No C 324/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 12.82 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COURT OF AUDITORS 
Opinion of the Court of Auditors on four proposals for Council Regulations amending 
certain provisions concerning the European Centre for the Development of Vocational 
Training and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working 
Conditions. 
THE COURT OF AUDITORS OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 209 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposals of the Commis­
sion (x), 
Whereas the Council decided on 28 January 1982 to 
consult the Court of Auditors on these proposals; 
Whereas amendments to the financial provisions 
governing the European Centre for the Development 
of Vocational Training and the European Foundation 
for the Improvement of Living and Working 
Conditions should reflect the latest form of the 
general Financial Regulation; whereas, therefore, the 
present proposals should be based on the current 
revision of that Regulation; 
Whereas the procedure for making and presenting the 
annual reports of the Court of Auditors should be 
rationalized; 
Whereas there is a need for a Financial Controller to 
operate on the spot in Berlin and Dublin, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION: 
Timetable for amendment 
1. These proposals are prompted by a desire to 
bring the provisions governing the European Centre 
for the Development of Vocational Training ('the 
Centre') and the European Foundation for the 
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions ('the 
Foundation') into line with the Treaty of 22 July 
1975 and the Financial Regulation of 21 December 
1977. The Court agrees that this is desirable, but 
regrets that proposals were not made until 15 January 
1982, some six and a half and five years respectively 
(') OJ No C 31, 8. 2. 1982. after adoption of the Treaty and Financial Regu­
lation. Furthermore, publication of the proposed 
amendments coincides with the triennial revision of 
the Financial Regulation, with the consequence that 
the new financial provisions governing the Centre and 
the Foundation will be out of step with the general 
Financial Regulation as soon as its revision is agreed. 
2. The Court therefore recommends that adoption 
of the present proposals be timed to coincide with 
that of the revised general Financial Regulation, 
which it had hoped would be adopted by mid-1982, 
and that the provisions of the latter be fully reflected 
in the texts adopted. The Court trusts that it will have 
the opportunity to see and comment on any draft 
prepared on this basis. 
3. Future revisions of the Centre's and Foun­
dation's financial texts should be carried out in 
parallel with the review of the general Financial 
Regulation. 
Annual report procedure 
4. The procedure envisaged for the preparation 
and presentation of the Court's annual reports on the 
accounts of the Centre and Foundation appears to 
be as follows. After receiving the accounts (by 
31 March) the Court prepares ks comments and 
sends them to the Centre and Foundation, which 
prepare their replies; the Court then finalizes its 
reports by 15 July and sends them to the two bodies 
and to the Commission, after which it is the Centre's 
and Foundation's responsibility to transmit the reports 
by 31 October, together with their replies and the 
accounts, to the European Parliament and the 
Council. 
5. The Court considers that this procedure should 
be rationalized and brought more into line with that 
employed for the preparation and presentation of its 
general annual report by formalizing the three stages 
(Court's comments; the bodies' replies; Court's 
reports) and by requiring the Court to send the 
reports to the Council and Parliament, for the 
purposes of giving discharge, and to the other auth­
orities concerned. It proposes therefore that the 
10. 12. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 324/5 
Court's comments should be prepared by 15 July, that 
the Centre and Foundation should reply to the 
Court's comments by 30 September, and that the 
Court's reports should, by 31 October, be sent 
directly by the Court to the European Parliament and 
the Council, as well as to the Commission, the Centre 
and the Foundation. The reports would of course 
incorporate the two bodies' replies. 
6. There is no need at this stage for the Centre and 
Foundation to submit their accounts to the discharge 
authorities, as Article 68 of Regulations (EEC) No 
1416/76 and (EEC) No 1417/76 require them to be 
so sent by 31 March. The Court would also point out 
that it is meaningless to require in Article 73 of the 
same Regulations that the Court present (presumably 
separate) observations on the balance sheets, as these 
form an integral part of the accounts and must 
therefore be dealt with in the Court's reports. 
7. Changes on the lines indicated above would 
require amendments in particular to Article 12 of 
Regulation (EEC) No 337/75, Article 16 of Regu­
lation (EEC) No 1365/75 and Articles 72 and 73 of 
Regulations (EEC) No 1416/76 and (EEC) No 
1417/76. Financial control 
8. At present the financial control for the two 
bodies is carried out in Brussels by the Commission. 
This requires all accounting documents submitted to 
the Financial Controller for approval to be 
transported from Berlin and Dublin to Brussels and 
back. The Court considers this arrangement to be 
inefficient. Moreover, there is evidence that the 
Centre and Foundation have excessive recourse to 
imprests to avoid the delays and disadvantages 
inherent in sending papers to Brussels. The Court 
therefore recommends that Financial Controllers be 
appointed to work on the spot in Berlin and Dublin, 
and that this be reflected in the texts of the Regu­
lations governing the Centre and Foundation. The 
Court does not consider that this need lead to any 
increase in staff. 
This opinion adopted by the Court of Auditors in its 
meeting of 16 September 1982. 
Luxembourg, 5 October 1982. 
For the Court of Auditors 
Pierre LELONG 
The President