European Medicines Agency 2006 2007 2008 2009

Performance n.a. — The principle of sound financial management was not rigorously fulfilled: the Agency’s cash forecast had not been prepared properly — The Agency carries out its operations in two locations, exposing it to additional costs (direct posts: EUR 450 000) — Good results in having put in place sophisticated activity-based budgeting and user-satisfaction monitoring — Calls on the Agency to reassess its brokerage policy in light of the financial risks incurred throughout the year — The Agency carries out its operations in two locations, exposing it to additional costs — Unacceptable that the Agency does not apply the relevant rules for management of conflicts of interest effectively — 12 very important & 1 critical recommendations from several earlier IAS Annual Audit Reports were still not implemented in 2009 Unacceptable that the Agency is not complying with its Code of Conduct, urges the Agency to document & assess its controls & file the relevant allocation decisions which must be made available on its website — Urges the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the steps it has taken to ensure the independence of its experts since its inception — Asks the Agency to complete & regularly update the European Experts Database as required by Regulation (EC) No 726/2004

Carry-over of appropriations The budgetary principle of annuality was not strictly observed: the utilisation rate for commitment appropriations was less than 60 %. more than 40 % of the commitments were carried over to the financial year 2007 The agency had difficulties in the programming, the budgeting of its activities, and their implementation: EUR 32 000 000 euro were carried over and EUR 4 000 000 were cancelled: Calls on the agency to fulfil the principle of annuality Calls on the Agency to fulfil the annuality principle: the budget appropriations carried over and cancelled have amounted respectively to EUR 36 000 000 (19,7 % of the budget) and EUR 9 700 000 (5,3 % of the budget) Court of Auditors reports a carryover of EUR 19 500 000 (38 % of Agency’s commitments), EUR 14 800 000 of this was for activities not yet implemented at year end, indicates delays in the implementation of activities financed form Title II. Agency is not in accordance with budgetary principle of annuality

Procurement procedures n.a. — Transparency issues at the level of selection criteria and at the level of the evaluation methods for the price criteria and joint procurement procedure — Recalls on improving procurement management Calls on the Agency to improve the quality of its procurement procedures so as to put an end to the shortcomings: i.e. as regards the application of evaluation methods for the price criteria and as regards the essential need for justifications for the choice procedure — Concerned that the Court of Auditors findings of errors in the procurement procedures corresponding to a significant amount of the Agency’s total budget for the financial year of 2009. Shortcomings in evaluation criteria such as price and choice of procedures — Urges the Agency to improve the quality of its procurement procedures in order to put an end to the shortcomings identified by the Court of Auditors — Calls on the Agency to set up a multiannual procurement plan — Calls on the Agency to ensure the results of procurement procedures are verified before contracts are awarded

Revenue from fees The Agency has not been able to make a comprehensive analysis of the costs incurred by Member States’ rapporteurs in order to obtain an objective and documented basis on which to adapt its payments to them, and consequently the fee charged to its customers: This situation was in breach of the Fee Regulation Transparency issues on the amount repaid to the Member States’ rapporteurs Calls on the Commission to evaluate the Agency’s endemic high level of cash holdings (EUR 41 887 000) Calls on the Agency to ensure better coordination between its financial & scientific services in order to remedy the unacceptable long day of recovery orders