Resolution of the European Parliament

of 5 May 2010

with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,

having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre’s replies [1],

having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 — C7-0061/2010),

having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities [2], and in particular Article 185 thereof,

having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training [3], and in particular Article 12a thereof,

having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 [4], and in particular Article 94 thereof,

having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),

A. whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

B. whereas on 23 April 2009 Parliament granted the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2007 [5], and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia, drew attention to observations by the Court of Auditors concerning the high proportion of carry-overs and cancellations, the need to set measurable objectives and indicators in its programming and the need to establish clear links between objectives and the budgetary resources needed to achieve them,

1. Expresses its satisfaction that the Court of Auditors has declared the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 to be legal and regular;

Performance

2. Congratulates the Centre on its positive statement of assurance from the Court of Auditors in relation to the financial year 2008, not only with regard to the accounts, but also with regard to the underlying transactions; notes that the Centre has made enormous progress with regard to the inventory procedure for identifying, recording and capitalising assets, to documentation on internal control processes and to procurement procedures;

3. Again stresses how important it is for the Centre to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements; notes, however, the statement by the Centre that it has taken these observations into consideration in its 2009 programme; calls also on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results;

4. Welcomes, none the less, the Centre’s intention to introduce a pilot system in 2010 for recording the time spent by each staff member on a Centre project;

5. Calls on the Centre to set out, in a table to be annexed to the Court of Auditors’ next report, a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess more effectively its performance from one year to the next;

6. Welcomes the close cooperation and the synergies established between the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and the European Training Foundation (ETF), given the two agencies’ related areas of responsibility; calls on the two agencies to include a detailed follow-up report on the cooperation agreement in their 2009 activity reports.

Budgetary and financial management

7. Draws attention to the fact that the Centre has again carried appropriations forward (25 % of payment appropriations, or EUR 1400000); points out that this reveals weaknesses in the programming and monitoring of differentiated appropriations for operating activities;

Human resources

8. Points out that the Centre employs 128 staff and in 2009 introduced a performance measurement system; expects to be informed of the results of the introduction of that system;

Internal audit

9. Congratulates the Centre on being the first agency voluntarily to undergo a pilot audit on the ethical framework; notes that this audit was conducted from 16 to 20 February 2009 by a team of three auditors and that the Internal Audit Service (IAS) confirmed that the Centre had developed a good ethical framework;

10. Acknowledges that, since 2006, the Centre has implemented 15 recommendations out of 30 recommended by the IAS; notes that, of the 15 still not implemented, six are considered to be "very important" and mainly relate to human resources management (e.g. staff performance, setting personal objectives and fixing the roles and responsibilities of the Staff Committee); expects progress in this area of fundamental importance to the Centre’s work and asks to be kept informed;

11. Refers for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 5 May 2010 [6] on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

[1] OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.

[2] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

[3] OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.

[4] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

[5] OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 141.

[6] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0139. See page 241 of this Official Journal.

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