2012/558/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 10 May 2012 on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010, Section VIII — European Ombudsman
Date: 2012-05-10
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Ombudsman, budgetary discharge, financial year, general budget (EU)




L_2012286EN.01011701.xml










17.10.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 286/117








            DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
         
of 10 May 2012
         
on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010, Section VIII — European Ombudsman
(2012/558/EU)


THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,






—


having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010 (1),










—


having regard to the annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (COM(2011) 473 – C7-0263/2011) (2),










—


having regard to the European Ombudsman’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2010,










—


having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2010, together with the institutions’ replies (3),










—


having regard to the statement of assurance (4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2010 pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,










—


having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,










—


having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,










—


having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0089/2012),






1.   

Grants the European Ombudsman discharge in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2010;



2.   

Sets out its observations in the resolution below;



3.   

Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).






The President

Martin SCHULZ
            



The Secretary-General

Klaus WELLE
            





(1)  
            OJ L 64, 12.3.2010.

(2)  
            OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 1.

(3)  
            OJ C 326, 10.11.2011, p. 1.

(4)  
            OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 134.

(5)  
            OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.






            RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
         
of 10 May 2012
         
with observations forming an integral part of the decision on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010, Section VIII — European Ombudsman


THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,






—


having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010 (1),










—


having regard to the annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (COM(2011) 473 – C7-0263/2011) (2),










—


having regard to the European Ombudsman’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2010,










—


having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2010, together with the institutions’ replies (3),










—


having regard to the statement of assurance (4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2010 pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,










—


having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,










—


having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,










—


having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0089/2012),






1.   

Stresses that in point 7.31 of its 2010 annual report the Court of Auditors stated that it ‘has no observation to make on the European Ombudsman’; points out, none the less, that the Court of Auditors had asked the European Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) to draft provisions on the procedures for recruitment of temporary staff; considers that the Court of Auditors should have notified it of the outcome;



2.   

Notes that in 2010 the Ombudsman had commitment appropriations available amounting to a total of EUR 9 332 275 (as against EUR 9 000 000 in 2009) and that the utilisation rate for those appropriations was 89,65 %, which was below the average for the other institutions and two percentage points lower than the utilisation rate for the previous year (91,98 %); points out, however, that the lower utilisation rate is due mainly to a fluctuation in staff numbers and stresses that the Ombudsman has a purely administrative budget, 79 % of which is accounted for by expenditure relating to persons working with the institution, 15 % by buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure, and 6 % by expenditure resulting from general functions carried out by the institution;



3.   

Calls for better financial planning ensuring more efficient budget implementation;



4.   

Welcomes the fact that the Ombudsman included key performance indicators in the 2010 action plan, together with a scoreboard, thus enabling performance to be measured using a benchmarking system; welcomes the progress made throughout the year;



5.   

Calls, however, for the number and proportion of cases in which decisions on admissibility are taken within one month to be further increased; notes that the current proportion is 66 %;



6.   

Calls also for the number and proportion of inquiries that are completed within less than 12 months to continue to increase; notes that the current proportion is 66 %;



7.   

Welcomes the fact that a new procedure has been introduced for the recruitment of temporary staff and the calculation of individual entitlements;



8.   

Welcomes the audit carried out by the Internal Audit Service in 2010, which took account of observations made in 2009 and concluded that, subject to implementation of the agreed measures, the management and control system is effective;



9.   

Points out that Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on the annual report on the European Ombudsman’s activities in 2010 only recently, on 27 October 2011 (6), and therefore does not wish to add to the observations made therein;



10.   

Calls for the annual report on the European Ombudsman’s activities in 2011 to contain a section on any action taken in response to Parliament’s discharge resolution, together with a comprehensive table of all the human resources available to the Ombudsman, broken down by category, grade and gender, participation in professional training and nationality.




(1)  
            OJ L 64, 12.3.2010.

(2)  
            OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 1.

(3)  
            OJ C 326, 10.11.2011, p. 1.

(4)  
            OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 134.

(5)  
            OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

(6)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0467.