Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts
for the financial year 2010 and the balance sheet at 31 December
2010 of the European Railway Agency, as well as the Court of
Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the
financial year 2010, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the
Court's observations, the Council recommends the European
Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the
Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the
financial year 2010.
However, the Council considers that observations made
in the Court of Auditor's report call for a certain number of
remarks:
- the Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all
material respects, the Agency's annual accounts fairly present the
financial position as at 31 December 2010 and the results of
operations and cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance
with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation, and that
the underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and
regular;
- the Council regrets that the volume of appropriations
carried over to the next financial year was again considerably
high. Therefore, it reiterates its call on the Agency to improve
its financial programming, in order to limit those carry-overs to
the minimum necessary, in line with the budgetary principle of
annuality.