Legislative Observatory
European Parliament
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2014 discharge: European GNSS Agency (GSA)

2015/2182(DEC)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2014 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2014 of the European GNSS Agency, 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:

  • financial programming: the Council considered that the Agency should improve its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation, especially regarding administrative expenditure for IT contracts, in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over to the next financial year to the strict minimum, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality;
  • procurement procedures: the Council invited the Agency to closely monitor the appropriateness of overheads and other indirect costs accruing during the life-time of its service contracts, in line with the budgetary principle of sound financial management.