The Venice Commission takes the view that the redistribution of functions and the establishment of the new Office, which has a mandate to exercise financial control of political entities and enjoys a higher degree of independence than the current Office, are steps in the right direction. In particular, it is a welcome development that the selection of external auditors is moved away from the Parliament i.e. a political body which has not proved to be effective in this area. In sum, the reform brings the auditing mechanism more into line with international standards such as Article 14 of Rec(2003)4 which requires “independent monitoring in respect of the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns”.