2023 discharge: General budget of the EU - European Economic and Social Committee
The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Joachim Stanisław BRUDZIŃSKI (ECR, PL) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee.
The committee called on the European Parliament to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2023.
Budgetary and financial management
The report noted that the final adopted budget for the Committee was EUR 158 767 970 in 2023, representing an overall increase of 4.1 % compared to 2022. The remuneration and allowances budget line increased by 8.4 % between 2022 and 2023 due to the inflation. It also noted that the distribution of appropriations across other budget lines in the Committee’s 2023 budget remained comparable to previous years’ distribution.
The European Economic and Social Committee’s budget implementation rate was 98.70 % in 2023. Members noted that the payment appropriations execution rate increased to 90.67 % in 2023. The carry-over of appropriations from 2023 to 2024 amounted to EUR 13 827 713 (i.e. approx. 8.70 % of the Committee’s budget for 2023), which represents a decrease from the previous year’s level.
In 2023, the Committee continued to improve the cost-effectiveness of its activities, including through hybrid work, increased teleworking, full dematerialisation of financial circuits and reduced energy consumption.
Members noted that the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continued to put pressure on the Committee’s budget in 2023, through rising inflation and salary adjustments, challenges in building projects due to delays and higher raw material prices, the indexation of rental contracts, as well as indexation of maintenance and security service contracts.
Internal management, performance and internal control
The report noted that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and exploratory opinions, which feed into the Commission’s work on its planned initiatives, and that the Committee’s positions can be highlighted in resolutions or included in evaluation and information reports. In 2023, the Committee adopted 213 opinions and reports, an increase from 202 in 2022 and organised 146 hearings and 23 conferences, compared to 116 and 29 in 2022, respectively. The Committee’s members participated in 429 high-level meetings, summits and conferences in 2023 compared to 345 in 2022.
Members highlighted that the efficient management of limited resources remained a key challenge throughout 2023 due to staffing constraints, compounded by increased activities under a continuous stable staffing policy. The noted the Committee’s plan to introduce a new approach to strategic workforce planning and staff allocation.
The report noted that, in the area of financial transactions, the Committee’s internal audit service (IAS) adopted a new decision on the assessment of risks for the implementation of a simplified procedure in the beginning of 2023.
Ethical framework and transparency
Members welcomed the adoption of the new diversity and inclusion strategy, effective until 2027 and commended the specific awareness-raising actions on disability undertaken in early 2024. The Committee also continued its internal reform process with the adoption of a decision on the general implementing provisions on administrative investigations and implementing rules for disciplinary proceedings in 2023.
Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection
The report noted that the combined IT budget of both the Committee and the CoR was EUR 12 700 000 in 2023, compared to EUR 11 712 000 in 2022, i.e. an increase of 8.4 %. EUR 350 000 of that budget (or 3 % thereof) was paid for cybersecurity in 2023 and 6.24 % of the Committee’s total budget for 2023 represented expenditure for actions implementing the new ‘Digital Strategy 2024-2026’. Members urged the EESC to increase its cybersecurity budget to at least 10% of its total IT expenditures in line with EU cybersecurity directives, ensuring enhanced protection against cyber threats, especially for sensitive data related to policy and budgetary matters.
Also in 2023, the Committee adopted a new procedure for handling data breaches, published a data protection guide and implemented several awareness-raising initiatives for its staff and members in 2023.
Interinstitutional cooperation
The report welcomed the budgetary and administrative savings achieved through interinstitutional cooperation, in particular the close cooperation established at administrative level with the CoR with which the Committee shares premises and joint services in the areas of translation, infrastructure, logistics and IT while maintaining its full institutional autonomy.
Members also noted with satisfaction that the Committee and Parliament re-negotiated in 2023 and signed in 2024 their inter-institutional agreement which aims to provide more relevant and timely contributions throughout the legislative cycle and to reinforce bilateral cooperation.
Communication
In 2023, the Committee’s overall budget for communication was increased to EUR 2.15 million from EUR 1.5 million in 2022. This budget was primarily allocated to four flagship events organised in 2023 as well as the improvement and/or revamping of the Committee’s social media, external website and audio-visual production, as well as for media and press publications.