Resolution (EU) 2017/1652 of the European Parliament of 27 April 2017 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Asylum Support Office for the financial year 2015
Date: 2017-04-27
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Union Agency for Asylum, budgetary discharge, financial year, general budget (EU)








L_2017252EN.01019401.xml










29.9.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 252/194








            RESOLUTION (EU) 2017/1652 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
         
of 27 April 2017
         
with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Asylum Support Office for the financial year 2015


THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,






—


having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Asylum Support Office for the financial year 2015,










—


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










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0093/2017),










A.


whereas, according to its financial statements, the final budget of the European Asylum Support Office (‘the Office’) for the financial year 2015 was EUR 15 944 846 representing an increase of 1,76 % compared to year 2014; whereas 94 % of the Office's budget derives from the Union budget,










B.


whereas the Court of Auditors (‘the Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year 2015 (‘the Court's report’) has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Office's annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,










C.


whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority stresses the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources,






Follow-up to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 discharges









1.


Notes with concern the high number of outstanding issues and ongoing corrective measures in response to the Court's comments in 2012, 2013 and 2014 related to recruitment procedures, late payments, high staff turnover and reimbursement of costs; calls on the Office to complete as many corrective actions as possible in 2017;





Budget and financial management









2.


Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 93,74 %, representing an increase of 9,05 % compared to 2014; notes furthermore that the payment appropriations execution rate was 77,32 %, representing an increase of 5,99 % compared to 2014;












3.


Recalls that, according to a decision by the executive director, participants in meetings organised by the Office are classified in one of three categories (A, B, or C) for cost reimbursements; notes that category ‘A’ participants, who are supposed to assume a specific duty in meetings, receive a flat rate reimbursement for travel and daily subsistence costs, category ‘B’ participants receive a flat rate reimbursement for travel costs only and category ‘C’ participants are not eligible for any reimbursement; points out that the number of participants classified as recipients of category ‘A’ reimbursements decreased from 69 % in 2014 to 52 % in 2015; notes that the action on clarification of the applicable reimbursement category in invitation letters has been completed;












4.


Notes with concern that, according to the Court's report, in 2015 the Office made 1 024 (29,2 %) payments after the time limits set out in the Financial Regulation, representing an increase of 0,6 % compared to the previous year and resulting in an average delay of 29 days for late payments; acknowledges that in the second half of 2015 the Office put in place a strategy providing for several measures to reduce late payments; welcomes the fact that after the implementation of those measures, late payments decreased significantly, from 38,3 % in the period from January to August 2015 to 12,6 % in the period from September to December 2015; notes that despite this positive trend, which continued until May 2016, the late payments rate increased as of June 2016 due to an increase in the Office's operational activities and thus also in the number of financial transactions processed by the same number of members of staff; notes that in November 2016 the financial initiation function was decentralised to the Operational Departments and Administrative Units, while the verification function remained centralised in the Administrative Department; notes that this resulted in positive outcomes;





Commitments and carry-overs









5.


Notes that the level of committed appropriations carried over for Title II (administrative expenditure) was at EUR 1 076 583, i.e. 36,9 % (compared to EUR 635 492 in 2014, i.e. 28,7 %); acknowledges that these carry-overs mainly relate to consulting services for ICT developments contracted in the last quarter of 2015 (EUR 400 000) as well as to investments in IT infrastructure (EUR 300 000) in view of the expected recruitment of additional members of staff following the decision of the budget authority at the end of 2015 to increase the establishment plan; notes that these carry-overs were justified and planned in advance, due to the Office's role in the migration crisis, in consideration of which the budget authority significantly increased the budget and staff of the Office for 2016; notes that carry-overs may often be partly or fully justified by the multiannual nature of the agencies' operational programmes, do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation and are not always at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality, in particular if they are planned in advance by the Office and communicated to the Court;





Procurement and recruitment procedures









6.


Notes with satisfaction that, according to the Court's report, the executive director approved a new policy for the recruitment of temporary and contract agents, which addresses most issues identified by the Court in its past audits;












7.


Acknowledges that the Office adopted the updated implementing rules on the engagement of temporary and contract agents in January 2016; notes, furthermore, that its updated recruitment policy was approved by the executive director in August 2016;












8.


Notes that as of 31 December 2015, the Office had 93 members of staff, both in service and appointed, including 61 temporary agents, 21 contract agents and 11 seconded national experts; points out that 63 % of all members of staff were female while 37 % were male;





Internal audits









9.


Notes that the Office further developed its internal controls in line with the recommendations received from the Commission's Internal Audit Service (IAS) and the Court, as well as according to the Internal Control Standards of the Office adopted in November 2012; observes that, in addition to the audit of the annual accounts, an audit report on training management in the framework of the Office's Permanent and Emergency/Special Support Activities was delivered by the IAS; notes that the Office developed an action plan to address the recommendations made by the IAS;





Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency









10.


Notes that the Office has implemented a decision of the management board on the prevention of fraud as well as an anti-fraud strategy; notes that a whistleblowing procedure was signed on 23 February 2017 and is in line with the Commission's guidelines on whistleblowing;












11.


Notes with concern that the Office did not publish the curricula vitae of either the management board or the senior management teams in 2015; notes that the Office has published the CVs of its senior management team since March 2017; notes also that the Office has approached its management board and intends to publish the curricula vitae of its members once they are collected; calls on the Office to publish those documents as soon as possible in order to ensure necessary public oversight and scrutiny of its management;












12.


Reiterates that preventing and managing conflicts of interest is vital for the health of the organisation; stresses that transparency is a key element for upholding the trust of Union citizens in Union institutions;





Performance









13.


Notes that, according to the Office's annual report, in 2015, 275 participants from 26 ‘EU+’ states and other stakeholders participated in 23 ‘Train-the-Trainers’ sessions organised by the Office; notes moreover that the Office administered 271 national training sessions on its e-learning platform ‘EASO Training Curriculum’ for 3 611 asylum officers;












14.


Notes that, in order to improve its efficacy in relation to translation and interpretation costs, the Office signed a service level agreement with the Commission's Directorate-General for Interpretation; notes moreover that the Office launched an open call for framework contracts in five lots in cascade, with the award criterion being the lowest price; calls on the Office to report back to the discharge authority on the savings achieved;












15.


Notes that the Office developed further measures to assist Member States in need of special support in their asylum and reception systems and that it provided this special support to Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy; notes moreover that in 2015 the Office further developed its activities to support Member States whose asylum and reception systems are subject to particular pressure, in particular by providing support to Greece and Italy and by strengthening the Office's capacity to respond in a timely and effective manner to emergency situations;





Other comments









16.


Recalls the fact that in 2015 a record number of almost 1 400 000 applications for international protection were made; recognises that the Office invested significant efforts in implementing the activities assigned to it under the European Agenda on Migration, in particular as part of the development of the ‘hotspots’ approach; notes the efforts made by the Office in managing the migrant crisis;












17.


Encourages, in particular, the support and practical cooperation offered on issues relating to asylum-seeking children, including unaccompanied minors; welcomes the launch of the EASO Network on the Activities on Children;












18.


Recognises that the growth of the Office's budget in 2016 was significant in order to cope with additional tasks relating to the European Agenda on Migration, the hotspots approach, decisions of the EU Leaders Summit on Western Balkans and the EU-Turkey statement; notes with satisfaction that a range of steps were taken by the Office to deal with such an unprecedented increase in tasks, including the decentralisation of financial initiation accompanied by appropriate training and coaching; notes also that this led to a need for enhanced staff and corresponding office space;












19.


Notes with concern that only 7 members of staff participated in an away day in 2015 for which the cost was relatively high at EUR 4 000 (EUR 571 per person);












20.


Notes that the Office amended its lease agreement and in the second half of 2016 expanded its office space to an additional block of the building in which its premises are situated; notes that, following the approval of Parliament and of the Council, the Office is now in a position to rent and take over the whole building by 1 July 2017; calls on the Office to inform the discharge authority of further developments regarding its premises;












21.


Notes that the Office aimed to explore the possibility of exchanging information and best practices in order to mainstream elements relevant to the return of failed asylum seekers in close collaboration with the European Migration Network Return Expert Group;












22.


Notes that in 2015 the Office's communication plan focused on the promotion of its role, values and activities through a number of tools and external communication activities, which concern its publications, social media, website and the organisation of its information day;












23.


Welcomes the solid output of the Office, with over 117 meetings and workshops organised, 3 764 national staff trained, 272 persons relocated and more than 100 civil society organisations consulted; acknowledges the results of the independent audit by Ernst & Young and the commitment of the Office to develop a corresponding action plan; agrees on the need for the Office to better communicate on the effects and impacts of its activities; welcomes the development of a better web interface for documents related to country of origin (‘COI-related documents’); notes that there were 17 000 COI-related documents linked via the portal at the end of 2015;












24.


Acknowledges that, according to the Office's annual report, in 2014 it started the development of a combined content management system and database, the Information and Documentation System (IDS), in the form of an IT tool which will provide a detailed and up-to-date overview of the practical functioning of the Common European Asylum System;












25.


Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 27 April 2017 (1) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.






(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0155 (see page 372 of this Official Journal).