2015 discharge: European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

2016/2173(DEC)

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in respect of the implementation of the agency’s budget for the financial year 2015.

The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, Article 5 (1)(a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure).

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 505 votes to 103 with 11 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 resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

These recommendations may be summarised as follows:

  • Agency’s financial statements: Parliament noted that the final budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2015 was EUR 204 907 790, representing an increase of 11.58 % compared with 2015.
  • Commitments and carry-overs: Parliament noted that the carry-overs of committed appropriations for operational expenditure were EUR 2 million (32 %) compared to EUR 2 million (38.1 %) in 2014. It acknowledged that these carry-overs mainly related to IT developments ordered near the year-end, as well as to rule making activities and research projects of a multiannual nature which therefore go beyond 2015.

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding procurement, recruitment procedures, internal audits and controls and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests.

It highlighted the Agency's vital role in ensuring the highest possible level of aviation safety throughout Europe. It stressed that a common European assessment and alerting system is needed in Europe, in particular in the context of flights over conflict zones.

It also stressed that, in the context of a fast-developing civil aviation sector, exemplified by the ever more widespread use of pilotless aircraft ('drones'), the Agency should be given the necessary financial, material and human resources to successfully perform its regulatory and executive tasks in the fields of safety and environmental protection.

Headquarters agreement: Parliament noted that the Agency and the German Transport Ministry recently agreed on a text for the Agency’s headquarters agreement, which was subsequently signed in December 2016. The annual costs per square metre after relocation is expected to be 20 % less than in the previous building.