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

2014 discharge: European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (Frontex)

2015/2181(DEC)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2014 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2014 of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States (FRONTEX), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2014, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Agency 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 Agency'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 Agency's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2014 are legal and regular in all material respects.

Nevertheless, the Council has made some observations which may be summarised as follows:

  • audit certificates: while welcoming the improvement in both ex-ante and ex-post verifications of expenditure under grant agreements, the Council recommended the Agency to improve the documentation requested to cooperating countries, including the issuing of audit certificates;
  • carry-overs: while acknowledging the multiannual nature of operations, the Council called upon the Agency to improve its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation in order to reduce the number of budgetary transfers and the level of commitments carried over to the next financial year to the strict minimum, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality;
  • grant agreements: the Council encouraged the Agency to examine during the upcoming review of its founding regulation, whether more efficient and cost-effective funding mechanisms could be used to address the increasing number of grant agreements and the magnitude of related expenditure to be verified by the Agency;
  • associated countries: the Council invited the Agency to refine the calculation of contributions from Schengen associated countries (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and to update the contributions of non-Schengen countries.