Legislative Observatory
European Parliament
Please fill in this field to find a procedure

2012 discharge: European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

2013/2239(DEC)

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 Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in respect of the implementation of the Authority'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 Authority for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approved the closure of the Authority’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 86.12% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 65.22%.
  • Carryovers: Members regretted that according to the Court of Auditors’ annual audit, EUR 2.8 million (14%) of total appropriations were cancelled and EUR 4.2 million (21%) were carried over to 2013; this was mainly caused by the fact that a significant contract for works on the Authority’s premises was awarded in December 2012 (EUR 600 000).

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

Lastly, they acknowledged that following the Court of Auditors' Special Report No 15/2012, the Authority revised its ethics guidelines on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflicts of Interests in EU Decentralised Agencies. They welcomed them and the fact that they were considered as best practices.