PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge procedure.
Analysis of the accounts of the European Environment Agency (EEA).
CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU’s General Budget, including the European Environment Agency (EEA).
In 2009, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:
· description of the Agency’s tasks: the European Environment Agency, which is located in Copenhagen, was established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90. It is responsible for setting up an observation network to provide the Commission, the Parliament, the Member States and, more generally, the public with reliable information on the state of the environment. This information should, in particular, enable the European Union and the Member States to take action to safeguard the environment and assess the effectiveness of such action;
· the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2009: the Agency’s 2009 budget amounted to EUR 39.9 million, compared with EUR 37.1 million the previous year. The number of staff employed by the Agency at the end of the year was 133, compared with 123 the previous year.
The complete version of EEA’s final accounts may be found at the following address: www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/documents/administrativedocuments/eea-accounts-for-the-year-2009