The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Bart STAES (Greens/EFA, BE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2016.
The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agencys budget for the financial year 2016.
Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2016 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agencys accounts.
They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:
- Agencys financial statements: the final budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2016 was EUR 21 603 000, approximately the same amount as in 2015.
- Budget and financial management: Members noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts in the financial year 2016 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, which is the same rate as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 73.21 %, representing an increase of 1.59 % compared to the previous year.
- Commitments and carry-overs: the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2017 for operating expenditure was again very high at EUR 5.2 million (68 %), compared to EUR 5.7 million (70 %) for the previous year. These carry-overs mainly reflect the nature of activities of the Agency which involve financing studies that span over many months, often beyond year-end. Carry-overs are often justified and do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation.
Members also made a series of observations regarding, transfers, procurement and staff policy and internal audits and controls.
The report noted that 49.3 % of the Agencys temporary agents are female and 50.7 % are male. Members regretted, however, the significant imbalance in the Agencys six senior management positions, with a ratio of one woman to five men. The Agency is called on to aim for a more gender-balanced staff composition at the level of senior posts.
In addition, Members noted that the Agency recognises the financial risks due to Brexit as the potential loss of financial resources could impact the Agency's operational activities. The Agency also noted the operational risks due to Brexit and the resulting potential loss of competition as a number of operational related contractors are based in the United Kingdom and loss of skilful British national staff members. The Agency is called to work in close cooperation with the Commission regarding Brexit negotiations in order to be sufficiently prepared to minimise any negative operational or financial impact that may occur.
Lastly, Members welcomed the fact that the Agency continued its research on the situation of Roma in the Union.