Report on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2004 together with Eurojust's replies
Date: 2005-10-05
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: Eurojust, European Court of Auditors, administration of the Institutions, financial control, interinstitutional relations (EU), operating result, report

C 332/68

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.12.2005

on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2004 together with
Eurojust’s replies

REPORT

(2005/C 332/10)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE COURT’S OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OBSERVATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-2

3-6

7-9

Tables 1 to 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Eurojust’s replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

69

69

69

70

74

Paragraph

Page

28.12.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 332/69

INTRODUCTION

Reliability of the accounts

1.
Eurojust was set up by Council Decision 2002/187/JHA (1)
with a view to stepping up the fight against serious organised
crime. Its objective is to improve the coordination of investiga-
tions and prosecutions covering the territories of several Member
States of the European Union, as well as that of non-member
States. Table 1 summarises Eurojust’s competences and activities
on the basis of information provided by Eurojust.

2.
For information, the annual accounts drawn up by Euro-
just for the financial year 2004 are summarised in Tables 2,
3 and 4.

THE COURT’S OPINION

3.
The Court’s opinion is addressed to the European Parlia-
ment and the Council pursuant to Article 36 of Council Decision
2002/187/JHA.

4.
The Agency’s accounts for the financial year ended
31 December 2004 (2) were drawn up by its Administrative
Director, pursuant
to Article 36 of Council Decision
2002/187/JHA, and sent to the Court, which is required to give
its opinion on their reliability and on the legality and regularity
of the underlying transactions.

5.
The Court conducted an audit in accordance with its poli-
cies and standards, which are based on international auditing
standards that have been adapted to the Community context. The
audit was planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance
that the accounts are reliable and the underlying transactions are
legal and regular.

The Court has obtained a reasonable basis for the opinion

6.
expressed below.

Eurojust’s accounts for the financial year ended 31 December
2004 are, in all material respects, reliable.

Legality and regularity of the underlying transactions

The transactions underlying Eurojust’s annual accounts, taken
as a whole, are legal and regular.

The observations which follow do not call the Court’s opin-
ion into question.

OBSERVATIONS

7.
In 2004, Eurojust still did not have its own financial regu-
lation (3) and, in these circumstances, continued to apply the
framework financial regulation for Community bodies (4).

The last amending budget adopted by the College of Euro-
8.
just forecast revenue and expenditure of 8,3 million euro. In prac-
tice, Eurojust implemented a budget of 9,3 million euro (5), which
was neither formally adopted by the College nor published in the
Official Journal, and hence contravened the provisions in force (6).

9.
A member of staff who was appointed as the accounting
officer on the departure of the titular accounting officer retained
his role as the authorising officer by delegation. Since May 2004
he has been carrying out, at the same time and for the same
expenditure, the duties of the authorising officer and the account-
ing officer (7). In this instance, the Court must point out the fun-
damental nature of the principle of the segregation of the duties
of authorising officer and accounting officer and asks Eurojust to
take the utmost care to ensure that this principle is adhered to.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at its meeting of 5 October
2005.

For the Court of Auditors
Hubert WEBER
President

(1) Decision of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust (OJ L 63, 6.3.2002,

(5) This sum corresponds to Eurojust’s initial budget and the subsidy to

p. 1).

(2) These accounts were drawn up on 15 July 2005 and received by the

Court on 5 August 2005.

Eurojust entered in the Commission’s budget.

(6) Articles 4 and 26 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002.
(7) This situation continued beyond the end of the financial year 2004.

(3) In April 2005, the Commission had still not issued an opinion on the

draft submitted by Eurojust.

(4) Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 23 Decem-

ber 2002 (OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72).

C 332/70

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.12.2005

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 332/71

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C 332/72

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.12.2005

Eurojust — Revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial years 2004 and 2003 (1)

Table 3

Operating revenue

Community subsidies

Miscellaneous revenue

Operating expenditure

Purchases of goods and services

Staff costs

Depreciation

Total (a)

(1) The data for the financial year 2003 have been restated to take account of a change in methodology.
Source: Eurojust data — This table summarises the data supplied by Eurojust in its annual accounts.

Outturn for the financial year (a – b)

Total (b)

2004

8 726

397

9 123

4 476

4 142

332

8 950

173

(1 000 euro)

2003

6 441

12

6 453

3 228

2 112

211

5 551

902

28.12.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 332/73

Assets

Intangible assets

Tangible assets

Equipment, machinery and tools

Furniture and vehicles

Computer equipment

Long-term assets

Stocks

Current assets

Current assets

Eurojust — Balance sheet at 31 December 2004 and 31 December 2003 (1)

Table 4

2003

Liabilities

2004

2003

62

Own capital

(1 000 euro)

Results carried over from previous years

Economic outturn

1 718

173

815

902

Subtotal

1 891

1 717

Provisions for risks and charges

0

396

114

492

460

2004

134

145

726

449

Subtotal

1 320

1 066

1

30

135

17

152

2 082

Current liabilities

Payable to the Commission

Other liabilities

Payable to suppliers

1

0

1 298

13

517

698

10

305

Subtotal

1 828

1 013

232

34

266

1 731

3 126

Total

3 719

3 126

Sundry accounts receivable

Disposable assets

Subtotal

Total

3 719

(1) The data for the financial year 2003 have been restated to take account of a change in methodology.
Source: Eurojust data —This table summarises the data supplied by Eurojust in its annual accounts.

C 332/74

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.12.2005

EUROJUST REPLIES

Eurojust awaits the Commission’s prior consent before
regulation in accordance with

7.
adopting its own financial
Article 37(1) of the Eurojust decision.

8.
Eurojust tried to follow as closely as possible the structure
given in the European Parliament decision concerning its budget.
As a consequence, Eurojust presented for formal adoption to the
College a budget decision covering the budget concerning EU 15
and informing it of a further increase of one million euros due to
the enlargement and informing it where these appropriations
would be allocated once released. In the future, Eurojust will
ensure it presents as complete a budget as possible to the College.

The situation referred to began in June 2004 when the
9.
accountant resigned unexpectedly. At this time, no reserve list
existed and the only statutory member of staff with the necessary
experience to assume the responsibilities of the accountant was
the authorising in question. It should be noted however that the
risk due to this ‘force majeure’ situation has been reduced by lim-
iting the capacity to act as authorising officer to transactions of
up to 1 000 euro. In the meantime, Eurojust has successfully
completed a recruitment procedure for an accountant. It recogn-
ises the importance of the segregation of duties and will avoid
such a situation arising in future.