2012 discharge: ENIAC Joint Undertaking for the implementation of the Joint Technology Initiative on nanoelectronics

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2012 of the ENIAC Joint Undertaking, and the report by the Court of Auditors on the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2012, accompanied by the Joint Undertaking's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2012.

The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in relation to the financial year 2012 call for some comments by the Council, which may be summarised as follows:

• Qualified opinion: the Council regrets the Court's qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts, based on the Court's assessment that the Joint Undertaking's ex-post audit strategy might not provide sufficient assurance with respect to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions and that this key control might therefore not function effectively. The Council urges the Joint Undertaking to revise the administrative agreements signed with National Funding Authorities (NFAs) in order to include the obligation for the NFAs to carry out ex-post audits on grants paid, as well as to include in these agreements the practical arrangements for the ex-post audits.
• Excessive carry-overs: the Council calls on the Joint Undertaking to pay due attention to the proper implementation of commitment and payment appropriations in the course of the budgetary year, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality, thus avoiding excessive carry-overs. It invites the Joint Undertaking, in cooperation with the Commission, to adapt, if necessary, its financial programming to real needs with the intention of limiting the risk of over-budgeting.
• Internal control: with regard to the Court's remarks on the internal audit function, the Council invites the Joint Undertaking to bring its own Financial Rules concerning internal audit arrangements, and in particular regarding the powers of the Commission's internal auditor, in line with the revised Framework Financial Regulation.
• Research results: the Council furthermore invites the Joint Undertaking to improve the monitoring and reporting of research results, in line with the provision of the relevant regulations of the Seventh Framework Programmes.
• Member States’ contributions: the Council calls for respect of the provision in its statutes stating as a condition that the financial contributions from the Joint Undertaking's Member States should amount to at least 1.8 times the EU's financial contribution.