2021 discharge: European Banking Authority (EBA)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Banking Authority (EBA) for the financial year 2021 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority's annual accounts for the financial year 2021 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 556 votes to 40, with 34 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.

Authority’s financial statements

The Authority's final budget for the financial year 2021 was EUR 49 132 610.

Budgetary and financial management

Parliament noted with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2021 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 98.51 %, representing a decrease of 0.66 % compared to 2020. The rate of execution of payment appropriations was 83.99 % representing a decrease of 6.37 % compared to 2020.

Other observations

Parliament also made a number of observations concerning performance, staff policy, public procurement and the prevention of conflicts of interest and Covid-19.

In particular, it noted that:

- the Authority executed 91 % of its work programme, which included 21 % of additional tasks not initially foreseen in the planning;

- in 2021, the Authority underwent meaningful organisational changes to reflect the shifting priorities of its mandate and work programme. The reorganisation saw the creation of new units to reflect the growing importance of topics such as digital finance, environmental, social and governance reporting and transparency, and anti-money laundering;

- on 31 December 2021, the establishment plan was 94.44 % implemented, with 153 temporary agents appointed out of 162 temporary agent posts authorised under the Union budget (compared to 145 authorised posts in 2020);

- the Authority completed three procurement procedures above the directive threshold and four calls for tenders in the form of negotiated procedures above EUR 15 000;

- the Authority fully adopted and implemented e-procurement procedures;

- more systematic rules on transparency, incompatibilities, conflict of interests, illegal lobbying and revolving doors should be put in place. The Authority should also strengthen its internal control mechanisms, including the setting up of an internal anticorruption mechanism;

- internal control weaknesses were reported affecting recruitment procedures;

- the digitalisation of procedures should be accelerated.