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

2013 discharge: Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)

2014/2123(DEC)

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Ryszard CZARNECKI (ECR, PL) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2013.

It called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2013.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2013 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members called on the Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’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.

  • Agency’s financial statements: Members noted that the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2013 was EUR 11 930 220, representing an increase of 64.74% compared to 2012, which can be explained by the Agency’s recently established nature and as a result of the implementation of the REMIT Regulation (Regulation No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency).
  • Budget and financial management: Members noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2013 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 97.53%, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was low at 55%, below the Agency’s target of 70%, mainly due to the late receipt of EUR 2 989 000 through an amended budget approved on 31 October 2013.
  • Carry-overs: Members noted that the carry-overs for Title III appropriations amounted to EUR 3.1 million, representing 91% of the total appropriations under this title. Those carry-overs are related to the REMIT Regulation. They acknowledged from the Agency that a series of measures have been implemented in order to improve the budged planning processes. They called on the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the progress and results of those measures.

Members also made a series of observations on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, recruitment and internal control.