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Bruselj, 8.6.2009

COM(2009) 256 konč.

SPOROČILO KOMISIJE EVROPSKEMU PARLAMENTU, SVETU IN RAČUNSKEMU SODIŠČU

Zbirno poročilo o dosežkih Komisije pri upravljanju v letu 2008

SPOROČILO KOMISIJE EVROPSKEMU PARLAMENTU, SVETU IN RAČUNSKEMU SODIŠČU

Zbirno poročilo o dosežkih Komisije pri upravljanju v letu 2008

1. Uvod

V skladu s členom 274 Pogodbe ES je Komisija odgovorna za izvrševanje proračuna EU. Gre za eno od najpomembnejših nalog, ki so bile zaupane Evropski komisiji, saj je proračun EU pomembno orodje za uresničevanje politik Unije in učinkovitost porabe EU lahko ključno vpliva na njeno sposobnost, da izpolnjuje pričakovanja svojih državljanov.

Kolegij za operativno izvrševanje proračuna zadolži generalne direktorje, ki so kot odredbodajalci na podlagi prenosa odgovorni za dobro finančno upravljanje sredstev ter zagotavljanje ustreznih in učinkovitih kontrolnih sistemov v svojih službah.

Generalni direktorji poročajo o izvajanju svojih dolžnostih v letnem poročilu o delu [1], v katerih je tudi podpisana izjava o zanesljivosti, ki se navezuje predvsem na njihove odgovornosti v vlogi odredbodajalcev na podlagi prenosa ter na zakonitost in pravilnost finančnih transakcij. To je glavni instrument, prek katerega kolegiju odgovarjajo za svoje ukrepe . Preden generalni direktor podpiše letno poročilo o delu o njegovi vsebini razpravlja s pristojnim komisarjem.

S sprejetjem tega zbirnega poročila Komisija prevzema politično odgovornost za upravljavske dejavnosti generalnih direktorjev in vodij služb na podlagi zagotovil in pridržkov, ki so jih ti izrazili v letnih poročilih o delu. Komisija tudi opredeli ključna upravljavska vprašanja iz letnih poročil o delu za prednostno obravnavo (tudi, če zanje ni bil potreben pridržek) in določi vrste ukrepanja za odpravo ugotovljenih pomanjkljivosti.

To zbirno poročilo je zadnje, ki ga bo v svojem mandatu sprejela sedanja Komisija. Zaradi cilja od Evropskega računskega sodišča pridobiti izjavo o zanesljivosti brez pridržka so bili prizadevanja in posebna pozornost usmerjeni k temeljnim vprašanjem, kot so poenostavitev zakonodaje, izvajanje integriranega okvira notranje kontrole, krepitev nadzorne vloge Komisije pri skupnem upravljanju sredstev EU in priprava dogovora o skupnem pristopu k dopustnemu tveganju.

Komisija je zadovoljna, ker so sicer še vedno možnosti za izboljšave, vendar je bil v zadnjih petih letih dosežen bistven napredek pri upravljanju sredstev na pomembnih področjih porabe EU, zlasti koheziji, raziskavah in kmetijstvu. Ta napredek so omogočile daljnosežne spremembe sistemov upravljanja in kontrol, delovnih metod in kulture.

2. Krepitev temeljev zagotovil

2.1. Izboljšanje kontrolnih mehanizmov za zagotovitev zakonitosti in pravilnosti izvršenih transakcij na ravni Komisije

Komisija je v letu 2008 izpolnila zaveze iz zbirnega poročila za leto 2007 v zvezi z ukrepi za okrepitev kontrolnih mehanizmov za zagotavljanje zakonitosti in pravilnosti. Po njenih ocenah se učinkovito obvladovanje tveganja stalno izboljšuje. Komisija je oktobra 2007 sprejela sporočilo o spremembi standardov notranje kontrole in s tem povezanega okvira[2], s katerim je prvotnih 24 zamenjala s 16 novimi standardi notranje kontrole za učinkovito upravljanje . Novi sistem je začel veljati 1. januarja 2008. Službe Komisije so v letnih poročilih o delu prvič izrecno morale poročati o učinkovitosti njihovih sistemov notranje kontrole. Skoraj vse službe so vključile poseben sklep o splošni učinkovitosti svojih sistemov notranje kontrole in po potrebi navedle ukrepe za odpravo pomanjkljivosti.

Ti ukrepi se nanašajo tako na službe Komisije kot tudi na izvajalske partnerje (zlasti države članice), močna spodbuda na tem področju pa je bilo februarja 2008 sprejetje „Akcijskega načrta za krepitev nadzorne vloge Komisije v okviru deljenega upravljanja strukturnih ukrepov“ [3]. Najnovejše poročilo o izvajanju tega načrta je bilo objavljeno v začetku leta 2009[4]. Njegov glavni sklep je bil, da je bil dosežen občuten napredek. Poudarki iz poročila kažejo:

- da je Komisija ustrezno nadzorovala postopek, ki se nanaša na letne povzetke, z izdajo jasnih smernic in obravnavanjem primerov kršitev (takšno oceno je v svojem letnem poročilu dalo tudi Evropsko računsko sodišče);

- da se je Komisija s sprejetjem desetih uradnih odločitev o odložitvi vmesnih plačil strožje odzvala na odkrivanje sistemskih pomanjkljivosti (leta 2007 je bila sprejeta ena sama taka odločitev);

- da je Komisija pokazala sposobnost natančno in pravočasno poročati o popravkih pri svoji nadzorni in revizijski dejavnosti s predložitvijo četrtletnih poročil o finančnih popravkih;

- da je Komisija bistveno povečala obseg finančnih popravkov, ki se nanašajo na programe 2000–2006 in projekte, izvedene leta 2008 za ESRR, ESS in Kohezijski sklad – z 288 milijonov EUR v letu 2007 na več kot 1,5 milijarde EUR v letu 2008;

- da je Komisija izvedla načrtovane ukrepe za povečanje učinkovitosti upravnih pregledov na prvi stopnji, vključno s ciljnimi revizijami, izdajanjem smernic, usposabljanjem in seminarji.

Komisija je v letu 2008 opravila tudi analizo učinka „Akcijskega načrta za integriran okvir notranje kontrole “[5], ki ga je na začetku leta 2006 sprejela kot del svoje strategije za pridobitev izjave o zanesljivosti brez pridržka. Končno poročilo je bilo objavljeno februarja 2009[6]. V sporočilu je bilo navedeno, da je bil v času mandata sedanje Komisije dosežen pomemben napredek pri krepitvi sistemov notranjih kontrol.

Bistven element pri vzpostavljanju razumnih zagotovil je vloga funkcije notranje revizije . Zunanja ocena kakovosti Službe Komisije za notranjo revizijo, opravljena v letu 2008, je potrdila, da je njena revizijska dejavnost v okviru Komisije na splošno skladna s standardi in etičnim kodeksom Inštituta notranjih revizorjev. Po tej potrditvi so bili sprejeti ukrepi za izboljšanje učinkovitosti Inštituta notranjih revizorjev, med drugim podrobnejša opredelitev narave revizije, kvantitativna ocena obsega revizij, okrepljeno načrtovanje in ocenjevanje tveganja, ki dajeta prednost pristopu enotne revizije, ustanovitev skupine uporabnikov revizijskih poročil, ki je pripravila revidiran obrazec za notranja revizijska poročila , ter popoln program strokovnega usposabljanja za notranje revizorje.

Odbor Komisije za spremljanje poteka revizij je v zvezi s kulturo nadzora za leto 2008 ugotovil, da službe Komisije dobro napredujejo pri izvajanju močnih sistemov notranje kontrole. Inštitut notranjih revizorjev v letu 2008 ni izdal nobenega nujnega priporočila (v primerjavi s šestimi v letu 2007). V letu 2008 je bilo sprejetih skoraj 100 % priporočil Inštituta notranjih revizorjev. Pri njihovem izvajanju je bil očiten pozitiven trend, vendar pravočasno izvajanje „nujnih“ in „zelo pomembnih“ priporočil še vedno pomeni pomemben izziv.

Odbor za spremljanje poteka revizij je preučil izvajanje revizijskih priporočil ter odgovorne komisarje in po potrebi kolegij opozoril na neobičajne zamude in preostala tveganja, ki niso bili obravnavani ustrezno.

Komisija bo še naprej kot glavno prednostno nalogo obravnavala ocenjevanje in izvajanje notranje kontrole ter pravočasno odpravljanje ugotovljenih pomanjkljivosti.

Komisija je vsem svojim službam naročila, naj zagotovijo hitro in učinkovito izvajanje vseh sprejetih revizijskih priporočil ter pri tem posebno pozornost namenijo „nujnim“ in „zelo pomembnim“.

2.2. Izboljšanje jasnosti in skladnosti letnih poročil o delu

V skladu s sklepi zbirnega poročila za leto 2007 sta generalni sekretariat in generalni direktorat za proračun v zvezi z letnim poročilom o delu za leto 2008 sprejela nadaljnje ukrepe, da bi zagotovila, da poročila in izjave dajejo dosledno oceno nadzornih in kontrolnih sistemov, ter navajajo jasna pojasnila razlogov in kontrolnih postopkov, zaradi katerih so pridržki, jih ni oziroma so umaknjeni.

Za spodbujanje usklajenih pristopov k predstavljanju dokazov, na podlagi katerih se izrazi ali umakne pridržek, so se v okviru priprav na formalne sestanke za medsebojne preglede osrednje službe na začetku leta 2009 na dvostranskih srečanjih sestale z generalnimi direktorati, ki so v preteklosti izrazili pridržke in/ali bi jih lahko izrazili za leto 2008.

Na sestankih za medsebojne preglede so bila ugotovljena številna vprašanja, ki bi lahko vplivala na kakovost dokazov v letnih poročilih o delu, zlasti na predstavitev rezultatov predhodnih in naknadnih kontrol kot podlage za izjavo o zanesljivosti.

Dosedanja prizadevanja za zagotovitev dosledne ravni kakovosti letnih poročil o delu sicer dajejo sadove, vendar bi bilo morda primerno opraviti analizo vseh dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na njihovo kakovost, za boljše prilagajanje podpore, ki jo lahko dajo osrednje službe, ter ukrepov, ki bi jih morali sprejeti posamezni generalni direktorati in službe.

Komisija je naročila generalnemu sekretariatu in generalnemu direktoratu za proračun, naj opravita oceno dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na kakovost letnih poročil o delu, in spodbujata ukrepe za izboljšanje njihove kakovosti, in sicer še pravočasno za poročilo o delu v letu 2009.

3. Zagotovila, pridobljena na podlagi letnih poročil o delu in pridržki, ki so jihizrazili generalni direktorji

Po pregledu letnih poročil o delu, zlasti izjav, ki so jih podpisali vsi generalni direktorji, Komisija ugotavlja, da so vsi dali razumna zagotovila glede primerne porabe sredstev in glede dejstva, da dajejo izvedeni kontrolni postopki potrebna zagotovila v zvezi z zakonitostjo in pravilnostjo zadevnih transakcij. Nekateri generalni direktorji so v svojih letnih poročilih o delu razkrili preostale pomanjkljivosti in izrazili pridržke, ne da bi pri tem poskušali ovreči splošno raven danih zagotovil .

V vsej Komisiji je bilo ob koncu obdobja poročanja izraženih 15 pridržkov. Njihovo število je manjše kot v istem obdobju lani, kar kaže na stalen trend padajočega števila izraženih pridržkov (17 v letnih poročilih o delu za leto 2007, 20 za leto 2006). Prav tako se je zmanjšalo tudi število pridržkov v okviru deljenega upravljanja (manj programov in držav članic).

Skupno je v letu 2008 pridržke izrazilo 12 generalnih direktorjev (13 v letu 2007), od tega so trije izrazili po dva pridržka. Štiri pridržke iz leta 2007 je bilo mogoče umakniti. Tako kot v letu 2007 se je večina pridržkov, izraženih za leto 2008, navezovalo bodisi na kakovost kontrolnih sistemov držav članic bodisi na napake, odkrite na ravni upravičencev. Sedem pridržkov je izhajalo iz vprašanj, ki vplivajo na ugled službe ali Komisije.

Ta razdelek preučuje rezultate analize letnih poročil o delu ter pridržke in zagotovila, ki so jih dobili generalni direktorji, in jih po potrebi primerja z oceno Evropskega računskega sodišča za leto 2007[7].

3.1. Kohezija, kmetijstvo in naravni viri

3.1.1. Kohezija

Kohezijska politika je ena osrednjih politik EU, ki se izvaja z državami članicami v okviru „deljenega upravljanja“. Komisija je v letu 2008 izpolnila svojo zavezo izvajanju tekočih in novih ukrepov iz „Sporočila o akcijskem načrtu za krepitev nadzorne vloge Komisije v okviru deljenega upravljanja strukturnih ukrepov“ (glej poglavje 2.1 zgoraj).

Poleg tega je zaradi ukrepov, ki jih je v zadnjih letih sprejela Komisija, Evropsko računsko sodišče v svojem letnem poročilu za leto 2007 izrazilo mnenje, da so bile pri kontrolnih sistemih na področju kohezijske politike dosežene nekatere izboljšave . Sodišče je v poročilu za leto 2006 tako sistemom kot transakcijam za odhodke v okviru strukturnih ukrepov prižgalo „rdečo luč“, za leto 2007 pa je sistemom kontrol prižgalo „rumeno luč“[8].

Zaradi stopnje napak pri porabi, ki so jo prijavile države članice in jo je Komisija povrnila v okviru programov iz poglavja „Kohezija“, je Sodišče na tem področju prižgalo „rdečo luč“ za transakcije. To je bila edina „rdeča luč“ v njegovem poročilu za leto 2007.

Zaradi korektivnih ukrepov, ki jih je Komisija sprejela v letu 2008, se je povečalo število finančnih popravkov.

- Finančni popravki v zvezi z Evropskim skladom za regionalni razvoj in Kohezijskim skladom so v letu 2008 znašali 1 041 milijonov EUR (368 milijonov EUR za obdobje 1994–1999 in 673 milijonov EUR za obdobje 2000–2006). Do konca leta 2008 so bili za programsko obdobje 2000–2006 v teku 103 postopki (ki so se nanašali na približno 145 programov), za kar ocenjeni znesek finančnih popravkov znaša približno 950 milijonov EUR, za programsko obdobje 1994–1999 pa je bilo v teku 55 postopkov (ki so se nanašali na približno 58 programov), za kar ocenjeni znesek finančnih popravkov znaša približno 1,2 milijarde EUR.

- Finančni popravki v zvezi z Evropskim socialnim skladom so v letu 2008 znašali 521,7 milijona EUR (25,7 milijonov EUR za obdobje 1994–1999 in 496 milijonov EUR za obdobje 2000–2006). Poleg tega je bilo ob koncu leta 2008 v teku 14 postopkov za finančne popravke za obdobje 1994–1999 (znesek dodatnih popravkov je ocenjen na 387 milijonov EUR), za obdobje 2000–2006 pa je bilo začetih 13 dodatnih postopkov (na podlagi dopisov pred odložitvijo plačil, poslanih državam članicam do konca leta 2008, je znesek dodatnih popravkov ocenjen na 257 milijonov EUR). Zaradi previdnostnega pristopa v letu 2008 so za vse operativne programe v rezervi znašali 1,3 milijona EUR. Prekinitev enkaterih plačil je vodila v zelo nizko pomembnost tveganja.

Če so ugotovljene bistvene pomanjkljivosti, generalni direktorji, ki so zadolženi za strukturne sklade, takoj izrazijo pridržek, razen če obstajajo zanesljivi revizijski dokazi, da nacionalni organi učinkovito izvajajo akcijski načrt za odpravo pomanjkljivosti in so bili že doseženi prvi rezultati.

Komisija je v poročilu o izvajanju akcijskega načrta priznala, da akcijski načrt obravnava tako vzroke kot učinke visoke stopnje napak, ki jih je Evropsko računsko sodišče odkrilo pri odhodkih za strukturne ukrepe, vendar bo moralo preteči več časa, da se bo učinek ukrepov na ravni vmesnih povračil lahko odrazil v znižanju stopnje napak.

Sledi kratek povzetek pridržkov, ki so jih generalni direktorji izrazili na področju „Kohezija“:

- Kar zadeva Evropski sklad za regionalni razvoj , je generalni direktor za regionalno politiko izrazil pridržek za štiri države članice (Belgijo, Italijo, Nemčijo in Španijo) ter za 21 programov INTERREG. Prav tako je zaradi ohranitve ugleda izrazil pridržek glede upravljanja kohezijskega sklada v bolgarskem cestnem sektorju (glej poglavje 4.2 spodaj).

- Kar zadeva Evropski socialni sklad , je generalni direktor za zaposlovanje, socialne zadeve in enake možnosti izrazil pridržek za sedem držav članic (Španijo, Združeno kraljestvo, Francijo, Italijo, Poljsko, Belgijo in Luksemburg), kar je za eno manj kot v letu 2007.

3.1.2. Kmetijstvo in naravni viri

Pri poglavju „Kmetijstvo in naravni viri“ je poročilo Evropskega računskega sodišča za leto 2007 prižgalo „rumeno luč“ za sisteme in za transakcije. Vendar pa je Sodišče prižgalo „zeleno luč“ za odhodke v okviru Evropskega kmetijskega jamstvenega sklada, kar je 85 % skupnih odhodkov za kmetijstvo[9].

Tako kot na področju kohezije so okrepljene nadzorne dejavnosti Komisije tudi tu obrodile konkretne rezultate: popravki Komisije in držav članic na področju kmetijstva so v letu 2008 znašali 1,3 milijarde EUR.

Komisija je ukrepala v zvezi z vprašanjem ohranjanja ribolovnih virov, v zvezi s katerim je bila izražena skrb v zbirnem poročilu za leto 2007. Med drugim je zagotovila, da je Svet sprejel inovativna in stroga nova pravila za preprečevanje, odvračanje in odpravljanje nezakonitega, neprijavljenega in nereguliranega ribolova, ter nove ukrepe ohranjanja, in začela uspešno nadzorno kampanjo za zaščito občutljivih staležev navadnega tuna, kakršne še ni bilo.

Glede na resne pomanjkljivosti skupne ribiške politike, na katere je Računsko sodišče opozorilo v letu 2007, je Komisija začela natančen pregled politike, da bi lahko pripravila temelje za daljnosežne spremembe. Spomladi leta 2009 je bila objavljena zelena knjiga, ki je začela javno posvetovanje o reformi skupne ribiške politike.

Sledi kratek povzetek pridržkov, ki so jih generalni direktorji izrazili na področju „Kmetijstvo in naravni viri“:

- Generalni direktor za kmetijstvo in razvoj podeželja je prvič od leta 2002, ko je bil izražen pridržek, lahko umaknil ta svoj pridržek glede izvajanja integriranega administrativnega in kontrolnega sistema v Grčiji, saj so revizije Komisije potrdile, da je Grčija izpolnila svoj akcijski načrt in ustvarila nov, delujoč identifikacijski sistem zemljiških parcel. V svojem letnem poročilu o delu za leto 2007 je izrazil pridržek glede odhodkov za razvoj podeželja v celoti, ker ni imel razumnih zagotovil o zanesljivosti kontrolne statistike in stopenj napak, ki so jih navedle države članice. Za leto 2008 je izrazil pridržek, omejen na izdatke v osi 2 programa razvoja podeželja („izboljšanje okolja in krajine“), ker je stopnja napak (3,8 %) kontrolnih statistik, ki so jih navedle države članice, certifikacijski organi pa so jih preverili in potrdili, bistveno višja od praga pomembnosti, ki ga trenutno uporablja Evropsko računsko sodišče. Prav tako je izrazil pridržek glede sistemov upravljanja in kontrol za program SAPARD v Bolgariji in Romuniji (glej 4.2 spodaj).

- Generalni direktor za pomorske zadeve in ribištvo je izrazil pridržek v zvezi z upravičenostjo stroškov v neposrednem centraliziranem upravljanju, ki so bili državam članicam povrnjeni za odhodke na področju nadzora in izvrševanja skupne ribiške politike Ugotovljena pomanjkljivost se nanaša na javna naročila, ki jih je izvedla država članica.

- Generalni direktor za okolje je glede na izvajanje akcijskega načrta, povečano število revizijskih poročil in revidiranih plačil, ter glede na močno zmanjšanje odkritih napak umaknil pridržek, ki je bil v letnem poročilu o delu za leto 2007 izražen glede upravičenosti zahtevkov za plačila, ki jih predložijo upravičenci do donacij.

Komisija je odločena, da bo še naprej izboljševala deljeno upravljanje pod njenim nadzorom in podpirala pristojne organe v državah članicah, med drugim z zagotavljanjem smernic, usposabljanja in nasvetov.

Komisija je pokazala močno politično zavezanost zmanjševanju stopnje preostalih napak in po potrebi odložitvi plačil ter finančnim popravkom, da bi s tem dokazala dosledno upravljanje proračuna EU. Prizadevala si bo za skladen pristop k odpravljanju pomanjkljivosti, odkritih v različnih programih, ki spadajo v to postavko, vključno z zaključevanjem starih programov ter izboljšanjem celovitosti in zanesljivosti poročanja o izterjavah, zlasti v zvezi s podatki, ki jih predložijo države članice.

3.2. Raziskave, energetika in promet

Za šesti okvirni program , v katerem je velika večina končnih plačil zahtevkov za povračilo stroškov v letu 2008, so zadevni generalni direktorati (za podjetništvo in industrijo, energetiko in promet, informacijsko družbo in medije ter za raziskave ) določili skupno revizijsko strategijo za obdobje 2007–2010. Ta strategija je namenjena ocenjevanju zakonitosti in pravilnosti transakcij na podlagi ugotavljanja in popravljanja sistematičnih napak največjih upravičencev, v kombinaciji z naključnim vzorčenjem in vzorčenjem na osnovi analize tveganj.

Do konca leta 2008 so bili postopki upravljanja za izvajanje večletne strategije kontrole večinoma uvedeni. Intenzivnost revizij je ostala v skladu s prvotno zastavljenimi cilji. GD za raziskave naj bi na primer presegel svoj cilj, opraviti 750 revizij šestega okvirnega programa v štiriletnem obdobju izvajanja; sedanji načrt predvideva skupaj 896 revizij.

Vse štiri skupine na področju raziskav so izrazile pridržke zaradi stopnje preostalih napak, ki so vplivale na zahtevke za povračilo stroškov v šestem okvirnem programu . Skupna revizijska strategija je del sistema notranje kontrole, katerega cilj je v programskem obdobju zagotoviti 2 % stopnjo preostalih tveganj, vendar so na polovici izvajanja strategije službe poročale o kumulativnih stopnjah napak, ki so presegale 2 %.

Ključni sestavni del te strategije je bila odprava odkritih sistemskih napak v vseh nerevidiranih pogodbah z istim upravičencem. Vendar so službe poročale o pomembnem številu pogodb, za katere je takšne napake še treba kvantificirati in popraviti, zneske pa izterjati. Zaradi tega so izrazile pridržke glede točnosti zahtevkov za povračilo stroškov.

Opravljena je bil pregled revizijske strategije sredi obdobja, ki je potrdil, da so načela revizijske strategije šestega okvirnega programa dobra in da njeno izvajanje dobro napreduje. Vseeno jo je treba okrepiti na več področjih, na primer postopek, ki vodi v odpravo sistematičnih napak, potrebna pa bodo tudi dodatna prizadevanja za poenostavitev pravil o upravičenosti, da bi zmanjšali tveganje napak.

Komisija je vložila precej truda v izboljšanje svojega upravljanja raziskovalne politike znotraj veljavnega pravnega in finančnega okvira. Ob poročanju o delu v letu 2008 so odgovorni generalni direktorji v zvezi s šestim okvirnim programom spet izrazili pridržke.

Komisija si bo prizadevala doseči stopnjo preostalih napak, ki bi lahko privedla do izjave o zanesljivosti brez pridržka na področju raziskav. Kljub sprejetju usklajenega pristopa in prvim rezultatom pregleda sredi obdobja obstajajo znaki, da skupna večletna revizijska strategija morda ne zadošča za izpolnitev ciljev zmanjšanja skupne stopnje napak pod trenutni prag pomembnosti (2 %).

Komisija zato ponavlja svoj poziv k enotnemu razumevanju pojma dopustnega tveganja napak in bo v skladu s tem dala predloge na podlagi svojega sporočila z dne 16. decembra 2008.

Generalni direktor za podjetništvo in industrijo je umaknil pridržek iz leta 2007 glede upravičencev do nepovratnih sredstev, ki sta sodelovala v evropski standardizaciji.

3.3. Zunanja pomoč, razvoj in širitev

Edini pridržek, ki vpliva na odhodke v okviru poglavja „Zunanja pomoč, razvoj in širitev“ , je generalni direktor za širitev izrazil v zvezi z upravljanjem predpristopne pomoči v Bolgariji (glej tudi 4.2).

Komisija bo v zvezi z drugimi dejavnostmi iz tega poglavja še naprej spremljala in izboljševala izvajanje okvirnih sporazumov o finančnih in pogodbenih postopkih, ki so bili med drugim podpisani s številnimi agencijami ZN[10] in Svetovno banko[11]. Prav tako si bo še naprej prizadevala za večjo preglednost na strani upravičencev, pod pogojem, da se spoštujejo pravila o spoštovanju osebnih podatkih in varnostne zahteve. Nadaljevala se bodo prizadevanja za boljšo uporabo in izmenjavo rezultatov revizij znotraj družine RELEX.

3.4. Izobraževanje in državljanstvo

Generalni direktor za komuniciranje je za leto 2007 izrazil pridržek zaradi pomanjkljivosti v sitemu notranje kontrole GD, saj se v tem GD ne opravljanjo naknadne kontrole. Po vzpostavitvi centralizirane enote za naknadno kontrolo na tem generalnem direktoratu je bila pri transakcijah ugotovljena visoka stopnja (večinoma formalnih) napak, zato je generalni direktor uvedel nov pridržek za leto 2008. Številni ukrepi so podrobno opisani v akcijskem načrtu letnega poročila o delu in pričakovanja, da bo ta težava odpravljena do konca leta 2009, se zdijo razumna.

Drugi pridržek, ki ga je dal generalni direktor za komuniciranje, je opisan v poglavju 4.4.

Generalni direktor za pravosodje, svobodo in varnost je dal pridržek zaradi zamud pri izvajanju Schengenskega informacijskega sistema II (SIS II), orodja informacijske tehnologije za izmenjavo informacij med organi pregona držav članic. Pridržek je bil izražen zaradi ohranitve ugleda, saj je težave prepoznal že izvajalec. Komisija pozorno spremlja to vprašanje in bo o njem redno poročala Evropskemu parlamentu in Svetu.

Generalni direktor za pravosodje, svobodo in varnost je umaknil dva pridržka iz leta 2007 glede izvrševanja Evropskega sklada za begunce v okviru deljenega upravljanja, ker je presodil, da so kontrole in krepitev sistemov v državah članicah dovolj napredovale. Nov temeljni akt, ki ureja Evropski sklad za begunce III v obdobju 2008−2013, obravnava vprašanja, ki so bila zastavljena v zvezi s prejšnjim skladom.

Računovodja ni mogel potrditi lokalnega računovodskega sistema GD JLS za leto 2008 zaradi pomembnih pomanjkljivosti pri beleženju sredstev v zvezi z materialno infrastrukturo in projekti informacijske tehnologije, vendar je bil januarja 2009 uveden akcijski načrt za odpravo te pomanjkljivosti.

Na področju izobraževanja in kulture je v zvezi s posrednim centraliziranem upravljanjem prek nacionalnih agencij je analiza naknadnih izjav za leto 2007, skupaj z rezultati kontrolnih obiskov v letu 2008, pri izvajanju programa Dejavna mladina v omejenem številu primerov razkrila obstoj nezadostnih ali neučinkovitih primarnih ali sekundarnih kontrol. Ti primeri se pozorno spremljajo, po potrebi pa se uvedejo ustrezni nadaljnji ukrepi.

Komisija se zaveda pomanjkljivosti, ki so bile ugotovljene na področjih iz razdelka 3 finančnega okvira. Še naprej bo pozorno spremljala dogajanje, zlasti v zvezi s pridržki glede SIS II, bolj splošno pa razvoj obsežnih sistemov informacijske tehnologije.

3.5. Gospodarske in finančne zadeve

V letnem poročilu o delu za leti 2006 in 2007 je generalni direktor za gospodarske in finančne zadeve izrazil pridržek, ker je bilo v naknadni kontroli ugotovljena potencialna težava pri izvajanju zahtev „dodatnosti“ pri pobudi za rast in delovna mesta (1998–2002) s strani zunanjega izvajalskega organa. Predhodne ugotovitve so opozorile na pomanjkljivosti sistema kontrol tega zunanjega organa, ki so se štele za dovolj resne, da je bil pridržek upravičen. Na podlagi rezultatov poročila o naknadni kontroli je bila opravljena temeljita revizija sistemov notranje kontrole tako pri zunanjem izvajalskem organu kot pri odgovorni službi Komisije. Pripravljene so bile podrobne smernice za „dodatnost“ ter predložene izvajalskemu organu, ki je pisno potrdil njihovo uporabo od leta 2008 dalje. Poleg tega je bil dosežen dogovor z zunanjim organom, v katerem so natančno opredeljeni spremljanje in kontrole, ki jih mora opravljati v zvezi z izvajanjem instrumenta.

Okvir kontrol se šteje za ustreznega pri zagotavljanju dobrega upravljanja odobrenih proračunskih sredstev, vendar njegova učinkovitost pri izvajanju programov Skupnosti v zvezi s postavljanjem zahtev dodatnosti še ni bil preizkušen.

Generalni direktor za gospodarske in finančne zadeve je zato v svojem poročilu za leto 2008 izrazil pridržek zaradi možnosti, da nove blažilne kontrole, uvedene po rezultatih poročila o naknadni kontroli, za novi program niso v celoti učinkovite. To bo potrjeno v letu 2009.

Komisija podpira odločitev generalnega direktorja za gospodarske in finančne zadeve, da sredstva usmeri v izboljšanje strukture nadzora upravljanja novega finančnega programa za isto finančno dejavnost, da bi odpravili pomanjkljivosti, ki so bile ugotovljene pri prejšnjem finančnem programu. V letu 2009 se bodo zagotovila pridobivala s posebnimi notranjimi revizijami, operativne službe pa bodo zagotavljale stalno spremljanje.

4. Vprašanja, ki zajemajo več področij

4.1. Sistemi informacijske tehnologije

Odbor za spremljanje poteka revizij je opozoril kolegij na potrebo po pregledu skladnosti s sporočiloma Komisije o upravljanju informacijske tehnologije[12] in interoperabilnosti[13]. Odbor je pri svojem delu uporabil tudi več revizij, povezanih z informacijsko tehnologijo, ki so bile predmet razprav v letu 2008, in je opozoril na izvajanje Sklepa Komisije o varnosti informacijske tehnologije[14].

Razvoj učinkovitih, stroškovno učinkovitih in uporabniku prijaznih orodij informacijske tehnologije, prilagojenih posebnim potrebam, ob hkratnem zagotavljanju njihove interoperabilnosti in varnosti v celotni Komisiji ostaja pomembna prednostna naloga. Da bi bila pri teh prizadevanjih uspešna, Komisija posebno pozornost namenja ustreznemu usposabljanju osebja in trdnemu vodenju razvoja informacijske tehnologije. Treba si je prizadevati tudi za izboljšanje upravljanja projektov in ponudnikov storitev ter tako zagotoviti, da sistemi informacijske tehnologije uspešno in učinkovito podpirajo izvajanje politik EU.

4.2. Izvajanje programov v Bolgariji in Romuniji

Stroge kontrole, ki jih je opravila Komisija, so razkrile nekatere nepravilnosti pri upravljanju predpristopnih sredstev – v Bolgariji od leta 2007 in v Romuniji leta 2008.

Generalni direktor za širitev je zato ohranil pridržek, ki ga je izrazil že leta 2007, v zvezi s ključnimi sistemskimi slabostmi pri upravljanju sredstev PHARE, ugotovljenimi v dveh plačilnih agencijah v Bolgariji. Pridržke, povezane s problemi pri upravljanju predpristopnih sredstev v letu 2008, sta izrazila še dva generalna direktorja: generalni direktor za regionalno politiko v zvezi z sistemi upravljanja in kontrole za Kohezijski sklad v bolgarskem cestnem sektorju ter generalni direktor za kmetijstvo in razvoj podeželja v zvezi s sistemi upravljanja in kontrole za program SAPARD v Bolgariji in Romuniji.

Generalni direktor za kmetijstvo in razvoj podeželja poleg tega poroča o pomembnih pomanjkljivostih v Romuniji in Bolgariji, ki so povzročile visoke stopnje napak. Organi teh držav članic so bili pozvani, da pripravijo akcijski načrt za odpravo teh pomanjkljivosti.

Generalni direktorati za regionalno politiko , zaposlovanje , socialne zadeve in enake možnosti , za pravosodje, svobodo in varnost ter za pomorske zadeve in ribištvo so v svojih letnih poročilih o delu opozorili na vprašanja, povezana z upravljanjem in nadzorom v Bolgariji v programskem obdobju 2007–2013, vendar pa v njihovih poročilih za leto 2008 za nobeno od navedenih vprašanj ni bil izdan pridržek.

Zadevni generalni direktorati bodo še naprej tesno usklajevali svoje ukrepe v zvezi z upravljanjem sredstev EU v Bolgariji in Romuniji.

Komisija bo v sodelovanju z nacionalnimi organi še naprej podpirala reformna prizadevanja v Bolgariji in Romuniji, da bi tako zagotovila rešitev vseh temeljnih problemov in strogo spoštovanje vseh veljavnih predpisov in postopkov pri upravljanju sredstev EU.

4.3. Letni povzetki in nacionalne izjave

Komisija je nadaljevala z analizo letnih povzetkov, ki jih je prejela od držav članic (leta 2008 so morali nacionalni organi drugič predložiti letne povzetke odhodkov v okviru „deljenega upravljanja“) in z obveščanjem Evropskega parlamenta, pri čemer si je prizadevala čim bolj povečati njihovo dodano vrednost v smislu povečane zanesljivosti sistemov upravljanja in kontrol v državah članicah.

Vmesna ocena kaže, da je tako na področju kohezije kot tudi na področju kmetijstva in naravnih virov večina držav izpolnila ali pretežno izpolnila minimalne zakonske zahteve in zahteve, določene v smernicah Komisije. Ti povzetki bi lahko ustvarili resnično dodano vrednost pri upravljanju in kontroli odhodkov EU, če bi bili pripravljeni v primernem obsegu in času, z ustreznim pristopom ter v skladu z mednarodnimi standardi[15].

Poleg tega nekaj držav članic (Nizozemska, Danska, Švedska in Združeno kraljestvo) pošiljajo nacionalne izjave ter tako krepijo svojo odgovornost pri uporabi sredstev EU, vendar Komisija opozarja na razlike med njimi, ki otežujejo primerljivost in zanesljivost, ki ju je mogoče pridobiti iz njih.

Komisija meni, da predložitev letnih povzetkov držav članic povečuje njihovo odgovornost za uporabo sredstev EU in prispeva k njeni lastni zanesljivosti. Na podlagi pridobljenih izkušenj bo za naslednji krog povzetkov po potrebi revidirala smernice in še naprej zagotavljala podporo državam članicam, ki jih tudi poziva, da povzetku priložijo splošno izjavo o zanesljivosti v skladu s priporočilom Komisije.

Komisija spodbuja vse države članice, da sledijo zgledu tistih, ki ji že pošiljajo letne nacionalne izjave .

4.4. Skladnost z veljavno zakonodajo o pravicah intelektualne lastnine

Generalni direktor za komuniciranje je zaradi ohranitve ugleda izrazil pridržek v zvezi z možno kršitvijo avtorskih pravic pri dejavnostih služb Komisije v primeru, da za nekatere komunikacijske izdelke niso bile pridobljene avtorske in sorodne pravice.

Glede na vsesplošno prisotnost elektronskih medijev bi lahko te dejavnosti imele posledice v vseh državah članicah, saj še vedno obstajajo razlike v nacionalnih zakonodajah o avtorskih pravicah. Ker skupnega upravljanja avtorskih pravic na evropski ravni ni, je treba imetnike avtorskih pravic identificirati v vsaki državi članici, pogosto na različnih ravneh (kolektivne organizacije, založbe ali radijske in televizijske hiše, avtorji ali druge osebe, ki imajo avtorske pravice za vsebine).

Komisija bo redno ocenjevala, ali so sprejeti ukrepi v zapletenem in hitro spreminjajočem se tehnološkem in pravnem okolju zadostni za zmanjšanje teh tveganj. Pred koncem leta 2009 bo pripravljen akcijski načrt , ki bo vključeval vse potrebne ukrepe od ozaveščanja in usposabljanja do priprave skupnih smernic.

5. Sklepne ugotovitve

- Prizadevanja v smeri izjave o zanesljivosti brez pridržka so zelo pozitivno vplivala na institucijo: osredotočila so ideje in usmerila prizadevanja, kar je pripeljalo do pomembnih sprememb v sistemih upravljanja in kontrole, delovnih metodah in kulturi Komisije.

- Komisija bo še naprej natančno spremljala izvajanje vseh akcijskih načrtov, ki spremljajo pridržke, in namenjala posebno pozornost pridržkom, ki se ponavljajo.

- Komisija bo nadaljevala svoje dejavnosti na področju učinkovite zunanje komunikacije o vprašanjih, povezanih z nadzorom, tako s končnimi upravičenci kot z nacionalnimi organi. Za zmanjšanje napak in nesporazumov je potrebna boljša obveščenost.

- Komisija bo še naprej dokazovala uspešnost svojih kontrol, med drugim s celovitim poročanjem o odpravi napak, vključno s tistimi, ki zadevajo plačila iz prejšnjih let.

- Komisija ponovno poudarja svojo namero, da bo nadaljevala z zahtevo po izterjavi neupravičeno izplačanih zneskov. Pri tem navaja, da so se izterjani zneski od leta 2007 do leta 2008 podvojili in so skupaj znašali 3 milijarde EUR. Komisija bo sprejela ukrepe, s katerimi bo zagotovila, da bodo države članice izpolnile svoje obveznosti glede kakovosti poročanja o izterjanih zneskih in finančnih popravkih.

- Komisija bo spodbujala države članice, da v svoje letne povzetke vključijo splošno izjavo o zanesljivosti za sredstva, ki se izvršujejo v okviru deljenega upravljanja. Komisija bo ocenila, ali je iz nacionalnih izjav o upravljanju mogoče pridobiti dodatno zagotovilo.

- Komisija meni, da pristop dopustnega tveganja omogoča dobro in učinkovito upravljanje sredstev EU. Decembra 2008 je predstavila sporočilo, v katerem je kot primer uporabila strukturne sklade in razvoj podeželja. Dane primere bo razvijala naprej in jih, takoj ko bo mogoče, oblikovala v konkretne predloge glede ravni dopustnega tveganja. Predloge za področja raziskav, prometa, energetike, zunanje pomoči, razvoja in širitve ter uprave bo Komisija predložila v presojo proračunskemu organu leta 2010.

* * *

To je zadnje zbirno poročilo, ki ga je sprejela Komisija. Posodobitev njenih sistemov, ki bo zagotavljala najvišje standarde upravljanja sredstev EU, vključno z zakonitostjo in pravilnostjo transakcij, je bila ena njenih glavnih prednostnih nalog. Med letoma 2004 in 2009 je Evropska komisija utrdila reformo, ki jo je začela izvajati leta 2000, ta dosežek pa bo imel trajen pomen.

Rezultat dela, opravljenega v zadnjih petih letih, so pomembne izboljšave v upravljanju proračuna EU, in to delo se bo nadaljevalo, zlasti pri reševanju problemov, ki so jih v pridržkih izpostavili odredbodajalci na podlagi prenosa.

Komisija meni, da vzpostavljeni sistemi notranje kontrole skupaj z omejitvami, opisanimi v letnih poročilih o delu za leto 2008, dajejo razumno zagotovilo, da so bila sredstva, dodeljena za njene dejavnosti, porabljena za predvidene namene in v skladu z načeli dobrega finančnega poslovodenja. Prav tako meni, da vzpostavljeni kontrolni postopki dajejo potrebna jamstva glede zakonitosti in pravilnosti zadevnih transakcij, za katere Komisija v skladu s členom 274 Pogodbe ES prevzema vso odgovornost.

PRILOGA 1: Other cross-cutting management issues

1. HUMAN RESOURCES

In April 2007, the Commission presented its "screening" of its human resources and committed itself to maintain stable staffing for the period 2009-2013 (after all enlargement-related personnel are integrated) and to meet new staffing needs in key policy areas exclusively through redeployment. The report also contained an analysis of the Commission's overhead. It was welcomed by the Parliament and an update was presented in April 2008. A follow-up report was prepared in early 2009.

In 2008, the Commission made a particular effort to meet the challenges presented by the financial and economic crisis by re-deploying staff to the departments charged with the management and follow-up of the crisis, and the implementation of the European Economic Recovery Plan (in particular the Directorates-General for Competition, Internal Market, Economic and Financial Affairs). The Commission is satisfied that its flexibility and the commitment of its staff made it possible to respond to the crisis in a swift and effective way.

During 2008, the Commission undertook two further screening exercises to find ways of rationalizing human resources between Headquarters and Delegations, in the external relations field, and also in terms of its external communication activities. The downward trend in the number of people working in administrative and support functions is confirmed, despite slight increases for certain specific functions (financial management and inter-institutional cooperation). The various aspects of this review are currently being assessed by the services concerned.

As regards recruitment, following selection procedures carried out by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), in 2008 Institutions were able to draw on reserve lists amounting to 78% of the published target number of laureates (70% in 2007). Notwithstanding this improvement, a programme for fundamental reform, the EPSO Development Programme (EDP), was formally agreed by all Institutions in 2008. The Programme contains 22 recommendations for action which focus on speeding up and streamlining selection and introducing greater predictability for laureates and Institutions on the availability and management of reserve lists. Implementation will be achieved progressively over the period 2008 to 2010.

Regarding the recruitment of staff from the EUR-12 countries, the targets for the period to end-2008 were exceeded for both administrator and assistant grades. A significant proportion of staff were however recruited as temporary agents (22% for EUR-10 and 41% for EUR-2). At 1 January 2009, recruitment of EUR-15 was blocked for 18 services at AD level and 12 at AST grade pending fulfilment of their quotas. Taking account of the competitions underway, the service responsible judged that the number of EUR-12 nationals passing competitions should be sufficient to meet recruitment needs.

2. ETHICS

In 2008, a Communication from Vice-President Kallas to the Commission[16] outlined a series of actions to enhance the environment for professional ethics in the Commission; these covered the clarification of rules and their application, as well as awareness raising and the issuance of a Statement of Principles of Professional Ethics to apply Commission-wide.

Also in 2008, Internal Audit Service (IAS) concluded its audit of ethics in the Commission. The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy of the overall design of the ethics framework of the Commission; and whether the Commission's ethics framework has been implemented effectively in the services selected for this audit: ADMIN, SG, OIB, RTD, INFSO, and TRADE.

The scope of the audit covered the framework, rules implementation and monitoring of ethics focussing on risks concerning conflict of interest, procurement, grant management in research, and non financial risks such as misuse of insider information The scope did not cover the Code of Conduct of the Commissioners , the Lobby Register, or the ethical content of EU policies.

The IAS recognized that the process of implementing and adapting the ethics framework is evolutionary and the Commission has acted proactively on ethics and awareness raising in recent years The overall conclusion of the audit was that the basic elements of a proper ethics culture are covered by the existing Commission ethics framework, which is based on an appropriate balance between, on the one hand, trust in the integrity and sense of responsibility of staff and, on the other hand, instruments facilitating ethics management, so that, in general, there is limited need for additional rules.

3. SECURITY

Since the start of the present Commission a series of initiatives have been taken to improve the quality of service in internal security, in view of the challenges posed by the global security situation, the developing policy competences of the Commission and the increased size and complexity of the institution.

An information note from Vice-President Kallas and the President, addressed to the College under the title, "Review of security policy, implementation and control within the Commission", which covered physical security as well as security of information, was adopted in 2008.

PRILOGA 2: Overview of reservations 2004 – 2008

Subject | Objective | Initiative(s) to meet the objective | Responsible service(s) and timetable | Progress made in 2008 |

Internal control | 1. Achieving an effective internal control system and ownership of internal control concepts and processes at all levels in each DG and service. | In October 2007 the Commission adopted a Communication revising the Internal Control Standards and underlying framework[17], setting out 16 new internal control standards for effective management to replace the original set of 24 standards from 1 January 2008. Services may prioritise certain Standards with the aim of strengthening the basis of the annual declaration of assurance of the Directors-General. Furthermore the compliance reporting was simplified; moving from full reporting to exception based reporting on non-compliance. | All DGs | Continuous action In 2008, the Commission conducted an analysis of the impact of the "Action Plan towards an Integrated Internal Control Framework"[18], adopted in early 2006 as part of the Commission's strategy to obtain an unqualified DAS. The final report was published in February 2009. The Communication noted significant progress in strengthening internal control systems during this Commission's mandate. Services reported on the effectiveness of the implementation of the prioritised standards for the first time in the 2008 Annual Activity Reports. |

Annual activity reports and Synthesis | 2. Promoting Commission’s accountability through annual activity reports and their synthesis solidly based on assurances from managers. | Assessment of critical success factors affecting the quality of AARs and take appropriate measures (training for staff involved in the preparation of AARs, further improvement of Standing Instructions) | BUDG and SG By September 2009 | New action |

To give the preparation of the AARs high priority, implementing the guidelines prepared by the central services | All DGs By April 2010 | New action |

Risk management | 3. Establishing effective and comprehensive risk management making it possible to identify and deal with all major risks at service and Commission level and to lay down appropriate action to keep them under control, including disclosing resources needed to bring major risks to an acceptable level. | The Commission will further embed risk management in its regular management process and integrate risk assessment in its internal control systems. | BUDG, with all DGs | Continuous action Three years after its adoption, DG Budget undertook a limited review of the operation of the Commission's risk management framework. This indicated that the framework is well established and is understood and applied by management and was taken as a starting point by services for developing their own more specific guidelines and tools tailored for their needs. The review revealed no reasons for major change but pointed to the need to define more clearly the handling of cross-cutting risks, an interest in sharing information across services on risk management generally and on critical risks in particular, and a requirement for specialist risk management training linked to individual services' activities. |

Residual risk | 4. Taking further the concept of residual risk | DG BUDG together with concerned services | Completed In December 2008 the Commission adopted its Communication "Towards a common understanding of the concept of tolerable risk of error", with which the Commission took forward a concept first introduced by the Court of Auditors in its Opinion 2/2004 (the "single audit opinion"). This tolerable risk approach is intended to ensure an appropriate balance between the risk of not detecting errors and the costs of control to ensure that control systems are cost effective. The illustrative case studies presented covered Cohesion Policy and Rural Development. They indicated that the Court's standard 2% materiality threshold may not be appropriate for these policies, for which risk is high, and that a cost-effective tolerable risk level may lie around 5% for both policies. |

The Commission will study more policy areas and present concrete proposals for tolerable risk levels during 2010 as requested by the Discharge Authority. | DG BUDG together with concerned services By end 2010 | New action The Communication mentioned above launched an inter-institutional debate on the tolerable risk of error and the Commission will study more policy areas and present concrete proposals for tolerable risk levels during 2010 as requested by the Discharge Authority. |

Governance |

Subject | Objective | Initiative(s) to meet the objective | Responsible service(s) and timetable | Progress made in 2008 |

Internal audit recommenda-tions | 5. Ensuring a smooth implementation of accepted internal audit recommendations | New: Effective follow-up of critical and very important recommendations of IAS recommendations should be regularly monitored at senior management level, and fully integrated into regular management planning, especially the annual management plans. | All DGs concerned | New action |

Regulatory agencies | 6. Clarifying the respective roles and responsibilities of Commission services and regulatory agencies. | The input of all institutions is necessary to negotiate a comprehensive framework, to clarify the respective responsibilities of the institutions and of the regulatory agencies. This framework would be applicable to the creation of future agencies and, at a later stage, to those already in existence. | All DGs concerned with the assistance of SG and DG BUDG. End 2009 | Continuous action In a Communication of March 2008[19], the Commission drew attention to the lack of a common vision on the role and functions of regulatory agencies. It announced a horizontal evaluation of the regulatory agencies by the end of 2009, a moratorium on creating new agencies and a review of its internal systems governing agencies. |

Reservations | 8. Ensuring strong follow-up of action plans related to the expressed reservations, notably for the progress to be made in 2009. | Directors-General will report on progress to the respective Commissioner in the context of the regular follow-up meetings on audit and control. The ABM Steering Group will closely monitor and regularly report to the College on the implementation of the remedial actions that delegated authorising officers have committed to carry out in their annual activity reports. | DGs concerned | Continuous action DGs report on the implementation of action plans in a given year in their annual activity report. This has been specifically mentioned in the standing instructions for the AARs. DGs were also invited to mention the actions to be taken in the coming year as a follow up to previous reservations. This requirement was included in the guidelines for the 2009 AMPs. For all reservations, delegated authorising officers have laid down appropriate action plans to solve the underlying weaknesses. They monitored the implementation of action plans and reported to the Commissioner responsible. The implementation of all action plans has also been monitored by the ABM Steering Group which invited Directors-General to report regularly to the Group on the state of play of their action plans. An outcome of the peer review of the 2008 AARs is the that the conclusion drawn by the Authorising Officer by Delegation (AOD) needs to be convincingly argued and the building blocks for assurance should be presented in a complete and logical manner, particularly as regards error rates detected by controls. Also, services calculating error rates on the basis of controls performed on high-risk areas of their activities need to present results of controls in lower-risk fields to justify the conclusion that the global exposure was lower than materiality |

namely: | Close coordination of actions concerning management and control weaknesses identified for the EU funds implemented by Bulgarian and Rumanian authorities, in order to ensure that underlying problems are solved and the management of EU funds is conducted in strict respect of all applicable rules and procedures. | ELARG, MARE, JLS, EMPL, AGRI, REGIO | New action |

Set-up of an inter service group on copyright issues, to be led by DG COMM, to regularly assess whether the measures taken are sufficient to mitigate the risk in a complex and rapidly changing technological and legal environment. Preparation of an action plan before end of 2009, including all necessary measures, from awareness raising and training to the drafting of common guidelines. | COMM, OPOCE, JRC, SG | New action |

Focus the resources available on improving the control structure in place for the management of the financial programs. In 2009, assurance will be sought via a specific internal audit assignment and ongoing monitoring by the operational services. | ECFIN, SG | New action |

New: Closely follow-up the delays in the implementation of the Schengen Information System II. | JLS, SG | New action |

Financial management |

Subject | Objective | Initiative(s) to meet the objective | Responsible service(s) and timetable | Progress made in 2008 |

Integrated internal control framework | 9. Enhancing accountability by establishing a comprehensive integrated internal control framework in line with the requirements set out in the ECA’s opinions on ‘single audit’. | Implementation of the action plan towards an Integrated Internal Framework. | All services | Completed: In its latest report on the Plan[20], the Commission reported that as at end-December 2008 the implementation of 13 actions was completed and that the three remaining actions could not be implemented or were being taken forward in other ways. The Communication noted significant progress in strengthening internal control systems during the mandate of the present Commission. A part of this positive impact was attributed to actions launched before 2005, but there was evidence that progress was significantly accelerated with the launch of the Action Plan in early 2006. |

New: Reinforce the accountability of Member States for the use of EU funds by revising the guidelines for the annual summaries to draw on the lessons learned, and continue offering support to the Member States. | REGIO, AGRI, JLS | New action |

Ex-ante and ex-post controls | 10. Improving the efficiency and strengthening accountability by ensuring proportionality and a sound balance between ex-ante and ex-post controls, and by further harmonization and better focus of ex-post controls. | Common guidelines on sampling methods and related level of confidence should be finalised. | Services concerned with the support of DG BUDG, ongoing | Completed Extensive guidelines on audit sampling in line with international auditing standards have been prepared in the Structural Funds to promote coherence in testing done by Member State audit authorities[21]. The Commission has provided guidance on best practice in the management of external audit framework contracts to ensure a consistency and high quality of audit results[22]. In the research area, the joint audit strategy set up in 2007 includes guidance on sampling. Based on the experience gathered from the research audit strategy and taking into account that not all elements of the approach are transposable to all areas, the Commission issued guidance to its services on sampling strategies in October 2008. |

Accounts | 11. Increasing responsibility and accountability at the level of the Commission as a whole by the signing-off of the accounts by the Accounting Officer and by improved quality of financial information. | The Commission will further strengthen its accounting processes and systems to improve the quality of the financial information and the respect of deadlines. | All services, continuous action with the assistance of the services of the Accounting Officer | Continuous action The European Court of Auditors expressed in 2008 for the first time an unqualified opinion on the 2007 accounting data of the Commission. The Accountant's report on the validation of local systems for 2008 confirmed that these in general are steadily improving. All systems which were subject to an in-depth evaluation during 2008, except one, were validated. Data from the accounting system indicate that late payments are tending to stabilise in number and value. In the face of the current acute economic crisis, the Commission will aim, by 1 October 2009, to make first pre-financing payments within 20 days from the signature date of the contract and a 30-day time limit where 45 days currently apply for other payments. |

Human resources |

Subject | Objective | Initiative(s) to meet the objective | Responsible service(s) and timetable | Progress made in 2008 |

Simplification | 13. Simplifying procedures to increase both efficiency and employee satisfaction. | Based on a collaborative effort and consultation of all Commission staff, DG ADMIN prepared a Communication to the College enshrining the key principles of the simplification drive and proposing a detailed plan with 85 actions, to be carried out within well defined deadlines. This Communication was adopted by the Commission on 4 July 2007 and its implementation is ongoing | DG ADMIN, ongoing | Completed A report to Commission (SEC(2008)2309/3) stated that 48 actions have been fully or partially implemented and 3 have been abandoned (out of 85 identified actions) by July 2008. |

Staff skills | 14. Aligning resources and needs better to make sure that staff have the skills and qualifications necessary to perform their duties, in particular in areas such as financial management, audit, science, linguistics and IT. | Following the conclusions of the evaluation on the Strategic Alignment of Human Resources, various measures were carried out in 2008. | DG ADMIN, ongoing | Continuous action HR scorecard per month HR report with HR metrics Start of a follow-up evaluation to review HR processes |

The Commission will identify any shortfalls and communicate its specific needs so that they are promptly taken into consideration and included in the work -programme of the inter-institutional European Personnel Selection Office. Provision of specialised training and measures to improve the recruitment procedures and, in particular in areas where a shortage of skilled staff is identified. | DG ADMIN and EPSO, ongoing tasks. | Continuous action DG ADMIN carried out a comparative study on remuneration in which an assessment is also made of the competitiveness of the Commission for certain job profiles. |

The Commission will take measures to improve its Job Information System so that it enables the organisation to have a global view of its current human resources and to produce easily detailed analysis by corporate processes. | DG ADMIN in collaboration with DIGIT, SG and DG BUDG by end 2007. | Continuous action The e-CV project continued. In 2007, there were 3.250 e-CVs; by end 2008, here were 5.697. The matching tool to link job, vacancies and the electronic CVs was delivered for internal testing in December 2008. |

Continuity of operations |

Subject | Objective | Initiative(s) to meet the objective | Responsible service(s) and timetable | Progress made in 2008 |

Business continuity | 15. Ensuring that the Commission is able to maintain business continuity in case of major disruption to its activities | The Commission will address the issue of the suitability of the data centre hosting IT systems and ensure that current reflections on the best IT governance arrangements lead to operational conclusions in 2006. | DIGIT, OIB and OIL in 2006 and in 2007. | Continuous action A multi-annual (2006-2011) strategy to improve the housing conditions for the Data and telecom Centres of the Commission has been developed and approved. This should lead to the most critical IT equipments being moved into professional data centre type rooms in a phased approach and to the refurbishing of air conditioning and electrical infrastructure in the JMO Data Centre room. Contracts for the rent of two new data centre type rooms in Brussels and in Luxembourg were signed. For the one in Brussels, the move was completed in February 2007 and, for the one in Luxembourg, by March 2007. A second room in Luxembourg only became available in late 2007 and needed preparation, so that actual moves into them only began in the last quarter of 2008. Procedures to secure a supplementary room in Luxembourg were ongoing at the end of 2008. |

PRILOGA 4: Executive and Regulatory Agencies

(Council Regulation 58/2003 (Art 9.7)

In line with practice in most Member States, using agencies to implement key tasks has become an established part of the way the European Union works.

Executive agencies operate in a clear institutional framework, governed by a single legal base[23]. Their tasks must relate to the management of Community programmes or actions, they are set up for a limited period and they are always located close to Commission headquarters. The responsibility of the Commission for executive agencies is clear: the Commission creates them, maintains "real control" over their activity, and appoints the director. Their annual activity reports are annexed to the report from their parent Directorate(s)-General. A standard financial regulation adopted by the Commission, governing the establishment and implementation of the budget, applies to all executive agencies. A revision of the working arrangements was also agreed in October 2007 with the European Parliament, with the aim to further facilitate inter-institutional cooperation in this field.

Six executive agencies have been created:

- the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation Programme ( EACI – former IEEA)

- the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers ( EAHC – former PHEA)

- the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency ( EACEA )

- the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency ( TEN-TEA )

- the European Research Council Executive Agency ( ERC)

- the Research Executive Agency ( REA ).

- Four of these executive agencies were operational in 2008[24] . Their Annual Activity Reports, which were attached to those of their parent DG[25], did not indicate any particular control issues. The breakdown of staff employed in 2007 by these agencies was as follows:

Seconded officials and temporary agents | Contractual agents | Other external agents | Total |

EACI | 22 | 47 | 69 |

PHEA | 8 | 20 | 28 |

EACEA | 85 | 277 | 362 |

TEN-TEA | 32 | 67 | 7 | 106 |

Total | 131 | 366 | 17 | 514 |

The screening of resources by the Commission of April 2007 suggested that there are no strong candidates for a new executive agency[26]. If new needs appear, the starting point of the Commission will be to explore the option of extending the scope of an existing executive agency to cover a new programme.

The 29 regulatory agencies are independent legal entities and the 20 of these which receive funds from the European Union budget receive discharge directly from the European Parliament. In a Communication of March 2008 "EU agencies: the way forward"[27] the Commission drew attention to the lack of a common vision on the role and functions of regulatory agencies. It announced a horizontal evaluation of the regulatory agencies, a moratorium on creating new agencies and a review of its internal systems governing agencies.

It also proposed to undertake a horizontal evaluation of regulatory agencies which should be available by the end of 2009, as well as to set up an inter-institutional working group to agree ground rules to apply to all (this Group met for the first time on 10 March 2009).

To support the agencies, in June 2008 DG Budget published a Practical Guide on Community Bodies to document the basic budgetary and financial management processes and rules for the creation and regular operation of Community bodies and providing references to relevant key documents. A common website of the Commission and the regulatory agencies was created on the Commission's intranet to provide a platform for sharing documents of common interest.

The 'traditional' agencies are granted discharge by the Discharge Authority. All Agencies were granted discharge for 2007. CEPOL's accounts for 2007 have received a qualified opinion of the Court of Auditors and audits by the Court and the IAS identified serious financial management problems. The service responsible for the grant contribution to the College's running costs (JLS) reported that following the Court's and IAS findings, an OLAF investigation was launched and an action plan was developed to remedy the weaknesses identified. Faced with significant under-execution of the budget, the service reported it would make available only the funds strictly necessary to cover the College's fixed costs in the first part of 2009.

PRILOGA 5: Negotiated procedures

1. LEGAL BASIS

Article 54 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation requires authorising officers by delegation to record contracts concluded under negotiated procedures. Furthermore, the Commission is required to annex a report on negotiated procedures to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 60.7 of the Financial Regulation.

2. METHODOLOGY

A distinction has been made between the 40 directorates-general, services, offices and executive agencies which normally do not provide external aid, and those three directorates-general (AIDCO, ELARG and RELEX) which conclude procurement contracts in the area of external relations (legal basis is different: Chapter 3 of Title IV of Part Two of the Financial Regulation) or award contracts on their own account, but outside of the territory of the European Union.

These three directorates-general have special characteristics as regards data collection (deconcentration of the services,…), the total number of contracts concluded, thresholds to be applied for the recording of negotiated procedures (€10 000), as well as the possibility to have recourse to negotiated procedures in the framework of the rapid reaction mechanism (extreme urgency). For these reasons, a separate approach has been used for procurement contracts of these directorates-general.

3. OVERALL RESULTS OF NEGOTIATED PROCEDURES RECORDED

3.1. The 40 directorates-general, services, offices, or executive agencies excluding the three "external relations" directorates-general

On the basis of the data received, the following statistics were registered: 105 negotiated procedures with a total value of € 91.107.841 were processed out of a total of 1230 procedures (negotiated, restricted or open) for contracts over 60 000€ with a total value of € 1.799.341.729.

For the Commission, the average proportion of negotiated procedures in relation to all procedures amounts to 8,54 % in number, which represents some 5,06 % of all procedures in value and seems quite reasonable.

An authorising service is considered to have concluded a "distinctly higher" proportion of negotiated procedures "than the average recorded for the Institution" if it exceeds the average proportion by 50%. Thus, the reference threshold for 2008 was fixed at 12,80% (20,46% in 2007) .

Some 13 directorates-general or services out of the 40 exceeded the reference threshold in 2008. Among those, it should be noted that 5 directorates-general concluded only one or two negotiated procedures, but because of the low number of contracts awarded by each of them, the average was exceeded. In addition, 15 out of 40 directorates-general haven't used any negotiated procedure, including 4 DG that awarded no contracts at all. Furthermore, in terms of value 14 have recorded a substantially lower percentage of negotiated procedures than the Commission average.

Moreover, the assessment of negotiated procedures compared with the previous years (2006, 2007) shows an important decrease in the order of one third in number and 40% in terms of value.

3.2. The three "external relations" directorates-general

On the basis of the data received, the following statistics were registered: 168 negotiated procedures for a total value of contracts €117.778.412 were processed out of a total of 2362 procedures (negotiated, restricted or open) for contracts over 10 000€ with a total value of € 2.357.367.571.

For the three "external relations" directorates-general, the average proportion of negotiated procedures in relation to all procedures amounts to 7,11% in number, which represents some 5% of all procedures in value terms. Only one directorate-general slightly exceeds the reference threshold of 10,67% (average + 50%).

If compared with previous years, these directorates-general have registered a clear decrease in number of negotiated procedures in relation to all procedures.

4. ANALYSIS OF THE JUSTIFICATIONS AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES

Three categories of justifications have been presented by those directorates-general who exceeded the thresholds:

- Statistical deviations due to the low number of contracts awarded under all procedures.

- Objective situations of the economic activity sector , where the number of operators (candidates or applicants) may be very limited or even in a monopoly situation (for reasons of intellectual property, specific expertise, …). Situations of technical captivity may also arise especially in the IT domain (exclusive rights connected to software or maintenance of servers hosting critical information systems, etc).

- Additional services/works , where it was either technically or economically impossible to separate these from the main (initial) contract, or similar services/works as provided for in the terms of reference.

Several corrective measures have already been proposed or implemented by the directorates-general concerned:

- Establishment of standard model documents and guidance documents .

- Improvement in training provided and an improved inter-service communication . In this context, the Central Financial Service organised in 2008 a series of workshops aimed at improving expertise in public procurement procedures and at providing a forum for exchange of experience and best practices between directorates-general and services. In addition, the architecture of the standard procurement training was reviewed in order to reinforce the practical training in procurement procedures preparation.

- Improvement of the system of evaluation of needs of directorates-general/services and an improved programming of procurement procedures. The Commission' horizontal services will continue their active communication and consultation policy with the other DGs along the following axes:

- permanent exchange of information;

- ad-hoc surveys prior to the initiation of market procedures;

- reinforcement of the product management policy especially in the IT sector.

- Phase-out from situations of technical captivity. The Commission started to study a methodological framework for assessing technical captivity in specific cases and provide tools to reduce future dependency.

- Reinforcement of internal structures and the application of control standards . Procurement procedures will continue to be integrated in the regular reviews of the efficiency of internal control, including the analysis of possible dependence on certain contractors. In any case, control procedures need to be correctly documented in order to ensure a transparent audit trail.

PRILOGA 6: Summary of waivers of recoveries of established amounts receivable in 2008

(Article 87.5 IR)

In accordance with Article 87(5) of the Implementing Rules the Commission is required to report each year to the budgetary authority, in an annex to the summary of the Annual Activity Reports, on the waivers of recovery involving 100 000 € or more.

The following table shows the total amount and the number of waivers above 100 000 € per Directorate-General/Service for the EC budget and the European Development Fund for the financial year 2008.

EC budget:

Directorate-General/Service | Amount of waivers in € | Number of waivers |

AIDCO | 1.497.065,33 | 6 |

COMP | 11.713.735,70 | 3 |

EAC | 123.199,00 | 1 |

EACEA | 497.001,12 | 2 |

ELARG | 607.626,00 | 1 |

ENTR | 111.650,00 | 1 |

ENV | 231.383,16 | 1 |

MARE | 249.800,61 | 1 |

INFSO | 1.713.872,65 | 4 |

RTD | 1.227.715,95 | 5 |

TREN | 407.313,70 | 2 |

18.380.363,22 | 27 |

European Development Fund:

Directorate-General/Service | Amount of waivers in € | Number of waivers |

AIDCO | 0 | 0 |

PRILOGA 7: Compliance with payment time-limits and suspension of time-limits

(Article 106.6 IR)

Time-limits for payments are laid down in the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation[28] (hereinafter IR), and exceptionally in sector specific regulations. Under Article 106 IR payments must be made within forty-five calendar days from the date on which an admissible payment request is registered or thirty calendar days for payments relating to service or supply contracts, save where the contract provides otherwise. Commission standard contracts are in line with the time-limits provided for in the IR. However, for payments which, pursuant to the contract, grant agreement or decision, depend on the approval of a report or a certificate (interim and/or final payments), the time-limit does not start until the report or certificate in question has been approved[29]. Under Article 87 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council laying down general provisions on the European Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund, a specific rule applies: payments have to be made within two months[30].

Following the revised Implementing Rules, which entered into application on 1 May 2007, the compliance with payment time-limits was reported for the first time by the Services in the 2007 Annual Activity Reports[31]. Overall, the Commission improved its performance for payments over 2005-2007, in number and in value, even if the average time to pay has not significantly decreased. In 2008, late payments have stabilised in number and value, the average time to pay has been shortened by a half day.

The following table summarises the current situation concerning payments made after the expiry of the time-limits (hereafter late payments), as resulting from data encoded in ABAC:

2005 | 2007 | 2008 |

Late payments in number | 42,74% | 22,57% | 22,67% |

Late payments in value | 17,48% | 11,52% | 13,95% |

Average time to pay[32] | 49,13 days | 47,98 days | 47,45 days |

The cause of delays includes inter alia the complexity of evaluation of supporting documents, in particular of technical reports requiring external expertise in some cases, the difficulty of efficient coordination of financial and operational checks of requests for payments, and managing suspensions.

As far as the payment of interest for late-payments is concerned, the Commission dealt with limited requests in the period 2005-2007. However, the amount rose significantly in 2008, probably due to the fact that as from 1 January 2008 payment of interest for late payments has been automatic and, in principle[33], no longer conditional upon the presentation of a request for payment.

2005 | 2007 | 2008 |

Amounts of interest paid for late payments | 230.736,58 € | 378.211,57 € | 576 027,10 € |

*Calculation: 153 requests for interest / 90657 late payments = 0.168%

The Commission is committed to further improving the management of payments and instructs its Services to comply constantly with high performance standards, to assess the efficiency of its tools and to take appropriate corrective measures to ensure timely payments. In the face of the current acute economic crisis, the Commission has recently adopted further measures, given the crucial importance of the need for increased fluidity of funds for all beneficiaries, and especially for SMEs and NGOs[34]. Amongst other actions, the Commission will aim, by 1 October 2009, to make first pre-financing payments within 20 days from the signature date of the contract, grant agreement or decision compared with the statutory time-limit of 45 days (or 30 days for service and supply contracts). For all other payments the Commission will apply, from the same date, a 30-day time limit where 45 days currently apply. A third measure is to further promote the payments of flat-rates (a scale-of-unit cost) and lump-sums (fixed amount) to accelerate the payment of grants. |

[1] Člen 60 finančne uredbe.

[2] Sporočilo Komisiji: SEC(2007) 1341.

[3] COM(2008) 97, 18.2.2008.

[4] COM(2009) 42, 3.2.2009.

[5] COM(2006) 9 in SEC(2006) 49.

[6] COM(2009) 43, 4.2.2009.

[7] Zbirno poročilo sledi novi obliki letnega poročila Evropskega računskega sodišča za leto 2007.

[8] „Zelena luč“ pomeni, da je stopnja napak na celotnem področju porabe pod pragom pomembnosti (2 %) in da so po mnenju Evropskega računskega sodišča obstoječi nadzorni sistemi in sistemi kontrol učinkoviti; „rumena luč“ pomeni, da je stopnja napak od 2 % do 5 % in se nadzorni sistemi in sistemi kontrol štejejo za delno učinkovite; Vir: „Obvestilo: Letno poročilo o proračunu EU za leto 2007“, Evropsko računsko sodišče, str. 6.

[9] Sodišče je zeleno luč prižgalo tudi prihodkom, ekonomskim in finančnim zadevam ter upravnim odhodkom. To pomeni, da je Sodišče prižgalo zeleno luč za okrog 45 % skupnih odhodkov Skupnosti.

[10] Okvirni finančni in upravni sporazum (FAFA).

[11] Sporazum o skrbniških skladih in okvirni sporazum o sofinanciranju.

[12] SEC(2004) 1267.

[13] SEC(2004) 1265.

[14] C(2006) 3602.

[15] Mnenje Evropskega računskega sodišča št. 6/2007. Pri kohezijski politiki je samo 7 držav članic vključilo splošno izjavo o zanesljivosti za leto 2008.

[16] SEC(2008) 301, 5.3.2008.

[17] Communication to the Commission: Revision of the Internal Control Standards and the Underlying Framework: Strengthening Control Effectiveness, SEC(2007) 1341.

[18] COM(2006) 9 and SEC(2006) 49.

[19] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: "European Agencies – the way forward" - COM(2008) 135.

[20] Impact Report on the Commission Action Plan towards an Integrated Internal Control Framework - COM(2009) 43.

[21] Para 40 & 49 Opinion 02/2004.

[22] Para 37 Opinion 02/2004.

[23] Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (OJ L 11, 16.1.2003).

[24] No AAR was prepared by the Research Executive Agency and the European Research Council Executive Agency (DG RTD and other research DGs) as these are expected to become completely self-supporting during 2009. During the transition, activities are shared between the agencies and the different directorates general responsible for the implementation of FP7.

[25] Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (DG TREN, ENTR, ENV); Executive Agency for the Health and Consumers (DG SANCO); Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (DGs EAC, INFSO, AIDCO); Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (DG TREN).

[26] SEC(2007) 530 "Planning & optimising Commission human resources to serve EU priorities".

[27] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: European Agencies – the way forward - COM(2008)135

[28] Commission Regulation (EC) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 (OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1) as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 478/2007 of 23 April 2007 (OJ L 111, 28.4.2007, p. 13).

[29] Pursuant to Article 106(3) IR, the time allowed for approval may not exceed:(a) 20 calendar days for straightforward contracts relating to the supply of goods and services;(b) 45 calendar days for other contracts and grants agreements;(c) 60 calendar days for contracts and grant agreements involving technical services or actions which are particularly complex to evaluate.

[30] Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down general provisions on the European regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 (OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 25).

[31] Based on available data in ABAC as of end of the financial year 2007.

[32] Net delays.

[33] With the exception of small amounts (200 euro in total or less).

[34] Communication from Mrs Grybauskaite in agreement with the President to the Commission: Streamlining financial rules an accelerating budget implementation to help economic recovery - SEC(2009) 477.