Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 26.9.2009
RESOLUTION OF  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
of 23 
April 2009
with observations forming an integral part of the Decision on discharge in respect of the 
implementation of the bu dget
 of the Eu r
opean Agency for the Management of Operational 
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the Eu ropean 
Union for the financial 
year 2007
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
—having reg ard to the final annual accounts of the European Agency for the Man agement of Operation al 
Cooperation  
at the External 
Borders of the Memb er 
States for the fin ancial 
year 2007
(1) OJ C 278, 31.10.2008, p. 7. (1), 
—having 
regard 
to the Court of Auditors’ report on  
the final 
annual 
account
s of the European 
Agency 
for 
the Management 
of Operation al 
Cooperation  
at the External 
Borders of the Memb er 
States for the fin an­
cial 
year 2007, tog ether 
with the Ag ency’s 
replies
(2) OJ C 311, 5.12.2008, p. 34. (2), 
—having 
regard 
to the Coun cil’s 
recommen dation 
of 10 February 
2009 (5588/2009 — C6-0060/2009), 
—having 
regard 
to the EC 
Treaty, an d 
in 
particular Article 276 thereof, 
—having 
regard 
to Council 
Regulation 
(EC, 
Euratom) 
No 1605/2002 of 25 June 
2002 on 
the Financial 
Regu­
lation
 applicable
 to the general
 budget
 of the European
 Commun ities
(3) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (3), and in particular Article 185 
thereof,
 
—having 
regard 
to its Resolution  
of 18 Decemb er 
2008 on 
the evaluation  
and 
future developmen t 
of the 
Frontex 
Agency 
and 
of the European 
Border Surveillan ce 
System (E urosur)
(4) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0633. (4), 
—having 
regard 
to Council 
Regulation 
(EC) 
No 2007/2004 of 26 Octob er 
2004 estab lishing 
a European 
Agency 
for the Man agement 
of Operation al 
Cooperation  
at the External 
Borders of the Memb er 
States of 
the European 
Union
(5) OJ L 349, 25.11.2004, p. 1. (5), and in particular Article 30 thereof, 
—having
 regard
 to Commission Reg ulation
 (EC,
 Euratom)
 No 2343/2002 of 19 Novemb er
 2002 on the 
framework  
Financial 
Regulation 
for the bodies 
referred to in  
Article 185 of Reg ulation 
(EC, 
Euratom) 
No 
1605/2002
(6) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (6), and in particular Article 94 thereof, 
—having 
regard 
to Rule 71 of, an d 
Annex 
V to, its Rules of Procedure, 
—having 
regard 
to the report of the Committee on  
Budgetary 
Control 
and 
the opinion 
of the Committee on  
Civil 
Liberties, 
Justice and 
Home Affairs (A6-0166/2009),
A. whereas the Court of Auditors (E CA) stated that it has ob tained reasonable assurance that the an nual 
accounts 
for the fin ancial 
year 2007 are reliab le, 
and 
the underlying 
transaction s 
are legal 
and 
regular,
B. whereas on 22 April 2008  Parliamen t  granted  the Executive  Director of the E uropean  Agency’  for the 
Management 
of Operation al 
Coordination 
at the External 
Borders of the Memb er 
States of the E uropean 
Union 
discharge 
in 
respect of the implemen tation 
of the Agency’s 
budget 
for the fin ancial 
year 2006
(7) OJ L 88, 31.3.2009, p. 226. (7) 
and, 
inter 
alia,
—noted 
the ECA’s 
observation 
in 
its 2006 report that for the fin ancial 
year 2006 the rate of commit­
ment
 was 85 %; the rate of carry-over was more than 70 % overall an d
 nearly
 85 % for operatin g
 
expenditure; 
transfers 
of appropriation s 
between 
chapters or titles durin g 
the year exceeded the total 
ceiling 
of 10 % provided for in  
the Financial 
Regulation; 
therefore, the b u
dgetary 
principle 
of speci­
fication 
was not 
strictly ob served,
 
—called on 
the Agency 
to improve its fin ancial 
management, 
especially as reg ards 
the increase 
in 
its 
budget 
for the fin ancial 
years 2007 an d 
2008,N E 8 2 1 / 5 5 2 L
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/129
C. whereas 2007 was the secon d full year of fun ctioning of the Agency,
1.
 Notes that the Ag ency’s
 2007 budget
 (EUR
 42 100 000) more than doub led
 compared with the 2006 
budget 
(EUR 19 
200 000);
2. Notes the E CA’s 
criticism that commitmen ts 
carried over to 2008 pertainin g 
to grant 
agreements 
linked 
to 
operation al 
activities amoun ted 
to EUR 18 
400 000, an d 
that a sub stantia
l part of these commitmen ts 
were 
based 
on 
excessive cost estimates;
3. Acknowledges 
the fact, hig hlighted 
in 
the Agency’s 
replies to the E CA, 
that in 
the case of the Ag ency 
cost 
estimates are particularly complex as the Ag ency 
relies on 
equipmen t 
provided b y 
Member 
States for its 
operation s;
4. Notes 
that the Ag ency 
set up the cen tralised 
record for techn ical 
equipmen t 
(CRATE) 
concerning 
mate­
rials from Memb er 
States that can  
be 
used durin g 
operation s; 
notes 
that CRATE  
is linked 
to a common  
cost 
calculation  
method, which should lead to a more efficien t 
allocation  
of budgetary 
means;
5. Is 
concerned 
about 
the ECA’s 
finding 
that, as there is n o 
treasury policy, the hig h 
amount 
of cash retain ed 
by 
the Agency 
stays unused 
on 
excessively low in terest 
bearing 
bank 
accounts; n otes 
that, accordin g 
to 
the accoun ts 
(balance 
sheet) the Ag ency 
held EUR 32 
600 000 in  
cash and 
cash equivalen ts 
at 31 Decem­
ber 
2007;
6. Notes the Ag ency’s 
reply that it will try to n egotiate 
conditions 
with its b ank 
and 
check 
if other banks 
offer 
better 
conditions;
7. Urges 
the Agency 
to adopt a treasury policy an d 
to report on  
the action  
taken 
and 
the results achieved in  
its 
general 
report 2008;
Follow-up 
to the 2006 discharge exercise
8. Recalls that the 2006 fin ancial 
year was the first year in  
which the Ag enc
y was financially 
autonomous 
and 
subject 
to the discharg e 
procedure;
9. Regrets
 that the E CA,
 in its 2007 an nua
l report, foun d
 several weak nesse
s which it had already hig h
­
lighted 
in 
its 2006 an nual 
report, in 
particular:
—a high 
level of carry-overs an d 
cancellations: 
nearly 70 % of the appropriation s 
available 
in 
2007 were 
not 
spent,
 
—legal 
commitmen ts 
made before 
budgetary 
commitmen ts,
 
—recruitmen t 
procedures which, accordin g 
to the ECA, 
were not 
in 
line 
with the rules, in  
particular 
with the prin ciple 
of equal treatmen t, 
as the min imum 
number 
of years of experien ce 
required for a 
given 
position 
differed from those ag reed 
between 
the agencies 
and 
the Commission ;
10. Notes 
the Agency’s 
reply with reg ard 
to the high 
level of carry-overs that this was partly due to an  
amount 
of EUR 7 
000 000 made availab le 
by 
the Commission  
in 
June 
2007 for sea operation s 
which require the 
availability
 of vessels an d
 aircrafts from Memb er
 States an d
 are complex an d
 time-con suming,
 so that 
commitmen ts 
could only 
be 
made late in  
2007;
11. Is, 
however, con cerned 
about 
the high 
level of carry-overs ob served 
by 
the ECA 
and 
asks 
the Agency 
to 
address this prob lem 
which was already raised b y 
the Court in  
its 2006 report; poin ts 
out that the reserve 
of EUR 19 
900 000 from the Ag ency’s 
2007 budget 
was released on ly 
in 
June 
2007; tak es 
note 
of the 
Agency’s 
replies in 
this respect;
12. Calls on 
the Agency 
to address the recurrent prob l
ems in its commitmen t 
system as ob served 
by 
the ECA;
13. Is 
pleased that the Ag ency 
adopted an  
action 
plan 
in 
2008 in 
order to address the weak nesses 
in 
its com­
mitment 
system; notes 
that the action  
plan 
includes 
among 
others settin g 
deadlines 
to Member 
States for 
forwardin g 
to the Ag ency 
budget 
estimates con cerning 
their co-fin ancing 
in 
order to estab lish 
the final 
amount 
for grants 
in 
order to avoid ex-post sig natures;N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 6 2
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 26.9.2009
14. Invites the Ag ency to report on  the results achieved throug h the action  plan in its general report 2008;
15. Considers 
that there is a lin k 
between 
the specific form of cooperation  
between 
the Agency 
and 
the Mem­
ber 
States, whereb y 
Member 
States are supposed to mak e 
available 
equipment to the Ag enc
y for its opera­
tions, 
and 
the weaknesses 
highlighted 
by 
the ECA 
regarding 
budget 
plannin
g, 
in 
particular cost estimates, 
and 
budget 
implemen tation, 
in 
particular carry-overs an d 
the problem 
of ex-post sig natures;
16. Recalls 
that Parliamen t, 
in 
its abovementioned 
Resolution  
of 18 Decemb er 
2008:
(a) called on 
the Agency 
to send 
a report to the Parliamen t 
and 
to the Coun cil 
concerning 
the actual use 
and 
real availab ility 
of materials from Memb er 
States, hig hlighting 
any 
difficulties en countered,
(b) called 
on 
Member 
States, in 
the event 
of persisten t 
insufficient 
availability 
of resource, to tak e 
a rapid 
decision 
to alter sub stantially 
the scale of the Ag ency’s 
budget 
to enable 
it to carry out its mission  
and, 
possibly, 
examine 
the legal 
aspects of the future ren ting 
and/or 
purchase of materials for that 
purpose,
(c) recalled that Parliamen t, 
as an 
arm of the b udgetary 
authority, had already in creased 
the Agency’s 
budget 
since 
its inception 
would en sure 
that the Ag ency’s 
budget 
is correctly implemen ted 
and 
adapted 
to changes 
in 
its functions;
17. Calls 
on 
the Agency 
to improve its fin ancial 
management, 
in 
line 
with the E CA’s 
observations, 
notes 
that 
the Agency, 
in 
its answers 
to the ECA, 
highlighted 
the specific form of cooperation  
between 
the Agency 
and 
Member 
States whereb y 
the Agency 
relies on 
equipmen t 
provided b y 
Membe
r States for its operation s;
18. Is 
determined 
to closely mon itor 
the impact of the Ag ency’s 
cooperation  
with Member States on its fin an­
cial 
management 
in 
the future;
19. Regrets 
that the Ag ency 
had to implemen t 
recruitmen t 
procedures which were n ot 
fully in 
line 
with the 
general 
provisions 
for implemen ting 
the Staff Reg ulations 
in 
order to attract hig hly 
qualified specialists;
20. Notes that, with reg ard
 to recruitmen t,
 the Agen
cy does n ot
 accept the ECA’s criticism that it did n ot
 
respect the prin ciple 
of equal treatmen t 
as the min imum 
years of profession al 
experience 
required for a 
given
 position differed from those ag reed
 between
 the Commission an d
 the agencies;
 notes
 that the 
Agency 
considers 
its practice to b e 
in 
line 
with the rules, as it had to attract hig hly 
specialised staff un der 
difficult 
conditions; 
observes 
that the Staff Reg ulations 
stipulate that Commun ity 
agencies 
have to adopt 
their general 
implemen ting 
provisions 
(GIP) 
in 
agreement 
with the Commission ; 
notes 
that the Commis­
sion 
has drafted model decision s 
for the GI P; 
notes 
that the Commission  
has not 
yet agreed 
to the draft 
GIP 
submitted 
by 
the Agency; 
calls on 
the Agency, 
in 
agreement 
with the Council recommen dation, 
to 
strictly respect the recruitmen t 
criteria in  
the Staff Reg ulations 
in 
order to en sure 
equal treatmen t 
with 
regard 
to the years of profession al 
experience 
required for a g iven 
post;
21. Calls on 
the Agency 
to improve its fin ancial 
management, 
especially as reg ards 
the increase 
in 
its 2008 
and 
2009 budgets;
22. Refers 
for other ob servations 
accompan ying 
its Decision  
on 
discharge 
which are of a horizon tal 
nature 
to 
its Resolution  
of 23 April 2009 on  
financial 
management 
and 
control 
of EU 
agencies
(1) See page 206 of this Official Journ al. (1).N E 0 3 1 / 5 5 2 L