2014 discharge: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2014 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2014 of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Authority for the financial year 2014, accompanied by the Authority's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Authority 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 Authority'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 Authority'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: while recognising the need to implement the Authority's multiannual IT strategy and its efforts to mitigate the shortfalls of its 2015 budget, the Council reiterated its concern that the level of commitments carried over to the following financial year was high and called on the Authority to pay due attention to proper financial programming and budget implementation in order to reduce the level of carry-overs of committed appropriations to the next financial year, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality.