2014 discharge: Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2014, as part of the 2014 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2014 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 148 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU's General Budget, including the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

The document contains the figures on which the discharge procedure is based.

On this basis, the Financial Controller of the European Commission ensures the certification of the consolidated accounts as declared by the institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union.

Discharge procedure of the EU agencies: the EU Budget finances a wide range of policies and programmes throughout the EU. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Parliament and the Council in the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), the European Commission carries out specific programmes, activities and projects in the field with the technical support of some specialised agencies.

The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from a budgetary and accrual accounting perspective.

The consolidated reports on the implementation of the general budget of the EU include the budget implementation of all Institutions. Agencies do not have a separate budget inside the EU budget; and they are partially financed by a Commission budget subsidy.

This document sets out how the Agencies spent and implemented their budget in 2014. Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure.

ACER: in 2014, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

• description of ACER's tasks: ACER, which is located in Ljubljana (SI), was set up by Regulation (EU) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with a view to helping the Member States’ regulatory authorities in the areas of electricity and natural gas. Its aim is to give an opinion on any of the issues relating to the purpose for which it has been established;
• ACER's budget for the 2014 financial year: ACER’s budget for 2014, as presented in the Commission document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union, gives the following figures:

Commitment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 11 million;

- paid : EUR 10 million;

- carried-over : 0.

Payment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 16 million;

- paid : EUR 13 million;

- carried-over : EUR 3 million.

Please refer also to the final accounts of the Agency for cooperation of Energy Regulators.