5. 6. 79 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities No C 139/23 
TITLE  XI 
Transitional  and  final  provisions 
Article  106 
The implementing  measures  for  the  Financial 
Regulation  often  complete  those  of the Regulation  itself 
and it is thus  important  that  the  Court  of Auditors 
should  be able  to participate  in their  formulation,  like 
the Community  institutions,  who  are  called  upon  to 
give their  prior  opinion  on the said  measures. The Court  also  considers  that  these  implementing 
measures  should  provide  for special  rules  applicable  to 
the Financial  Controller  in  order  to  ensure  the 
implementation  of the  responsibility  of these  officials 
(Articles  19 and  69 of the Financial  Regulation). 
Adopted  on 8 June  1978. 
Michael  N. MURPHY 
President  of the Court  of Auditors 
Opinion  of the  Court  of Auditors  on the  draft  Council  Regulation  (ECSC,  EEC,  Euratom) 
on the procedure  for applying  the European  unit  of account  (EUA)  to the legal  acts  adopted 
by the institutions  of the European  Communities 
THE  COURT  OF  AUDITORS  OF  THE  EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having  regard  to  Article  78  (i)  of  the  Treaty 
establishing  the  European  Coal  and  Steel  Community, 
Article  209  of the  Treaty  establishing  the  European 
Economic  Community  and  Article  183  of the  Treaty 
establishing  the European  Atomic  Energy  Community, 
Having  regard  to the  request  of the  President  of the 
Council  of 23 January  1978  for an opinion  on the orig-
inal draft  and  the  amended  draft  of a Council  Regu-
lation  on the  procedure  for applying  the European  unit 
of account  (EUA)  to the legal  acts  adopted  by the insti-
tutions  of the European  Communities  (Docs  R/23  60/76 
(final  622)  and  R/1229/77  (final  326)), 
Whereas  an opinion  of the Court  has  been  requested  on 
the texts  officially  proposed  by the  Commission  and, 
therefore,  with  regard  to the  text  of the  draft,  the 
opinion  can  only  apply  to  the  draft  Regulation 
submitted  to the  Court,  even  if it does  not  reflect 
entirely  present  thinking  on the  subject;  whereas  this 
implies  that  a fresh  opinion  of the  Court  should  be 
requested  if significant  amendments  are  made  to this 
draft  Regulation; 
Whereas  the  Court,  in expressing  its opinion,  considers 
it should  take  particular  account  of those  aspects  of the 
legislation  relating  to the EUA  which  have  repercussions 
on the  exercise  of the  Court's  external  audit,  especially 
in view  of the provisions  of Sections  I and  II of the draft 
Regulation; 
Whereas,  with  regard  to the  structure  of the  draft 
Regulation,  Section  I deals  with  the  utilization  of the 
EUA  as an instrument  of budgetary  management  while 
Section  II provides  for  the  use  of the  EUA  as an 
instrument  for  settling  the  rights  and  financial obligations  of the  Communities,  whereas  such  a plan 
appears  illogical  since  accounting  is nothing  but  the 
pure  and  simple  expression  in EUA  of the  rights  and 
obligations  of the  Communties;  whereas  it would  thus 
be preferable  to transpose  the order  in which  these  two 
sections  of the draft  Regulation  appear; 
Whereas  Article  4 (2)  of the  draft  lays  down  that 
payment  orders  made  out  in EUA  shall  be executed  by 
transfers  in EUA  with  effect  as a full  discharge,  this 
principle,  even  if its application  is limited,  constitutes  a 
fundamental  element  of the  proposed  legislation  owing 
to it? repercussions  outside  the Community  institutions 
and it would  therefore  be advisable  to emphasize  its 
value  with  a view  to subsequent  developments  in the 
direction  of  the  generalization  which  would  be 
desirable,  of the  use  of the  EUA  from  the stage  of the 
commitment  up to the  stage  of the  discharge  of the 
obligation, 
HAS  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING  OPINION: 
The Court  considers  first  of all  that  it would  be 
appropriate  to complete  the preamble  to the Regulation 
by the  phrase:  'Having  regard  to the  opinion  of the 
Court  of Auditors'. 
Article  1 (Definition  of  the EUA) 
The Court  is of the  opinion  that  the  definition  of the 
EUA  in the  Article  should  be harmonized  with  the 
provisions  of Article  10 of the  Financial  Regulation  of 
21 December  1977  applicable  to the  general  budget  of 
the European  Communities,  in order  to avoid  the 
fragmentation  likely  to result  from  the  adoption  of 
separate  Regulations. 
No C 139/24 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 1 
5. 6. 79 
The matter  could  be settled  by a mere  reference  to the 
Article  10 in question. 
Article  6 (Counter-value  in  EUA  for  the  operations 
referred  to in Article  5) 
In the cases  where  proposals  for commitment,  payment 
orders  or recovery  orders  are made  out  in a national 
currency,  conversion  into  EUA  for  the  purposes  of 
accounting  is to be made  at different  daily  rates,  this 
entails  an increase  in costs  and  staff  expenditure  and 
may give  rise  to difficulties  in the conduct  of internal 
and external  audits. 
In the opinion  of the Court  these  difficulties  could  be 
avoided  if a rate  determined  by reference  to a fixed  date 
(for example  the last  day  of the preceding  month)  were 
adopted. 
Article  11  (Expenditure  relating  to persons  working 
with the institution) 
The Court  observes  that,  apart  from  the  uncertainty 
over to whom  the  norm  applies,  it is impossible  to 
adopt  in a normative  text  a reference  criterion 
consisting  of Title  1 and  Chapter  33 of the  general 
budget,  since  the budgetary  nomenclature  is determined 
from  year  to year  during  the budgetary  procedure. 
Article  12  (Expression  of  rights  and  obligations  as 
regards  operating  expenditure,  excluding  supply 
contracts) 
The scope  of the derogation  from  the general  principle 
of expressing  the financial  rights  and  obligations  of the 
Communities  in EUA  needs  to be more  precisely 
defined.  In particular,  the Court  considers  the reference 
to 'external  constraints'  in  paragraph  2 to  be 
ambiguous,  since  the  expression  does  not  determine 
clearly  whether  it refers  to normative  compulsions,  to 
the previous  contractual  obligations  between  parties  or 
to constraints  of some  other  kind. 
Article  13 (Invitations  to tender  in respect  of supply 
contracts) 
The Article  lays  down  that  in invitations  to tender  there 
shall  'generally'  be included  certain  clauses  relating  to 
the use of the EUA  in relation  to supply  contracts.  The 
term  'generally',  although  it is probably  intended  to state  that  not  all the  clauses  to be specified  in the 
invitation  to tender  are  of an obligatory  nature,  may 
however  lead  to ambiguity,  above  all if they  relate  to 
the requirement  to express  contracts  in EUA.  The 
expression  of contracts  in national  currency,  in those 
cases  where  this  is allowed,  should  in any  event  be made 
known  when  the invitation  to tender  is published. 
Article  18  (Closing  of accounts,  final  settling  of the 
accounts;  cancelling  or increasing  commitments  and 
appropriations) 
Paragraph  3 lays  down  that  the Commission  shall  be, in 
principle,  absolved  of its obligations  as long  as it has 
made  total  payments  corresponding  to the  sum 
committed  in EUA,  apart  from  the power  to decide  to 
commit  an additional  sum. 
The proposed  wording  may  give  rise  to ambiguity 
owing  to the fact  that  the possibility  of an additional 
commitment  in no way  detracts  from  the situation  that 
legally  the institution  is discharged  of the obligation  in 
question. 
Moreover,  the Court  considers  it illogical  to provide,  for 
an additional  commitment  since  this  commitment,  far 
from  adjusting  a mere  estimate,  constitutes  for  the 
beneficiary  a new  right  linked  to monetary  fluctuations. 
It is thus  a question  in this  case  of a provision  contrary 
to the declared  objective  of the neutrality  of the EUA. 
Article  29 (Detailed  rules  for application) 
The adoption  of the procedure  laid  down  under  Article 
13 of Regulation  (EEC)  No  729/70  (Opinion  of the 
EAGGF  Committee)  for  determining  the  conversion 
rates  to be used  in the agricultural  sector  removes  the 
matter  from  the  fuller  procedure  provided  for  the 
adoption  of the  other  implementing  procedures  by 
Article  118  of the  Financial  Regulation  of 1973,  a 
procedure  repeated  in Article  106  of the Regulation  of 
1977  and  requiring,  in particular,  a request  for  an 
opinion  from  the Court  of Auditors. 
Adopted  on 15 June  1978. 
Michael  N. MURPHY 
President  of the Court  of Auditors