RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
of 17 April 2013  
with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the 
implementation of the budget of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic 
Communications for the financial year 2011  
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  
— having regard to the final annual accounts of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communi ­
cations for the financial year 2011,  
— having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Body of European 
Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2011, together with the Body’s 
replies (  1 ), 
— having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),  
— having regard to 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 (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing 
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (  3 ), and in particular Article 208 thereof,  
— having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
25 November 2009 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications 
(BEREC) and the Office (  4 ), and in particular Article 13 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 Council Regulation (EC, 
Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European 
Communities (  5 ), 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 (A7-0066/2013),  
A. whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts 
of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (‘the Body’) for the financial year 
2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,  
B. whereas in compliance with Decision 2010/349/EU taken by common accord between the Represen ­
tatives of the Governments of the Member States of 31 May 2010 on the location of the seat of the 
Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) (  6 ), the Office of 
BEREC (‘the Office’) was located in Riga, Latvia; whereas the Office signed its seat agreement on 
24 February 2011, became fully functional in the course of 2011 and was granted financial 
autonomy on 12 September 2011,  
C. whereas the overall budget of the Body for the financial year 2011, EUR 1 178 785,60, was entirely 
funded by a Union contribution (  7 ),EN L 308/166 Official Journal of the European Union 16.11.2013  
( 1 ) OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 8.  
( 2 ) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.  
( 3 ) OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.  
( 4 ) OJ L 337, 18.12.2009, p. 1.  
( 5 ) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.  
( 6 ) OJ L 156, 23.6.2010, p. 12.  
( 7 ) BEREC Office final annual accounts 2011, p. 29.
Budgetary and financial management  
1. Recalls that the initial Union contribution to the Office’s budget for 2011 was EUR 1 178 785,60; notes 
that this was the first year that the Office was financially autonomous;  
2. Notes the Court of Auditor’s observation that the Office’s 2011 budget, adopted by the Management 
Committee, disclosed appropriations only by Titles and Chapters and was not subdivided into articles 
and items and that that situation is, thus, at odds with the principle of specification; notes the Office’s 
reply that its budget for 2012 is already subdivided into articles and items;  
3. Observes from the Office’s annual accounts that appropriations were committed at a rate of 63,4 %, 
while payments reached a level of 70,1 % of the total appropriations managed (or 44,5 % of available 
appropriations);  
Carryovers appropriations  
4. Notes with concern that the Court of Auditors identified 21 cases, with a total value of EUR 94 120, 
where appropriations carried over to 2012 did not correspond to legal commitments and that those 
carryovers were, therefore, irregular;  
5. Accepts the Office’s explanation that the start-up phase made it difficult to correctly forecast carry ­
forwards and that a closely monitored follow-up of the budget implementation is currently in place; 
notes the Office’s comment that instructions were to be given at the end of 2012 and relevant 
information was to be collected from the units in order to decommit unused commitments; calls on 
the Office to report to the discharge authority whether that has been the case;  
Internal control standards  
6. Draws the Office’s attention to the Court of Auditors’ observation that the Office had not adopted and 
implemented all the internal control standards (ICS), notably, no central register of invoices and no 
register of exceptions was introduced;  
7. Takes note of the Office’s statement that the current implementation plan for ICS involves defining the 
implementation deadlines for different standards from November 2011 until January 2013; notes that 
the registration of invoices and the recording of exceptions have been implemented since 18 June 2012 
with an impact on further registrations in 2012 and that the preparation of relevant administrative 
instructions has been in progress; calls on the Office to report to the discharge authority on the progress 
made on those matters;  
Recruitment procedures  
8. Notes the Court of Auditors’ observation that there is a need to improve the transparency of recruitment 
procedures; notes the Office’s reply that in June 2012, it updated its Guidelines for recruitment 
procedures in order to address the Court’s findings; calls on the Office to follow up this issue and to 
report to the discharge authority on the actions taken; considers that some of the provisions of the Staff 
Regulations may present a considerable administrative burden; encourages, therefore, the Commission to 
allow for a certain degree of simplification under Article 110 of the Staff Regulations in regard to the 
agencies;  
9. Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a 
horizontal nature, to its Resolution of 17 April 2013 (  1 ) on the performance, financial management and 
control of the agencies.EN 16.11.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 308/167  
( 1 ) Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0134 (see page 374 of this Official Journal).