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2014 discharge: Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)

2015/2192(DEC)

The European Parliament decided to grant the Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications discharge in respect of the implementation of Authority’s budget for the financial year 2014. The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex 5, Article 5 (1) (a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Office’s annual accounts for the financial year 2014 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 515 votes to 109 with 13 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution  on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

  • Office’s financial statements: Parliament noted the final budget of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (“the Office”) for the financial year 2014 was EUR 4 162 874, representing an increase of 17 % compared to 2013. That increase resulted mainly from the inclusion of the internal assigned revenue from previous years.
  • Budget and financial management: Parliament noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2014 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 97.91 %, representing an increase of 8.36 % compared to the year 2012. It noted furthermore that the payment appropriations execution rate was at 75.66 %, representing a decrease of 0.92 % compared to 2013.
  • Cooperation with ENISA: Parliament noted with satisfaction that the Office carried out its first risk self-assessment exercise within the framework of the SLA between the Office and ENISA for sharing the Internal Control Coordinator Assistant function.

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carryovers, transfers, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, recruitment and contract award procedures, and internal audit procedures.

Lastly, Parliament took note that the 2014 budget provisions for contributions from the European Free Trade Association’s (EFTA) national regulatory authorities having observer status at BEREC did not materialise in the absence of agreements with EFTA countries. It acknowledged that the 2015 budget of the Office was corrected accordingly. It invited the Office to remain prudent when forecasting the related contribution from national regulatory authorities of EFTA countries.