The European Parliament decided to grant the Executive
Director of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI2) Joint
Undertaking (formerly the Joint Undertaking for the implementation
of the Joint Technology Initiative on Innovative Medicines)
discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint
Undertakings budget for the financial year 2014. The vote on
the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in
accordance with Annex V, Article 5 (1)(a) to Parliaments
Rules of Procedure.
Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it
has obtained reasonable assurances that the Joint
Undertakings annual accounts for the financial year 2014 are
reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and
regular, Parliament adopted by 512 votes to 113 with 7 abstentions,
a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an
integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the
general recommendations set out in the resolutionÂ
on performance, financial management and control of EU
agencies:
- General remark:
Parliament noted that the Court of Auditors'
report is based on too many general remarks to the detriment of
viable, specific ones. It therefore called for an audit with a
sharper focus on the annual financial performance, on the
implementation status of multiannual projects (including a clear
presentation of the implementation of the budget for the respective
year and for previous years) and on the results and their
implementation. It noted that the Institutions and Bodies are
required to produce each year a Report on Budgetary and Financial
Management and that the information provided by the Joint
Undertaking in this report lacked harmonisation and was often
incomplete. It called on the Commission to provide guidance as to
the nature and content of the report.
- Budget and financial management: Parliament noted that the
joint undertaking's annual budget included commitment
appropriations amounting to EUR 223 million and payment
appropriations amounting to EUR 171 million. It noted the overall
implementation rate was 92.4 % (99.5 % for 2013) for commitment
appropriations and 73.9 % (97.5 % for 2013) for payment
appropriations. Parliament noted the lack of information on the ex
post audits carried out by the IMI and IMI2 joint undertakings. It
invited the Court to include in future reports information
regarding the number of ex-post audits, the total amounts covered
and the findings. It called on the Court to include more
information on budget execution (commitment and payments, including
in-kind and cash contributions) for FP 7 and Horizon 2020
programmes in the upcoming annual reports.
Lastly, Parliament issued a series of observations
regarding conflicts of interest in the joint undertaking, the
undertaking's legal framework, and procurement and internal control
procedures.