Activites

• 2002/06/17 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Budget 2002/452
  • OJ L 158 17.06.2002, p. 0062
• 2002/04/10 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0170/2002 summary

    The Eurpean Parliament adopted the report by Mr Bart STAES (GREENS/EFA, B) concerning the discharge for the European Agency for Reconstruction for the 2000 financial years. In the resolution annexed to its opinion, with particular regard to the financial control, the Parliament insists on the need to promote adequate investigation, including, as appropriate, an internal evaluation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), of any well-founded suspicion of mismanagement and corruption linked to investments in favour of powerstations in Kosovo. More specifically, with regard to the European Agency on Reconstruction, Parliament congratulates the Agency on its good performance in 2000 in connection with the implementation of the reconstruction programme and applauds the individual commitment displayed by the staff seconded to the Agency, who are required to perform their work under what are sometimes very difficult circumstances. It points out, further, that the staff of EC TAFKO likewise carried out their task in an exemplary fashion in the period immediately following the war. Moreover, the largest item in the Agency's budget is that dealing with the 'rehabilitation of the energy sector'; in that connection, Parliament draws attention to the incomprehension of the local population when faced with the paradoxical situation of daily power cuts. It notes that closer co-operation with Belgrade is essential to improve the energy situation in Kosovo and will facilitate UNMIK's (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) task of finding creative solutions to allow the Kosovo Electricity Company (KEK) to have a legal corporate status and to establish mechanisms for the international financial institutions to provide credit to KEK, as the donors cannot provide indefinite financing through grants for all the investment and recurrent needs of Kosovo. On the other hand, the Parliament welcomes the Action Plan for the energy sector agreed in October 2001 between the Commission and the Agency which lays down the benchmarks to be achieved by UNMIK and KEK and it applauds the effective and economical approach employed by the Agency in the housing, transport and agriculture sectors. Concerning the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Special Representative Secretary General and European Commission, the Parliament calls on UNMIK to implement the Action Plan of essential measures, agreed upon by the Commission and UNMIK, notably regarding the need for a multi-media campaign aimed at raising the public awareness of power sector problems which contribute to wastage and non-payment. UNMIK is urged likewise to draw up a transport policy so that the sustainability of the investments can be guaranteed. Parliament urges UNMIK, further, to take account of the observations made by the Court of Auditors concerning the high customs duties and sales taxes imposed on agricultural inputs, which act as a disincentive to agricultural production. The Special Representative Secretary General (SRSG) of the United Nations in Kosovo is urged to make much greater efforts to draw up a policy framework and a long-term strategy to ensure the sustainability of the EC and international investment in Kosovo. The Commission, which funds the EU pillar of UNMIK, is called upon to to discuss the development of a sustainable policy and a regulatory framework with UNMIK and the provisionalinstitutions for self-government (PISG), in particular the Kosovan President, the Kosovo Prime Minister and government and the Kosovo Assembly; requests that a report on the development of a sustainable policy and regulatory framework and on the progress of the sectoral Action Plans agreed with the Commission be included in the UNMIK end-of-year report for 2002. As regards the Kosovo authorities, the Parliament calls on the relevant Kosovo authorities to take the necessary steps, as provided for in the above-mentioned Action plan, to raise the revenue collection rate, curb the electricity consumption, and formalise an agreement on electricity exchanges with Serbia and neighbouring countries, as Kosovo's power generation system has to import electricity during peak periods and export it during off-peak times.�

• 2002/04/09 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2002/03/19 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0101/2002
• 2002/03/14 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2409
• 2002/02/18 Council Meeting
  • 2409 summary

    The Council examined the Report of the Court of Auditors, which audited the financial accounts of the European Agency for Reconstruction for the financial year ending on 31 December 2001 and assessed the Agency's efficiency not only at the level of its organisational structure but also with respect to its operational budget management and its aid programme implementation in Kosovo. The Council also examined the replies of the Agency and of the Commission. The Council welcomed the fact that the Agency had demonstrated a high level of efficiency in terms of administration and budget management, with significant rates of commitment and payment of appropriations in 2000. The Agency has thus fulfilled the objectives for which it was set up. The subsequent extension of the mandate of the Agency to the FRY and FYROM shows the important role it plays in the reconstruction of the region. The Council noted that, in Kosovo, the Agency will have to manage the transition from emergency aid, an activity involving rapid disbursement, to help for capacity-building, which is more difficult to implement, while remaining ready to take urgent action should circumstances require. As the emergency phase within Kosovo is coming to an end, the Agency will apply the normal Community rules for all tendering and contracting, including open international tender. The Council welcomed the measures already taken by the Agency and by the Commission in response to some of the recommendations, such as the introduction of a new computerised budgetary accounts system at the end of 2001 and the initiation of discussions with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) on sectoral policies. It noted the Commission's assurance that the Court of Auditors' recommendations concerning the functioning of the Agency's Governing Board and its interaction with the CARDS Committee have been broadly covered with the adoption of Council Regulations 2667/2000 and 2666/2000, which helped clarify relations between the two bodies and introduced strategic frameworks for each country, including multiannual programming. These latter measures also respond to the Court's wish for a policy framework to be defined as well as a medium and long-term strategy. The Council also pointed out that the Agency's programmes reflect the EU's desire to facilitate the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and the importance it attaches to the principles of the Stabilisation and Association Process. While acknowledging the particular circumstances in which the Agency has been obliged to operate, the Council stressed the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the investments financed by the EU in Kosovo. The Council endorsed the other recommendations made by the Court of Auditors, particularly those concerning the need to show in future budgets the estimated annual payment appropriations required for subsequent financial years and to continue to focus the Agency's human and financial resources on the latest reconstruction priorities. It welcomed the steps already taken by the Agency and the Commission to implement the Court's other recommendations and urged them to pursue this course of action vigorously. The Council invited the Commission to report to it before the endof 2002 on further action taken on the Court of Auditors' Report.�

• 2001/10/10 Non-legislative basic document published
  • N5-0673/2001 summary

    PURPOSE: to present the report from the Court of Auditors on the financial accounts of the European Agency for Reconstruction and the implementation of aid for Kosovo in the year 2000. CONTENT: In preparing its examination of the EAR the Court of Auditors focused on five principle elements: 1. The financial statements of the EAR for the financial year ended 31/12/00; 2. The efficiency of the EAR in Kosovo in 2000 at the level of its organisational structure; 3. Its operational budget management; 4. Its programme implementation and 5. An examination of whether matters affecting the economy or the effectiveness of the interventions had been neglected. Overall the findings of the audit were positive. For the financial year 2000 the Court was satisfied that the annual accounts were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were both legal and regular. In terms of accounting methodology, however, the Court urges the EAR to abandon its practice of relying on spreadsheets and to opt for a more reliable computerised budgetary accounts system as soon as possible. In terms of the Agency's efficiency, again the EAR scored high. This is largely due to the fact that the Agency could concentrate its efforts on a limited number of priority areas. The Report goes on to recommend that the tendency towards prioritising practical sectoral programmes be continued. Further, in terms of efficiency, it recommends that the monthly meetings of the Governing Board be abandoned in favour of a three monthly meeting. In line with this thinking it also recommends that the Commission no longer chair the Governing Board. Lastly, to ensure the sustainability of the investments financed, a policy framework and a mid and long-term strategy is required.�

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: N5-0673/2001
• Debate in Council: 2409
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A5-0101/2002
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0170/2002
• : Budget 2002/452
• : OJ L 158 17.06.2002, p. 0062

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)