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2015 discharge: Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking - BBI Joint Undertaking

2016/2197(DEC)

The European Parliament decided to grant the bio-based industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking’s Executive Director discharge in respect of the implementation of the joint undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2015.

Based on the statement of assurance provided by the Court of Auditors concerning the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, it decided to approve the closure of the accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the same financial year.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 493 votes to 109 with 14 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the decision on discharge.

General: Parliament noted that the Joint Undertaking reached operational capacity and financial autonomy on 26 October 2015 without any issues of a systemic nature during the first months. It welcomed the fact that the first projects funded by the Joint Undertaking leveraged a total contribution of EUR 71 million from private partners.

Financial management: the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts provide for the final 2015 budget available for implementation included commitment appropriations of EUR 209 422 797 and payment appropriations of EUR 21 075 192, the utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations of which were 87 % and 89 % respectively. Members also noted that:

  • the total operational commitments in 2015 (namely, EUR 180 390 497) were made at a global level and related to two 2015 calls for proposals, for which the award procedures were ongoing on 31 December 2015; in the two months following the Joint Undertaking’s financial autonomy, it dealt successfully with the ongoing projects of the 2014 call;
  • no in-kind contributions were reported by members other than the Union to the Joint Undertaking by 31 December 2015;
  • private sector members face difficulties in presenting their accounts by the deadline of 31 January. Members feared that this risks becoming a recurring issue for most joint undertakings and goes against the general trend towards simplification.

Members welcomed the fact that the Commission presented clear guidelines for the budgetary reporting and financial management of BBI on 20 December 2016 following the Court’s recommendation.

Other observations: the resolution also contained a series of observations on procurement and recruitment procedures, the legal framework and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests. Parliament welcomed the fact that the Joint Undertaking proceeded with recruitment procedures in 2016. Lastly, the Joint Undertaking is invited to incorporate into its annual activity report a section on its anti-fraud strategy.