2026-04-01
On April 1, the Fiscal Monitoring Centre will begin operating at the National Audit Office. It will strengthen the institution’s role in assessing compliance with fiscal discipline and ensuring the sustainability of public finances.
Following Lithuania’s accession to the euro area in 2015, the National Audit Office established the Budget Policy Monitoring Department, which performed the functions of an independent fiscal institution. For more than a decade, it assessed the macroeconomic projections of the Ministry of Finance, monitored compliance with fiscal discipline, and promoted fiscal transparency. From now on, these functions will be carried out by the Fiscal Monitoring Centre.
This change is related to the new fiscal governance framework approved by the Seimas. The amendments to the Constitutional Law on the Implementation of the Fiscal Treaty and related laws, adopted on December 23 last year, updated the rules for budget planning and oversight, which are aligned with the European Union’s fiscal governance framework, updated in 2024. From now on, the laws clearly establish the National Audit Office as an institution performing two functions—that of a supreme audit institution and that of an independent fiscal institution.
“We are strengthening our fiscal function. The Fiscal Monitoring Centre brings together expertise to strengthen independent, evidence-based assessments of budget policy and encourages greater participation in key fiscal policy discussions. This will provide greater clarity, accountability, and capacity to safeguard sustainable public finances,” says Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
The amendments to the law strengthened the functions of an independent fiscal institution, established new fiscal discipline rules, and, most importantly, establishes a new practice: the government and municipalities will have to comply with the opinions of the Fiscal Monitoring Centre or publicly explain why they did not do so. The responsibilities of an independent fiscal institution have also been expanded: from now on, it will assess errors of the Ministry of Finance’s projections and publish an assessment of fiscal governance.
“Last year, OECD experts evaluated our work and noted clear progress—analytical capabilities have been strengthened, macroeconomic forecasts have begun to be published, and our opinions have become more understandable. At the same time, they recommended increasing visibility and impact. We hope that the Fiscal Monitoring Centre will increase the visibility of the Independent Fiscal Institution and help to more clearly present its role in overseeing public finances,” says Jurga Rukšėnaitė, Head of the Fiscal Monitoring Centre.
The new Fiscal Monitoring Centre will enable a more consistent assessment of budget plans, economic forecasts and fiscal policy, while also strengthening the transparency of public finances and fiscal discipline.