PURPOSE: to
amend the Financial Regulation to take account of the creation of the
European External Action Service (EEAS), as provided for in the Lisbon
Treaty.
LEGISLATIVE
ACT: Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1081/2010 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 24 November 2010 amending Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the
European Communities, as regards the European External Action Service (EEAS).
CONTENT: the
Council adopted revised versions of the EU staff and financial regulation
necessary for the functioning of the European External Action Service (EEAS).
This follows a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament. The
modifications reflect and concretise agreements made in the context of the
Council Decision 2010/427/EU of 26 July 2010 establishing the organisation
and functioning of the European External Action Service.
The main
amendments introduced in the Financial Regulation are as follows:
- the EEAS is
a service of a sui generis nature and should be treated as an
institution for the purposes of the Financial Regulation;
- in the
context of the discharge, given that the EEAS should be treated
as an institution for the purposes of the Financial Regulation, the EEAS
should be fully subject to the procedures provided for in Article 319 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in Articles 145
to 147 of the Financial Regulation;
- the
Commission should remain responsible for the implementation of the
budget, including operational appropriations
implemented by Heads of Delegations who are sub-delegated authorising
officers of the Commission. The High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy should be informed at the same time
and should facilitate the cooperation between Union Delegations and
Commission departments. Given the novelty of this structure,
high-standard provisions on transparency and budgetary and financial
accountability need to be applied;
- within the
EEAS, a Director-General for budget and administration should be
responsible to the High Representative for the administrative and
internal budgetary management of the EEAS;
- the setting
up of the EEAS should be guided by the principles enunciated by the
European Council of 29 and 30 October 2009, in particular by the
principle of cost-efficiency aiming towards budget neutrality;
- the Treaty
on the Functioning of the European Union provides that Commission
Delegations will become part of the EEAS as Union Delegations. In
order to ensure their efficient management, all administrative and
support expenditure of Union Delegations which finance common costs
should be executed by a single support service. To that effect, the
Financial Regulation should provide the possibility for detailed
arrangements, to be agreed with the Commission, in order to facilitate
the implementation of the Union Delegations' administrative
appropriations;
- it is
necessary to ensure the continuity of the functioning of Union
Delegations and, in particular, continuity and efficiency in the management
of external aid by the Delegations. Therefore, the Commission should be
authorised to sub-delegate its powers of budget implementation of
operational expenditure to Heads of Union;
- furthermore,
where the Commission implements the budget under direct centralised
management, it should be allowed to do so also through
sub-delegation to Heads of Union Delegations. The authorising officers
by delegation of the Commission should continue to be responsible for
the definition of internal management and control systems, while the
Heads of Union Delegations should be responsible for the adequate
setting up and functioning of internal management and control systems
and for the management of the funds and the operations carried out
within their Delegations. They should report twice a year to that
effect. Such delegation may be withdrawn in accordance with the rules
applicable to the Commission;
- in order to
comply with the principle of sound financial management, Heads of
Union Delegations, when acting as sub-delegated authorising officers
of the Commission, should apply the Commission rules and should be
subject to the same duties, obligations and accountability as any other
sub-delegated authorising officer of the Commission;
- the accounting
officer of the Commission remains responsible for the entire
Commission section of the budget, including accounting operations
relating to appropriations sub-delegated to Heads of Union Delegations.
Therefore, it is necessary to clarify that the responsibilities of the
accounting officer of the EEAS should concern only the EEAS section of
the budget, to avoid any overlapping of responsibilities. The Accounting
Officer of the Commission should also act as the Accounting Officer of
the EEAS in respect of the implementation of the EEAS section of the
budget, subject to review;
- the internal
auditor of the Commission should act as the internal auditor of the
EEAS in respect of the implementation of both the Commission and the
EEAS sections of the budget, subject to review;
- in order to
ensure coherence and equality of treatment between sub-delegated
authorising officers who are EEAS staff and those who are Commission
staff, and to ensure that the Commission is properly informed, the special
financial irregularities panel of the Commission should also be
responsible for handling irregularities within the EEAS where the
Commission sub-delegated implementation powers to Heads of Union
Delegations;
- in order to
ensure democratic scrutiny of the implementation of the Union's budget,
Heads of Union Delegations should provide an assurance, together with a
report including information on the efficiency and effectiveness of
internal management and control systems in their Delegation, as well as
on the management of operations sub-delegated to them. The Heads of
Union Delegations' reports should be annexed to the annual activity
report of the responsible authorising officer by delegation and made
available to the budgetary authority.
ENTRY INTO
FORCE: 29/11/2010.