2008 discharge: European Environment Agency EEA

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Véronique MATHIEU (EPP, FR) on discharge to be granted to the European Environment Agency, calling on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2008.

Noting that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, MEPs approve the closure of the Agency’s accounts. However, they make a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies (see 2010/2007(INI):

• performance: overall satisfied with the Agency’s performance as outlined in its evaluation report, Members call on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of developments in the next external evaluation, for the period 2009-2013. They also call on it to set out 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 its performance from one year to the next more effectively. They also urge the Agency to provide clarifications in regard to certain grant agreements it has concluded;
• lease: Members note that a tendering procedure should have been launched for the contract for refitting the premises rented by the Agency instead of paying the costs of a firm chosen by the building’s owners;
• internal audit: Members call on the Agency to implement the recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS), in particular in regard to the management of grants and the implementation of the internal control standards.