WRITTEN QUESTION E-2532/03 by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Conflict of interests for the Commission's Accounting Officer.
Date: 2003-07-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European official, accountant, administration of the Institutions, budgetary control, financial regulation, management accounting, personnel administration

C 65 E/170

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

Reply

(17 November 2003)

The Council would remind the Honourable Member that it is for the Commission to submit proposals to
the Council within the scope of the powers laid down by the Treaty.

No proposal in this area has been submitted to the Council so far.

(2004/C 65 E/187)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2532/03

by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Subject: Conflict of interests for the Commission’s Accounting Officer

On 1 January 2003 Mr Brian Gray was appointed Accounting Officer of the Commission. He is also
Deputy Director-General for the Budget.

Does the Commission consider that this dual role is in keeping with the provision of the new budgetary
rules, which require a strict functional separation between execution of the budget and accounting?

The Directorate-General for the Budget’s organization chart on the Internet shows that while a number of
heads of division of this Directorate-General report directly to Mr Gray, this is not true of the accounting
services.

Will the Commission say whether this is an oversight? If not, to whom do the accounting services report?

The organisation chart also shows that the Secretariat of the Commission’s Audit Progress Committee
reports to Mr Gray. He thus has a considerable say as regards inspections carried out by the Commission’s
internal audit service and the evaluation of its findings.

Does the Commission agree that this situation creates a potential conflict of interests for Mr Gray, in
particular if the internal audit service wishes to inspect accounting and cash management?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(30 September 2003)

In recognition of the importance of the role played by the Accounting Officer, the Commission decided
that this function should be occupied at the level of A1, and appointed Mr Brian Gray, the Deputy
Director-General of Directorate General (DG) Budget. The execution of the budget is the responsibility of
the delegated authorising officers in the operational Directorate-Generals. DG Budget is responsible for the
execution of own resources and of its own administrative expenses. Mr Gray has no sub-delegations for
any revenue or expenditure operations, nor do any staff of the services which report directly to him,
namely Directorate C, and Unit 01. The Commission considers therefore that there is a strict functional
separation in his respect.

The work associated with the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer, as set out in Articles 61 and 63 of
the Financial Regulation (1), is undertaken by Directorate C of DG Budget, the Director of which reports
directly to the Deputy Director-General. The organisation chart will clarify this issue.

In order to facilitate the organisation of the Audit Progress Committee meetings, which concern several
Commission services and external experts,
the Commission decided on 9 July 2003 to transfer the
Secretariat of the Audit Progress Committee to the Secretariat General. The organisation chart will be
this decision have been
updated in this respect once the administrative procedures to implement
completed.

(1) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002on the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the European Communities, OJ L 248, 16.9.2002.