2015 discharge: European Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA)

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2015.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2017/1702 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Agency for the Οperational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice for the financial year 2015.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Executive Director of the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice for the implementation of the latters budget for the financial year 2015.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 27 April 2017 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 27 April 2017).

Amongst Parliaments main observations in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision, the latter acknowledged that the Agency introduced a budget ownership model in 2016 as planned. Parliament also took note of the fact that the budget ownership model formalised and distributed budgetary responsibility for planning, implementation and monitoring among managers in the Agency, at the level of Head of Unit and above.

On procurement, Parliament expressed deep concern as regards the agreements signed in 2015 stating that they ran a high risk of being contrary to the principle of economy and damaging the cost-effectiveness of such procurements and are much more exposed to the risk of corruption. Parliament trusts that the Agency has improved procurement procedures in 2016.

The Agency is urged to adopt guidelines for a coherent policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interest and to correct the gender imbalance in the composition of the Agencys management.

Parliament noted that the Estonian parliament ratified the Agency's headquarters agreement (seat in Tallinn) on 18 February 2015.