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2013 discharge: EU general budget, European Commission and executive agencies

2014/2075(DEC)

FOLLOW-UP TO THE COMMISSION DISCHARGE – DETAILED REPLIES TO REQUESTS BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

This Commission Staff Working Paper completes the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Follow-up to the 2012 Discharge.

An overview of these replies may be found in the summary of COM(2014)0607 (please refer to the summary of the document in question).

This working document presents in detail the answers to 353 specific requests made by the European Parliament in its Resolutions forming an integral part of its Decision on the 2012 Discharge.

Many of these requests have been classed under the following headings:

  • Agriculture and Regional Policy: deficiencies in the Commission’s and the Member States’ management
  • Commission reserves
  • Binding commitments
  • The Court of Auditors’ Statement of Assurance
  • Revenue
  • Agriculture
  • Regional policy, energy and transport
  • Commission Task Force for Greece
  • Employment and Social Affairs
  • External Relations
  • Research and other internal policies
  • OLAF
  • Tobacco smuggling
  • Lack of progress in Bulgaria
  • Roma issue
  • Information and Telecommunication Policy
  • Studies and advice/consultation from external providers.

For each of these chapters, the Commission replies point by point to the Parliament’s requests and proposes a framework of appropriate measures where necessary.

Improve the implementation of the Community budget: Members asked the Commission to ensure that the budget meets the main objectives of the Union.

The Commission states that in general the reporting policy is already heading towards strengthening fiscal performance. Thus, each of the budget heading gives a detailed view, through its relevant programmes, the following:

1. the results of financial programmes in line with the Europe 2020 strategy;

2. an overview of the performance results where they are available;

3. a detailed view of the operational aspects of this performance.

These aspects were further strengthened in the context of the 2014-2020 financial framework and the related financial programmes, as adopted by the co-legislators.