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2007 discharge: Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union CdT

2008/2261(DEC)

The European Parliament adopted by 582 votes to 13, with 38 abstentions, a decision concerning the discharge to be granted to the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2007. The decision to grant discharge is also an approval of the closure of the accounts of this EU agency.

In parallel, the European Parliament adopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part of the decision to grant discharge.

Parliament state that:

  • the Court of Auditors brought to light the fact that the Centre’s audit of procurement procedures showed that the evaluation of award criteria was not appropriately documented and that certain recruitment procedures lacked transparency.
  • Noting the Centre's willingness to follow up on the problems detected by the ECA, Parliament calls on the Centre to report on the follow-up action taken and the results achieved in its activity report 2008.

In terms of the follow-up on previous discharge exercises, Parliament notes that, in 2007, the Centre refunded EUR 9.3 million to its clients from outturn carried over from previous financial years.

Parliament also regrets that, although this issue has been highlighted in discharge resolutions over many years, a solution concerning the conflict between the Centre and the Commission as to the employer's share of pension contributions for staff has still not been found. It therefore calls on the Commission and the Centre to strive to resolve the dispute quickly and to inform the discharge authority of the outcome of the negotiations.

Lastly, noting that the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2007 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, the Parliament approves the closure of its accounts and refers, for other observations accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies - see 2008/2207(INI) - adopted in parallel.