2002/450/EC: Decision of the European Parliament of 10 April 2002 concerning discharge to the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2000 financial year
Date: 2002-04-10
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Eurofound, board of directors, budgetary discharge, implementation of the budget

17.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 158/55

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

of 10 April 2002

concerning discharge to the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improve-
ment of Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the
2000 financial year

(2002/450/EC)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

— Having regard to the report of the Court of Auditors on the financial statements and management
of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the
financial year ended 31 December 2000, together with the Foundation’s replies (1) (C5-0126/2002),

— Having regard to the Council Recommendation of 5 March 2002 (C5-0122/2002),

— Having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty,

— Having regard to Rule 93 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

— Having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5-0101/2002),

A. Whereas the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin
Foundation) pursues its mission to contribute to the planning and establishment of better working
conditions through action designed to increase and disseminate knowledge likely to assist this
development by following six mid-term research priorities, namely, in the areas of employment
practice, worker participation, equal opportunities, social cohesion, health and well-being and
sustainable development;

B. Whereas, on the basis of the Code of Conduct of 14 July 1998, the Committee on Employment
and Social Affairs is responsible for monitoring the work of the Dublin Foundation, which in 2000
received a subsidy of EUR 14 700 000;

C. Whereas on 4 April 2001 (2) Parliament gave discharge to the Administrative Board of the
Foundation in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 1999 financial year and, at the
same time:

— called on the Foundation to have an external assessment carried out with a view to determining
how the key stakeholders rate the Foundation and what impact the Foundation’s activities
have,

— called on the Foundation to submit an action plan before the end of 2001,

— called for an assessment of the existing cooperation between the European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work and an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a merger between the
agencies;

D. Whereas the Court of Auditors has obtained reasonable assurance that the accounts for the financial
year ended 31 December 2000 are reliable and the underlying transactions are, taken as a whole,
legal and regular,

(1) OJ C 372, 28.12.2001, p. 53.
(2) OJ L 160, 15.6.2001, p. 32.

L 158/56

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17.6.2002

1. Notes the following figures for the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of

Living and Working Conditions:

(a)

Revenue

2000 financial year

EUR thousand

14 941

1.

Subsidy from the Commission

2. Miscellaneous revenue

3.

Revenue from services rendered against payment

(b)

Expenditure

Title I — Staff expenditure

1.

2.

Payments for the year

Appropriations carried over

Title II — Administrative expenditure

1.

2.

Payments for the year

Appropriations carried over

Title III — Operating expenditure

1.

2.

Payments for the year

Appropriations carried over

Balance for the year

Outturn for the year ((a) — (b))

Amount received from the Commission

Appropriations carried over from the previous year which lapsed

Exchange rate differences for the year

14 700

212

29

14 438

7 057

146

1 123

248

2 681

3 183

- 1 212

503

- 1 859

158

- 14

Dublin Foundation

2.

Expresses concern at the volume of appropriations carried over from 2000 to 2001, appropriations
which totalled EUR 3 600 000 or 25 % of the commitments entered into (EUR 14 400 000);

3. Urges the Foundation to take steps to ensure better monitoring of the implementation of its budget
with the aim of keeping carryovers and cancellations of appropriations to a minimum and bringing
an end to the situation whereby a large volume of appropriations is not disbursed; takes account of
the installation of a computerised planning/monitoring system, improved scheduling of tender
procedures and changes in the timing of the Administrative Board meeting (from November to
October) at which it approves the annual work programme;

4. Notes the replies given by the Foundation to the observations made by the Court of Auditors
concerning the shortcomings in the accounting systems employed; welcomes the installation of an
appropriate computerised system (the EXACT system) for maintenance of general ledger accounts;
calls on the Foundation to take steps to ensure that all shortcomings have been remedied in time for
the 2001 discharge;

17.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 158/57

5.

Regrets the fact that in 2000 the Foundation continued to make excessive use of imprest accounts,
whereby in 2000 18 % of all payments were still made via such accounts;

6. Welcomes the completion of

the staff assessment exercise for the two-year period ending
31 December 2001, using staff reports for nearly all assessments; notes with satisfaction that the
Foundation has used the Commission’s ‘staff assessment handbook’ and improved staff management
and information arrangements during 2001;

External assessment

7. Notes that the Administrative Board commissioned an external evaluation report in March 2000
which will be examined by the Board at its meeting in March 2002; insists on the immediate
adoption of an action plan for implementation of the report’s recommendations; requests that a
copy of the report and the action plan be sent to the European Parliament;

European Parliament

8.

Calls on its committees responsible to re-examine the division of labour between the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Agency for
Safety and Health at Work with regard to safety and health related issues with a view to avoiding
duplication of work and encouraging them to coordinate their activities;

9. Notes that the financial statements of only a minority of decentralised agencies are currently subject
to individual discharge procedures in the European Parliament; calls upon the Commission to
present proposals for the revision of the legal bases of all agencies with a view to applying the
principle of individual discharge procedures to all decentralised agencies;

10. Welcomes the efforts of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs to make proposals for a
revision of the present guidelines for cooperation between the committees responsible for the
decentralised agencies; takes the view that revision of the guidelines should concentrate on the
following aspects:

— ensuring there are adequate control mechanisms in the committees responsible,

— ensuring there is transparency in the budget procedure,

— strengthening the mutual duty to inform,

— ensuring there is a clear division of powers between the relevant committees;

L 158/58

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17.6.2002

Discharge decision

11. Gives discharge to the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2000 financial
year, on the basis of the report of the Court of Auditors;

12.

Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Administrative Board of the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the Council, the Commission
and the Court of Auditors and to have it published in the Official Journal (L series).

The Secretary-General

Julian PRIESTLEY

The President

Pat COX