2020 discharge: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) for the financial year 2020 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the Institute's annual accounts for the financial year 2020 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 504 votes to 78 with 57 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the discharge decision and which complement the general recommendations contained in the resolution on the performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

The Institute's financial statements

The Institute's final budget for the financial year 2020 amounted to EUR 7 749 900, representing a decrease of 1.24 % compared to 2019.

Budgetary and financial management

The budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 97.75 %, representing a decrease of 1.21 % compared to 2019. The payment appropriations execution rate was 74.82 %, representing a decrease of 7.68% compared to 2019. Parliament noted an increase in the Institute’s carry-over operating expenditure to 49.49 % in 2020 (compared to 28.01 % in 2019).

Other observations

Parliament also made a series of observations concerning performance, staff policy, public procurement and internal controls and Covid-19.

In particular, it noted that:

- the Institute published a step-by-step gender-budgeting toolkit in 2020, which is destined to help those working with Union Funds to integrate gender equality into their programmes;

- on 31 December 2020, the establishment plan was 100 % executed, with 27 temporary agents appointed out of 27 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared with 27 authorised posts in 2019). Men are again underrepresented in senior management;

- 47 administrative procurement procedures and 61 operational procurement procedures were completed in 2020;

- the Institute reprioritised and reorganised its activities to mitigate the risks on business continuity and staff well-being posed by the Covid-19 pandemic;

- Member States were supported during the pandemic in their effort to tackle violence against women;

- also in 2020, a new director took office.