RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
of 10 May 2012  
with observations forming an integral part of its decision on discharge in respect of the 
implementation of the budget of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2010  
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  
— having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 
2010,  
— having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Training 
Foundation for the financial year 2010, together with the Foundation’s replies (  1 ), 
— having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 21 February 2012 (06083/2012 – C7-0051/2012),  
— 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 (EC) No 1339/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
16 December 2008 establishing a European Training Foundation (  3 ), and in particular Article 17 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 (  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 (A7-0135/2012),  
A. whereas the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual 
accounts for the financial year 2010 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and 
regular,  
B. whereas on 10 May 2011 Parliament granted the Director of the European Training Foundation 
discharge for implementation of the Foundation’s budget for the financial year 2009 (  5 ), and in its 
resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:  
— urged the Foundation to draw up budgetary procedures more rigorously in order to avoid the 
considerable number of budgetary transfers,EN 17.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 286/239  
( 1 ) OJ C 366, 15.12.2011, p. 145.  
( 2 ) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.  
( 3 ) OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, p. 82.  
( 4 ) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.  
( 5 ) OJ L 250, 27.9.2011, p. 196.
— called on the Foundation to fulfil its obligation to show a summary statement of the schedule of 
payments, so that in subsequent financial years budget commitments entered into in earlier 
financial years will be met,  
— called on the Foundation to obtain the authorisation of its Governing Board when transfers are 
required, which is required by the Foundation’s Financial Regulation,  
C. whereas the overall budget of the Foundation for the year 2010 was EUR 19 300 000, compared with 
EUR 20 200 000 in 2009, which represents a decrease of 4,46 %,  
D. whereas the initial contribution of the Union to the budget of the Foundation for 2010 was EUR 
18 282 000 compared with EUR 14 772 000 in 2009 (  1 ), 
Budget and financial management  
1. Notes that the Union contribution for 2009 amounted to a total of EUR 19 872 000 and that this 
amount was made up of the initial contribution of the Union, i.e. EUR 14 772 000, and EUR 
5 100 000, coming from the recovery of surplus from previous years; recalls moreover that the 
initial Union contribution to the Foundation for 2010 amounted to EUR 18 282 000; notes 
however that EUR 1 178 000, coming from the recovery of surplus, was added to it which, as a 
result, makes a total Union contribution of EUR 19 460 000 for 2010 (  2 ); 
2. Takes note that the Foundation’s Annual Financial Statements mention that the contribution of the 
Union for 2010 amounted in fact EUR 19 196 840,29; acknowledges the Foundation’s statement that 
the actual contribution granted by the Union in 2010 totalled EUR 19 297 822, i.e. EUR 19 460 000 
minus EUR 162 178 which represents the Union contribution in kind; also takes note from the 
Foundation that, of the amount received from the Union, it used EUR 19 196 840,29 and returned 
the remaining EUR 100 981,71 to the Commission;  
3. Establishes from the Foundation’s Annual Financial Statements that its budget for 2010 was amended 
in November 2010 to partially offset the unforeseen reduction in the Foundation’s revenue;  
4. Observes from the Foundation’s Annual Activity Report that it achieved a commitment rate of 99,9 %, 
compared with 99,8 % in 2009 and 98,5 % in 2008 and a payment execution rate of 96,5 %, 
compared with approximately 90 % in 2009 and 2008;  
Transfers and carry-overs  
5. Notes from the Foundation’s Annual Activity Report that it has reduced the number of budgetary 
transfers to 15 in 2010, compared with 33 in 2009, and carried forward only 12,8 % of the 2010 
amount committed, compared with 17 % in 2009, 15 % in 2008;  
Registration of the exceptions  
6. Notes from the Foundation’s Annual Activity Report that 10 exceptions were registered on the Register 
of Exceptions in 2010, compared with 12 in 2009;  
7. Notes that none of them involve a financial risk higher than EUR 50 000; notes in particular that these 
exceptions have a total financial value of EUR 100 183, which represents 0,53 % of the total Foun ­
dation budget in 2010;EN L 286/240 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012  
( 1 ) OJ L 64, 12.3.2010, p. 926.  
( 2 ) OJ L 64, 12.3.2010, p. 927.
Public procurement  
8. Acknowledges from the Foundation’s Annual Activity Report that it stipulated 8 direct agreements with 
external contractors, none of which has a financial exposure higher or equal to EUR 50 000; notes that 
the total value of direct agreements is EUR 93 575, which represented 0,50 % of the total Foundation 
budget in 2010;  
Human resources  
9. Notes from the Annual Activity Report that at the end of 2010 the Foundation had 4 vacant posts in 
its establishment plan, compared to 10 at the end of 2009;  
10. Observes also that the number of staff at the Foundation now stands at 128, with 15 staff members 
joining the Foundation and 10 leaving in 2010;  
11. Takes note from the Annual Activity Report that the number of posts available for the implementation 
of the Foundation mandate are:  
— 96 temporary posts,  
— 33 contract and local agents, and  
— 6 seconded national experts;  
Performance  
12. Observes from the Annual Activity Report that the Foundation developed a revised list of Corporate 
Performance Indicators with the aim of enhancing the relevance and measurability of its objectives and 
to provide data on how the Foundation performs at an aggregated level in relation to its core business 
and its functioning;  
13. Notes, in addition, that the Foundation developed the ‘dashboard’ project which aims to ensure key live 
data for daily monitoring of its activities and notably for management and reporting;  
14. Observes moreover that a risk based differentiation of payment circuits was successfully implemented 
in early 2010, introducing simplified circuits for low risk transactions;  
15. Welcomes the fact that the Foundation successfully implemented the first year of the Torino Process, 
which provides a concise, documented, comprehensive analysis of vocational education and training 
reform in each country, including identification of key policy trends, challenges, constraints, as well as 
good practice and opportunities;  
Cooperation with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)  
16. Notes that, in November 2009, the cooperation agreement between the Foundation and Cedefop was 
renewed for the period 2010-2013; acknowledges that each year the Foundation and Cedefop draft, in 
the context of the cooperation framework, a joint work programme which is annexed to the work 
programmes of both agencies; welcomes the Foundation’s intention to devote further space to reporting 
on the implementation of this joint work programme in future Annual Activity Reports;  
Internal audit  
17. Acknowledges that the Internal Audit Service (IAS) undertook an audit of planning and monitoring in 
2010; notes in particular that the IAS made eight recommendations, one of which was rated as ‘very 
important’ and concerns the need for the Foundation to clearly define and describe the utility of its 
annual planning approach;EN 17.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 286/241
18. Urges, in this context, the Foundation to focus on cost effective reporting relevant to the Foundation’s 
Governing Board and key stakeholders, allowing them to check the performance of the Foundation;  
19. Calls also on the Foundation to implement the remaining recommendations of the IAS from the 
previous audits;  
20. Acknowledges from the Foundation’s Annual Activity Report that it adopted the revised 16 standards 
for effective management as set out in the internal control standards framework;  
21. Draws attention to its recommendations from previous discharge reports, as set out in the Annex to 
this resolution;  
22. Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a 
horizontal nature, to its resolution of 10 May 2012 (  1 ) on the performance, financial management and 
control of the agencies.EN L 286/242 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012  
( 1 ) Texts adopted, P7_(2012)0164 (see page 388 of this Official Journal).
ANNEX  
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATIONS OVER PAST YEARS  
European Training Foundation  2006  2007  2008  2009  
Performance  n.a.  n.a.  — Calls on the Foundation to set out a 
diachronic analysis of operations 
carried out in this and the previous 
years 
— Calls, in view of the fact that some 
areas of interest are shared, for close 
cooperation and synergies between the 
Foundation and Cedefop and calls for 
information to be provided regularly 
in the activity reports by the 
Directors of both agencies 
— Difficulties in establishing a direct link 
between the results of the Foun ­
dation’s projects and the institutions’ 
activities  Calls on the Foundation to set out a 
comparison of the operations that were 
carried out during the year for which the 
discharge is to be granted and during the 
previous financial year  
Budgetary and financial 
management  The Foundation did not respect the 
rules for budget presentation: the 
Foundation only published the 
commitment appropriations for its 
2006, not considering the payment 
appropriations  In the amending budget, the amount 
of the assigned revenue is incorrect. It 
should have been EUR 1 200 000 
instead of the EUR 3 400 000 
shown, which erroneously included 
assigned revenue carried over from 
the previous year  n.a. — Urges the Foundation to draw up 
budgetary procedures more rigorously 
in order to avoid the considerable 
number of budgetary transfers 
— Calls on the Foundation to obtain the 
authorisation of its Governing Body 
when transfers are required, which is 
required by the Foundations Financial 
Regulation 
— Reminder to fulfil its obligation to 
show a summary statement of the 
schedule of payments due in subsequent 
financial years to meet budget 
commitments entered into in earlier 
financial yearsEN 17.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 286/243
European Training Foundation  2006  2007  2008  2009  
Human resources  n.a.  n.a.  — Calls (see internal audit) on the Foun ­
dation to address weaknesses in the 
recruitment procedures → The 
Recruitment Assessment Boards must 
provide sufficient information on the 
procedures followed, including justifi ­
cations for decisions and dates on 
which they were taken in order to 
ensure the transparency of these 
procedures 
— Calls on the Foundation to comply 
with Council Directive 2000/78/EC (1 ) n.a. 
Internal audit  n.a.  n.a.  Calls on the Foundation to take steps to 
fulfil 15 out of 27 recommendations made 
by the Internal Audit Service → i.e. to put 
in place without delay certain internal 
control standards (regarding the documen ­
tation of procedures, supervision of 
financial transactions and continuity of 
operations) and certain human resources 
management recommendations (regarding 
human resources management in annual 
planning and activity reporting; objective 
setting; time recording of the staff)  Acknowledges that 11 out of 15 recom ­
mendations made by IAS have been closed 
in 2009  
(1 ) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16.EN L 286/244 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012