2017 discharge: Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC Office)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2017 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2017 of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year 2017, accompanied by the Office's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Management Committee of the Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2017.

The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Office's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2017 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Office's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2017 are legal and regular in all material respects.

Nevertheless, the following observations were made:

- procurement: the Council regretted the weaknesses found by the Court in the Office's procurement procedures and called on the Office to take appropriate actions in order to ensure the effectiveness of the process, competition in its procurement procedures, as well as the full implementation without unjustified delay of electronic public procurement;

- carry-overs: the Council urged the Office to continue improving its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation in order to reduce the unjustified level of commitments carried over to the strict minimum, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality;

- Brexit: the Council encourages the Office to take into account any possible financial impact of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU on its organisation, operations and accounts.