2012 discharge: European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)

The European Parliament adopted a decision concerning the discharge to be granted to the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012. The vote on the discharge decision approved the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex VI, Article 5(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.

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, Parliament adopted by 510 votes to 66, with 16 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations that form an integral part of the discharge decision and as well as the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

These recommendations are summarised as follows:

• Budget and financial management: Parliament noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 96% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 83%.
• Commitments and carryovers: it noted, however, that the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2013 was high for administrative expenditure at 35% and operating expenditure at 46%. This was due to a large extent by events beyond the Agency’s control, such as the late invoicing of the 2012 office rental costs by the Spanish authorities. An other important reason for the high level of carry-overs was the considerable workload faced by the agency as a result of the large number of IT projects that were either launched or ongoing in 2012 and this workload had an impact on the timeliness of procurement procedures in the case of two IT projects launched in 2012.
• Performance: Parliament requested that the Agency communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website.

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

Lastly, Parliament acknowledged that the Agency will assess its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflicts of Interests in EU Decentralised Agencies. It called on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the assessment results once available.