4.2 External Auditors

As required by law, auditing activities are assigned to an independent auditing firm included in the relevant register and appointed by the Shareholders’ Meeting based on a reasoned proposal from the Board of Statutory Auditors.

On 27 April 2010, the Shareholders’ Meeting appointed Reconta Ernst & Young S.p.A. to audit the Company for the 2010-2018 period.

In May 2015, following approval by the Board of Directors and the favourable opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors, Snam issued the procedure entitled “Allocation and management of appointments to the External Auditors”, which defines the roles, responsibilities and duties pertaining to relations with the External Auditors, based on the applicable regulatory provisions and, in particular, the document “Principles of auditor independence”, issued by the National Council of Accountants and Accounting Experts and recommended by Consob.

In order to prevent the emergence of conditions that could be considered relevant for the purposes of maintaining auditor independence, Snam applies prudential criteria, assigning to the External Auditors only those auditing duties that are defined in the Document, i.e. auditing services and certification studies (indicated in a specific annex to the procedure), completely excluding all other services from the auditing.

The procedure also governs contractual aspects, those relating to the management of relations with the External Auditors and information flows to the Internal Audit department, which is allocated an “independent actor” role, particularly with regard to activities relating to the allocation of appointments, the role of manager of the Framework Agreement, the monitoring of the maintenance of the independence of the auditor and the services offered by the latter, and the relevant reporting to the Board of Statutory Auditors.