2016 discharge: EU general budget, European Economic and Social Committee

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2016.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1329 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016, Section VI — European Economic and Social Committee.

CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2016.

This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 (please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018).

Parliament welcomed the Committee’s overall prudent and sound financial management in the 2016 budget period while expressing support for the successful paradigm shift towards performance-based budgeting in the Commission’s budget planning.

In 2016, the Committee’s budget amounted to EUR 130 586 475, with a utilisation rate of 97.55 %.

Parliament asked the Committee to provide the discharge authority with a cost-benefit assessment of the missions for the Union and visited countries, and the list of the visited countries in 2016. It encouraged the adoption of appropriate measures in order to make savings and reduce environmental pollution.

Parliament proposed a joint assessment of the budgetary savings resulting from the cooperation between the Committee and Parliament is of interest to both institutions and to Union citizens. It welcomed the administrative cooperation agreement between the Committee and the Committee of the Regions, which entered into force in 2016.

It expressed the need to establish an independent disclosure, advice and referral body with sufficient budgetary resources, in order to help whistleblowers and called on the Committee to improve its harassment policy in order to further prevent any form of psychological and sexual harassment.