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2008 discharge: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work EU-OSHA

2009/2116(DEC)

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Véronique MATHIEU (EPP, FR) on discharge to be granted to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, calling on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's 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: Members congratulate theAgency on having significantly improved its financial management over the last three years and they encourage it to continue to strive for the highest standards in budgetary planning, implementation and control. They congratulate the Agency on the establishment of a network of European organisations which can provide occupational safety and health economic incentives. They also call on the Agency 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; 
  • operating appropriations carried over: the committee notes that the Agency carried forward EUR 3.4 million (44% of its operating appropriations) and it calls, in the interests of sound financial management, for the budget forecasts to be adjusted to reflect actual needs. It congratulates the Agency nevertheless on improving its monitoring and planning of operational expenditure to avoid committing significant funds at the year-end;
  • procurement procedures: Members note the irregularity identified by the Court of Auditors with respect to a procurement procedure (use of a framework contract beyond its maximum value). They expect the Agency to resolve the problem of using a public procurement framework contract beyond its maximum value, in order to give effect to European budgetary law;
  • internal audit: lastly, Members ask the Agency to implement the recommendations from the Internal Audit Service (IAS) in particular as regards the internal control standards.