REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012

20.3.2014 - (C7‑0323/2013 – 2013/2235(DEC))

Committee on Budgetary Control
Rapporteur: Petri Sarvamaa

Procedure : 2013/2235(DEC)

Document stages in plenary

Document selected :

A7-0179/2014

Texts tabled :

A7-0179/2014

Debates :

PV 02/04/2014 - 24
CRE 02/04/2014 - 24

Votes :

PV 03/04/2014 - 7.51
Explanations of votes

Texts adopted :

P7_TA(2014)0327

1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012

(C7‑0323/2013 – 2013/2235(DEC))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012,

– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012, together with the Office’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], 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 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol)[4], and in particular Article 43 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 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 (A7-0179/2014),

1. Grants the Director of the European Police Office discharge in respect of the implementation of the Office's budget for the financial year 2012;

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 Police Office, 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 Police Office for the financial year 2012

(C7‑0323/2013 – 2013/2235(DEC))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012,

– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012, together with the Office’s replies[7],

– 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[8], and in particular Article 185 thereof,

– having regard to Council Decision 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol)[10], and in particular Article 43 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 the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A7-0179/2014),

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012;

2. Instructs its President to forward this Decision to the Director of the European Police Office, 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 of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012

(C7‑0323/2013 – 2013/2235(DEC))

– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012,

– having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Police Office for the financial year 2012, together with the Office’s replies[13],

– 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[14] ("the Financial Regulation"), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

– having regard to Council Decision 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol)[16], and in particular Article 43 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 (A7-0179/2014),

A. whereas, according to its financial statements, the final budget of the European Police Office (“Europol”) for the financial year 2012 was EUR 84 152 000, representing a decrease of 0,73 % compared to 2011,

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

Comments on the legality and regularity of transactions

1. Notes with concern that the Office carried over EUR 1 200 000 for changes to its premises in connection with the setting up of the European Cybercrime Centre; notes that although the Office agreed upon those changes with the host state in July 2012, the contract for the works required was only signed in April 2013; notes, in addition, that the Office carried over EUR 100 000 related to the introduction of a new human resources system; expresses concern that both of those carry-overs did not correspond to legal commitments made at the end of the year and were thus irregular; calls on the Office to take steps in order to prevent similar situations in the future and to report on this within the framework of the 2012 discharge follow-up;

2. Notes the action - most of which is still ongoing- taken as a result of comments made by the Court of Auditors in respect of the 2011 financial year regarding the lack of procedures for exceptions; notes that the accounting system had not yet been fully validated;

3. Notes the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Europol Pension Fund[19] for the financial year 2012, together with the Fund's replies; calls on the Office to notify it of any decision on the future of the Fund;

Budget and financial management

4. Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98,8 % and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 79,7 %;

Commitments and carryovers

5. Regrets that commitments amounting to EUR 2 600 000 (out of EUR 15 000 000) carried over from 2011 had to be cancelled in 2012, as they were in excess of the actual needs; calls on the Office to improve its financial planning in the future;

6. Notes that the Office carried over EUR 16 300 000of committed appropriations (19,64 % of total committed appropriations) to 2013; notes that these carry-overs mainly concern title II – other administrative expenditure – (EUR 4 200 000) and title III – operational activities – (EUR 11 200 000); acknowledges that those carry-overs are mostly related to the new task assigned to the Office in June 2012 of running the European Cybercrime Centre; acknowledges that the implementation of this task resulted in significant budgetary commitments made close to the end of the year and affected the amount carried over to 2013;

Transfers

7. Notes that the Office made 19 budgetary transfers amounting to EUR 4 500 000, affecting 82 of the 115 budget lines; acknowledges that they were mainly carried out in order to purchase IT equipment for the European Cybercrime Centre;

Procurement and recruitment procedures

8. Notes with concern that the recruitment procedures examined showed the three shortcomings, namely that questions for written tests and interviews were set after the applications had been examined by the selection board, that there was no evidence that the weighting of the selection criteria used for short listing was set before the examination of the applications and that selection boards did not appropriately document all their meetings and decisions; calls on the Office to remedy this situation and to report on this within the framework of the 2012 discharge follow-up;

Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency

9. Acknowledges that the Office will establish an additional specific policy on conflicts of interests management and the handling of gift items in 2014;

10. Observes that the CVs and Declarations of Interests of the members of the Management Board and senior management, as well as the Declaration of Interests of the Executive Director, are not publicly available; calls on the Office to remedy the situation as a matter of urgency;

Internal audit

11. Acknowledges from the Office that in 2012 the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) performed one audit with the objective of providing independent assurance on the adequate design and effective implementation of the internal control system with regard to monitoring and reporting on activities and budget execution in the Office which identified several major strengths and led to one very important and six important recommendations; notes that the IAS followed up its earlier recommendations and concluded that 20 IAS recommendations aimed at promoting internal control standards at the Office are considered implemented, while five recommendations out of 11, relating to the 2011 audit on planning and budgeting, are still open (in progress);

12. Calls on the Europol department responsible to publish, on the Europol website, how many classified documents, broken down by level of classification, it has received from (or forwarded to) individual institutions, other bodies, Member States and third parties;

Performance

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

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14. Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of … 2014[20] on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

24.2.2014

OPINION of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

for the Committee on Budgetary Control

on the discharge for implementation of the budget of the European Police Office (Europol) for the financial year 2012

(C7-0323/2013 – 2013/2235(DEC))

Rapporteur: Véronique Mathieu Houillon

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1. Notes the finding of the Court of Auditors that the annual accounts of the European Police Office (Europol) present fairly, in all material respects, the Office’s financial position as at 31 December 2012;

2. Notes the Court of Auditors’ finding that, although still high at 19.64%, carry-overs of commitment appropriations had fallen from the figure of 40% for the previous year; understands the explanation provided by Europol to the effect that it was not decided until June 2012 to set up the European Cybercrime Centre, and that new budget resources were not made available for this purpose until late 2012; notes that, according to the agency, the carry-over of appropriations was necessary in order to cover this new task in 2013, because no additional resources had been allocated for that year;

3. Notes the action (most of it still ongoing) taken on the comments made by the Court in respect of the 2011 financial year regarding the lack of procedures for exceptions; notes that the accounting system had not yet been fully validated;

4. Notes the Court’s report on the annual accounts of the Europol Pension Fund[21] for the financial year 2012, together with the Fund's replies; calls on Europol to notify it of any decision on the future of the Fund;

5. Considers, in general, that Europol should pay particular attention to ensuring sound financial management, i.e. to using its appropriations economically, efficiently and effectively in the performance of its duties.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	12.2.2014
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	48 0 1
Members present for the final vote	Jan Philipp Albrecht, Roberta Angelilli, Rita Borsellino, Arkadiusz Tomasz Bratkowski, Carlos Coelho, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Ioan Enciu, Frank Engel, Kinga Gál, Kinga Göncz, Ágnes Hankiss, Anna Hedh, Salvatore Iacolino, Lívia Járóka, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Timothy Kirkhope, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Monica Luisa Macovei, Svetoslav Hristov Malinov, Véronique Mathieu Houillon, Anthea McIntyre, Nuno Melo, Roberta Metsola, Claude Moraes, Antigoni Papadopoulou, Georgios Papanikolaou, Judith Sargentini, Birgit Sippel, Csaba Sógor, Renate Sommer, Rui Tavares, Nils Torvalds, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Wim van de Camp, Axel Voss, Tatjana Ždanoka, Auke Zijlstra
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Alexander Alvaro, Silvia Costa, Franco Frigo, Mariya Gabriel, Siiri Oviir, Zuzana Roithová, Salvador Sedó i Alabart, Sir Graham Watson
Substitute(s) under Rule 187(2) present for the final vote	Françoise Castex, Knut Fleckenstein, Anne E. Jensen, Luis Yáñez-Barnuevo García

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	17.3.2014
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	16 2 2
Members present for the final vote	Marta Andreasen, Jean-Pierre Audy, Zuzana Brzobohatá, Martin Ehrenhauser, Jens Geier, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Ingeborg Gräßle, Rina Ronja Kari, Monica Luisa Macovei, Jan Mulder, Eva Ortiz Vilella, Paul Rübig, Petri Sarvamaa, Bart Staes, Georgios Stavrakakis, Derek Vaughan
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Amelia Andersdotter, Philip Bradbourn, Markus Pieper
Substitute(s) under Rule 187(2) present for the final vote	Thomas Ulmer

[1] OJ C 365, 13.12.2013, p. 236.
[2] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
[3] OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.
[4] OJ L 121, 15.5.2009, p. 37.
[5] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
[6] OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42.
[7] OJ C 365, 13.12.2013, p. 236.
[8] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
[9] OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.
[10] OJ L 121, 15.5.2009, p. 37.
[11] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
[12] OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42.
[13] OJ C 365, 13.12.2013, p. 236.
[14] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
[15] OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.
[16] OJ L 121, 15.5.2009, p. 37.
[17] OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
[18] OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42.
[19] The Fund's purpose is to finance and pay pensions for staff already employed by Europol before it became an EU agency on 1 January 2010.
[20] Texts adopted, P7_TA-PROV(2014).
[21] The Fund's purpose is to finance and pay pensions for staff already employed by Europol before it became an EU agency on 1 January 2010.

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