2009 discharge: Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union CdT

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Georgios STAVRAKAKIS (S&D, EL) recommending the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union discharge in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2009.

Noting that the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2009 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, MEPs approve the closure of the Centre’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 DEC/2010/2271):

• performance: Members call on the Centre to further develop the evaluation of its performance by improving the links between its strategic actions and the actions foreseen in its Work Programme and by reviewing indicators for monitoring its performance. They note that, in 2009, the Centre increased its services (in terms of. pages translated) to the EU institutions by 41% compared to 2008;
• financial management: Members call on the Centre to ensure that commitments appropriations shall cover the total cost of the legal commitments entered into the current financial year;
• budget surplus contrary to the Regulation establishing the Centre: Members call on the Centre to take more effective measures to remedy its constant rise in surplus. They note that, for several years the Centre has had an accumulated budget surplus and that, in 2009, the surplus amounted to EUR 24 million. They observe that this surplus is mainly linked to the lack of precision in the forecasts for translation requests received from its clients. Members welcome, nevertheless, the Centre's initiative to refund EUR 11 million to its clients in 2009;
• pension contributions to the Commission retirement scheme: Members observe that on 12 February 2010 the Court of Justice of the European Union judged as manifestly inadmissible the Commission’s appeal (T-456/07) which called on the Centre to pay a contribution representing the part of the financing of the Community pension scheme in connection with the budget years 1998 to 2005. They congratulate the Centre on having put efforts into finding a friendly solution concerning this conflict with the Commission by using part of its budget surplus (EUR 18 300 000) to pay the employer contribution to the Commission retirement scheme;
• accounting system: Members encourage the Centre to ensure a proper validation accounting system by the Accounting Officer. They recall that the absence of validation accounting system implies that the Centre takes over the responsibility of its Accounting Officer for the declaration of the Centre's Annual Activity Report. They also remind the Centre that as the Centre does not have the necessary expertise for maintaining SI2, there is a significant risk to continuity of its financial operations until ABAC is operational;
• human resources: Members encourage the Centre to update the implementing rules for training and define new timing for this. They support the Centre in the steps taken by it to effectively monitor the quality of its training courses;
• internal audit: Members acknowledge that the Centre has sent to the authority responsible for discharge a report drawn up by its Director summarising the content of the Internal Audit Service (IAS) recommendation and invite the Director to provide specific information on the content of recommendations opened by IAS. They encourage the Centre to further strengthen its internal control system, its monitoring system and assurance process.