In celebration of International Women's Day, the Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) invites you to a virtual session to bring women's leadership experiences in the accountability space with the guest speaker event, "IIU Integrity Talks with Annemie Turtelboom."

In this inaugural edition, Annemie Turtelboom will discuss accountability, transparency, and audit arrangements in the European Union (EU). She will introduce the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the EU's independent external auditor. ECA works to improve the European Commission's management of the EU budget and reports on EU finances. The speaker will also reflect on her experiences as the first female Minister of Home Affairs and Member of the Court in Belgian history.  Bayartsetseg Jigmiddash, IIU Outreach & Engagement Manager is moderating the session.

About the Speaker
 

Annemie Turtelboom

Dean of Chamber II - Investment for cohesion, growth and inclusion – European Court of Auditors (ECA)

As a former Federal Minister (Justice, Home Affairs, Migration) in Belgium, she is currently the Belgian member of the ECA, the European Union's external auditor based in Luxembourg. Since joining the Court in 2018, her portfolio has included audit work on the EU budget and regional development policy. She has published reports on the EU-China economic relations, public finance and policies on EU governance, passenger rights, and most recently, large transport projects and 5G security. She chaired the Working Group for the "Conference on the Future of Europe" and was a member of the Strategy and Foresight Working Group, which drafted the Court's 2021-2025 Strategy. On 28 September 2022, she was elected Dean of Chamber II.

Annemie Turtelboom started her political career as a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament in 2003 after teaching marketing for ten years.

She served as Vice Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Minister of Finance, Budget and Energy (2014-2016). Before this position, she was Minister of Justice (2012-14) in the Federal Government of Belgium. During this term, she instituted an extensive judicial reform and oversaw the abdication of King Albert and the investiture of King Philippe. Before this mandate, she was Minister of Home Affairs (2009-12) - the first woman in Belgian history - and Minister of Migration (2008-9) in the Belgian Federal Government. She was responsible for public order and security issues as well as emergencies. Between 2008 and 2014, she represented Belgium as Minister at the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU. She returned to the Parliament in 2016 and was an active Committee for Foreign Affairs member until April 2018.

Throughout her career, Annemie Turtelboom has conducted wide-ranging talks with stakeholders in the EU, at the United Nations in Washington D.C. and in various European capitals on topics such as auditing, EU public finances, EU-China relations, 5G security, the rule of law, and migration issues. As a strong supporter of gender equality and empowering youth, she has recently participated in several mentorship activities in the GLOBSEC's CEE HER mentorship program. In 2017, she was selected as a Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellow at Yale University and returned for a series of guest lectures in 2020. Moreover, she is a guest professor at the University of Hasselt, where she has been teaching graduate-level courses on the European budget since 2019.

In 2010, Annemie Turtelboom co-authored "De toekomst kan elk moment beginnen" (The future can begin anytime), and she recently authored the book "Het Geld van Europa" (Europe's Money). She is currently a member of the Steering committee of the King Baudouin Foundation's 'Europe programme' and the Antwerp America Foundation's Honorary Board. Until 2018, she was also the President of the Friends of the Antwerp Fashion Museum and a Board Member of the Port of Antwerp.

Annemie Turtelboom is fluent in Dutch, English and French and holds a degree in economics from KU Leuven.

Annemie Turtelboom's photo by Margue, Sophie / ©ECA