2014 discharge: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2014 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2014 of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year 2014, accompanied by the Centre's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2014.

The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Centre's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2014 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Centre's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2014 are legal and regular in all material respects. Nevertheless, the Council made the following observation:

• financial programming: while acknowledging the multiannual nature of many of the Centre's projects, the Council noted that a high level of commitment appropriations was carried over to 2015. It encouraged the Centre to continue improving its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over to the following financial year to the strict minimum, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality.