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

2009/2116(DEC)

The European Parliament adopted by 553 votes to 30, with 54 abstentions, a decision on discharge to be granted to the Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2008. The decision to grant discharge is also an approval of the closure of the accounts of this EU agency. Furthermore, Parliament adopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part of the decision to grant discharge to this Agency.

The main points are as follows:

  • performance: Parliament congratulates the Agency on having significantly improved its financial management over the last three years and it encourages it to continue to strive for the highest standards in budgetary planning, implementation and control. It congratulates the Agency on the establishment of a network of European organisations which can provide occupational safety and health economic incentives. It also calls 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: Parliament 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: Parliament notes the irregularity identified by the Court of Auditors with respect to a procurement procedure (use of a framework contract beyond its maximum value). It expects 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, Parliament asks the Agency to implement the recommendations from the Internal Audit Service (IAS) in particular as regards the internal control standards.

Noting that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament approves the closure of its accounts and refers to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies (see 2010/2007(INI) adopted in parallel).