The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Derek VAUGHAN (S&D, UK) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) for the financial year 2014.
The parliamentary committee calls on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2014.
Noting that the Court of Auditors issued a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions for the financial year 2014, Members call on Parliament to approve the closure of the Authority’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed 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:
· Agency’s financial statements: Members noted that the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2014 was EUR 21 582 772, representing an increase of 15% compared to 2013, which can be explained by the Agency’s recently established nature.
· Carryovers: Members noted that the rate of carryovers of commitments amounted to 26% overall and 66% for operational expenses, in particular for multi-annual IT investments.
Members also made a series of observations regarding contract award procedures, recruitment, as well as internal audit.
Lastly, as regards preventing conflicts of interest, Members point out that the Authority needs to pay particular attention to upholding the safety and soundness of the financial sector, ensuring compatibility with Union law, respecting the principle of proportionality and complying with the fundamental principles of the internal market for financial services. They underline, that EIOPA, on that basis, must strive to achieve outcomes that are unambiguous, consistent, coherent and free of superfluous complexity.