Resolution of the European Parliament of 3 April 2014 with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of Eurojust for the financial year 2012
Date: 2014-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Eurojust, budgetary discharge, financial year, general budget (EU)








L_2014266EN.01028701.xml










5.9.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 266/287








            RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
         
of 3 April 2014
         
with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of Eurojust for the financial year 2012


THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,






—


having regard to the final annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2012,










—


having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the financial year 2012, together with the Eurojust’s replies (1),










—


having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 18 February 2014 (05849/2014 – C7-0054/2014),










—


having regard to Article 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 (2) (‘the Financial Regulation’), and in particular Article 185 thereof,










—


having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,










—


having regard to Council Decision 2002/187/JHA of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime (4), and in particular Article 36 thereof,










—


having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5),










—


having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 of 30 September 2013 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 208 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), and in particular Article 108 thereof,










—


having regard to its previous discharge decisions and resolutions,










—


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 and the opinion of the Committee on the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A7-0186/2014),










A.


whereas according to its financial statements, the final budget of Eurojust for the financial year 2012 was EUR 33 322 996, representing an increase of 6,27 % compared to 2011,










B.


whereas, according to its financial statements, the contribution of the Union to Eurojust’s budget for 2012 amounted to EUR 32 967 000, representing an increase of 5,21 % compared to 2011,










C.


whereas the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that Eurojust’s annual accounts for the financial year 2012 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,






Follow-up of 2011 discharge









1.


Notes from the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts that out of four comments made in 2011, two corrective actions taken in response to the previous year’s comments are still marked as ‘outstanding’ and two as ‘completed’;












2.


Acknowledges from Eurojust that:






—


it has provided the discharge authority with a report presenting the measures adopted and implemented following the discharge authority’s recommendations of 2010,










—


different measures have been introduced to reduce the automatic carry-overs of commitments that aim at executing the budget in a timely manner, such as a new forecasting report reinforcing the operational units’ budget planning and execution, information on the overall budget execution being sent monthly, the Budget, Finance and Procurement Unit working in close contact with the operational units to assist them in the budget implementation and mandatory expenditure lifecycle training for all actors involved in the budget implementation,










—


in order to reduce the vacancy rate and eliminate shortcomings in the implementation of recruitment procedures, Eurojust has set up a comprehensive recruitment action plan for 2012, putting the vacancy rate at the end of 2012 at 11,74 %;









Comment on the legality and regularity of transactions









3.


Notes with concern that a framework contract for security services was signed in 2008 and amended in 2009; notes that the amended formula to calculate prices progressively increased them by 22 %, whereas the original framework contract had provided for a maximum increase of 4 %; notes that the total price increase above the 4 % ceiling amounted to some EUR 440 000 for the 2008 to 2012 period, of which some EUR 68 000 were paid in 2012; expresses concern that such a significant increase may undermine the transparency and fairness of the initial procurement procedure and distort competition;





Budget and financial management









4.


Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98 % for Title I, almost 100 % for Title II and 96 % for Title III in 2012; notes that the payment appropriations execution rate was 96 % for Title I, 85 % for Title II and 74 % for Title III;





Commitments and carry-overs









5.


Acknowledges that the Court of Auditors’ annual audit has found no notable issues as regards the level of carry-overs in 2012; commends Eurojust for adhering to the principle of annuality and for the timely execution of its budget;





Transfers









6.


Notes with satisfaction that according to the annual activity report as well as the Court of Auditors’ audit’s findings, the level and nature of transfers in 2012 have remained within the limits of the financial rules; commends Eurojust for its good budgetary planning;





Procurement and Recruitment procedures









7.


Requires Eurojust to improve the transparency of recruitment procedures; notes that there was no evidence that questions for tests and interviews were set before the examination of the applications by the Selection Board and there is no evidence that the weighting between written tests and interviews was set before candidates’ screening; calls on Eurojust to follow this up within the framework of discharge 2012 follow-up report;





Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency









8.


Acknowledges Eurojust’s arrangements for the prevention and management of conflicts of interests; calls on Eurojust to inform the discharge authority of its intention to review its arrangements on the basis of the Commission’s Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interest in EU Decentralised Agencies;












9.


Observes that the CVs and declarations of interests of the members of the Management Board, the Executive Director and senior management are not publicly available; calls on Eurojust to remedy the situation as a matter of urgency;





Internal audit









10.


Acknowledges from Eurojust that in 2012 the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) carried out a follow up engagement in accordance with the Eurojust’s Strategic Audit Plan; observes that in the course of the risk analysis, the IAS identified certain processes of high inherent risk which could not be considered as auditable within the audit plan, that Eurojust management submitted an action plan aimed at addressing these weaknesses and the actions undertaken by Eurojust were to be followed up by the IAS during the next in-depth risk assessment (2013); notes that there were four ‘very important’ recommendations from the years before which still were in the process of being addressed by Eurojust;





Performance









11.


Requests that Eurojust communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website;












12.


Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 3 April 2014 (7) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.






(1)  
            OJ C 365, 13.12.2013, p. 228.

(2)  
            OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

(3)  
            OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

(4)  
            OJ L 63, 6.3.2002, p. 1.

(5)  
            OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

(6)  
            OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42.

(7)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0299 (see page 359 of this Official Journal).