2001 discharge: European Monitoring Centre for drugs and drug addiction

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Freddy BLAK (EUL/NGL, Denmark) giving discharge to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2001. (Please see the document dated 20/10/03.) Parliament encouraged the Centre to continue its efforts to follow its operational activities closely, especially as regards its relation with the Reitox focal points. The external evaluation on the financing of the Reitox network should be taken up with a view to clarifying and further adapting the contractual relationship of the Centre with such focal points. The problems are 'systemic' in nature, and there is scope for developing a harmonised approach between Agencies in dealing with such problems. As a general point with regard to the Agencies, Parliament expressed its concern that the Commission's Internal Audit Service (IAS) does not carry out any checks on the Agencies. This implies that Articles 71 and 72 of Regulation 2343/2002/EC are not being adhered to and that, in practice, an outside control of the quality of management and control systems of the agencies is left to be carried out in the context of the Court of Auditors control. Parliament called on the Commission to ensure that the necessary resources are made available so that the IAS is in a position to fulfill its tasks with regard to the internal control systems in the Agencies. Finally, it asked the Commission to submit a proposal for an amendment to the constituent acts of the Agencies to ensure that their directors may in future be appointed only with the assent of Parliament.�