Legislative Observatory
European Parliament
Please fill in this field to find a procedure

2014 discharge: European Training Foundation (ETF)

2015/2173(DEC)

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 Training Foundation (ETF) for the financial year 2014.

The parliamentary committee calls on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Foundation discharge in respect of the implementation of the agency’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 Foundation’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:

·         Foundation’s financial statements: Members note the final budget of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2014 was EUR 20 158 053, representing an increase of 0.07 % compared to 2013 and that the Foundation’s entire budget derives from the Union budget.

·         Budget and financial management: Members note budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2014 resulted in a high budget implementation rate of 99.90 %.

Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carryovers, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, as well as on contract award, recruitment and internal audit procedures.

Lastly, Members point out that the Foundation operates in a dynamic environment which requires a high level of flexibility in continually updating and adjusting its activities to meet expected results in the delivery of support to partner countries. They recall that the 2014 context was marked in particular by ongoing political instability in the southern and eastern Mediterranean and in eastern Europe owing to the crisis in Ukraine. They suggest that full advantage of the work done by the Foundation be taken in the area of migration and skills.