2017 discharge: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the year 2017, together with the Authority’s reply.

CONTENT: the Court of Auditors carried out the audit on the annual accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

In brief, the Authority’s task is to contribute to the establishment of high-quality common regulatory and supervisory standards and practices, to contribute to the consistent application of legally binding Union acts, to stimulate and facilitate the delegation of tasks and responsibilities among competent authorities, to monitor and assess market developments in the area of its competence and to foster the protection of policyholders, pension scheme members and beneficiaries.

Statement of assurance and reliability of the accounts

The Court considered that:

- the Authority’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2017 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer;

- the transactions underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017 are legal and regular in all material respects.

Emphasis of matter

The Court drew attention to the fact that the United Kingdom (UK) notified the European Council on 29 March 2017 of its decision to withdraw from the European Union. An agreement setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal will be negotiated. EIOPA’s budget is financed by 40 % from European Union funds and by 60 % through direct contributions from EU Member States. A future decrease of the Authority’s revenue resulting from the UK’s decision to leave the EU is possible.

The report also makes a series of observations on the budgetary and financial management of the Authority, accompanied by the latter’s response. The main observations may be summarised as follows:

The Court’s observations

Recruitment

The Authority publishes vacancy notices on its own website and in social media, but not on the website of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), which would increase transparency, publicity and allow citizens to identify vacancies published by the different European Institutions and agencies collectively.

The Authority’s reply

Recruitment

The EIOPA is leading a joint procurement for advertising recruitment campaigns that will increase visibility and reach a wide EU audience.

Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report also contained a summary of the Authority’s key figures in 2017:

Budget

EUR 24 million.

Staff

151 including officials, temporary and contract staff and seconded national experts.