2015 discharge: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in respect of the implementation of the Institute’s budget for the financial year 2015.

The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, 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 Institute’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 499 votes to 111 with 5 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.

These recommendations may be summarised as follows:

• Institute’s financial statements: Parliament noted that the final budget of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2015 was EUR 7 658 166, representing a decrease of 4.33 % compared to 2014.
• Budget and financial management: It noted that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a high budget implementation rate of 98.55 %, indicating that commitments were made in a timely manner, representing a slight decrease of 0.5 % compared to 2014. It noted that, in 2015, the Institute signed a contract with an external consultant to advise on how it could move towards project-based organisation and activity-based budgeting/costing. The services included a range of reforms to maximise workflows, assure quality and improve monitoring and management tools. Members noted with satisfaction that after the successful first year of the project, the Institute continued to fully implement the approach from 2016.

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding commitment and carry-overs, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls.

It noted that the Institute works closely with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). It held meetings with key partners such as UN Women and UNESCO on gender issues.

It also welcomed that the Institute is looking for synergies by pooling certain tasks and introducing shared services with other agencies and took note of the agreement signed between the Institute and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which was signed in order to exchange services on the exchange of experts between the parties in the area of ex post controls.

Parliament noted the Institute’s efforts to reorganise its structure to put a focus on communication and stakeholder engagement activities.

Collaboration with the European Parliament: Parliament appreciated the contribution of the Institute to the ongoing work of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). It called for further interaction between the legislative and non-legislative priorities of the FEMM Committee and the Institute’s research, also taking into account the Gender Equality Index developed by the Institute.