2009 discharge: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction EMCDDA

The European Parliament adopted by 525 votes to 80, with 29 abstentions a decision to grant discharge to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in respect of the implementation of the Centre's 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 the Centre’s 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):

• carryover appropriations: Parliament calls on the Centre to put in place appropriate instructions and procedures for the analysis of potential carry-forwards in order to reduce the volume of appropriations carried over to the minimum necessary. The Centre should also improve the programming and the monitoring of activities with a view to reducing carry over;
• cash management: although it welcomes the fact that the Centre has further enhanced the annual forecast of its cash needs, Parliament calls for a clarification of the applicable rules on internal assigned revenues in the light of the questions which were raised after the refund of part of the accumulated surplus of the Translation Centre to the Centre. It suggests that, in future, a joint approach amongst the agencies should be adopted to deal with this type of horizontal problem;
• human resources: Parliament calls on the Centre to continue and ensure consistent implementation of the approved staff appraisal procedure through adequate information and guidance to reporting officers and jobholders.