Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/19
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 Eu ropean 
Union general bu dget 
for the financial year 2007, 
Section II — Cou ncil
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
—having reg ard to the European Union general budget for the fin ancial year 2007
(1) OJ L 77, 16.3.2007. (1), 
—having 
regard 
to the final 
annual 
accounts 
of the European 
Communities 
for the fin ancial 
year 2007 — 
Volume I 
(C6-0417/2008)
(2) OJ C 287, 10.11.2008, p. 1. (2), 
—having 
regard 
to the Coun cil’s 
annual 
report to the discharg e 
authority on  
internal 
audits carried out in  
2007,
 
—having 
regard 
to the An nual 
Report of the Court of Auditors on  
the implementation  
of the budget 
con­
cerning 
the financial 
year 2007, tog ether 
with the audited in stitutions’ 
replies
(3) OJ C 286, 10.11.2008, p. 1. (3), 
—having 
regard 
to the statemen t 
of assuran ce 
as to the reliab ility 
of the accoun ts 
and 
the legality 
and 
regu­
larity 
of the underlying 
transactions 
provided b y 
the Court of Auditors pursuan t 
to Article 248 of the E C 
Treaty
(4) OJ C 287, 10.11.2008, p. 111. (4), 
—having 
regard 
to Articles 272(10), 274, 275 an d 
276 of the E C 
Treaty, 
—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 
Communities
(5) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 
145, 
146 and 
147 thereof, 
—having 
regard 
to Decision  
No 190/2003 of the Secretary-Gen eral 
of the Coun cil/High-Representative 
for 
the Common Foreig n
 and
 Security Policy con cerning
 reimbursement
 of travel expen ses
 of delegates
 of 
Council 
Members
(6) Decision stemmin g from the Rules of Procedure of the Coun cil of 22 July 2002 (OJ L 230, 28.8.2002, p. 7). (6), 
—having 
regard 
to the Interinstitutional 
Agreement 
between 
the European 
Parliamen t, 
the Council 
and 
the 
Commission  
of 17 May 2006 on  
budgetary 
discipline 
and 
sound 
financial 
mana
gement
(7) OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. (7) (IIA), 
—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 
(A6-0150/2009),
A. whereas the Coun cil refuses to provide Parliamen t with its full b udget execution  document and with its 
full 
annual 
activity report an d 
has only 
provided it with the an nual 
activity report of its I nternal 
Auditor,
B. whereas the Coun cil refuses to hold an y official meetin g with Parliamen t concerning its discharg e,
C. whereas the con clusions of the European Council of Cologne of 3 and 4  June 1999 envisage giving opera­
tional
 capacities to the Coun cil
 in the field of a stren gthened
 common E uro
pean security an d
 defence
 
policy (CE SDP),N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 6 2
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 26.9.2009
D. whereas in  its Decision  No 190/2003, the Coun cil makes it very clear that it implemen ts appropriation s 
in 
the field of the Common  
Foreign 
and 
Security Policy (CFSP) in  
accordance 
with the provision s 
of the 
Financial 
Regulation 
applicable 
to the general 
budget 
of the European 
Communities, 
and 
in 
particular that
‘The Secretary-Gen eral 
of the Coun cil/High 
Representative 
for the Common  
Foreign 
and 
Security Policy 
[…], assisted b y 
the Deputy Secretary-Gen eral, 
is fully respon sible 
for admin istering 
the appropriation s 
under 
Section 
II 
— Council 
— of the g eneral 
budget 
of the European 
Communiti
es, and 
takes 
all neces­
sary 
steps to en sure 
their soun d 
management. 
He implemen ts 
the appropriation s 
in 
accordance 
with the 
provisions 
of the Fin ancial 
Regulation 
applicable 
to the general 
budget 
of the European 
Communities
’,
E. whereas Coun cil Decision 2004/197/CFSP
(1) OJ L 63, 28.2.2004, p. 68. (1) of 23 February 2004 estab lished a mechan ism for admin ­
istering 
the financing 
of the common  
costs of E U 
operation s 
having 
military or defen ce 
implication s, 
called 
ATHENA, 
and 
this Decision , 
together 
with the Decision  
2004/582/E C 
of the Represen tatives 
of the 
Governments 
of the Memb er 
States meetin g 
within 
the Council 
of 28 April 2004 con cerning 
privileges 
and 
immunities 
granted 
to ATHENA
(2) OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 125. (2), creates a mechan ism for admin istering the financing of the com­
mon 
costs of EU 
operation s 
having 
military an d 
defence 
implication s, 
gran
ts privileg es 
and 
immunities 
to 
it and 
gives 
operation al 
power to the Coun cil,
F. whereas Coun cil Decision 2000/178/CFSP of 28  February 2000 on the rules applicab le to national experts 
in 
the military field on  
secondment 
to the Gen eral 
Secretariat of the Coun c
il during 
the interim 
period
(3) OJ L 57, 2.3.2000, p. 1. (3) 
and 
Council 
Decision 
2001/80/CFSP of 22 January 
2001 on 
the establishment 
of the Military Staff of the 
European 
Union
(4) OJ L 27, 30.1.2001, p. 7. (4) specify that expen diture arising from the secon dment of military experts are charg ed 
to 
the Council 
budget,
G. whereas the an nual report from the Coun cil on the main aspects an d basic choices of the CFSP, presen ted 
to 
Parliamen t 
in 
application  
of point 
43 of the I IA, 
is limited in  
scope to the description  
of CFSP activities, 
such as common  
positions, 
joint 
actions 
and 
implemen ting 
decisions,
1. Notes 
that in 
2007 the Coun cil 
had availab le 
commitmen t 
appropriation s 
amounting 
to a total of 
EUR 
650 million  
(2006: EUR 
626 million ), 
with a utilisation  
rate of 81,89 %, lower than  
in 
2006 
(91,79 %) an d 
below 
the averag e 
of the other in stitutions 
(93,82 %);
2. Reaffirms its position  
taken 
in 
its Resolution  
of 25 April 2002 on  
discharge 
in 
respect of the fin ancial 
year 
2000 that ‘[…] the E uropean 
Parliamen t 
and 
the Council 
have not, 
in 
the past, scrutin ised 
the implemen ­
tation
 of their respective section s
 of the budget;
 considers
 that in view of the in creasi
ngly
 operational 
nature 
of expenditure, 
financed 
under 
the Council
’s administrative 
budg
et, in 
the fields of foreig n 
affairs, 
security an d 
defence 
policy, an d 
justice and 
home affairs, the scope of this arran gement 
should be 
clari­
fied with a view to distin guishing
 traditional
 administr
ative expen ditu
re from operation s
 in these n ew
 
policy areas’
(5) OJ L 158, 17.6.2002, p. 66. (5);
3. Rejects the Coun cil’s 
suggestion 
that the fact that Parliamen t 
and 
the Council 
have not, 
in 
the past, scru­
tinised 
the implemen tation 
of their respective section s 
of the budget 
was the result of a ‘Gentlemen
’s agree­
ment’; 
considers 
that in 
view of the in creasingly 
operation al 
nature 
of expenditure, 
the expen diture 
of the 
Council 
ought 
to be 
scrutinised 
in 
the same way as that of the other in stitutions 
as part of the discharg e 
procedure 
provided for b y 
Article 276 of the Treaty;
4. Reiterates its position  
expressed at parag raph 
3 of its Resolution  
of 22 April 2008 on  
the discharg e 
in 
respect 
of the financial 
year 2006, as follows: ‘Regrets 
that, unlike 
other institutions, 
the Council 
does not 
submit 
an 
annual 
activity report to Parliamen t, 
citing 
the Gentlemen
’s Agreemen t 
of 1970 […] an d 
the 
absence 
of any 
correspon ding 
requiremen t 
in 
the Financial 
Regulation; 
calls on 
the Council 
to reconsider 
the 
decision 
not 
to publish 
and 
transmit 
to Parliamen t 
an 
activity report in  
order to b e 
more accoun table 
to
 the general
 public
 and
 taxpayers’
(6) OJ L 88, 31.3.2009, p. 20. (6); recalls that this statemen t is also fully con sistent with para­
graphs 
44 and 
45 of its Resolution  
of 19 February 
2008 on 
transparency 
in 
financial 
matters
(7) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0051. (7); requests 
the Council 
to reconsider 
its decision  
not 
to publish 
its annual 
activity report on  
its website;N E 0 2 / 5 5 2 L
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/21
5. Reiterates its position  expressed at parag raph  12 of its Resolution  of 24 April 2007 on  the discharg e for 
the financial 
year 2005, as follows: ‘Calls for maximum tran sparency 
in 
the area of Common  
Foreign 
and 
Security 
Policy (CFSP); requests the Coun cil, 
in 
accordance 
with poin t 
42 of the I nterinstitutional 
Agree­
ment 
[…], to mak e 
sure that n o 
operating 
CFSP expen diture 
appears in  
the Council
’s budget; 
reserves the 
right 
to take 
the necessary 
steps, where appropriate, if the ag reement 
is infringed’
(1) OJ L 187, 15.7.2008, p. 21. (1);
6. Requires that the Coun cil 
indicate 
the exact n ature 
of expenses, 
article by 
article, item b y 
item, within  
its 
Title 3 (Expenditure 
arising 
out of the in stitution’s 
performan ce 
of its specific mission s), 
so as to en able 
Parliamen t 
to check 
that none 
of the expen diture 
in 
the Council’s 
budget 
execution  
is of an 
operation al 
nature, 
in 
conformity 
with the I IA;
7. Reiterates 
its position  
expressed at parag raph 
58 of its Resolution  
of 23 May 2007 on  
the annual 
report 
from the Coun cil 
to the European 
Parliamen t 
on 
the main 
aspects an d 
basic 
choices of CFSP, in cluding 
the 
financial 
implication s 
for the general 
budget 
of the European 
Union 
— 2005
(2) OJ C 102 E , 24.4.2008, p. 309. (2), as follows: ‘Believes 
that a genuine 
assessmen t 
of the financial 
implication s 
for the EU 
budget 
has hitherto b een 
hampered b y 
a 
lack 
of proactive in formation 
on 
the part of the Coun cil, 
[…]; considers 
that, with the sig ning 
of the 
new 
Interinstitutional 
Agreement, 
the time has n ow 
come to implemen t 
both 
the letter an d 
the spirit of 
these provision s, 
which have n ow 
been 
clearly formalised’;
8. Considers 
that the plan ning 
of, preparation  
for and 
controlling 
of an 
operation  
by 
CFSP Staff in  
the Coun­
cil 
Secretariat are b asic 
and 
fundamental 
parts of the operation , 
and 
that these activities are carried out in  
pursuit 
of policy an d 
operation s, 
rather than  
as part of the n ormal 
work 
of the secretariat within  
the 
Council;
9. Is 
astonished 
to note 
that a sub stantial 
part (up to 66 %) of b udget 
line 
2 2 0 2 was tran sferred 
from inter­
pretation
 to CFSP/E SDP
 travels; n otes
 that in 2006 this amoun t
 was EUR
 12 672 984, an d
 asks
 to be
 
informed 
of the amoun t 
for the same b udget 
line 
for 2007; deman ds, 
for the sak e 
of greater 
transparency, 
the 
creation 
of an 
appropriate b udget 
line 
for these purposes;
10. Demands 
transparency 
with regard 
to spending 
on 
and 
by 
the EU 
Counter-t
errorism Coordin ator;
11. Asks 
the Council 
to provide it with ex-post evaluation  
of individual 
ES
DP action s;
12. Reconfirms 
the stance 
it took 
at paragraph 
47 of its ab ovementioned 
Resolution  
of 23 May 2007, as fol­
lows: ‘Reiterates its disappoin tment
 […] that the Coun cil
 has limited itself to merely in forming
 Parlia­
ment 
and 
submitting 
a descriptive list of CFSP activities carried out in  
the previous year, which is stated 
even 
by 
the Council 
itself in 
the preamb les 
to the annual 
reports, in stead 
of really con sulting 
Parliamen t 
at 
the beginning 
of each year on  
the main 
aspects an d 
basic 
choices to b e 
made for that year, in cluding 
its 
financial 
implication s, 
as provided for in  
Article 28 of the E U 
Treaty, an d 
subsequently 
reporting 
to Par­
liament 
whether — an d, 
if so, how — Parliamen t’s 
contribution 
has been 
take
n 
into 
account, 
and 
stresses 
that this practice con stitutes 
a de facto in fringement 
of the very sub stan
ce of Article 21’;
13. Notes that the Coun cil 
has adopted a decision  
preventing 
any 
residual paymen ts 
linked 
to compen sation 
days 
upon 
retiremen t 
and 
putting 
into 
place a compulsory system aimin g 
at the complete liquidation , 
by 
2009,
 of all remain ing
 stocks
 of annual
 leave not
 taken;
 encourages
 the Coun cil
 to respect this self-
imposed deadlin e;
14. Welcomes 
the fact that a n ew 
integrated 
system for man agement 
and 
finan
cial control 
(SAP), in 
opera­
tion 
since 1 
January 
2008, has b een 
developed on  
an 
interinstitutional 
bas
is by 
the Council, 
the Court of 
Auditors an d 
the Court of Justice, an d 
thereby 
represents 
substantial 
bud
get 
savings 
and 
also gains 
in 
effi­
ciency 
for the three in stitutions 
involved;
15. Regrets 
that, accordin g 
to the annual 
activity report of the Coun cil’s 
internal 
auditor, the Coun cil 
was not 
able 
to fill the vacan t 
posts in 
its internal 
audit service;
16. Takes 
account 
of the fact that, accordin g 
to the same an nual 
activity report, the in ternal 
auditor recom­
mended 
the complete elimin ation 
of the ‘comptes hors budget’; requires the Coun cil 
to eliminate 
completely 
and 
immediately all such accoun ts;N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 6 2
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 26.9.2009
17. Requests the Coun cil to solve the prob lem concerning the ‘vérification des factures’, as recommen ded by the 
Council’s 
internal 
auditor;
18. Considers 
that Parliamen t’s 
repeated an d 
so far always refused request for g reater 
transparency 
and 
closer 
parliamen tary 
scrutiny 
of Council’s 
expenditure 
relating 
to CFSP/CFDP should b e 
emphasised b y 
budget­
ary 
amendments 
aiming 
at placing 
in 
reserve certain  
relevant 
budget 
lines 
in 
the Council’s 
budget 
for 
2010;
19. Recalls that in its Resolution of 4 Decemb er
 2008 on the European
 Court of Auditors’ Special Report 
No 8/2007 con cerning 
administrative 
cooperation  
in 
the field of VAT
(1) P6_TA(2008)0581, parag raph 21. (1), Parliamen t invited the Council 
to 
adopt formal con clusions 
regarding 
the Court of Auditors’ fin dings; 
regrets 
that the Coun cil 
has not 
followed 
up on 
this request; ask s 
the Council 
to provide in formation 
to Parliamen t’s 
competen t 
commit­
tee about 
the reason s 
why it has n ot 
adopted formal con clusions, 
and 
about 
its follow-up to this Special 
Report;
20. Requests the E uropean 
Court of Auditors to pay special atten tion, 
in 
its next 
Annual 
report, to the Coun ­
cil’s 
budget 
execution ;
Reasons 
for postponement of the discharge decision
21. Indicates 
that the reason s 
for postpon ement 
are as follows:
(a) the Council 
has not 
accepted an y 
invitation 
to officially an d 
formally meet Parliamen t’s 
competen t 
committee 
or its rapporteur to discuss matters con cerning 
its budget 
execution  
for 2007;
(b) neither 
its competen t 
committee n or 
its rapporteur received an y 
comprehen sive 
written 
answer, 
prior 
to the committee’s vote on  
the draft report on  16 
March 2009, providin g 
Parliamen t 
with the in for­
mation 
and 
documents 
requested from Coun cil 
in 
the annex 
of a letter of 18 February 
2009 signed 
by 
the rapporteur an d 
the coordin ators 
of its competen t 
committee;
(c) Parliamen t 
has not 
received fun damental 
documents 
from Coun cil, 
such as the an nual 
activity report 
and 
the full list of b udgetary 
transfers;
(d) this 
lack 
of transparency 
and 
openness 
for an 
official an d 
formal dialog ue 
from the Coun cil’s 
side 
does not 
make 
a meaningful 
discharge 
possibl
e, and preven ts 
Parliamen t 
in 
particular from b eing 
able 
to 
check 
that none 
of the expen diture 
in 
the Council’s 
budget 
execution  
is of an 
operation al 
nature, 
in 
conformity 
with the I IA;
Further 
actions to be taken and docu ments 
to be presented to Parliament
22. Calls on 
the Secretary-Gen eral 
of the Coun cil/High 
Representative 
for the CFSP to provide Parliamen t’s 
competen t 
committee, b y 15 
May 2009 at the latest, with comprehen sive 
written 
answers 
to the follow­
ing 
questions:
A. concerning 
its ‘comptes hors budget’ (see in ternal 
auditor’s recommen dation 
R.2 of 2007):
—how man y 
accounts
 ‘hors budget’ did the Coun cil 
have in 
2007? 
—when 
were these accoun ts 
established 
and 
for what purpose? 
—which is the leg al
 base
 used for these accoun ts?
 Which amoun t
 is covered b y
 every sing le
 
account?
 
—the list of all tran sactions 
for each of these accoun ts 
for the fin ancial 
year 2007 as well as the list 
of authorisin g 
officers by 
delegation 
per budget 
line.N E 2 2 / 5 5 2 L
26.9.2009 EN Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion L 255/23
B. concerning the ‘vérification des factures’ (see in ternal auditor’s recommen dation R.1 of 2007):
—on 
which ground 
did the in ternal 
auditor come to the con clusion 
that ex-ante verification  
did 
not 
work 
in 
a satisfactory man ner?
 
—are all budgetary 
lines 
subject 
to ex-ante 
and/or 
ex-post con trols?
 
—how man y 
invoices 
were check ed, 
which percen tage 
of the invoices 
were taken  
in 
the sample 
and 
what percen tage 
of those con tained 
errors? 
—did the Coun cil 
prepare an y 
action 
plan 
to solve this prob lem 
and, 
if yes, when  
is it going 
to be 
implemen ted?
C. concerning 
budget 
line  2  2  0  2 (interpreting 
costs):
—reasons 
for the doub ling 
(from 2006 to 2007) of b udget 
line 2 2 0 2 dedicated to in terpretation.
 
—why does the Coun cil 
need 
to transfer 
money 
from this lin e 
to delegates’ 
travel expen ses?
 
—why did the Coun cil 
use EUR 12 
672 000 from in terpretation 
to delegates’ 
travel expen ses 
in 
2006?
 
—why did it n ot 
increase 
the specific b udget 
line 
for the same amoun t 
in 
2007? 
—what is the specific amoun t 
the Council 
transferred, 
regarding 
the finan
cial year 2007, from this 
budget 
line 
to line  2  2  0  0  o r  a n y  other line?
D. concerning 
budget 
line  2  2  0  0 (travel expen ses 
of delegations):
—the 
legal 
base 
for this budget 
line 
is partly Decision  
No 190/2003 of the Secretary-Gen eral 
of 
the Council/High
 Represen tative
 for the CFSP, which has n ot
 been
 publishe
d in the Official 
Journal,
 
—for the sak e 
of transparency, 
could the Coun cil 
put on 
its website 
and 
its register 
of referen ces 
all 
its decision s?
E. concerning 
budget 
line  3  0  0  2 (special advisers in  
the field of the E SDP/CFSP):
—which 
amount 
did the Coun cil 
transfer 
to this budget 
line 
for the year 2007 an d 
for how man y 
special 
advisers?
23. Calls on 
the Secretary-Gen eral 
of the Coun cil/High 
Representative 
for the CFSP to provide Parliamen t’s 
competen t 
committee, b y 15 
May 2009 at the latest, with:
—the full list of b udgetary 
transfers 
concerning 
the 2007 b udget 
of the Coun cil,
 
—its annual 
activity report for the year 2007, 
—the list of the association s 
which received mon ey 
for the fin ancial 
year 2007 specifyin g 
the amoun ts 
received 
per association ? 
(budget 
line  2  2  3  7  —  other operatin g 
expenditure).