The European Parliament decided to grant the Executive Director of the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership (ECSEL) Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the joint undertakings budget for the financial year 2017 and to approve the closure of the joint undertakings accounts.
Noting that the Court of Auditors considered that the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2017 accurately reflected the financial position of the Joint Undertaking as at 31 December 2017, as well as the results of its operations, Parliament adopted by 436 votes to 181, with 17 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision.
General
The contributions to the Joint Undertaking envisaged for the entire period of Horizon 2020 amount to EUR 1 184 874 000 from the Union, EUR 1 170 000 000 from the Participating States and EUR 1 657 500 000 from the private members.
Budgetary and financial management
The Joint Undertaking's final budget for the financial year 2017 included commitment appropriations of EUR 183 900 000 and payment appropriation of EUR 290 100 000. The utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations were 98 % and 83 % respectively.
Parliament noted that the Court issued a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts which is a result of projects taken over from Joint Undertaking's legal predecessors Artemis and ENIAC Joint Undertakings. It called on the Council to reconsider the methodology that results in repetitive qualified opinions based on this reoccurring issue that cannot be solved until the Seventh Framework Programme projects are terminated. The complexity of the Joint Undertaking´s budgetary and accounting model stemming from its tripartite nature. The JU would welcome further simplification and streamlining of accounting and auditing.
Other observations
The resolution also contained a series of observations on performance, procurement, internal control systems and audits. It noted in particular:
- the Joint Undertaking´s strong position in its area of expertise across whole Europe and its ability to create an interconnected ecosystem of relevant stakeholders;
- that the Joint Undertaking has made very good efforts to be transparent, with all the calls for proposals made having been made public;
- significant shortcomings in the management of the procurement procedures for administrative services. A budget, procurement and contracts assistant has been nominated to handle this problem.