2014 discharge: European Railway Agency (ERA)

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2014, as part of the 2014 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the European Railway Agency (ERA).

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2014 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 148 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU's General Budget, including the European Railway Agency (ERA).

The document contains the figures on which the discharge procedure is based.

On this basis, the Financial Controller of the European Commission ensures the certification of the consolidated accounts as declared by the institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union.

Discharge procedure of the EU agencies: the EU Budget finances a wide range of policies and programmes throughout the EU. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Parliament and the Council in the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), the European Commission carries out specific programmes, activities and projects in the field with the technical support of some specialised agencies.

The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from a budgetary and accrual accounting perspective.

The consolidated reports on the implementation of the general budget of the EU include the budget implementation of all Institutions. Agencies do not have a separate budget inside the EU budget; and they are partially financed by a Commission budget subsidy.

This document sets out how the Agencies spent and implemented their budget in 2014. Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure.

ERA: in 2014, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

• description of ERA's tasks: ERA, which is located in Lille-Valenciennes (FR), was created by Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Its aim is to enhance the level of interoperability of railway systems and develop a common approach to safety in order to contribute to creating a more competitive European railway sector with a high level of safety;
• ERA's budget for the 2014 financial year: the Agency’s budget for 2014, as presented in the Commission document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union, gives the following figures:

Commitment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 26 million;

- paid : EUR 25 million;

- carried-over : 0.

Payment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 28 million;

- paid : EUR 24 million;

- carried-over : EUR 3 million.

Please refer also to the final accounts of the ERA.