2012 discharge: European Railway Agency (ERA)

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) in which it recommended the European Parliament to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency (ERA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approved the closure of ERA’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed 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.

• Budget and financial management: Members noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 94.92% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 85.63%.
• Two locations: Members deplored the fact that using two locations (Lille and Valenciennes) to carry out its activities exposes the Agency to additional costs. They acknowledged the efforts made by the Agency to minimise the negative impact of the decision on its seat and called for a single location for the Agency, in a place easily accessible by public transport in order to save scare resources and increase its efficiency.

Members also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls.

Lastly, Members stated that the Agency should review its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests in 2014 on the basis of Commission's Guidelines on the matter and inform the discharge authority on the assessment results once available.