2016 discharge: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2016 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2016 of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2016, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2016.

The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that the Agency's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2016 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2016 are legal and regular in all material respects.

Nevertheless, the following observations were made:

• financial programming: the Council acknowledged the multiannual nature of the Agency's procurement of studies spanning over several years and its reply to the Court's suggestion to use differentiated appropriations to address the high level of commitments carried over. It, nevertheless, called on the Agency to continue monitoring its budget implementation in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over to the following financial year and the amount cancelled at the end of the following year to the minimum strictly necessary, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality.