PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Police College (CEPOL) for the financial year 2016.
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1352 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (before 1 July 2016: European Police College) (CEPOL) for the financial year 2016.
CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2016.
This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 (please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018).
In this resolution, Parliament recalled that a number of staff brought a legal claim against the College disputing the conditions in which the relocation was carried out and its financial impact on their income. Parliament noted that an amicable settlement has been reached with some members of staff and the payments were made to this end in 2015 and 2016. Some members of staff appealed the court judgement, which is expected in 2018.
As a consequence of the Colleges relocation from the United Kingdom to Hungary, and due to the significantly lower correction coefficient applied to staff salaries in the new location, the number of resignations has increased. Parliament noted that a number of mitigating actions have been implemented. However, the low grading of posts combined with low correction coefficient does not encourage foreigners (especially from West and Northern Europe) to move to Hungary, and that as a result, the geographical balance of staff is not ensured.
Parliament also noted with concern that for the time being the College does not have sufficient information to allow a thorough preparation for carrying out future activities after Brexit. The Commission and the College are called on to update the discharge authority on Brexit-related risk management.