Report on the annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2006 together with the Agency's replies
Date: 2007-09-27
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, European Court of Auditors, administration of the Institutions, financial control, implementation of the budget, powers of the institutions (EU), report

C 309/62

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.12.2007

REPORT

on the annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health
at Work for the financial year 2006 together with the Agency’s replies

(2007/C 309/11)

CONTENTS

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

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OBSERVATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-2

3-6

7

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

The Agency’s replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63

63

63

64

66

Paragraph

Page

19.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 309/63

INTRODUCTION

1.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agency’) was established by Coun-
cil Regulation (EC)No 2062/94 of 18 July 1994 (1). The Agency’s
task is to collect and disseminate information on national and
Community priorities in the field of safety and health at work, to
support national and Community organisations involved in the
formulation and implementation of policy and to provide infor-
mation on preventive measures.

2.
Table 1summarises the Agency’s competences and activi-
ties. Key data summarised from the financial statements drawn up
by the Agency for the financial year 2006 is presented in Tables 2,
3 and 4 for information purposes.

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE

3.
This Statement is addressed to the European Parliament
and the Council in accordance with Article 185(2) of Council
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 (2); it
was drawn up following an examination of the Agency’s accounts,
as required by Article 248 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community.

The Court conducted its audit in accordance with the IFAC
5.
and INTOSAI International Auditing Standards and Codes of Eth-
ics, insofar as these are applicable in the European Community
context. The audit was planned and performed to obtain reason-
able assurance that the accounts are reliable and that the under-
lying transactions are legal and regular.

The Court has thus obtained a reasonable basis for the

6.
statement set out below.

Reliability of the accounts

The Agency’s accounts for the financial year ended 31 Decem-
ber 2006 are, in all material respects, reliable.

Legality and regularity of the underlying transactions

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

The observation which follows does not call the Court’s State-
ment into question.

OBSERVATION

4.
The Agency’s accounts for the financial year ended
31 December 2006 (3) were drawn up by its Director, pursuant
to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2062/94, and sent to the
Court, which is required to give a statement of assurance on their
reliability and on the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions.

7.
In 2006, the Director signed 19 decisions for approxi-
mately 880 000 euro authorising budgetary transfers from article
to article within chapters. Contrary to the Financial Regulation,
the Governing Board did not receive the required information (4).
Thus, the budgetary principle of specification was not strictly
observed.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at
27 September 2007.

its meeting of

For the Court of Auditors
Hubert WEBER
President

(1) OJ L 216, 20.8.1994, p. 1. The Regulation was last amended by Coun-
cil Regulation (EC) No 1112/2005 of 24 June 2005 (OJ L 184,
15.7.2005, p. 5).

(2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(3) These accounts were drawn up on 4 June 2007 and received by the

Court on 2 July 2007.

(4) Article 23 of the Financial Regulation.

Table 1

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao)

Areas of Community competence
deriving from the Treaty

Competences of the Agency as defined in the Council Regulation (EC)
No 2062/94 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1112/2005

Governance

Resources made available to the
Agency in 2006
(Data for 2005)

Products and services provided during 2006

Social provisions

Objectives

Tasks

1. Governing Board

Final budget:

Building the links — Networking:

The Community and the Member
States (…) shall have as their objec-
tives (…)
improved living and
working conditions, so as to make
possible their harmonisation while
the improvement is being main-
tained (…).

With a view to achieving the objec-
tives of Article 136, the Commu-
nity shall support and complement
the activities of the Member States
in the following fields: (a) improve-
ment in particular of the working
environment to protect workers’
health and safety; (b) working con-
ditions; (…)

(Extracts from Article 136 and 137 of
the Treaty)

— In order to improve the
working environment, as
regards the protection of
the safety and health of
workers as provided for in
the Treaty and successive
Community strategies and
action programmes con-
cerning health and safety at
the workplace, the aim of
the Agency shall be to pro-
vide the Community bod-
ies, the Member States, the
social partners and those
involved in the field with
technical,
and
economic information of
use in the field of safety and
health at work.

scientific

Source:

Information supplied by the Agency.

— To collect, analyse and dis-
seminate information on
national and Community
priorities and on research.

— To promote cooperation
and the exchange of infor-
mation, including informa-
tion
training
on
programmes.

Composition

— 14,1 million

euro

— Strengthening of tri-partism in the Agency

— 1 representative of the Government of

(13,7 million euro)

networks

each Member State.

Including:

— 1 representative of the employers’ organi-

sations of each Member State.

— Community subsidy, DG
Employment: 93,5 % (96%)

— 1 representative of

the

employees’

— Community subsidy, DG

— Institutional capacity building in Accession
and Candidate Countries (Phare program-
mess)

Communicating Information:

organisations of each Member State.

Enlargement: 4,5 % (3%)

— Safe Start! — European Week 2006 cam-

— 3 representatives of the Commission.

— Miscellaneous revenue: 2 %

paign on young workers.

— To supply the Community
bodies and the Member
States with information
they require to formulate
and implement policies, in
particular as regards the
impact
and
medium-sized enterprises.

small

on

— To make available informa-
tion on preventive activi-
ties.

— To contribute to the devel-
opment of strategies and
Community action pro-
grammes

— To set up a network com-
focal

prising
points and topic centres.

national

(1%)

Staff at 31 December 2006:

40 (40) posts in the establish-
ment plan,

of which, posts filled: 33 (32)

— Healthy Workplace Initiative — SME-
targeted campaign in EU 10, Romania and
Bulgaria.

— Multilingual web-based and printed infor-
mation services on occupational safety and
health.

posts vacant: 7 (8)

Developing knowledge:

26 (20) other posts (auxiliary
contracts,
national
seconded
experts and local staff).

— Information products for national and
European Week campaign 2006 (on
Young People) and 2007 (MSDs)

Total staff: 59 (52)

assigned to

— operational tasks: 42 (35)

— administrative tasks: 9 (9)

— mixed tasks: 8 (8)

— Information products on Ageing Workers,
OSH & Economic Performance, and the
HORECA Sector

— Risk Observatory information products
including reports on OSH research priori-
ties, biological agents and ultraviolet radia-
tion; data collection on stress, vibration
and skin problems, and on young workers
and musculoskeletal disorders for the Euro-
pean Weeks 2006 and 2007, feasibility
study for a company survey

Task

To adopt the Agency’s work programme, bud-
get and annual general report.

2. Bureau

Composition

— Chairman and 3 vice-chairmen of the

Board

— Coordinators from each of

the three

interest groups

— 1 additional member from each of the

groups and the Commission

Task:

Overseeing the preparation and follow-up of
the Board’s decisions

3. The Director

Appointed by the Governing Board on a pro-
posal from the Commission.

4. Committees

Obligatory consultation of the Commission
and the Advisory Committee on Safety and
Health at Work in respect of the work pro-
gramme and budget.

5. External audit

European Court of Auditors.

6. Discharge authority

Parliament on a recommendation by the Coun-
cil.

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European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao) — Implementation of the budget for the financial year 2006

Table 2

(1 000 euro)

Source of revenue

Revenue

Revenue entered
in the final budget for
the financial year

Community subsidies

13 200

Other revenue

247

Assigned revenue (1)

Total

518
13 965

Revenue collected

Allocation of expenditure

Title I
Staff
Title II
Administration
Title III
Operating activities
Assigned revenue (1)

11 900

248

312
12 460

Expenditure

Final budget appropriations

final

committed

paid

4 556

4 080

3 831

1 524

1 481

1 083

7 367
518
13 965

7 025
407
12 993

5 060
324
10 298

Total

carried
over

125

381

1 963
194
2 663

(1) The amount entered in the budget for assigned revenue is 661 000 euro, of which only 518 000 euro have been received.

In order to present a correct image, the correct amount of 518 000 euro is given here.

Source: Data supplied by the Agency. This table summarises the data provided by the Agency in its annual accounts. Revenue collected and payments are estimated on a cash basis.

Appropriations carried over from
the previous financial year

cancelled

available

paid

cancelled

E
N

600

61

344
0
1 005

75

331

2 213
206
2 825

28

313

1 814
0
2 155

47

17

400
206
670

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao) — Economic outturn account
for the financial years 2006 and 2005

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao) — Balance sheet
at 31 December 2006 and 2005

Table 3

Table 4

Operating revenue
Community subsidy
Other subsidies
Other incomes

Operating expenditure
Staff expenditure
Fixed asset-related expenditure (1)
Other administrative expenditure
Other operational expenditure

Total (a)

Total (b)
Surplus/(deficit) from operating activities (c = a – b)

Financial expenditure (d)

Surplus/(deficit) from non operating activities (e = d)
Economic result for the year (f = c + e)

(1) The negative amount presented for 2005 is the result of corrections.

(1 000 euro)

2006

2005

11 730
238
1 580
13 548

3 640
139
1 825
8 028
13 632
– 84
6
– 6
– 90

11 021
284
2 460
13 765

3 312
– 14
1 692
8 584
13 575
190
7
– 7
183

Non-current assets
Intangible assets
Tangible assets
Long-term receivables
Current assets
Short-term pre-financing
Short-term receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities
Provisions for risks and charges
Accounts payable

Net assets
Accumulated surplus/deficit
Economic result for the year

Total assets

Total liabilities

Total net assets
Total liabilities and net assets

(1 000 euro)

2006

2005

71
247
4

435
27
2 990
3 774

63
1 981
2 044

1 820
– 90
1 730
3 774

88
247
4

454
142
3 392
4 327

58
2 448
2 507

1 637
183
1 820
4 327

Source: Data supplied by the Agency . This table summarises the data provided by the Agency in its annual accounts: these accounts are drawn up on a accrual basis.

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C 309/66

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.12.2007

THE AGENCY’S REPLIES

The Agency accepts the observation. As from July 2007, the Board is notified of any transfer decisions

1.
made by the Director via the Agency’s extranet.