The Committee on
Budgetary Control adopted the second report drafted by Georgios STAVRAKAKIS
(S&D, EL) granting the Director of the European
Police College (CEPOL) discharge in respect of the implementation of the
College's budget for the financial year 2009. At
the same time, Members approved the closure of CEPOL’s accounts for
the financial year 2009.
This report is the
follow up to the postponement of the discharge decision on 11 May 2011.
Stating that the Court of Auditors had
reserved its opinion on the legality and reliability of the underlying
transactions, Members made a series of recommendations (other than those
outlined in the draft resolution as regards the performance, financial
management and the controls – see DEC/2010/2271) which accompanies the
decision postponing the discharge.
General considerations: Members acknowledge measures taken by the new management and
governance of the College to tackle its deficiencies in response to
Parliament's request for action, following the serious irregularities in the
implementation of the budget for 2009 and welcome, in particular, the
following actions taken in time to respond to Parliament's requests: (i) the
revision of the Financial Regulation of the College by introducing a
derogation concerning the exclusion for tender with regard to the selection
of educational experts in order to use experts from national police training
institutes and, therefore, ensuring the cost effectiveness and the
representation of these institutions as part of the College's network; (ii) the
assurance from the Court of Auditors and from the IAS that the College's MAP
for 2010-2014 gives an overview of the status of its different milestones and
that the College is progressing according to its targets; (iii) a report on
the application by the College of the procurement manual for the period
covering 1 July 2010 - 1 July 2011; (iv) the decision of the Governing Board
of the College to grant voting rights to the Commission.
Members look forward to the Commission's
presentation in 2012 of the College's new legal framework to integrate the
abovementioned Commission's voting rights in the proceedings of the Governing
Board. They note that the final report on the five-year external evaluation
of the College established that there is a case for the College's relocation
and call on the Court of Auditors to prepare a special report, during
2012, setting out the costs and benefits in financial and operational terms
of merging the College's responsibilities with those of Europol.
Specific actions to be taken by the
College to tackle its weaknesses: Members made
the following observations:
- Procurement procedures: Members welcome the first report of the College on the
application of its procurement manual for 1 July 2010 - 1 July 2011.
- Rules governing expenditure on
courses: Members acknowledge that on 28
April 2011 the College presented the Commission with a request to modify
its Financial Regulation by introducing an Article which includes a
derogation from Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 concerning the exclusion
for tender for the selection of educational experts in order to use
experts from national police training institutes. They welcome the
Commission's subsequent which granted consent to the abovementioned
derogation. Members take the view that the College should grant direct
access to its detailed budget, which should include a list of its
contracts and of its public procurement decisions and considers that it
should publish that list on its internet site, according the provision
of the Financial Regulation, excluding details of any contracts whose
disclosure might pose a security risk.
- Carryover of appropriations: Members take note that the College established an
organisational risk register as part of its ongoing budget management to
mitigate its risk of underspending. They call also on the Court of
Auditors and the IAS to assure Parliament on the College's effective
improvements on this issue and to indicate that all instruments for
programming and monitoring are firmly in place.
- Errors in the accounts: Members take note that, despite the significant delays and
errors in its provisional accounts for 2009, the College has assured
Parliament that since 2010 it increased its financial discipline and
internal control. They welcome the decision by the Governing Board of
the College to replace the former Internal Control Standards (ICS) with
the recently established 16 ICS of the Commission. They call on the
College to update Parliament on the level of implementation of these 16
ICS on a continuing basis.
- Human resource management: Members note that the College put an end to a contract that
the Court of Auditors considered "illegal" and note that the
vacancy notice is already advertised. They call on the College to update
the discharge authority on subsequent developments on this specific case.
- Appropriations used to finance
private expenditure: Members acknowledges
that, as a result of an external audit on an ex-post check, the current
Director initiated a recovery order requiring the former Director to return
the sum of EUR 2 014.94 of which only EUR 43.45 have been recovered
to date. They regret the small amount recovered compared to the
financial loss that the College incurred under the management of the
former Director. They take note that a final reminder for payment has
been issued in 2011 and that the next step is to institute proceedings
before an English court to establish the legality of the debt, dating
from 2007, and, should the appropriate judgement be obtained, the
enforcement service will seek to recover the remainder of the unpaid
debt.
- The College's MAP for 2010-2014: Members note that the enhanced transparency provided by the
current Director and its management team has led to an improved
understanding of the challenges the College is facing and has fostered
the necessary changes. They welcome, in this respect, the policy of the
College to: (i) publish a monthly newsletter and regular progress
reports on its activities for its Governing Board in order to provide
them with a clearer analysis of the status of the College’s activities;
(ii) regularly update its progress report on the level of implementation
of its MAP; (iii) provide Parliament with the IAS' annual reports
pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation. They welcome
the Court of Auditors publication of a report on the implementation of
the College's MAP for 2010-2014 in response to Parliament’s request and
note that in this report the Court of Auditors stated that the College’s
implementation of the MAP is progressing according to its milestones. They
call on the College to consult Parliament regularly and to continue to
update it with its progress report on the MAP implementation.
- Structural deficits: Members underline that the governance costs of the College
are high compared to its activities. They welcome, therefore, the
efforts of the College to reduce its governance expenditure at its 25th
Governing Board (GB) meeting of June 2011, when it was agreed that all
GB committees should be abolished by 2012 and that all GB working groups
should be critically analysed.