The Committee
on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Véronique MATHIEU (EPP, FR) on
discharge to be granted to the European Maritime Safety Agency, calling on
the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge
in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial
year 2008.
Noting that
the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and
the underlying transactions are legal and regular, MEPs approve the closure
of the Agency’s accounts. However, they make a number of recommendations that
need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to
the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on financial
management and control of EU agencies (see 2010/2007(INI)
- performance: Members are disappointed that the Agency failed to prepare
a multiannual work programme and that its annual work programme was not
related to its commitment budget. They ask, therefore, that this
strategy be presented to the Parliament as soon as possible. They also
call on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the
programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to
indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member
on a project and encourage an approach geared towards achieving results.
Members call on the Agency to set out a comparison of operations carried
out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the
previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to
assess more effectively its performance from one year to the next;
- budgetary
and financial management: Members note that
the Agency received EUR 44.3 million in commitment appropriations and
EUR 46.89 in payment appropriations from the 2008 Union budget. They
consider it a matter for concern that the Court of Auditors has again
noted a high number of budget transfers in 2008 (52 in total). Although
most of these transfers were related to the Agency’s move to its final
offices, Members note that more than EUR 2 million of appropriations for
personnel expenditure was transferred to administrative expenditure
budget lines between June and November 2008, which made it possible to
increase the amount of appropriations carried forward to 2009 and reduce
the amount to be repaid to the Commission. Efforts must be continued to improve
its planning and monitoring and consequently to reduce the number of
budgetary modifications. Members conclude from the annual closure of
accounts and the amount of interest payments that the Agency maintains
enormously high cash reserves over long periods (EUR 3 610 677.41 at 31
December 2008). Members call on the Commission to examine ways of
ensuring that the principle of needs-based cash management is
implemented to the full and that changes in approach are needed to
ensure that the Agency's cash reserves are kept as low as possible on a
long-term basis;
- internal
audit and human resources: Members note that
the Agency should implement the recommendations from the Internal Audit
Service (IAS) in particular as regards: the adoption of the Staff
Regulation Implementing Rules regarding the recruitment of temporary
staff; the controls in the selection procedure to ensure more
transparency and equal treatment of candidates; the development of a
career planning strategy; and better human resources planning.