Resolution on the report of the Court of Auditors on the accounts of the European Coal and Steel Community at 31 December 1994 and on the report of the Court of Auditors on the management of the accounts and the financial management of the ECSC

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the ECSC financial report for the 1994 financial year, submitted by the Commission, and in particular the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts of the ECSC at 31 December 1994,

- having regard to the report of the Court of Auditors on the accounts of the ECSC at 31 December 1994 ((OJ C 244, 21.9.1995, p. 36.)) and the annual report concerning the ECSC for the financial year 1994 (C4-0545/95) ((OJ C 329, 7.12.1995.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A4- 0089/96),

A. whereas the Court of Auditors has found that the financial statements of the ECSC at 31 December 1994 give a true and fair view of the results of its operations for the year then ended,

B. whereas the Court of Auditors has provided a positive statement of assurance as to the reliability of the ECSC accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions,

C. whereas the ECSC Treaty is due to expire in the year 2002, and arrangements have already begun for the transfer of some of its activities to the EC,

POLICY FOCUS

1. Believes that ECSC activities will continue to make a positive contribution to the interests of the coal and steel sectors in the period leading up to the expiry of the ECSC Treaty; asks the Commission, however, in view of the diminishing resources available to finance those activities, to focus on those forms of intervention not available under the EC Treaty, in particular social measures and redeployment aid, and to transfer other activities to the EC forthwith;

THE 1994 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2. Notes that the Commission continues to apply a prudent approach to the management of risk; notes in this context that the balance sheet ratios on which the creditworthiness of the ECSC is assessed remain within the recommended ranges and that the ECSC can still therefore be considered financially secure;

3. Notes that the amount of the ECSC's outstanding lending accounted for by large exposures to single debtors has risen above the levels envisaged for credit institutions by Council Directive 92/121/EEC; believes that, though this Directive does not apply to the ECSC and the situation is not yet critical, it is indicative of a potential risk to the financial security of the ECSC, especially where large loans are not covered by first-class guarantees; asks the Commission therefore to monitor closely its large exposures as far as possible, making the necessary specific provisions, and to review the target ratios of reserves to outstanding lending in the light of the situation;

4. Notes that the ECSC suffered substantial falls in the value of its investments in securities during the 1994 financial year and that such value adjustments have a proportionately greater impact on the balance sheet of the ECSC as it diminishes;

5. Calls attention again to the lack of transparency in the way that buildings are acquired by the ECSC and subsequently transferred to the EC in return for 'rental¨ payments; believes that this arrangement, which in effect subsidises the ECSC at the expense of the EC general budget, should be more explicitly presented in the accounts of both communities, especially the EC;

SOCIAL AND REDEPLOYMENT MEASURES

6. Supports the continuation of direct welfare payments by the ECSC to workers in the coal and steel sectors for as long as resources are available under the ECSC operating budget in the belief that they have made a substantial contribution to alleviating the social problems associated with the contraction of the European coal and steel industries;

7. Welcomes the Court of Auditors' finding that ECSC redeployment aid is well- administered by the Commission and the Member States, but asks the Commission to make greater efforts to ensure that Member States' administrations are fully aware of ECSC workers' entitlements from the operating budget and the means of obtaining them;

LENDING ACTIVITIES

8. Acknowledges that there cannot and should not always be an even distribution of ECSC lending between Member States in any given year; asks the Commission however to ensure that all Member States have equal access to funding and that no perception of unfairness can arise;

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE

9. Congratulates those responsible for the management of the ECSC on presenting the only set of 1994 accounts to receive a clean statement of assurance from the Court of Auditors;

BAGNOLI

10. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has finally, and following repeated demands by the European Parliament, obtained repayment of the interest rate subsidies granted to finance investments in the Bagnoli steel works which were not used for their proper purpose under the terms of the borrower's loan contract;

UK PIT CLOSURES

11. Accepts that the ECSC will not be able to recover by legal means the interest rate subsidies paid to finance production-enhancing investment in two British coal mines which were closed shortly afterwards; considers it highly unsatisfactory however that a Member State whose explicit policies directly cause the wastage of ECSC funds should be under no obligation to make good this wastage; asks the Commission to put this point to the UK Government.