2011 discharge: EU general budget, Committee of the Regions

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Andrea ČEŠKOVÁ (ECR, CZ) in which it calls on the European Parliament to grant the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the Committee of the Regions' budget for the financial year 2011.

Members welcome the fact that, on the basis of its audit work, the Court of Auditors concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2011 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error. They note that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics related to the human resources and the procurement for the Committee of the Regions.

Members note that in 2011, the Committee had an approved budget of EUR 84.1 million, of which EUR 82 million were commitment appropriations, with a utilisation rate of 97.5%, which was lower than 2010.

Members welcome the projects on the internal organisation of the Committee which set out the objectives of cooperation between services and the development of synergies in common activities and joint actions. They ask to be updated on the projects and be informed more precisely on the budgetary consequences of the measures taken.

Members also call for : (i) a better timetable for translationd demands; (ii) the publication of the declarations and the updates of financial interests of members from all the institutions.

Lastly, Members support the conclusions of the mid-term evaluation of the administrative cooperation agreement between the Committee and the EESC and share the view that some improvements should be made to rationalise human resources in the Joint Services and in translation. They also call for detailed information on the aims of administrative cooperation, the extent to which those aims are being achieved and the impact this is having in terms of savings.