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2007 discharge: EU general budget, European Data Protection Supervisor

2008/2283(DEC)

The European Parliament adopted by 577 votes to 11, with 42 abstentions, a decision to grant the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) discharge in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2007. The decision to grant discharge is also an approval of the closure of the accounts of this institution.  

Moreover, the Parliament adopted a resolution with observations which form an integral part of the decision to grant discharge. The resolution points out that in 2007 the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) had commitment appropriations available amounting to a total of EUR 5 million (compared to EUR 4.1 million in 2006), representing an increase of nearly 20% as compared with 2006, with a utilisation rate of 86.14% (below the average of the other institutions. The Parliament also notes the increase in permanent posts of the EDPS and welcomes, in this context, the EDPS’ intention of restricting expansion in both tasks and staff, using controlled growth to ensure that new staff are fully taken on board and adequately integrated and trained.

The other main points of the resolution can be summarised as follows:

  • Internal audit: noting that the Court of Auditors’ audit of the EDPS did not give rise to any significant observations, the Parliament welcomes the first audit report issued by the Internal Audit Service (IAS), which identified certain issues requiring improvement (including the implementation of IAS recommendations agreed by the EDPS);
  • Interinstitutional cooperation agreements: the Parliament recalls that that on 7 December 2006 the Administrative Cooperation Agreement between the Secretaries-General of the Commission, Parliament and the Council, signed together with the EDPS, was renewed for a further period of three years with effect from 16 January 2007. Welcoming the annual publication by the EDPS and the Assistant EDPS of a declaration of their financial interests, the Parliament congratulates the EDPS on its decision of 12 September 2007 to accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concerning internal investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

The Parliament also requests that the EDPS include in its 2008 activity report a chapter giving a detailed account of the follow-up during the year to Parliament's earlier discharge decisions.

Lastly, the Parliament regrets the fact that, despite amendments to the Financial Regulation, its rules on procurement are still excessively cumbersome for smaller institutions, such as the EDPS. It therefore calls on the Commission to consult extensively with the EDPS in order to ensure that its concerns are fully taken into account in the final draft.