2013 discharge: European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)

The European Parliament adopted by 559 votes to 130, with 3 abstentions, a decision to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for the financial year 2013. 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 2013 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 574 votes to 107, with 7 abstentions, a resolution containing a number of recommendations that form an integral part of the discharge decision and as well as the general recommendations that appear in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

• Agency’s financial statements: Parliament noted that the final budget of the Centre for the financial year 2013 was EUR 57 819 864, representing an increase of 4.88% compared to 2012. The Union contribution to this amount was EUR 53 789 658, representing an increase of 2.65% compared to 2012.
• Commitments and carry-overs: Parliament noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2013 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98.07%, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 88.73%. It acknowledged that according to the Court’s report no notable issues were identified as regards the level of carry-overs in 2013.

Parliament also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures, prevention and conflicts of interest and internal audits.

It acknowledged that the Agency made efforts to avoid potential conflicts of interests’ situations by introducing training on ethics and integrity which is provided in-house and is compulsory for all staff.