2011 discharge: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY (ADLE, NL) on discharge to be granted to the Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2011.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approve the closure of the Agency’s accounts. However, they make a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:

• Financing, budget and financial management: Members recall that from the Court of Auditors' report that the Agency’s 2011 budget amounted to EUR 16.4 million, which represents a 5.8% increase.
• Implementation rate of appropriations: Members regret that at the same time, the cancellation rate for appropriations doubled from 4% in 2010 to 8% of the total budget for 2011, indicating difficulties in the implementation of the actions foreseen in the annual work programme and in complying with the budgetary principle of annuality. They call for a more realistic and feasible programme to be presented in future.

Lastly, Members made a series of observations concerning the seat of the Agency, its performances and its control systems.