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 European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial 
year 2011  
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  
— having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial 
year 2011,  
— having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Institute for 
Gender Equality for the financial year 2011, together with the Institute’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 1922/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality (  4 ), and in particular 
Article 14 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 (  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 and the opinion of the Committee 
on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A7-0081/2013),  
A. whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality (‘the Institute’) was established on the basis of 
Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 and gained its independence on 15 June 2010,  
B. whereas the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual 
accounts of the Institute for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are 
legal and regular,  
C. whereas 2011 was the first complete operational year for the Institute since it gained its financial and 
administrative independence in June 2010,EN L 308/236 Official Journal of the European Union 16.11.2013  
( 1 ) OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 98.  
( 2 ) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.  
( 3 ) OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.  
( 4 ) OJ L 403, 30.12.2006, p. 9.  
( 5 ) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
D. whereas the Institute’s structure is based on the mandate and tasks defined in the basic regulation 
establishing the Agency and on the objectives approved by the Institute’s Management Board in the 
Mid-term Work Programme 2010-2012 and the Annual Work Programme,  
E. whereas the overall budget of the Institute for the financial year 2011 was EUR 7 530 000, compared 
to an overall budget of EUR 5 678 123,09 for the financial year 2010, which shows a 32,6 % increase; 
whereas the budget of the Institute is entirely financed by the Union’s contribution,  
F. whereas at the end of 2011, the Institute recorded a positive budget outturn of EUR 1 156 400,29 (  1 ), 
after deduction of exchange rate differences equal to EUR 2 650,64, which was then recorded in the 
accounts as a liability towards the Commission,  
Budgetary and financial management  
1. Recalls that the Institute was granted administrative and financial autonomy on 15 June 2010; notes 
that as a result of this, all 2010 procurement procedures were launched mainly in the last quarter of 
2010;  
2. Notes that the budget execution is prepared on the basis of modified cash accounting, which means 
that payment appropriations carried over are recorded together with payments made and revenue 
received;  
3. Takes note from the annual accounts that the execution of payments during 2011 was more effective 
than in 2010, showing a considerable improvement under all the Titles; establishes from the annual 
accounts that the Institute registered a budget execution ratio of 44,19 % for payments and of 88,54 % 
for commitments at the end of 2011;  
4. Acknowledges from the annual accounts (  2 ) that the payment ratio under Title I ‘Staff Expenditure’ 
increased to 88,49 % in 2011, compared to 49,19 % in 2010; calls on the Institute to inform the 
discharge authority of the further actions taken to improve the ratio;  
5. Takes note from the annual accounts that the executed payments under Title II ‘Administrative Expen ­
diture’ increased to 34,71 % in 2011, compared to 28,99 % in 2010; calls on the Institute to inform 
the discharge authority of the actions taken to improve the ratios as the low execution ratios show 
difficulties in budget planning and implementation;  
6. Observes from the annual accounts the very low execution ratio of 18,36 % for payments under Title 
III ‘Operational Expenditure’; notes that this is due to a significant number of procurements which were 
launched in the last part of 2010, once the Institute became administratively autonomous in June of 
that year; calls on the Institute to inform the discharge authority of the actions taken since then to 
improve the ratios as the low execution ratios show difficulties in budget planning and implementation;  
7. Notes from the annual accounts that EUR 3 339 551,93 of commitment appropriations contracted by 
the end of 2011 but not yet paid were carried forward to 2012, which represents 50 % of total 
commitments; notes, furthermore, that the total amount of carried forward appropriations which 
were cancelled (i.e. carried forward from 2010 and not paid in 2011) represents EUR 295 741,61 
due to this being the first full year of operation in which staff undertook different kinds of procurement 
procedures for the first time, initiated measures including a late request for a Presidency event, and 
other actions, in the second half of the year; calls on the Institute to inform the discharge authority of 
the actions taken to ensure a satisfactory budget execution rate in the future;EN 16.11.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 308/237  
( 1 ) Annual accounts 2011, p. 22.  
( 2 ) Annual accounts 2011, p. 34.
8. Acknowledges from the annual accounts that at the end of 2010, the Institute did not proceed with the 
necessary de-commitment exercise and that all automatic carry-overs took place;  
Accounting  
9. Establishes that in 2010, the Institute defined the responsibilities of financial actors for staff members 
and developed financial circuits for commitments; notes, moreover, that the Institute nominated all 
financial actors defining their roles and responsibilities by the end of 2010;  
10. Acknowledges that the Institute received three financial transfers from the Commission for a total 
amount of EUR 7 530 000 (respectively EUR 3 390 000 in the first transfer, EUR 2 070 000 in the 
second transfer and EUR 2 070 000 in the third transfer);  
Public procurement  
11. Takes note from the Annual Report that in 2011, the Institute registered six exceptions for the financial 
transactions which were discussed with the management, team leaders and relevant staff to avoid future 
mistakes; calls on the Institute to inform the discharge authority of the actions taken to address this 
deficiency;  
12. Observes that in 2011, 123 procurement procedures in Operations and Administration were finalised 
and that the overall procurement represented around 50 % of Institute’s overall budget; also observes 
that the procurement activities of 2011 have been carried out in line with the Work Programme 2011;  
Human resources  
13. Takes note from the annual accounts that in 2011, the Institute has concluded the recruitment of three 
temporary agents and three contract agents (while in 2010, the Institute recruited 23 temporary agents) 
and reached 94 % of its Establishment Plan occupancy, compared to 92,3 % in 2010; welcomes the 
improvement of the occupancy rate of the Institute’s establishment plan, which shall contribute to its 
the effective functioning;  
14. Acknowledges from the IAS that a range of policies, strategies, procedures and guidelines support the 
implementation of the Staff Regulation provisions in the Institute; notes that some points are still under 
development and should be completed at a later stage; particularly with the adoption of IT tools for 
human resources management (namely issues like the preparation of job descriptions, setting up 
personal objectives and formalising individual training plans); calls on the Institute to inform the 
discharge authority of the actions taken to address the above-mentioned issues;  
Performance  
15. Welcomes the Institute’s second  ex ante  evaluation report of 8 September 2011, focusing on the 
Institute’s specific objectives and operations and aiming to provide guidance to the Institute’s 
management in finalising objectives and activities; points out that, at a time of economic crisis and 
austerity, it is vital that the Institute offers the best value for money without jeopardising the successful 
fulfilment of its important remit;  
16. Welcomes the Institute’s establishment of the Resource and Documentation Centre as a unique 
European source of institutional and methodological gender equality knowledge;  
17. Stresses that the objectives and the tasks of the Institute require that a separate, dedicated entity is 
maintained within the institutional framework;EN L 308/238 Official Journal of the European Union 16.11.2013
Location  
18. Notes from the Annual Report that on 1 March 2010, the Institute’s staff was relocated from its 
temporary premises in Brussels to its permanent seat in Vilnius, Lithuania;  
19. Acknowledges from the Annual Report that the Government of the Republic of Lithuania ensured the 
payment of the Institute’s office rent for a period of two years until 15 December 2011;  
20. Welcomes the unique initiative, in coordination with the other representations of Union institutions in 
Vilnius (the Commission’s Representation and the European Parliament’s Information Office), to identify 
and select common premises; notes that the newly established ‘EU House’ proved necessary and will 
benefit synergies, increase the Union’s visibility, cost saving and sharing;  
Internal audit  
21. Welcomes the first audit activities conducted in 2011 in the Institute by the Internal Audit Service 
(IAS); notes from the IAS report (  1 ) that there are neither open ‘critical’ nor open ‘very important’ 
recommendations stemming from the IAS reports of 31 December 2011;  
22. Notes that the IAS carried out a limited review of the implementation of Internal Control Standards at 
the Institute in December 2011; notes that the Institute accepted the recommendation to finalise the 
procedure for the implementation of the Internal Control Standards and management adopted an 
action plan to be implemented in 2012; calls on the Institute to inform the discharge authority of 
the actions taken in respect of the recommendations;  
23. Acknowledges that the IAS risk analysis identified certain processes (  2 ) which could not be considered 
within the IAS audit plan, as the controls were assessed as absent or insufficient;  
24. Notes from the observations of the Court of Auditors that the Institute needs to improve the docu ­
mentation of physical inventory taking for fixed assets and the estimation of accrued charges;  
25. 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 (  3 ) on the performance, financial management and 
control of the agencies.EN 16.11.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 308/239  
( 1 ) Annual Internal Audit report for 2011, p. 6.  
( 2 ) Annual Internal Audit report for 2011, p. 4.  
( 3 ) Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0134 (See page 374 of this Official Journal).