The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the financial year 2018 and to approve the closure of the accounts for the financial year in question.
Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2018 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 612 votes to 54 with 27 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies:
Agency’s financial statements
The final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2018 was EUR 197 871 000, representing an increase of 3.27 % compared to 2017.
Budget and financial management
The budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2018 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98.31 %, representing a decrease of 1.02 % compared to 2017. The payments appropriations execution rate was 90.26 %, showing a decrease of 3.49 % compared to 2017.
Other observations
Members also made a series of observations regarding performance, staff policy, procurement and internal controls.
In particular, they noted that:
- following the 2017 audit of the Agency carried out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in June 2018 ICAO published the results confirming the very high implementation rate, which puts the Agency among the top three aviation regulators in the world;
- the Agency made significant efforts to create a single European drone area. However, it should ensure that the Union acquires rules on the commercial sale of drones;
- on 31 December 2018, the establishment plan was 95.74 % executed, with 651 temporary agents appointed out of 680 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget;
- the Agency should develop a long term human resources policy framework which addresses the work-life balance of its staff, career development, the gender balance, teleworking and the recruitment and integration of disabled people.