ECB should be consulted on such a future draft law. 

3 
4 
5 

6 
7 

Article 2(8) of the Law on the State Audit Office. 
Article 2 of the draft amendments to the Law on Lietuvos bankas. 
See paragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2010/42; paragraph 4.3.1 of Opinion CON/2011/91; and paragraph 3.4.2. of Opinion 
CON/2011/99. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See the ECB’s Convergence Report, 2012, p. 242. 

Law amending Articles 1, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 25, 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 54(1), 55, titles of fourth 
and  fifth  sections,  repealing  Articles  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  32,  37  and  supplementing  the  Annex  to  the  Law  on  Lietuvos 
bankas. Valstybės žinios, 29-04-2006, No 48–1699. Pursuant to Article 33 of this Law, it will come into force on the date 
on which the Council of the European Union abrogates the derogation of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid 
down in Article 140(2) of the Treaty. 

2 

 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

3. 

Scope of the public audit of Lietuvos bankas 

The ECB welcomes the fact that the scope of the public audit of Lietuvos bankas conducted by the State 

Audit  Office  is  clarified  in  national  legislation,  which  addresses  the  ECB’s  concerns  stated  in  the 
Convergence Reports as regards Lietuvos bankas’ independence8. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 5 December 2013. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

8 

See ECB’s Convergence Report, 2012, p. 242. 

3