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 of Eurojust for the financial year 2008

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

having regard to the final annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2008,

having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2008, together with Eurojust’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 Council Decision 2002/187/JHA of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime [3], and in particular Article 36 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 Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A7-0093/2010),

A. whereas the Court of Auditors stated 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 Administrative Director of Eurojust discharge for implementation of Eurojust’s budget for the financial year 2007 [5], and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:

- noted the Court of Auditors’ finding that in 2007 appropriations amounting to EUR 18000000 were committed, of which EUR 5200000 were carried over,

- regretted that the Court of Auditors had again found deficiencies in procurement procedures, as in the two previous years,

- expressed concern that the Court of Auditors had noted that Eurojust had not succeeded in recruiting the 60 members of staff needed to fill the posts provided for in the 2007 establishment plan and that at the end of 2007 only 95 posts had been filled,

1. Is pleased to note that the Court of Auditors has been able to obtain reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year ended 31 December 2008 are, in all material respects, reliable, and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, are legal and regular;

Performance

2. Emphasises that the lack of indicators, the deficits in measurement of user satisfaction and the lack of coordination between the budget and the work programme make it difficult to evaluate Eurojust’s performance;

3. Welcomes the conclusion on 24 September 2008 of the Practical Agreement on arrangements of cooperation between Eurojust and OLAF [6];

4. Notes that in the coming years the discharge for the implementation of the budget for Eurojust should be further based on Eurojust’s performance throughout the year;

Carry-over of appropriations

5. Notes the Court of Auditors’ finding that in 2008 Eurojust still had a problem as regards carrying forward appropriations, even if it seems that the amount was lower than in the previous year (13 % of final budget appropriations, instead of the 25 % of appropriations carried over in 2007); notes with concern, however, that the level of appropriations carried over from the previous year and then cancelled (EUR 1000000, or 25 % of appropriations carried over) was high and that this situation is at odds with the annuality principle; calls therefore on Eurojust to take action to prevent this situation from recurring in future and to then inform the discharge authority;

6. Notes that Eurojust reported EUR 191390,56 in income from interest in 2008; concludes from the financial statements and from the level of interest payments that Eurojust has a permanently high level of cash holdings; notes that on 31 December 2008 Eurojust’s cash holdings amounted to EUR 4612878,47; asks the Commission to examine what scope there is for helping to ensure that the cash holdings are managed entirely on a needs-orientated basis, in accordance with Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002, and what changes of approach are necessary in order to keep Eurojust’s cash holdings permanently as low as possible;

Weaknesses in procurement procedures

7. Regrets that the Court of Auditors again found deficiencies in procurement procedures, as in the three previous years; expresses concern in particular about the Court of Auditors’ finding that in 2008, first, in most procurement cases no prior estimation of the market value was made before the procedure was launched and, secondly, there were recurrent and severe weaknesses in the monitoring of contracts and the programming of procurements; points out that this situation reveals severe weaknesses in the capacity of the various Eurojust departments involved to liaise properly and indicates a lack of guidance and control by the authorising officer;

8. Notes Eurojust’s reply undertaking to set up an action plan to address the weaknesses identified by the Court of Auditors; calls therefore on Eurojust to inform the discharge authority of the results of these action plans;

Human resources

9. Expresses concern at the fact that the Court of Auditors has again noted shortcomings in the planning and implementation of recruitment procedures; notes in particular that the level of vacant posts (26 %) is still too high, although less significant than in 2007 (33 %);

10. Agrees with the Court of Auditors that Eurojust has not respected the principle of specification, as an amount of EUR 1800000 was transferred from appropriations for the salaries of temporary and contract staff, mostly to increase (by 238 %) the appropriations for interim staff;

11. Notes Eurojust’s reply as regards the Court of Auditors’ criticisms of staff selection procedures; asks in particular that Eurojust should inform the discharge authority of its new recruitment procedure, launched in 2009, which from now on should ensure more transparency and no discrimination in the treatment of external and internal applicants;

Internal audit

12. Is concerned that none of the 26 recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) have been fully implemented; notes that four of these are considered to be "critical" and 12 "very important"; urges Eurojust therefore to put in place without delay the following recommendations on human resources management: preparing a short-term plan to fill the current vacancies; redefining the set-up of the Human Resources Unit; reducing the number of temporary staff; strengthening the recruitment procedure; adopting the implementing rules for career development; ensuring the independence of the members of the Selection Board; and making sure that the public procurement procedures are correctly implemented;

13. Refers for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 5 May 2010 [7] on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

[1] OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 131.

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

[3] OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1.

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

[5] OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 112.

[6] OJ C 314, 9.12.2008, p. 4.

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

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