PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for the financial year 2016.
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1430 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for the financial year 2016
CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency 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 noted with concern the number of outstanding issues and corrective measures in response to the Court’s comments in 2013, 2014 and 2015. These issues related to the headquarters agreement, ex-ante and ex-post verifications of expenditure claimed by cooperating countries under grant agreements, the need to refine the calculation of contributions from Schengen-associated countries, the recovery of irregular payments from the Icelandic coast guard and the risk of double funding by the Internal Security Fund. It called on the Agency to complete corrective actions as soon as possible in 2018 and report on their implementation to the discharge authority.
Parliament acknowledged the fact that the Regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard Agency opened up new possibilities for cooperation with other Agencies in relation to the coastguard function, resulting in a trilateral working arrangement between Frontex, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Furthermore, a cooperation agreement with Europol was tested throughout 2016.
As regards internal controls, since the substantive increase in the Agency’s budget allocation (financial and human resources) and the expansion of the tasks and responsibilities that are assigned to it, the internal control system requires further improvements in 2017.