RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
of 10 May 2012  
with observations forming an integral part of the decision on the discharge for implementation of 
the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010, Section VII — Committee of the 
Regions  
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  
— having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (  1 ), 
— having regard to the annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (COM(2011) 
473 – C7-0262/2011) (  2 ), 
— having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ annual report to the discharge authority on internal 
audits carried out in 2010,  
— having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget 
concerning the financial year 2010, together with the institutions’ replies (  3 ), 
— having regard to the statement of assurance (  4 ) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and 
regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2010 
pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  
— having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 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 (  5 ), and in particular Articles 
50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 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 (A7-0090/2012),  
1. Emphasises that in its 2010 Annual Report the Court of Auditors identified errors in relation to the 
recruitment of a permanent member of staff and a procurement procedure for interpreting services;  
2. Is satisfied with the explanations provided by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) regarding these 
errors, and with the decisions taken in order to ensure that such situations do not reoccur (improved 
recruitment procedure for officials from other institutions, supervision and monitoring of contract value 
estimates using a standard format for documentation, and enhancing the supervisory and control 
system for tenders by setting up a restricted-access mailbox);  
3. Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors has concluded, on the basis of its audit work, that the 
payments as a whole for the financial year ended 31 December 2010 for administrative and other 
expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error; points out that the most likely 
error rate as regards administrative expenditure in general is estimated at 0,4 % (paragraphs 7.9 and 
7.10);  
4. Welcomes the decision of the CoR to develop and implement a standard format for documentation of 
the estimates in case of negotiated procedures;  
5. Notes that in 2010 the CoR had commitment appropriations available amounting to a total of 
EUR 90 800 000 (EUR 88 000 000 in 2009), with an improved utilisation rate of 99,4 % for 2010 
(in 2009 it stood at 98,37 %); stresses that the CoR’s budget is purely administrative, with 72 % of 
expenditure relating to persons working with the institution and 28 % relating to buildings, furniture, 
equipment and miscellaneous running costs;EN L 286/114 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012  
( 1 ) OJ L 64, 12.3.2010.  
( 2 ) OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 1.  
( 3 ) OJ C 326, 10.11.2011, p. 1.  
( 4 ) OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 134.  
( 5 ) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
6. Calls on the CoR to limit increases of future budgets to a strict minimum and to finance new or 
extended activities primarily from savings and rationalisation of existing expenditure;  
7. Calls on the CoR to undertake a comprehensive spending review based on the principle of zero-based 
budgeting to identify savings, rather than simply adding a nominal percentage increase in line with 
inflation to existing budgets during each budget cycle;  
8. Is pleased to note that, in response to the call made in Parliament’s resolution of 10 May 2011 (  1 ) on 
discharge for the financial year 2009, the CoR has strengthened its budgetary procedure, which now 
comprises four stages: preparation by the CoR’s administration, assessment of the preliminary draft by 
the Committee for Financial and Administrative Affairs (CAFA), decision by the CoR Bureau and 
Plenary Assembly on the draft budget, and a mid-term review of implementation;  
9. Welcomes the fact that the CoR and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) finally 
obtained EMAS (EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) certification on 27 December 2011; asks to 
be informed of the total quantity of energy used which is produced from renewable sources;  
10. Is pleased with the results set out in the mid-term review of the functioning of the administrative 
cooperation agreement between the CoR and the EESC; notes in particular that in establishing joint 
services the two Committees have been able to make budget savings; would like the Committees to 
implement the recommendations relating to personnel (further harmonisation of rules), social and 
medical services and internal services; would like to be informed before the next discharge 
procedure on the amount of savings made;  
11. Compliments the CoR on the quality of the summary of the internal audit service’s activities; calls for 
the audits on the implementation of newly established rights and on budget line management to be 
carried out as soon as possible, and calls for the recommendations on the setting-up of internal control 
standards to be followed up more closely and for the adequacy of financial circuits to be strengthened;  
12. Further compliments the CoR on the improvement plan drawn up in response to the organisation 
management self-assessment (CAF (  2 ): public administration self-assessment), which aims to:  
— improve the effectiveness and follow-up of consultative and political activities,  
— improve support for political activities and enhance interinstitutional relations and international 
partnerships,  
— step up cooperation with and between local and regional authorities and related associations,  
— look into how the CoR’s political mechanisms might benefit from the improved efficiency, including 
possible reductions in travel expenses, that might be achieved with the use of video-conferencing,  
— improve the support on offer for CoR members as regards providing citizens’ representatives with 
information about the CoR,  
— organise regular seminars for management staff in the presence of the President of the CoR;  
asks to be kept up to date with this initiative by means of the annual activity report;EN 17.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 286/115  
( 1 ) OJ L 250, 27.9.2011, p. 102.  
( 2 ) Common Assessment Framework, European Institute for Public Administration, Maastricht 2006.
13. Is impressed by the consistent quality of the annual activity report; hopes that the report will, in future, 
also include an exhaustive table of all the human resources at the CoR’s disposal, broken down by 
category, grade, sex, participation in professional training and nationality;  
14. Reconfirms its position that, in the interests of transparency, declarations of financial interests, 
including regular updates, of members of all institutions should be accessible on the internet; in this 
context, is pleased to note that the CoR’s Bureau decided, in December 2011, to make members’ 
declarations of financial interests available online, in the section of the website devoted to information 
on members;  
15. Notes that the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union highlights the importance of the 
subsidiarity principle, thus strengthening the role of the CoR; in this context, congratulates the CoR, in 
particular for its work on the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy and on multi-level governance;  
16. Takes the view that the CoR’s annual impact report is a useful tool for assessing its work;  
17. Calls for all opinions issued by the CoR to be attached to the relevant files.EN L 286/116 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012