PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Data Protection Supervisor for the 2005 financial year.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2008/506/EC of the European Parliament on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section VIII B - European Data Protection Supervisor.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants the European Data Protection Supervisor discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2005.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament’s resolution adopted on 24 April 2007 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 24/04/2007).

Budget 2008/506
OJ L 187 15.07.2008, p. 0075

SP(2007)2625/2

Results of vote in Parliament

Debate in Parliament

The Parliament adopted the report by Daniel CASPARY (EPP-ED, DE) granting discharge to the European Data Protection Supervisor for 2005.

The Parliament makes a number of recommendations which should be taken into account when granting the discharge.

It notes that in 2005 the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) had available commitment appropriations amounting to a total of EUR 2 840 733 with a utilisation rate of 82.77 %. It notes that following the introduction of accrual accounting with effect from 1 January 2005 the EDPS's 2005 financial statements disclose a positive economic out-turn of EUR 211 631 and an excess of liabilities over assets of EUR 202 504.

2005 was the first year in which the EDPS was fully operational.

The EDPS submitted a budget for 2007 of EUR 5 080 699 representing an increase of 23 % over the 2006 final budget (EUR 4 147 378), reflecting a request for five new posts, an expansion in office space and an increase in translation costs;

The Parliament recalls that in June 2004 the Secretaries-General of the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council signed, together with the EDPS, an administrative cooperation agreement to assist the EDPS for a start-up period of three years under which: the Commission's Accounting Officer and Internal Auditor have been appointed as the EDPS's Accounting Officer and Auditor; Commission departments provide assistance for all tasks concerning the management of persons linked to the institution (determination of entitlements, payment of salaries, reimbursement of medical costs, mission payments, etc.); Commission departments also help the EDPS in establishing and implementing the budget; the EDPS is installed in the premises of the European Parliament; the European Parliament's departments assist the EDPS as regards material facilities and know-how relating to his installation in the premises (security of the buildings, mail, computers, telephones, offices and supplies); the Council provides translation facilities.

On 7 December 2006 the administrative cooperation agreement was renewed for a further period of 3 years with effect from 16 January 2007. Further, in November 2006 the EDPS decided to set up an internal control structure appropriate to the Institution's activities and requirements.

The Parliament welcomes the decision by the EDPS and the assistant supervisor to publish, every year, a declaration of their economic and financial interests as soon as their new website is completed in early 2007; notes that in the meantime they have forwarded written statements concerning their financial interests for the years 2005 and 2006.

Lastly, the Parliament welcomes the readiness of the EDPS to join the interinstitutional agreement on OLAF and encourages him to take all necessary steps as soon as possible.

T6-0111/2007

A6-0111/2007

A6-0111/2007

The committee adopted the report by Daniel CASPARY ( EPP-ED , DE ) granting discharge to the European Data Protection Supervisor for 2005. In its accompanying resolution, the committee noted that 2005 was the first year in which the EDPS was fully operational. It referred to the administrative cooperation agreement signed in 2004 with the Commission, Parliament and Council providing for assistance for the EDPS for a start-up period of 3 years, under which the Commission’s Accounting Officer and Internal Auditor were appointed as the relevant officers for the EDPS, and noted that this agreement had been renewed for a further period of 3 years with effect from 16 January 2007. It also noted that the EDPS had decided to set up an internal control structure "appropriate to the institution’s activities and requirements".

The report welcomed the decision by the EDPS and the assistant supervisor to publish, every year, a declaration of their economic and financial interests once their new website was completed. Lastly, it welcomed the fact that the EDPS was prepared to join the interinstitutional agreement on OLAF and encouraged him to take all necessary steps as soon as possible.

PE382.617

PURPOSE : to present the Court of Auditors’ report on the implementation of the 2005 budget (other institutions – European Data-Protection Supervisor).

CONTENT : in its 29th Annual Report on the implementation of the general budget of the European Union, the Court highlights that 2005 was the first full year in which the European Union had 25 Members. The Court’s audit did not reveal any material errors concerning the legality and regularity of underlying transactions.

Supervisory and control systems : i n 2005 all the Institutions had supervisory and control systems complying with the requirements of the new Financial Regulation. However, some Institutions had not fully implemented all their Internal Control Standards (in particular the Council).

Also in 2005, the NAP (Nouvelle Application Paie), a computer application for calculating staff remunerations created in 2003 and managed by the Commission Paymaster Office (PMO), was being used by all the Institutions. The technical weaknesses noted in 2004 were overcome, minimising the risk of erroneous calculation of the various elements of staff remuneration. However, the institutions did not systematically use the reporting facilities of NAP in order to verify, before the final pay run, all the data concerning situations specific to individual members of staff. Although not mandatory pursuant to the Financial Regulation, ex-post controls would increase the reliability of the administrative procedures for managing staff remunerations and help to uncover possible weaknesses and errors in the system.

Staff Regulations : the amended Staff Regulations, which entered into force on 1 May 2004, state that accommodation costs incurred on mission are reimbursed up to a maximum fixed for each country. Contrary to this rule, all the Institutions, except the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the Ombudsman, provided in their internal rules for the payment of a flat-rate sum, ranging from 30 to 60 % of the maximum allowable amount, to staff who do not produce any evidence of having incurred accommodation costs. After the publication of the European Court of Auditors’ Annual Report concerning the financial year 2004, the European Economic and Social Committee amended its internal rules in December 2005 in order to ensure compliance with the Staff Regulations.

Specific remarks concerning the Supervisor : to recall, the Supervisor’s administrative expenditure totalled EUR 2 million in 2005. The Court states that the audit did not give rise to any material observations.

General conclusions : the Court states that improvements have been made by all the Institutions in order to adapt their supervisory and control systems to the requirements of the new Financial Regulation. The Court’s audit found that, notwithstanding the weaknesses mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the supervisory and control systems were adequate to manage the risk as regards legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts of the Institutions’ administrative expenditure. The Court’s audit did not reveal material errors affecting the legality and regularity of the administrative expenditure.

N6-0039/2006
OJ C 263 31.10.2006, p. 0001

PURPOSE: presentation of the final annual accounts of the European Community for the financial year 2005 – Other institutions : Section VIII (B) - European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

CONTENT: this document sets out the amount of expenditure and the financial statement of the EDPS for 2005 and presents an analysis of its financial management. The available appropriations set out in the Supervisor’s 2005 budget amounted to EUR 2.84 million (following AB 2/2005), with an 82.77% utilisation rate.

Main axes of 2005 expenditure : the institution’s 2nd budget: while 2004 was the first year of activity, during which a new institution was literally built up (including finding appropriate office space and the first phases of recruitment), the second annual report covers a year of consolidation. Major attention has been given to the development of human resources. The EDPS called for the creation of just four posts in 2005. This request was authorised by the budgetary authority, with the number of staff increasing from 15 in 2004 to 19 in 2005.

The main issues of the 2005 budget implementation can be summarised as follows:

in 2005, interinstitutional cooperation continued in areas where the EDPS is assisted by the other institutions, by virtue of the administrative cooperation agreement with the Secretaries-General of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, concluded on 24 June 2004. The general infrastructure has been improved upon during 2005. However, with the increased number of staff and further increase expected in 2006, the EDPS is experiencing office space problems, which are hoped to be resolved by acquiring additional space in 2006; on the basis of the interinstitutional agreement of 24 June 2004, the Internal Auditor at the Commission was appointed as the Auditor at the EDPS.

Other salient issues of the EDPS’s budget implementation can be summarised as follows:

Title I (Staff costs): the budget implementation was marked by a budget transfer of EUR 35 000 from item “Staff in activity” towards “Members of the Institution” to cover initial operating costs of the EDPS in 2005. A weak rate of implementation for traineeships and missions can be noted.

Title II (Operational expenditure): this heading was characterised by a transfer to finance building investment costs with a view to paying the EP charges relating to the renovations to the EDPS which is situated with the Parliament itself.

There is also a weak rate of utilisation of the “studies” item (barely 10%) : this is linked to the fact that in 2005 the EURODAC audit was supposed to have been carried out. However, this will not happen until 2006. Information costs have been limited because the EPDS’s information campaign started relatively late.

For further details concerning the Supervisor’s expenditure in 2005, please refer to the annexed detailed analysis of expenditure.

EUR-Lex
OJ C 263 31.10.2006, p. 0001
SEC(2006)0915

PURPOSE: presentation of the final annual accounts of the European Community for the financial year 2005 – Other institutions : Section VIII (B) - European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

CONTENT: this document sets out the amount of expenditure and the financial statement of the EDPS for 2005 and presents an analysis of its financial management. The available appropriations set out in the Supervisor’s 2005 budget amounted to EUR 2.84 million (following AB 2/2005), with an 82.77% utilisation rate.

Main axes of 2005 expenditure : the institution’s 2nd budget: while 2004 was the first year of activity, during which a new institution was literally built up (including finding appropriate office space and the first phases of recruitment), the second annual report covers a year of consolidation. Major attention has been given to the development of human resources. The EDPS called for the creation of just four posts in 2005. This request was authorised by the budgetary authority, with the number of staff increasing from 15 in 2004 to 19 in 2005.

The main issues of the 2005 budget implementation can be summarised as follows:

in 2005, interinstitutional cooperation continued in areas where the EDPS is assisted by the other institutions, by virtue of the administrative cooperation agreement with the Secretaries-General of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, concluded on 24 June 2004. The general infrastructure has been improved upon during 2005. However, with the increased number of staff and further increase expected in 2006, the EDPS is experiencing office space problems, which are hoped to be resolved by acquiring additional space in 2006; on the basis of the interinstitutional agreement of 24 June 2004, the Internal Auditor at the Commission was appointed as the Auditor at the EDPS.

Other salient issues of the EDPS’s budget implementation can be summarised as follows:

Title I (Staff costs): the budget implementation was marked by a budget transfer of EUR 35 000 from item “Staff in activity” towards “Members of the Institution” to cover initial operating costs of the EDPS in 2005. A weak rate of implementation for traineeships and missions can be noted.

Title II (Operational expenditure): this heading was characterised by a transfer to finance building investment costs with a view to paying the EP charges relating to the renovations to the EDPS which is situated with the Parliament itself.

There is also a weak rate of utilisation of the “studies” item (barely 10%) : this is linked to the fact that in 2005 the EURODAC audit was supposed to have been carried out. However, this will not happen until 2006. Information costs have been limited because the EPDS’s information campaign started relatively late.

For further details concerning the Supervisor’s expenditure in 2005, please refer to the annexed detailed analysis of expenditure.

EUR-Lex
SEC(2006)0915