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2015 discharge: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)

2016/2187(DEC)

The European Parliament decided to grant the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) discharge in respect of the implementation of Authority’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 Authority’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 509 votes to 113 with 9 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:

  • Agency’s financial statements: Parliament noted that the final budget of the Authority for the financial year 2015 was EUR 20 212 701, representing a decrease of 6.35 % compared to 2014.
  • Budget and financial management: Parliament noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.97 %, reaching the Authority’s planned target and representing a decrease of 0.03 % compared to 2014.
  • Commitments and carry-overs: Parliament noted that the level of committed appropriations carried over for operational expenditure was at EUR 2.3 million (45 % of expenditure), compared to EUR 4.7 million (66 % of expenditure) in 2014. Those carryovers were predominantly related to specific contracts for the Authority’s multi-annual IT programme supporting the implementation of Solvency II and to contracts signed late in the year.

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding transfers, procurement, recruitment procedures, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests and internal audits.

It noted that in 2016 the communication strategy was reviewed with the aim to provide more accessible and easily understandable information in particular for consumers and the public at large, with the review and redesign of the Authority’s website being one of the key objectives.

Lastly, Parliament noted that the Authority does not exercise all the prerogatives established in its legal framework. It underlined that it should ensure that resources are maximised in order to fully fulfil its legal mandate given to it by the European Parliament and the Council with a view to contributing to the drafting of recommendations by including all parties concerned, and in particular consumer protection organisations.