2018 discharge: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) for the financial year 2018 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 Authority’s annual accounts for the financial year 2018 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 604 votes to 64 with 25 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:

Authority’s financial statements

The final budget of the Authority for the financial year 2018 was EUR 25 207 008, representing an increase of 5.03 % compared to 2017. The Authority is financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 9 365 000, representing 37.15 %) and contributions from national supervisory authorities from the Member States (EUR 15 742 008, representing 62.45 %).

Budget and financial management

Budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2018 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, representing an increase of 0.21 % compared to 2017. Payment appropriations execution rate was 85.48 %, representing a decrease of 2.61 % compared to 2017.

Parliament noted that the Authority’s workload is constantly evolving and includes both regulatory tasks and the enforcement and application of Union law.

Other observations

Members also made a series of observations regarding performance, staff policy, procurement and conflicts of interest.

In particular, they noted that:

- the majority of the Authority’s planned work (218 products and services) was delivered successfully and that 25 products and services experienced minor delays due to insufficient resources, but also to changes in requirements and priorities;

- closer supervision is needed in certain Member States with a view to addressing vulnerabilities in the insurance markets of those Member States and protecting consumers from unfair practices of multinational insurance companies;

- the Authority is proactive in identifying opportunities for efficiency and synergies with other agencies, in particular with the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) with its priority being to develop common guidance in cooperation with EBA and ESMA on how to integrate anti-money laundering and terrorist financing risks in prudential supervision;

- on 31 December 2018, the establishment plan was 95.54 % executed, with 107 temporary agents appointed out of 112 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared with 101 authorised posts in 2017);

- the unbalanced participation of men (six members) and women (one member) in the management board is regrettable;

- a future decrease in the Authority’s revenue is possible as a result of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union.