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

The European Parliament adopted by 492 votes to 64, with 33 abstentions a decision on discharge to be granted to the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union 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, Parliament approves the closure of its accounts. However, it makes 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 resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies - see DEC/2010/2271):

• performance: Parliament calls on the Centre to further develop the evaluation of its performance by improving the links between its strategic actions and those foreseen in its Work Programme. It notes that, in 2009, the Centre increased its services (in terms of. pages translated) to the EU institutions by 41% compared to 2008;
• financial management: Parliament calls on the Centre to ensure that commitments appropriations cover the total cost of the legal commitments entered into the current financial year;
• budget surplus contrary to the Regulation establishing the Centre: Parliament calls on the Centre to take more effective measures to remedy its constant rise in surplus. It notes that, for several years, the Centre has had an accumulated budget surplus and that, in 2009, the surplus amounted to EUR 24 million. This surplus is mainly linked to the lack of precision in the forecasts for translation requests received from its clients. It welcomes, nevertheless, the Centre's initiative to refund EUR 11 million to its clients in 2009;
• pension contributions to the Commission’s retirement scheme: Parliament observes 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. It congratulates 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 18.3 million) to pay the employer’s contribution to the Commission’s retirement scheme;
• human resources: lastly, Parliament encourages the Centre to update the implementing rules for training and define new timing for this. It supports the Centre in the steps taken by it to effectively monitor the quality of its training courses.