2022 discharge: General budget of the EU - European Economic and Social Committee

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2022.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2024/2239 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee.

CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2016.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 11 April 2024 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 11 April 2024).

In 2022, the final adopted budget for the Committee amounted to EUR 152 451 643, representing an overall increase of 5.1 % compared to 2021. The remuneration and allowances budget line increased by 5 % between 2021 and 2022 due to the annual indexation of salaries, whereas the budget line for the fitting out of premises decreased by 77 % between 2021 and 2022 and came back to usual levels after the implementation of important refurbishment works in 2021.

The implementation rate was 96.12 % in 2022, after two years of lower budgetary implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related travel restrictions. Members noted that the payment execution rate followed the same trend and reached 88.12 % in 2022. The carry-over of appropriations to the year 2022 amounted to EUR 20 162 518, i.e. approximately 13 % of the 2022 annual budget, which was substantially higher than the average in previous years due to the postponement of building works in 2020 and 2021.

Members noted that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in various ways created budgetary pressures for the Committee, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and the cost of construction and raw materials.

Moreover, the 2022 budget for staff missions increased by EUR 25 000 as compared to 2021, which was financed by a budget transfer, to cover higher expenses due to the increase in flight and hotel prices in 2022 and amounted to a total of EUR 398 974.