2014 discharge: European GNSS Agency (GSA)

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Derek VAUGHAN (S&D, UK) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European GNSS Agency for the financial year 2014.

The parliamentary committee calls on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the agency’s budget for the financial year 2014.

Noting that the Court of Auditors issued a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions for the financial year 2014, Members call on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

·         Agency’s financial statements: Members noted that the Union subsidy to the budget of the European GNSS Agency for the financial year 2014 was EUR 25 369 058, representing an increase of 81.55 % compared to 2013.

·         Commitments and carryovers: Members acknowledged the efforts made by the Agency to reduce the level of carry-overs by committing the budget earlier in the year when possible and therefore enabling earlier payments. They note, furthermore, that the Agency is developing a new budget management tool designed to aid implementation, monitoring and reporting on core and delegated budget with the aim of improving the management of both commitments and payment appropriations. They call on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the improvements made by introducing that tool.

Members also made a series of observations regarding payment transfers, contract award, recruitment, control and internal audit procedures.

Members acknowledge that the Agency’s Administrative Board adopted a policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests and encourage the members of the Agency’s administrative board to submit their declarations of interest for further publication on the Agency’s website.

Lastly, Members note that the Agency has no insurance coverage for fixed tangible assets with a net book value of EUR 1 000 000. They acknowledge that the Agency is currently analysing risks, value and criticality of each asset owned in order to assess the type of insurance which would suit its requirements. They ask the Agency to update the discharge authority on the progress made.