Based on the observations contained in the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the European Police College (CEPOL) for the financial year 2008, as well as on the Court of Auditor’s report and CEPOL’s replies to the Court’s observations, the Council recommends that the Parliament grant the Director of the CEPOL discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2008.
The Council takes note with satisfaction of the Court's opinion that the College's annual accounts present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position as at 31 December 2008 and the results of operations and cash-flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the College's Financial Regulation. However, it regrets that the underlying transactions for the financial year ended on 31 December 2008 are subject of reservations regarding legality and regularity.
The Council considers that observations made in the Court of Auditor’s report call for a certain number of observations to be taken into account when granting discharge, particularly on the following points:
- procurement: the Council notes with great concern the irregularities identified by the Court in the College's procurement procedures and the non-respect of administrative and financial rules, notably expenditure not justified by suitable documentation or without sufficient legal or budgetary commitment. It urges the College to improve its internal monitoring and control systems to avoid such problems in the future;
- carry-over of appropriations: the Council is concerned about the high level of appropriations carried forward by the College to the following financial year, partly even with unclear justification, and asks the College to better plan and monitor the implementation of its budget;
- ABAC system: the Council notes with dissatisfaction the difficulties and delays experienced during the migration to the ABAC system and the remaining uncertainties about the quality of the financial information available in the new system. It regrets the existence of two separate, non-harmonised fixed assets management systems which do not allow a proper registering and accounting of the College's inventory. The Council notes the progress made in the implementation of ABAC assets and asks for a rapid approval of the College's inventory policy;
- private expenditure: the Council takes note of the College's intention to recover the appropriations irregularly used to finance private expenditure and to carry out an external ex-post control of the corrections. It urges the College to complete this process as soon as possible.