Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2017 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2017 of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2017, accompanied by the Joint Undertaking's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2017.
The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Joint Undertaking's annual accounts present fairly 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 the Joint Undertaking's Financial Rules, and that the underlying transactions for 2017 are legal and regular in all material respects.
Nevertheless, the following observations were made:
- financial management: the Council invited the Joint Undertaking to remedy the shortcomings in its financial control processes detected by the external audit;
- procurement: the Joint Undertaking should enhance its procurement procedures by including the weighted average method as an option to evaluate financial offers.