2015 discharge: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) in respect of the implementation of its 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 Foundation’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 511 votes to 108 with 4 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:

• Foundation’s financial statements: Parliament noted the final budget of the Foundation for the financial year 2015 was EUR 20 860 000 representing an increase of 0.42 % compared to 2014.
• Commitments and carry-overs: It stated that the level of committed appropriations carried forward to 2016 was at EUR 2 135 164 (31.2 %) for operational expenditure, compared to EUR 3 814 156 (53.7 %) in 2014. It noted that carry-overs may often be partly or fully justified by the multiannual nature of the agencies’ operational programmes, do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation and are not always at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality.

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

On performance, Parliament noted that the Foundation’s target of 80 % regarding the number of planned outputs in its work programme was not achieved, even though the Foundation improved its performance in comparison to 2014. It acknowledged the fact that the reasons why the Foundation missed the target are principally related to delays by contractors and the scarcity of staff resources. It expressed concern that, with the current resources outlook, the Foundation’s pan-European surveys are not secured in the long term as well as that the Foundation cannot commit to embark on further work, such as on migrants and refugees or undeclared work, despite strongly worded requests by its governing board.

Members also expressed concern at the overall 10 % reduction of staff which has had an impact on the delay of some of the Foundation’s projects and contributed to difficult discussions in relation to negative priorities with the governing board’s bureau. They called on the Commission to ensure that potential further cost-saving measures do not hinder the Foundation´s ability to fulfil its mandate.

Members noted the high-level impact of the Foundation, particularly in supporting the Union institutions, as reflected in the performance indicators presented in the consolidated annual activity report.

Collaboration with the Parliament: Parliament acknowledged the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016 on research to assist the development of social and labour policies.

It noted the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, “The future of manufacturing in Europe” and considered it to be important to maintain strong cooperation between the Foundation and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in order to continue to engage in constructive and evidence-based discussions.