2017 discharge: European Training Foundation (ETF)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF) for the financial year 2017 and to approve the closure of the accounts for the financial year in question.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2017 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 512 votes to 120 with 2 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 draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

Foundation’s financial statements

The final budget of the Foundation for the financial year 2017 was EUR 20 144 089, representing a decrease of 3.62 % compared to 2016. 

Budget and financial management

Budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2017 resulted in a high budget implementation rate of 99.93 %, representing a slight decrease of 0.06 % compared to 2016. Payment appropriations execution rate was 97.97 %, representing an increase of 0.31 % compared to the previous year. Parliament noted with concern that the Foundation’s level of cancellations of carry-overs from 2016 to 2017 amounted to at EUR 42 925, still representing 9.16 % of the total amount carried over, despite of a significant decrease of 8.42 % in comparison to 2016.

Members also made a series of observations regarding performance, staff policy and internal controls.

In particular, they noted that:

-  the Foundation achieved a 93 % activity completion rate with a timely completion rate of 88 %, that it launched the forum for quality in vocational education and training (VET);

- on 31 December 2017, the establishment plan was 96.6 % executed, with 85 temporary agents appointed out of 88 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget;

- adequate staff and financial resources should be ensured in order to allow the Foundation to implement its tasks;

- the Foundation launched an obligatory on-line anti-fraud awareness exercise among its existing staff, as well as among its new staff in the form of an obligatory induction exercise;

- an independent disclosure, advice and referral body for whistle-blowers was established by appointing the Foundation’s legal advisor as the Foundation’s ethics and integrity correspondent;

- the Foundation revised its internal control framework in 2017 and that the Governing Board adopted the Internal Control Principles;

- concerns related to the premises in Villa Gualino have been overcome and their presence in the current facilities is secure for the foreseeable future.