The European
Parliament adopted by 556 votes to 32, with 53 abstentions, a decision on
discharge to be granted to the Director of the European Centre for Disease
Prevention and Control (ECDC) in respect of the implementation of its budget
for the financial year 2008.
Furthermore,
Parliament adopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part
of the decision to grant discharge.
The main
points are as follows:
- performance:
Parliament welcomes the fact that the Centre consolidated its public
health functions, enhanced the capacities of its disease-specific
programmes, further developed partnerships and improved its managerial
structures. It calls on the Centre to set out, in its table to be
annexed to the Court of Auditors’ next report, 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 its performance more effectively from one
year to the next;
- carry-over
of appropriations: Parliament notes that about EUR 16 200 000
(representing 40% of the Centre’s total budget) have had to be carried
over; is consequently concerned that this situation is at odds with the
principle of annuality and shows weaknesses in the programming and
subsequent implementation of the Centre’s budget. Moreover, other
information shows that the Centre’s cash reserves amounted to EUR 16 705
090.95 on 31 December 2008. It, therefore, calls on the Commission to
examine ways of ensuring that the principle of needs-based cash
management to ensure that the Centre’s cash reserves are kept as low as
possible on a long-term basis;
- the Centre’s
seat: noting that, as of 31 December 2008, there was still no agreement
on the Centre’s seat with the Swedish Government and that, in its
discharge for the financial year 2007, the discharge authority had
already expressed concern at the Court of Auditors’ observation that the
Centre had disbursed additional expenditure on renovation works on the
buildings rented for its premises, Parliament welcomes the fact that an
agreement was concluded in March 2009 on personal identity numbers that
will enable staff working at the Centre to access certain public
services. It supports the Centre's efforts with the Swedish government
to find definitive solutions;
- human
resources: Parliament points out that there are still weaknesses in the
planning of recruitment but that, by the end of 2008, considerable
recruitment had ensured that the Centre could carry out its tasks
effectively;
- internal
audit: although Parliament deplores the Centre’s slowness in providing
certain information in relation to its internal audit, it nevertheless
recognises that the Centre gave certain information on the quality of
its management, follow-up action in respect of certain internal control
standards and the implementation of other internal control standards.
Noting that
the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and
the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament approves the
closure of the Centre’s accounts. However, it makes 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)
adopted in parallel).