REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
26.3.2010 - (C7‑0181/2009 – 2009/2110(DEC))
Committee on Budgetary Control
Rapporteur: Véronique Mathieu
1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 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 2008
(C7‑0181/2009 – 2009/2110(DEC))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,
– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre's replies[1],
– having regard to the Council's recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 – C7‑0061/2010),
– having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and 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], and in particular Article 185 thereof,
– having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training[3], and in particular Article 12a 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 Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002[4], and in particular Article 94 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 and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),
1. Grants the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2008;
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 Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).
2. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION
on the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
(C7‑0181/2009 – 2009/2110(DEC))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,
– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre's replies[5],
– having regard to the Council's recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 – C7‑0061/2010),
– having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and 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[6], and in particular Article 185 thereof,
– having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training[7], and in particular Article 12a 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 Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002[8], and in particular Article 94 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 and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),
1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008;
2. Instructs its President to forward this Decision to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).
3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
(C7‑0181/2009 – 2009/2110(DEC))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008,
– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008, together with the Centre's replies[9],
– having regard to the Council's recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 – C7‑0061/2010),
– having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and 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[10], and in particular Article 185 thereof,
– having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training[11], and in particular Article 12a 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 Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002[12], and in particular Article 94 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 and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0091/2010),
A. whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,
B. whereas on 23 April 2009 Parliament granted the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2007[13], and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia, drew attention to observations by the Court of Auditors concerning the high proportion of carry-overs and cancellations, the need to set measurable objectives and indicators in its programming and the need to establish clear links between objectives and the budgetary resources needed to achieve them,
1. Expresses its satisfaction that the Court of Auditors has declared the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 to be legal and regular;
Performance
2. Congratulates the Centre on its positive statement of assurance from the Court of Auditors in relation to the financial year 2008, not only with regard to the accounts, but also with regard to the underlying transactions; notes that the Centre has made enormous progress with regard to the inventory procedure for identifying, recording and capitalising assets, to documentation on internal control processes and to procurement procedures;
3. Again stresses how important it is for the Centre to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements; notes, however, the statement by the Centre that it has taken these observations into consideration in its 2009 programme; calls also on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results;
4. Welcomes, nonetheless, the Centre's intention to introduce a pilot system in 2010 for recording the time spent by each staff member on a Centre project;
5. Calls on the Centre to set out, in its table to be annexed to the Court of Auditors' next report, a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess more effectively its performance from one year to the next;
6. Welcomes the close cooperation and the synergies established between the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and the European Training Foundation (ETF), given the two agencies' related areas of responsibility; calls on the two agencies to include a detailed follow-up report on the cooperation agreement in their 2009 activity reports.
Budgetary and financial management
7. Draws attention to the fact that the Centre has again carried appropriations forward (25% of payment appropriations, or EUR 1 400 000); points out that this reveals weaknesses in the programming and monitoring of differentiated appropriations for operating activities;
Human resources
8. Points out that the Centre employs 128 staff and in 2009 introduced a performance measurement system; expects to be informed of the results of the introduction of that system;
Internal audit
9. Congratulates the Centre on being the first agency voluntarily to undergo a pilot audit on the ethical framework; notes that this audit was conducted from 16 to 20 February 2009 by a team of three auditors and that the Internal Audit Service (IAS) confirmed that the Centre had developed a good ethical framework;
10. Acknowledges that, since 2006, the Centre has implemented 15 recommendations out of 30 recommended by the IAS; notes that, of the 15 still not implemented, six are considered to be 'very important' and mainly relate to human resources management (e.g. staff performance, setting personal objectives and fixing the roles and responsibilities of the Staff Committee); expects progress in this area of fundamental importance to the Centre's work and asks to be kept informed;
oo o
11. Refers for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of xx April 2010[14] on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
25.2010
OPINION of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
for the Committee on Budgetary Control
on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2008
(C7-0181/2009 - 2009/2110(DEC))
Rapporteur: Ingeborg Gräßle
SUGGESTIONS
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:
1. Draws attention to the Court of Auditors’ confirmation that the annual accounts for a budget of EUR 18.3 million fairly present the Centre’s actual financial position as at 31 December 2008 and that the Centre’s operations and cash flows for the financial year 2008 are in accordance with its financial rules;
2. Expresses its satisfaction that the Court of Auditors has declared the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 to be legal and regular;
3. Calls on the Centre, in the light of the carry-over of 25% of appropriations for project-related payments, to improve its financial planning and draw up a more accurate budget;
4. Welcomes the improvements in connection with the monitoring of projects and the award of contracts; expects the relevant details to be set out in the activity report;
5. Expresses dissatisfaction at the standstill in the area of staff management, given that the objectives for staff and the performance indicators were neither measureable nor geared to results; expects progress in this area of fundamental importance to the Centre's work and asks to be kept informed;
6. Points out that the Centre employs 128 staff and in 2009 introduced a performance measurement system; expects to be informed of the results of the introduction of that system;
7. Welcomes, given the two agencies' related areas of responsibility, the close cooperation and the synergies established between the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and the European Training Foundation (ETF); calls on the two agencies to include a detailed follow-up report on the cooperation agreement in their 2009 activity reports.
RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE
Date adopted |
22.2.2010 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
40 1 1 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Regina Bastos, Edit Bauer, Milan Cabrnoch, David Casa, Alejandro Cercas, Ole Christensen, Derek Roland Clark, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati, Marije Cornelissen, Tadeusz Cymański, Frédéric Daerden, Karima Delli, Proinsias De Rossa, Frank Engel, Sari Essayah, Richard Falbr, Marian Harkin, Roger Helmer, Nadja Hirsch, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Danuta Jazłowiecka, Martin Kastler, Ádám Kósa, Jean Lambert, Veronica Lope Fontagné, Olle Ludvigsson, Elizabeth Lynne, Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, Csaba Őry, Siiri Oviir, Konstantinos Poupakis, Sylvana Rapti, Licia Ronzulli, Elisabeth Schroedter, Jutta Steinruck, Traian Ungureanu |
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Marielle Gallo, Joe Higgins, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Evelyn Regner, Birgit Sippel |
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RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE
Date adopted |
23.3.2010 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
19 2 1 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Jean-Pierre Audy, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Ryszard Czarnecki, Luigi de Magistris, Tamás Deutsch, Martin Ehrenhauser, Jens Geier, Ingeborg Gräßle, Martin Häusling, Ville Itälä, Iliana Ivanova, Monica Luisa Macovei, Christel Schaldemose, Theodoros Skylakakis, Bart Staes, Georgios Stavrakakis, Søren Bo Søndergaard |
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Thijs Berman, Esther de Lange, Christofer Fjellner, Salvador Garriga Polledo, Edit Herczog, Ivailo Kalfin, Véronique Mathieu, Olle Schmidt, Derek Vaughan |
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- [1] OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.
- [2] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
- [3] OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.
- [4] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
- [5] OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.
- [6] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
- [7] OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.
- [8] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
- [9] OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 118.
- [10] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
- [11] OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.
- [12] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
- [13] OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 141.
- [14] Texts adopted, P7_TA-PROV(2010)...