Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts
for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December
2012 of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT),
as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of
the Institute for the financial year 2012, 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 2012.
The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in
relation to the financial year 2012 call for some comments by the
Council, which may be summarised as follows:
- in general, 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 2012 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 the accounting rules adopted by the
Commission's accounting officer, and that the underlying
transactions for that financial year are legal and
regular.
- Qualified opinion: the
Council regrets the Court's qualified opinion regarding the
weaknesses detected in the grant transactions authorised by the
Institute. It calls on the Institute to reinforce its ex-ante
and ex-post verifications in order to improve assurance on the
legality and regularity of grant expenditure. It also urges the
Institute to take all necessary measures to enhance the quality of
the audit certificates issued by independent auditors in that
respect. Furthermore, the Council invites the Institute to include
more detailed objectives and cost specifications in its grant
agreements, establishing a clear link between the approved funds,
the activities to be implemented and the rules to be applied. It
underlines the importance of clear and quantifiable targets and
milestones allowing an effective assessment of the supported
project activities and the achieved results. Lastly, it asks the
Institute to limit carry-overs of appropriations to the following
year to the minimum necessary, in line with the budgetary principle
of annuality.