2018 discharge: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Centre for disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 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 Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2018 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 607 votes to 81 with 5 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:
Centre’s financial statements
The final budget of the Centre for the financial year 2018 was EUR 58 030 000, representing a slight decrease of 0.02 % compared to 2017. 97.82 % of the Centre’s budget derives from the Union budget.
Budget and financial management
Parliament recalled that the Centre has a budget which is denominated in euro. However, since its seat is outside the Euro-zone (in Sweden), a lot of its expenses are incurred in Swedish krona (SEK). The Centre is, therefore, exposed to exchange rate fluctuations since not only does it have bank accounts in Swedish krona, it also carries out certain transactions in other foreign currencies.
Budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2018 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98.53 %, representing a decrease of 1.25 % compared to 2017. The payment appropriations execution rate was 81.21 %, representing a slight decrease of 0.50 % compared to the previous year.
Other observations
Members also made a series of observations regarding performance, staff policy, procurement and internal controls.
In particular, they noted that:
- the Centre implemented 89 % of the key outputs indicated in its work programme (above the target of 85 %);
- in 2018, the Centre started the reengineering of its disease surveillance systems, the outsourcing of IT capacity, and the redesign of the Early Warning and Response System, and strengthened collaboration with its external partners and other Union agencies;
- the Centre responded to 31 formal scientific requests from the Commission (of which 10 were from Members), and published a total of 214 reports, including 35 rapid risk assessments addressing disease threats;
- the Centre has an important role in developing tools for the digitisation of healthcare in the Union, in particular in the context of tackling a pandemic;
- on 31 December 2018, the establishment plan was 96.11 % executed, with 173 temporary agents appointed out of 180 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared with 182 authorised posts in 2017);
- the Centre moved to its new premises in April 2018, which provide staff and visiting stakeholders with a safe, environmentally friendly and cost-effective workspace, and represented a smooth transition that went according to schedule.