Resolution (EU) 2016/1496 of the European Parliament of 28 April 2016 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2014
Date: 2016-04-28
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Cedefop, budgetary discharge, financial year, general budget (EU)








L_2016246EN.01018901.xml










14.9.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 246/189








            RESOLUTION (EU) 2016/1496 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
         
of 28 April 2016
         
with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2014


THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,






—


having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2014,










—


having regard to Rule 94 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A8-0082/2016),











A.


whereas, according to its financial statements, the final budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (the ‘Centre’) for the financial year 2014 was EUR 17 275 766, representing a decrease of 3,62 % compared to 2013;










B.


whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2014 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Centre’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular;





Follow-up of the 2013 discharge









1.


Welcomes the measures put in place by the Centre in reaction to the Court’s comments in the previous year, as well as to Parliament's recommendations;





Budget and financial management









2.


Notes with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2014 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98,93 %, at same level as in 2013; notes, furthermore, that the payment appropriations execution rate was at 95,68 %, representing an increase of 3,29 % compared with 2013;





Procurement and recruitment procedures









3.


Appreciates the continued efficiency of the Centre's support services in 2014; notes that 95 out of 98 posts in the establishment plan were filled and the average timeliness of payments remained stable;





Prevention and management of conflict of interests and transparency









4.


Notes that in October 2014 the Centre’s Governing Board adopted a policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests adapted to the Centre's situation and comprising of the relevant situations of potential conflict of interests conceivable at the Centre; welcomes the regular training sessions organised by the Centre in order to raise awareness among its staff on the correct implementation of that policy; observes that the first training sessions took place in June 2015;












5.


Notes that the majority of members of the Centre's Governing Board has signed the declarations of absence of conflict of interest; notes, moreover, that those declarations were published on the Centre's website following the consent of the members in question; urges the members of the Governing Board which have not yet signed the declaration to do so as soon as possible;












6.


Takes note of the fact that the Centre adopted in October 2014 an anti-fraud strategy based on the Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies developed by the Commission in order to support effective prevention and detection of fraud risks and to strengthen appropriate internal procedures for reporting and handling potential fraud cases and their outcomes;












7.


States that the annual reports of the Centre could play an important role in compliance regarding transparency, accountability and integrity; calls on the Centre to include a standard chapter on those components in its annual report;





Internal audit









8.


Acknowledges that the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (‘IAS’) carried out an audit on one of the four topics included in the IAS Strategic Audit Plan 2013 to 2015; observes that the IAS issued in its final audit report one recommendation marked as ‘very important’ and four recommendations marked as ‘important’; acknowledges that, further to the ‘very important’ recommendation having already been implemented at year-end, the rating of the recommendation was downgraded to ‘important’; acknowledges, moreover, that the action plan drafted as a result of the audit is being implemented as planned;





Internal controls









9.


Notes that the Centre regularly performs a risk assessment and prepares a risk management plan (‘RMP’) in order to identify the risks which could affect the achievement of the Centre’s objectives; notes with concern that the RMP indicates that there is a risk that the Centre is unable to treat unforeseen external demands from stakeholders due to its available resources already being overstretched; acknowledges that the Centre is closely monitoring the changes in its work programme in order to adjust it in line with available resources or to integrate the activities resulting from the changes appropriately;





Performance









10.


Notes that the periodic external evaluation of the Centre contained recommendations on how it could develop and strengthen its role; notes, furthermore, that in April 2014 the Centre drafted an action plan to follow up on those recommendations which was presented to its Governing Board; observes that 7 out of 23 recommendations and related actions were closed by the end of 2014; invites the Centre to inform the discharge authority of the advancements made regarding the implementation of the remaining recommendations;












11.


Observes that the periodic external evaluation also examined possible synergies between the Centre, the European Training Foundation (the ‘ETF’), the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (‘EUROFOUND’) and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (‘EU-OSHA’); acknowledges that, according to the conclusions of the evaluation, the Centre did not duplicate activities of any other actors at Union, national or international level;












12.


Notes the Centre’s close cooperation with the ETF and EUROFOUND, which is formalised in cooperation agreements between these agencies as well as in previously agreed annual work programmes;












13.


Notes the Centre’s work on increasing the visibility of vocational education and training in the Union and of its own role through its website, social media, organisation of different events in the host Member State as well as through collaboration with the Commission in several publications and press work;





Other comments









14.


Regrets that the repair works on the Centre's building in Greece were not finalised by the end of 2014; acknowledges, however, that the repairs are under the responsibility of the Government of the host Member State and that the relevant constructions works had to be suspended due to the economic situation in the host Member State; notes that the remaining works were to be finalised by the end of 2015 and calls on the Centre to further report to the discharge authority on this issue;












15.


Appreciates that the Centre focused its activity on contributing to and supporting policies addressing youth unemployment; commends, in particular, the Centre's skills forecasts and analyses as well as the work focusing on developing apprenticeships; takes note with satisfaction of the fact that the information from the detailed country fiches on vocational education and training policies, prepared by the Centre for all Member States, was reflected in the 2014 country-specific recommendations of the European Semester;












16.


Believes that the Centre should assist Member States which face the challenge of an increased number of refugees in making use of vocational training opportunities for integrating them in labour markets;












17.


Welcomes the fact that visits to the Europass website managed by Centre and available in 27 languages reached 21,7 million users in 2014, representing an increase of 8 % on the 2013 figures;












18.


Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 28 April 2016 (1) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.






(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0159 (see page 447 of this Official Journal).