Having examined the
revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2011 and
the balance sheet at 31 December 2011 of the European Institute for
Gender Equality, and the report by the Court of Auditors on the
annual accounts of the Institute for the financial year 2011,
accompanied by the Institute's replies to the Court's observations,
the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge
to the Director of the Institute in respect of the implementation
of the budget for the financial year 2011.
The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in
relation to the financial year 2011 call for some comments by the
Council, which may be summarised as follows:
- the Council
welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the
Institute's annual accounts present fairly its financial position
as at 31 December 2011 and the results of its operations and its
cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the
provisions of the Institute's Financial Regulation, and that the
underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and
regular;
- nevertheless, the
Council urges the Institute to continue to improve its financial
programming and its monitoring of the budget implementation in
order to reduce the amounts carried over to the next financial
year, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality;
- it calls on the
Institute to improve the management of fixed assets, the
documentation of physical inventory and the estimation of accrued
charges.