Report on the annual accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2007, together with the Agency's replies
Date: 2008-09-18
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EU office or agency, European Court of Auditors, financial control, fishing controls, implementation of the budget, powers of the institutions (EU), report

5.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/1

IV

(Notices)

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES

COURT OF AUDITORS

on the annual accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency for
the financial year 2007, together with the Agency’s replies

REPORT

(2008/C 311/01)

CONTENTS

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

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

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

1-2

3-6

7-10

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

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

2

2

2

3

6

Paragraph

Page

C 311/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.12.2008

INTRODUCTION

The Court has thus obtained a reasonable basis for the

6.
Statement set out below:

1.
The Community Fisheries Control Agency (hereinafter the
Agency) was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (1)
of 26 April 2005. The Agency’s main task is to organise the
operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection
activities by the Member States in order to ensure effective and
uniform application of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The Agency
on
11 November 2007.

independence

financial

acquired

its

2.
Table 1 summarises the Agency’s competences and activi-
ties. Key data taken from the financial statements drawn up by the
Agency for the financial year 2007 are presented in Tables 2, 3
and 4 for information purposes.

Reliability of the accounts

The Agency’s accounts for the financial year ended 31 Decem-
ber 2007 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 observations which follow do not call the Court’s State-
ment into question.

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE

OBSERVATIONS

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.

4.
The Agency’s accounts for the financial year ended
31 December 2007 (3) were drawn up by its Executive Director,
pursuant to Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 768/2005, 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 under-
lying transactions.

5.
The Court conducted its audit in accordance with the IFAC
and ISSAI (4) 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.

7.
The Agency’s 2007 budget was 5 million euro. Due to the
fact that the Agency only acquired its financial independence in
November 2007, the Commission managed more than half of its
budget. There is no official handover report concerning the part
of the Agency’s budget managed by the Commission. Table 2
shows the part of the budget managed by the Agency which is
financed by subsidies from the European Commission.

8.
The Agency had not established efficient year end proce-
dures for determining the appropriations to be carried over.
Appropriations amounting to at least 125 000 euro were carried
over (5) without legal commitments.

9.
The internal control procedures required by article 38 of
the Financial Regulation to ensure transparency and sound finan-
cial management have not yet all been documented. The Admin-
istrative Board did not formally adopt any internal control
standards.

The description of the accounting systems was prepared
10.
by the authorising officer at the year end which has been not yet
validated by the accounting officer.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at
18 September 2008.

its meeting of

For the Court of Auditors
Vítor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA
President

(1) OJ L 128, 21.5.2005, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(3) These accounts were drawn up on 17 June 2008 and received by the

Court on 2 July 2008.

(4) International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and International Stan-

dards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI).

(5) Title I, 67 000 euro and Title III, 58 000 euro.

Areas of Community competence
deriving from the Treaty

Article 37 of the Treaty establishing
the European Community.

Article 28 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 2371/2002 on the conser-
vation and sustainable exploitation
fisheries resources under the
of
common fisheries policy requires
Member States to ensure effective
control,
inspection and enforce-
ment of the rules of the common
fisheries policy and to cooperate
with each other and with third
countries to this end.

Regulation

Council
(EC)
No 768/2005 establishing a Com-
munity Fisheries Control Agency
and amending Regulation (EEC)
No 2847/93 establishing a control
system applicable to the Common
Fisheries Policy.

Table 1

Community Fisheries Control Agency (Brussels)

Competences of the Agency as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005

Governance

Resources available to the Agency
in 2007

Activities and services provided in 2007

Objectives

Mission and Tasks

1. Administrative Board

Final Budget:

Comprises one representative
from each MemberState and six
representatives of the Commis-
sion.

5 million euro

Available to the CFCA at finan-
cial independence: 2,2 million
euro

2. Executive Director

Establishment plan in 2007:

Appointed by the Administra-
tive Board from a list of at least
two candidates proposed by
the Commission.

3. External Audit

Court of Auditors

4. Discharge Authority

The Parliament following a rec-
ommendation from the Coun-
cil.

38 staff

Total staff at 31.12.2007:

17 Temporary Staff (Recruit-
ment slowed down in anticipa-
tion of the relocation to Vigo
early 2008.)

Other posts:

8 Contract staff

The Regulation establishes a
Community Fisheries Control
Agency, the objective of which
is to organise operational coor-
fisheries control
dination of
and inspection activities by the
Member States and to assist
them to cooperate so as to
comply with the rules of the
Common Fisheries Policy in
order to ensure its effective and
uniform application.

Mission

(i)

(ii)

To coordinate the control and inspec-
tion obligations of the Community;

To coordinate the deployment of the
national means of control and inspec-
tion pooled by the Member States
concerned;

(iii) To assist Member States in reporting
information on fishing activities and
control and inspection activities;

(iv) To assist Member States to fulfil their
tasks and obligations under the rules
of the common fisheries policy;

(v)

To assist Member States and the Com-
mission in harmonising the applica-
tion of the common fisheries policy
throughout the Community;

(vi) To contribute to the work of Member
and the Commission on
States
research into and development of
control and inspection techniques;

(vii) To contribute to the coordination of
inspector training and the exchange
of experience between Member States;

(viii) To coordinate operations to combat
illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing, in conformity with Commu-
nity rules.

During 2007 the CFCA launched its first operational
activities in three areas in accordance with the 2007 Work
Programme and prepared for operational activities in two
more areas.

1. North Sea and adjacent waters

On the basis of the existing cooperation between some
Member States (the so called operations ‘Shark’ and ‘Saint
Pierre’), in 2007, the CFCA elaborated a Joint Deployment
Plan (JDP) together with the Member States surrounding
the North Sea.

2. NAFO Regulatory Area (RA)

The CFCA ensured throughout 2007 the coordination of
inspection and surveillance in the NAFO RA under the
NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures (CEM) by
(NAFO) Community Inspectors, with the presence of one
CFCA Coordinator on board the EU-inspection vessel
‘Jean Charcot’ in the NAFO RA chartered by the Commis-
sion.

3. Baltic Sea

Between May and December 2007 six joint inspection
and surveillance campaigns coordinated by the CFCA
were carried out. The JISS campaigns were set up in the
same way as the ones in the North Sea and each campaign
was coordinated by one of the coordination centres of the
MS concerned with a CFCA coordinator present in this
centre.

4. Bluefin tuna

In 2007 the CFCA started the preparatory work for the
inspection and surveillance
coordination of control,
activities by Member States.

5.

IUU

Pending the adoption of new legislation, some prepara-
tory work has been started.

Source:

Information submitted by the Agency.

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Community Fisheries Control Agency (Brussels) — Implementation of the budget for the financial year 2007

Table 2

Revenue

Source of revenue

Revenue entered in the final
budget for the financial year

Revenue collected

Allocation of expenditure

Expenditure

Final budget
appropriations

Appropriations managed by the Agency

entered

available

committed

paid

carried over

cancelled

(1 000 euro)

Community subsidies

5 000

2 292

Total

5 000

2 292

Title I
Staff

Title II
Administration

Title III
Operating activities

2 650

1 250

1 100

1 100

5 000

5 000

923

963

407

407

2 293

2 293

391

804

192

—

1 387

—

223

55

—

19

278

297

168

750

—

—

918

918

532

159

215

388

906

1 079

— CA

— PA

Total CA

Total PA

CA: commitment appropriations in a system of differentiated appropriations.
PA: payment appropriations in a system of differentiated appropriations.
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.

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5.12.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/5

Community Fisheries Control Agency (Brussels) — Economic outturn account for the financial year 2007

Table 3

Operating revenue

Community subsidies

Other revenues

Operating expenditure

Staff expenditure

Fixed asset related expenditure

Other administrative expenditure

Operational expenditure

(1 000 euro)

2007

1 148

39

1 187

306

2

563

34

905

282

Total (a)

Economic result for the year (c = a – b)

Total (b)

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 an accrual basis.

Community Fisheries Control Agency (Brussels) — Balance sheet at 31 December 2007

Table 4

Non-current assets

Intangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets

Current assets

Short-term receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities

Provisions for risks and charges

Accounts payable

Reserve

Accumulated surplus/deficit

Economic result for the year

(1 000 euro)

2007

0

37

4

2 002

2 043

79

1 682

1 761

282

0

282

282

Total assets

Total liabilities

Net assets

Net capital

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 an accrual basis.

C 311/6

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.12.2008

THE AGENCY’S REPLIES

In order to strengthen the year end procedures and avoid similar circumstances, additional follow up

8.
tools have been put in place by the Agency since January 2008.

9.
The Administrative Board of the CFCA has adopted the Internal Control Standards (16) in March 2008.
The organizational structure and the internal control systems necessary for the implementation of the Internal
Control Standards will be put in place in 2008.

10.
The financial procedures put in place by the authorising officer have yet to be validated by the account-
ing officer due to the very tight time delay between the financial independence of the Agency and the year end.
The Agency is currently defining a plan for this validation, with the intention to carry it out in 2008.