Based on the
observations contained in the revenue and expenditure account and the balance
sheet of the European Police College (CEPOL) for the financial year 2008, as
well as on the Court of Auditor’s report and CEPOL’s replies to the Court’s
observations, the Council recommends that the Parliament grant the Director
of the CEPOL discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the
financial year 2008.
The Council
takes note with satisfaction of the Court's opinion that the College's annual
accounts present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position as
at 31 December 2008 and the results of operations and cash-flows for the year
then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the College's Financial
Regulation. However, it regrets that the underlying transactions for the
financial year ended on 31 December 2008 are subject of reservations
regarding legality and regularity.
The Council
considers that observations made in the Court of Auditor’s report call for a
certain number of observations to be taken into account when granting
discharge, particularly on the following points:
- procurement: the Council notes with great concern the irregularities
identified by the Court in the College's procurement procedures and the
non-respect of administrative and financial rules, notably expenditure
not justified by suitable documentation or without sufficient legal or
budgetary commitment. It urges the College to improve its internal
monitoring and control systems to avoid such problems in the future;
- carry-over
of appropriations: the Council is concerned
about the high level of appropriations carried forward by the College to
the following financial year, partly even with unclear justification,
and asks the College to better plan and monitor the implementation of
its budget;
- ABAC
system: the Council notes with
dissatisfaction the difficulties and delays experienced during the
migration to the ABAC system and the remaining uncertainties about the
quality of the financial information available in the new system. It
regrets the existence of two separate, non-harmonised fixed assets management
systems which do not allow a proper registering and accounting of the
College's inventory. The Council notes the progress made in the
implementation of ABAC assets and asks for a rapid approval of the
College's inventory policy;
- private
expenditure: the Council takes note of the
College's intention to recover the appropriations irregularly used to
finance private expenditure and to carry out an external ex-post control
of the corrections. It urges the College to complete this process as
soon as possible.