2012 discharge: Euratom Supply Agency (ESA)

The European Parliament adopted a decision concerning the discharge to be granted to the Director-General of the Euratom Supply 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 481 votes to 62, with 27 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:

• Financial statements: recalling that the final budget of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2012 was EUR 104 000, Parliament reminded the Commission of the Court of Auditors' observation that between 2008 and 2011, the Agency did not receive its own budget and the Commission directly financed and discharged all expenditure, a situation which the Court of Auditors considered to be at odds with the Statutes of the Agency.  It noted with concern that for 2012, although the Commission granted the Agency its own budget amounting to EUR 104 000 including financial revenue from its own investments, most of the Agency’s expenditure was still financed directly by the Commission. The Commission is called upon to provide an explanation for this situation.
• Budget and financial management: Parliament noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98.51%.