Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/113
RESOLUTION OF  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
of 23 
April 2009
with observations forming an integral part of the D ecision
 on discharge in respect of the 
implementation of the bu dget 
of Eurojust 
for the financial year 2007
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
—having reg ard to the final annual accounts of Eurojust for the fin ancial year 2007
(1) OJ C 278, 31.10.2008, p. 57. (1), 
—having 
regard 
to the Court of Auditors’ report on  
the final 
annual 
account
s of Eurojust 
for the fin ancial 
year 
2007, tog ether 
with Eurojust’s 
replies
(2) OJ C 311, 5.12.2008, p. 142. (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 Council 
Decision 
2002/187/JHA of 28 February 
2002 settin g 
up Eurojust 
with a view to 
reinforcing 
the fight 
against 
serious crime
(4) OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1. (4), and in particular Article 36 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
(5) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (5), 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 (A6-0161/2009),
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 Admin istrative Director of E urojust discharge in respect 
of the implemen tation 
of Eurojust’s 
budget 
for the fin ancial 
year 2006
(6) OJ L 88, 31.3.2009, p. 234. (6), and in its resolution  accom­
panying 
the discharg e 
decision, 
inter 
alia:
—noted 
the ECA’s 
observation 
in 
its 2006 report that the carry-over rate was 33 % for admin istrative 
expenditure 
and 
30 % for operation al 
expenditure, 
with a hig h 
number 
of transfers 
of appropriation s 
between 
budget 
lines 
and 
in 
many 
cases insufficiently 
detailed supporting  
documentation, 
so that the 
budgetary 
principle 
of specification  
was not 
strictly ob served,
 
—noted 
further the E CA’s 
findings 
that the rules on  
procuremen t 
were not 
strictly ob served, 
and 
that a 
fixed assets reg ister 
including 
all assets an d 
their values was n ot 
establ
ished and 
used to mon itor 
Euro­
just’s 
property; called on  
Eurojust 
to strictly implemen t 
procuremen t 
rules, notably 
as regards 
frame­
work 
contracts,
 
—expressed con cern 
at the statemen t 
in 
Eurojust’s 
annual 
report that there were still man y 
opportuni­
ties
 to develop E urojust’s
 relationship
 with OLAF, in cluding
 by
 means
 of a formal cooperation 
agreement;N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 6 2
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 26.9.2009
1. Notes that, althoug h the ECA’s statement of assuran ce is positive, its ob servations indicate that structural 
problems 
remain 
in 
the areas of b udget 
implemen tation, 
procuremen t 
and 
recruitmen t 
planning;
2. Is 
satisfied with the in formation 
in 
Eurojus
t’s ann
ual report 2007 that E urojust 
introduced 
ABAC (Accrual 
Based Accoun ting) 
on 1 
October 
2007;
3. Notes from E urojust’s 
annual 
report 2007 that, due to the rapid g rowth 
of Eurojust 
and 
the resultin g 
need 
for 
new 
headquarters, E urojust 
is cooperatin g 
with the host state in  
order to secure extra temporary office 
space; notes 
from Eurojust’s 
annual 
report 2007 that the host state is committed to providin g 
suitable 
new 
premises 
by 
2012;
4. Requests that E urojust 
include 
information 
about 
progress 
in 
the negot
iations 
concerning 
new 
headquar­
ters, interim 
arrangements 
and 
financial 
implication s 
in 
its annual 
report 2008;
High level of appropriations carried over
5. Notes the E CA’s 
finding 
that of the E UR 18 
000 000 which were committed in  
2007, EUR 5 
200 000 
were carried over;
6. Is 
concerned 
by 
the ECA’s 
conclusion 
that such hig h 
levels of carry-overs are at odds with the prin ciple 
of 
annuality 
and 
suggest 
weaknesses 
in 
the programming 
and 
monitoring 
of Eur
ojust’s activities;
7. Notes Eurojust’s 
reply that the hig h 
level of carry-overs was due to a lack  
of staff to man age 
the funds 
and 
difficulties 
in 
the implemen tation 
of the new 
procuremen t 
system; ob serv
es that on ly 
95 of the 147 posts 
in 
the 2007 estab lishment 
plan 
were filled;
8. Notes that E urojust 
introduced 
a carry-over reduction  
strategy 
in 
2008;
Weaknesses in procu rement 
procedures
9. Acknowledges 
that, followin g 
recommen dations 
by 
the ECA 
made in 
previous years, E urojust 
centralised 
the 
management 
of its procuremen t 
procedures in  
a specialised un it;
10. Regrets 
that, however, the E CA 
still found 
weaknesses 
in 
procuremen t 
procedures, as in  
the two previous 
years;
11. Expresses 
its surprise at the E CA’s 
finding 
that Eurojust 
extended 
existing 
contracts 
in 
a manner 
contrary 
to 
the rules, althoug h 
the expiry of the con tracts 
had been 
known 
for a long 
time;
12. Fully support’s the E CA’s 
recommen dation 
that the authorisin g 
officer put in  
place an 
effective plan  
for 
managing 
procuremen t 
procedures;
13. Notes that E urojust 
defined 
a general 
procuremen t 
plan 
for 2008 an d 
adopted a decision  
on 
the organi­
sation 
of procuremen t 
and 
related task s, 
and 
that all con tracts 
mentioned 
by 
the ECA 
were re-ten dered 
in 
conformity 
with the rules;
Weaknesses in recru itment 
planning
14. Notes the E CA’s 
finding 
that the estab lishment 
plan 
for 2007 provided for 147 posts compared to 112 in  
2006 
and 
that, at the en d 
of 2006, on ly 
87 posts were filled;
15. Is 
concerned 
that the ECA 
found 
that Eurojust 
did not 
manage 
to recruit the 60 staff n ecessary 
to fill the 
establishment 
plan 
in 
2007, but 
that, at the en d 
of 2007, on ly 
95 posts were filled;N E 4 1 1 / 5 5 2 L
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/115
16. Agrees with the E CA that this shows that there are weak nesses in Eurojus t’s recruitmen t planning;
17.
 Regrets
 that, as ack nowledged
 by
 Eurojust,
 the considerab le
 lack of staff had a n egative
 impact on the 
implemen tation 
of its budget;
18. Notes 
that Eurojust, 
according 
to its replies, aimed to fill the posts in  
its establishment 
plan 
in 
2008;
19. Notes that 130 of the 175 posts in the 2008 estab lishment
 plan were filled b y
 the end
 of 2008; wel­
comes the fact that E urojust 
reduced the vacan cy 
rate from 34 % at the en d 
of 2007 to 25 % at the en d 
of 
2008; urg es 
Eurojust 
to make 
further efforts to fill the vacan t 
posts as soon  
as possible;
20. Notes 
from Eurojust’s 
annual 
report 2007 that it:
—drafted a multian nual 
staff policy plan , 
covering 
the period 2007-2010, 
—adopted a n ew 
recruitmen t 
policy describ ing 
the legal 
framework , 
princi
ples, selection  
process, roles 
and 
actors involved,
 
—intended 
to sign 
the inter-agency 
job 
market 
agreement;
Follow-up 
to the 2006 discharge exercise
21. Calls on 
Eurojust 
to follow up on  
the ECA’s 
recommen dations, 
in 
particular in  
the areas of b udget 
imple­
mentation, 
procuremen t 
and 
recruitmen t, 
and 
to report in  
detail on 
the action  
taken 
in 
its 2008 an nual 
report;
22. Is 
satisfied with the con clusion 
of the Practical Ag reement 
on 
arrange
ments 
of cooperation  
between 
Euro­
just 
and 
OLAF
(1) OJ C 314, 9.12.2008, p. 3. (1) on 24  Septemb er 2008;
23. 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
(2) See page 206 of this Official Journ al. (2).N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 6 2