WRITTEN QUESTION E-1161/02 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. DG statements of assurance.
Date: 2002-04-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, activity report, administration of the Institutions, audit, financial management, management audit, service

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Official Journal of the European Union

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WRITTEN QUESTION E-1161/02

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 April 2002)

Subject: DG statements of assurance

The Commission has announced that they are planning on having each Director-General issue a statement
of assurance for his or her department.

Exactly what information will be conveyed in each of these statements of assurance?

How does the Commission know that each individual has the necessary and proper background and ability
to carry out an unbiased assessment?

What checks are in place to ensure that the statement is fair, just and unbiased?

How can the Commission guarantee the reliability of each statement of assurance?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(17 June 2002)

The Charter of tasks and responsibilities of Authorising Officers by delegation for Director-Generals and
Heads of Service contains an obligation to report on the activities of Directorate-Generals and services and
on the management of allocated resources. This takes the form of an annual report and a declaration.
The introduction of this annual report and declaration supports one of the major tenets of Reform, which
is to ensure a clear definition of responsibility in management of financial and human resources, with
more accountability being the necessary corollary to increased decentralisation.

For the Commission, the introduction of this key element of the new management and control framework
is essential. The consolidation, oversight and review work of its central services will bring together the
different sources of assurance so that the Commission can take collective responsibility effectively and/or
take corrective measures.

This reporting and accountability framework must also be seen as a management tool and a mechanism
for Authorising Officers by delegation to review the activities of their Directorate-Generals or services and
to identify areas for improvement and further development. As an accompanying measure technical
guidance has been provided concerning the structure and contents of the annual activity reports and on
the declaration and reservations of the Authorising Officers by delegation.

The declaration covers a narrower area than the annual report as it does not cover the assessments
contained in the report on the results achieved in terms of implementing specific policies. It will express
the responsibility of the Authorising Officers by delegation for the sound management of their resources
and for undertaking management improvements.

Content of the declaration

According to the adopted model for the declaration to be included in the annual report, the Authorising
Officers by delegation will, on the basis of all the information in their possession:

(cid:1) declare that the information contained in the report gives a true view;

(cid:1) state, on the basis of their own judgement, their reasonable assurance that the resources assigned to
the activities described in the report have been used for the intended purpose and in accordance with
the principles of sound financial management, and that the control procedures put in place give the
necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

(cid:1) enter all reservations designed to highlight risks associated with the operations and actions managed
that can have a substantial negative effect in the above mentioned statements. Reservations point to

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malfunctioning in the design or application of management and internal control systems and are
accompanied by action plans explaining the remedial measures taken or planned;

(cid:1) confirm that they are not aware of anything not reported in their reports which could harm the

interests of the Institution.

Process

To comply with the obligations referred to, the Authorising Officers by delegation must set up an adequate
responsibilities to the
and documented process defining the organisation and the assignment of
correspondents that will support them. They will also implement reporting systems in order to obtain
adequate information from their Authorising Officers by sub-delegation as stated in their charter.
This process is completed with internal reporting and feedback from their subordinates in order to ensure
them that they have an adequate basis at their disposal for drafting the annual report and the related
declaration. The Memorandum (1) of December 2001 fixing the minimum required level of implementation
of
the Internal Control Standards provides the Authorising Officers by delegation with a reference
framework for their management and control systems.

They receive assistance through:

(cid:1) a methodology group, chaired by the Secretariat General, which elaborated guidelines on the process
leading up to the declaration as well as on the scope of the reservations and responsibilities of the
Authorising Officer by delegation;

(cid:1) the Budget Directorate General (DG), which provides the budgetary accounting information, following
the present budgetary structure, on transactions entered and validated by the services in the budgetary
accounting application;

(cid:1) their financial and operational units, as far as their responsibilities are concerned, which help in
establishing the annual accounts and report on the implementation and functioning of the internal
control systems;

(cid:1) the Authorising Officers by sub-delegation, which report on the implementation of programmes,

operations or actions according to their sub-delegation;

(cid:1) their Internal Audit Capabilities on the level of quality of management and internal control systems
and on the identification of major fields of risk for malfunctioning, illegality or irregularity or on any
other relevant information, according to the work plan set out in agreement with the Director
General;

(cid:1) the Commission’s Internal Audit Service on providing assistance in connection with the preparatory

work;

(cid:1) information at their disposal from the Court of Auditors, Financial Control and all other relevant

sources.

Reliability

The declaration is an opportunity for Authorising Officers to qualify the extent to which they really
control and may therefore be held accountable for operations. This implies an incentive to overstate any
problems, which should be set against the more commonly accepted risk that managers are inclined to
understate the shortcomings of their departments.

For this first year of implementation of the new reporting framework, the Commission’s Internal Audit
Service will perform a limited review in the months of May 2002 and June 2002 of the process leading up
to the annual reports and declarations in the DGs and Services. IAS will examine, at a consolidated level
and for the needs of the Commission, the adequacy and the compliance of the process with the existing
requirements leading up to the annual reports and declarations.

Based on this review, the Commission’s Internal Audit Service will
findings.

issue a consolidated report of its

Summary report

On the basis of the annual activity reports and the Internal Audit Service consolidated report on the
adequacy of the whole process of annual activity reports and declarations of Authorising Officers by
the Commission will adopt a summary report, prepared by the Secretariat General and
delegation,

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DG Budget. The Commission will also, at a consolidated level, take note of reservations entered and will
comment on the proposed solutions and timeframes and adopt a list of measures to resolve the problems
identified, including on the findings of the Internal Audit Service. It will make choices in the event of
incoherence or conflict between proposed corrective action by the Authorising Officers by delegation.

(1) SEC(2001) 2037-4.

(2003/C 52 E/052)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1171/02

by Carmen Cerdeira Morterero (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: European Union participation at international summits

(24 April 2002)

Would the Commission consider it useful for a guide or protocol to be prepared for the improved
participation and coordination of representatives of the European institutions (Commission, Council,
Parliament) at events such as international conferences, of which an example is the March 2002 Monterrey
International Conference on Financing for Development, and also at other types of meeting where we
attend as a ‘European Union delegation’ or ‘European Community delegation’?

Does the Commission believe that such a protocol would help to maximise the efforts of all the members
of the above-mentioned delegations, as well as to raise their profile?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 2002)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member’s concern that the Union should speak with one voice on
the international stage and more generally in its relations with third countries.

There is actually no difficulty with the coordination of the Community position and singleness of its
representation in matters covered by the first pillar, such as the common commercial policy. As was seen
at
is because the
Community speaks with one voice that it has become an essential player in international trade.

the World Trade Organisation in Doha,

the Fourth Ministerial Conference of

it

The situation is less satisfactory, however, in the other areas of external relations, owing to the increased
number of players provided for in the existing Treaties and the confusion that can ensue.

As the Commission stated in its communication of 22 May 2002 on a project for the European Union (1),
we should take advantage of the future reform of the Treaties to simplify and rationalise the whole of the
Union’s foreign policy and thus make it more efficient, in accordance with the wishes of the European
citizen.

Participation by the Community delegations in international conferences is in most cases dependent on the
Community’s status at the conference in question (e.g. participant without voting rights, observer with
speaking rights, etc.).

For these reasons, it will be difficult to draw up a protocol for improving the participation of Community
delegations.

On the other hand,
international conferences.

there are rules of procedure for participation by the different

institutions in

(1)

‘A project for the European Union’, Commission Communication of 22 May 2002 to the European Convention
(COM(2002) 247 final).