2010 discharge: Euratom Supply Agency (ESA)

The European Parliament adopted a decision to grant discharge to the Director-General of the Euratom Supply Agency in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2010. This decision also approves the closure of the Agency’s accounts.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of Agency for the financial year 2010 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted a resolution containing 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 performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

Parliament notes that in 2010 the Agency did not receive any subsidy to cover its operations and that the Commission bore all expenses incurred by the Agency for the implementation of its budget and that this situation has persisted since the creation of the Agency in 2008. It reiterates that in the absence of an autonomous budget, the Agency is de facto integrated into the Commission and that this situation is at odds with its Statutes.

It also notes, however, that by letter of 31 March 2011 the Director-General acknowledged the abovementioned problem and detailed the actions taken as requested by the discharge authority. Parliament notes in particular that, in order to resolve this situation, an agreement has been reached to propose the reestablishment of a specific budget line for the Agency in the general budget of the European Union for 2012: the Commission proposed line 32 01 06 for the Agency be credited with EUR 98 000 of the general budget of the European Union. Parliament considers that once adopted by the Union budgetary authorities, this would represent a major achievement in addressing the current concerns.