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2010 discharge: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND)

2011/2214(DEC)

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND), together with the Foundation’s reply.

CONTENT: in accordance with the tasks conferred on the Court of Auditors by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Court presents to the European Parliament and to the Council, in the context of the discharge procedure, a Statement of Assurance as to the reliability of the annual accounts of each institution, body or agency of the EU, and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them, on the basis of an independent external audit.

This audit concerned, amongst others, the annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND).

In the Court’s opinion, the Foundation’s Annual Accounts fairly present, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2010 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation.

The Court also considers that the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Foundation for the financial year ended 31 December 2010 are, in all material respects, legal and regular.

The report confirms that the Foundation’s 2010 budget amounted to EUR 20.8 million, and that the number of staff employed by the Foundation at the end of the year was 101.

It should be noted that the report makes no observations on the budgetary and financial management of the Foundation.

The Court of Auditors’ report contains a summary of the Foundation’s activities in 2010. This is focused on the following:

  • monitoring and surveys: e.g. European Company Survey: overview report published, secondary analysis on flexibility profiles of companies and on part-time work ;
  • work on the following topics: (i) employment and competitiveness ; (ii) industrial relations and workplace development ; (iii) social cohesion and quality of life (studies, surveys etc.);
  • communication and sharing ideas and experience : 85 511 print publications disseminated; 679 new web and print publications; 873 contacts and briefing meetings with European level policy makers; 1.8 million user sessions; media activities resulted in reaching 130 million European citizens; 252 enquiries from journalists.