2004 discharge: European Environment Agency
The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Umberto GUIDONI (GUE/NGL, IT) and granted discharge to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency for the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2004. In its accompanying comments, Parliament noted the Court of Auditors' finding that surplus appropriations in 2004 were committed for operations to be carried out in 2005 and that appropriations relating to staff expenditure were carried over. The Agency must respect the principle of budget annuality as defined in the Financial Regulation and the rule prohibiting carry over of appropriations relating to staff expenditure in order to allow a correct and transparent implementation of the budgets set by the budgetary authority. Parliament also noted the weaknesses in checking and the omissions found by the Court of Auditors in its audit of the inventory, and urged the Agency to rectify these shortcomings without delay.
Parliament considered the Agency to be source of important environmental information for all EU institutions and policy-making. It noted with satisfaction that the Agency has been able to transform some complicated data into user-friendly information and to communicate its conclusions to the public, and congratulates the Agency on its informative website.
Parliament also made a series of general remarks on the agencies. As well as spending money properly, agencies should also strive to spend money as efficiently and effectively as possible. The Court of Auditors was asked to consider the possibility of extending its specific annual reports on the agencies to include an examination of performance and achievement of objectives. The following aspects should be taken into account: duplication of work among the agencies must be avoided as much as possible and measures designed to improve transparency and communication with the public must be clarified, along with Community affirmative action measures at all levels of recruitment, training and the assignment of responsibilities.
Parliament noted that Community agencies did not always have a good image or good press and that many of them did not deserve such a negative image. EU citizens should be made aware of this, and Parliament called on the Commission to act accordingly, using whatever means it considers necessary.
Furthermore, the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 had affected the structures and operating arrangements of the Community agencies in many ways, and several of the agencies draw attention to these effects in their activity reports, focusing in particular on the increase in the number of administrators. The Commission needed to assess the problems encountered and recommend the regulatory changes required.
The Commission had made a commitment to harmonising the way in which activity reports concerning its directorates-general were presented. Parliament called for a similar approach to be taken in respect of the activity reports of the Communities" agencies, which differed significantly in terms of content. The Commission should point out to the agencies the information and activity indicators that they must provide.
Finally, Parliament asked the Commission to improve synergies between agencies by making cooperation more effective, avoiding duplication of work and addressing shortcomings, in particular as regards common areas such as training, the implementation of Community policies across the board, the use of the latest management systems and solving problems relating to sound management of the budget.