The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) in regard to the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the 2022 financial year 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 2022 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 529 votes to 69, with 3 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 CEDEFOP for the financial year 2022 was EUR 18 434 420 , representing a decrease of 0.29 % compared to 2021.

Budget and financial management

The budget monitoring efforts resulted in a budget implementation rate in 2022 of 99.98 %, representing a slight decrease of 0.02 % compared to 2021. Parliament regretted the low level of the current year payment appropriation rate (77.64 %) representing a decrease of 2.38 % compared to 2021.

Parliament noted from the Court’s report the observation that the Centre did not correctly apply the contribution calculation method set out in the statement on cooperation between the Centre and EFTA in relation to amendment No 1 to the Centre´s budget. As a result, for 2022 Iceland’s and Norway’s contributions to the Centre’s budget on the one hand, and the Union’s contribution on the other hand were higher and, respectively lower than they should have been.

Other observations

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding performance, human resources, digitalisation and internal control.

In particular, it noted that:

- despite the continued challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the unjustified war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the escalating climate emergency, the Centre has fully implemented its work programme in 2022, with noteworthy achievements in all the Centre’s three strategic areas of operation going beyond those planned in the 2022 work programme;

- vocational education and training has been identified as a focus area for cooperation under the European Education Area initiative for the period 2021-2030;

- on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 95.60 % implemented, with 79 temporary agents appointed out of 83 temporary posts and eight officials out of eight posts authorised under the Union budget;

- in 2022, the Centre digitised all workflows, introduced a digital tool for selection procedures and a new digital working and collaboration environment, and prepared for and launched the use, as of January 2023, of the public procurement management tool. Moreover, Parliament commended that that the Centre has issued digital signatures for all its staff and the managers are using EU-Sign certificates for contracts, order forms and legally binding documents;

- the assessment of the Centre’s overall internal control framework concluded that the internal control framework is effective, all its components are in place and functioning well and for their intended purpose, with some improvements needed with regard to the internal control component ‘control activities’.