Report on the annual accounts of the Community Plant Variety Office for the financial year 2010, together with the Office’s reply
Date: 2011-09-06
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: Community Plant Variety Office, administration of the Institutions, auditing, budgetary control, budgetary resources, closing of accounts, financial control, powers of the institutions (EU)








C_2011366EN.01016201.xml










15.12.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 366/162





REPORT
on the annual accounts of the Community Plant Variety Office for the financial year 2010, together with the Office’s reply
2011/C 366/29

INTRODUCTION







1.


The Community Plant Variety Office (hereinafter ‘the Office’), which is located in Angers, was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of 27 July 1994 (1). Its main task is to register and examine applications for the grant of Union industrial property rights for plant varieties and to ensure that the necessary technical examinations are carried out by the competent offices in the Member States (2).










2.


The Office’s 2010 budget was 13,1 million euro, compared with 13,2 million euro the previous year. The number of staff employed by the Office at the end of the year was 45, compared with 46 the previous year.





STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE







3.


Pursuant to the provisions of Article 287(1), second subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Court has audited the annual accounts (3) of the Office, which comprise the ‘financial statements’ (4) and the ‘reports on the implementation of the budget’ (5) for the financial year ended 31 December 2010, and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts.










4.


This Statement of Assurance is addressed to the Administrative Council of the Office in accordance with Article 111 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94.





The President’s responsibility







5.


As authorising officer, the President implements the revenue and expenditure of the budget in accordance with the financial rules of the Office, under his own responsibility and within the limits of the authorised appropriations (6). The President is responsible for putting in place (7) the organisational structure and the internal management and control systems and procedures relevant for drawing up final accounts (8) that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and for ensuring that the transactions underlying those accounts are legal and regular.





The Court’s responsibility







6.


The Court’s responsibility is to provide, on the basis of its audit, a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the annual accounts of the Office and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them.










7.


The Court conducted its audit in accordance with the IFAC and ISSAI (9) International Auditing Standards and Codes of Ethics. Those standards require the Court to comply with ethical requirements and to plan and perform the audit so as to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the accounts are free of material misstatement and whether the underlying transactions are legal and regular.










8.


The Court’s audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence of the amounts and disclosures in the accounts and of the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them. The procedures selected, including its assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the accounts or of illegal or irregular transactions, whether due to fraud or error, depend on its audit judgement. In making those risk assessments, internal controls relevant to the entity’s preparation and presentation of accounts are considered in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. The Court’s audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of the accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the accounts.










9.


The Court believes that the audit evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for the opinions set out below.






Opinion on the reliability of the accounts








10.


In the Court’s opinion, the Office’s Annual Accounts (10) fairly present, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2010 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation.






Opinion on the legality and the regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts








11.


In the Court’s opinion, the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year ended 31 December 2010 are, in all material respects, legal and regular.










12.


The comments which follow do not call the Court’s opinions into question.





COMMENTS ON THE BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT







13.


In its Report on the annual accounts of the Office for 2009 (11), the Court pointed out certain weaknesses in the Office’s observance of relevant procurement regulations. While the Office’s performance improved in this area, weaknesses were noted including the bookings of budget commitments in advance of legal commitments and in the conduct of a negotiated procurement procedure.





This Report was adopted by Chamber IV, headed by Mr Igors LUDBORŽS, Member of the Court of Auditors, in Luxembourg at its meeting of 6 September 2011.


For the Court of Auditors

Vítor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA

President





(1)  OJ L 227, 1.9.1994, p. 27.

(2)  The Annex summarises the Office's competences and activities. It is presented for information purposes.

(3)  These accounts are accompanied by a report on the budgetary and financial management during the year which gives inter alia an account of the rate of implementation of the appropriations, with summary information on the transfers of appropriations among the various budget items.

(4)  The financial statements include the balance sheet and the economic outturn account, the cash-flow table, the statement of changes in capital and the annex to the financial statements, which includes a description of the main accounting policies and other explanatory information.

(5)  The budget implementation reports comprise the budget outturn account and its annex.

(6)  Article 33 of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 (OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72).

(7)  Article 38 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002.

(8)  The rules concerning the presentation of the accounts and accounting by the Agencies are laid down in Chapter 1 of Title VII of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 652/2008 (OJ L 181, 10.7.2008, p. 23) and are integrated as such in the Financial Regulation of the Office.

(9)  International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI).

(10)  The Final Annual Accounts were drawn up on 30 June 2011 and received by the Court on 5 July 2011. The Final Annual Accounts can be found on the following website http://eca.europa.eu or http://www.cpvo.europa.eu/main/en/home/about-the-cpvo/financing

(11)  OJ C 338, 14.12.2010, p. 168.


ANNEX

Community Plant Variety Office (Angers)


Competences and activities








Areas of Union competence deriving from the Treaty


(Extract of Article 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)




Free movement of goods

Such prohibitions or restrictions (the protection of industrial and commercial property) shall not, however, constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States.





Competences of the Office


(Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94)




Objectives







—


To apply the system of Union plant variety rights as the sole and exclusive form of Union industrial property rights for plant varieties.





Tasks







—


To decide whether to refuse or grant applications for Union plant variety rights.










—


To decide on objections.










—


To decide on appeals.










—


To decide on the revocation or cancellation of a Union plant variety right.









Governance




1 —   The President

Directs the Office. He is appointed by the Council from a list of candidates proposed by the Commission after obtaining the opinion of the Administrative Council.

2 —   The Administrative Council

Oversees the Office's work programme and draws up rules governing the Office's working methods. It is composed of one representative of each Member State and one representative of the Commission, plus their alternates.
3 —   Decisions regarding the grant of Community plant variety rights are adopted by Committees composed of three members of staff of the Office and by the Board of Appeal in appeal proceedings.

4 —   Control of the legality of the Office's acts

Review by the Commission of the legality of the acts of the Office's President in respect of which Union law does not provide for any control on legality by another body and of the acts of the Administrative Council relating to the Office's budget.

5 —   External audit

Court of Auditors.

6 —   Discharge authority

Administrative Council.





Resources made available to the Office in 2010 (2009)





Final Budget

13,1 million euro (13,2 million euro)


Staff as at 31 December 2010

Number of posts in the establishment plan: 46 (46)

Posts occupied: 45 (46)


Total staff: 45 (46)

undertaking the following tasks:






 


operational: 17,5 (17,5)











 


administrative: 21,5 (22,5)











 


mixed: 6 (6)










Products and services in 2010 (2009)




Applications received: 2 886(2 768)

Rights granted: 2 303(2 596)

European Union rights in force at 31 December 2010: 17 610(16 785)


International Cooperation in Plant Variety Protection







—


Contribution to enforcement of plant variety rights.










—


Contacts and cooperation with the following organisations: European Commission (DG SANCO, Standing Committees), UPOV (1), Ciopora (2), ESA (3), OAPI (4), OECD (5), MAFF (6) (Japan).









Source: Information supplied by the Office.






(1)  Union pour la Protection des Obtentions végétales.

(2)  International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Plants.

(3)  European Seed Association.

(4)  Organisation africaine de la Propriété intellectuelle.

(5)  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

(6)  Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (JP).



THE OFFICE'S REPLY






13.


The Office takes note of the remark of the Court and ensures it will give particular attention to the weaknesses identified by the auditors.