PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2008.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2010/526/EU of the European Parliament on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2008.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2008.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament’s resolution adopted on 5 May 2010 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 5 May 2010).

A parallel Decision, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of the accounts of this EU agency.

Decision 2010/526
OJ L 252 25.09.2010, p. 0160

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted by 552 votes to 32, with 54 abstentions, a decision on discharge to be granted to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2008. The decision to grant discharge is also an approval of the closure of the accounts of this EU agency. Furthermore, Parliament adopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part of the decision to grant discharge.

The main points are as follows:

performance: Parliament calls on the Centre to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results; budgetary and financial management: Parliament concludes from the annual closure of accounts and the amount of interest payments that the Centre maintains high cash reserves over long periods. It notes that, as of 31 December 2008, the Centre's cash reserves amounted to EUR 1 635 537.86. It calls on the Commission to examine ways of ensuring that the principle of needs-based cash management is implemented to the full and what changes in approach are needed to ensure that the Centre's cash reserves are kept as low as possible on a long-term basis; internal audit: Parliament calls on the Monitoring Centre to implement the recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS).

Noting that the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament approves the closure of its accounts and refers to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies (see 2010/2007(INI) adopted in parallel).

T7-0107/2010

Debate in Parliament

A7-0067/2010

A7-0067/2010

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Véronique MATHIEU (EPP, FR) on discharge to be granted to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, calling on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Centre in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2008.

Noting that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, MEPs approve the closure of its accounts. However, they make a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies (see 2010/2007(INI) :

performance : Members call on the Centre to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results; budgetary and financial management : Members conclude from the annual closure of accounts and the amount of interest payments that the Centre maintains high cash reserves over long periods. They note that as of 31 December 2008 the Centre's cash reserves amounted to EUR 1 635 537,86. They call on the Commission to examine ways of ensuring that the principle of needs-based cash management is implemented to the full and what changes in approach are needed to ensure that the Centre's cash reserves are kept as low as possible on a long-term basis; internal audit: Members call on the Monitoring Centre to implement the recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS).

PE439.367

PE430.469

Based on the observations contained in the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2008, as well as on the Court of Auditor’s report and the Centre’s replies to the Court’s observations, the Council recommends that the Parliament grant the Director of the Centre discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2008.

The Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, on the one hand, the Centre'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 Centre's Financial Regulation, and that, on the other hand, the underlying transactions for the financial year ended on 31 December 2008 are, in all material respects, legal and regular. Nevertheless, one observation needs to be made.

However, 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:

work programme and performance indicators : the Council regrets the shortcomings identified by the Court in the specification of measurable objectives in the Centre's work programme, as well as the lack of connected outcome indicators and the missing estimates of human and financial resources required for implementing the planned actions. It is concerned about the limited possibilities of monitoring progress at the level of activity resulting from such shortfalls; activity based management : the Council calls on the Centre to implement an activity based management approach which provides clear objectives and indicators, allocates resources to estimated project needs and allows a continuous performance analysis.

05827/2010

PE430.718

OJ C 269 10.11.2009, p. 0001
N7-0036/2009

PURPOSE: presentation of the report from the Court of Auditors on the 2008 annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

CONTENT: in the Court’s opinion, the Centre’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2008 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended. The transactions underlying the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year are, in all material respects, legal and regular.

The Court of Auditors report also includes a detailed section on the expenditure of the European Monitoring Centre as well as an analysis of the expenditure in the accounts and the Agency’s replies.

· The Court’s analysis of the accounts : in its report, the Court welcomes the fact that no comment has been made as regards the financial and budgetary management of the EMCDDA except one comment about the work programme which does not detail the estimated human and financial resources necessary to implement the planned actions. Objectives are often neither clearly linked to outputs nor measurable and outcome indicators are missing, which makes it difficult to monitor progress at the level of activity. The Centre should establish measurable objectives with relevant indicators, allocate its resources based on estimated project needs and promote the achieving of results.

· The Centre’s replies : the Centre states that the EMCDDA’s 2009 work programme ensures a better link between priorities, objectives and activities to be implemented. It also allocates financial and human resources to the different priorities and activities on the basis of the estimated costs for implementation. Mid-term progress reporting was carried out to monitor the state of implementation. Moreover, for the 2010–2012 planning cycle the activity-based management (ABM) approach was improved by promoting result-oriented processes, establishing more measurable objectives and developing appropriate performance indicators.

OJ C 304 15.12.2009, p. 0001
N7-0012/2010

PURPOSE: presentation of the final accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) for the 2008 financial year.

CONTENT: this document sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the EMCDDA’s 2008 budget. It indicates that EMCDDA’s final budget amounted to EUR 15.1 million in 2008 (compared with EUR 14.4 million in 2007) 93% of which is derived from a Community subsidy.

In terms of personnel, the EMCDDA, whose headquarters are in Lisbon (Portugal) had 82 posts in its establishment plan, 78 of which are occupied and 26 others (auxiliary contracts, contract staff and temporary replacements) amounting to 104 posts undertaking operational, administrative or mixed tasks.

In 2008, the EMCDDA’s activities mainly focused on:

Reitox Network : the Centre runs a computerised network for the collection and exchange of information called the ‘European Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction’ (Reitox). This network connects national drug information networks, specialist centres in the Member States and the information systems of international organisations working with the Centre.

Publications

· Annual report on the state of the drug problem in Europe (23 language versions, publication and interactive website),

· Selected issues: 3 issues, publication, multilingual summaries EN,

· Statistical bulletin and interactive website containing over 350 tables, 100 graphs,

· General report of activities (annual, EN)

· Drugnet Europe newsletter - 4 issues, EN,

· Drugs in Focus (policy briefings) - 1 issue, 25 language versions,

· EMCDDA Scientific monograph - 1, two volumes, EN,

· EMCDDA Insights - 3, EN,

· EMCDDA technical datasheets - 3,

· Drug profiles - 5 new and 6 updated, DE, EN, FR,

· Technical and scientific studies, including articles and scientific summaries 53,

· Data collection, validation, storage and retrieval system ( Fonte ).

Other websites : set-up/updating/content development of public EMCDDA website including:

· country overviews,

· drug treatment overviews,

· european legal database on drugs,

· evaluation instruments bank,

· best practice portal (exchange on drug demand reduction action).

Promotional brochures : 6 products.

Media products : 177 miscellaneous products.

Participation in international conferences/meetings : 203.

Organisation of technical and scientific meetings : 35.

The Observatory’s full accounts are available from the following address: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index81990EN.html

EUR-Lex
SEC(2009)1089

PURPOSE: presentation of the final accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) for the 2008 financial year.

CONTENT: this document sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the EMCDDA’s 2008 budget. It indicates that EMCDDA’s final budget amounted to EUR 15.1 million in 2008 (compared with EUR 14.4 million in 2007) 93% of which is derived from a Community subsidy.

In terms of personnel, the EMCDDA, whose headquarters are in Lisbon (Portugal) had 82 posts in its establishment plan, 78 of which are occupied and 26 others (auxiliary contracts, contract staff and temporary replacements) amounting to 104 posts undertaking operational, administrative or mixed tasks.

In 2008, the EMCDDA’s activities mainly focused on:

Reitox Network : the Centre runs a computerised network for the collection and exchange of information called the ‘European Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction’ (Reitox). This network connects national drug information networks, specialist centres in the Member States and the information systems of international organisations working with the Centre.

Publications

· Annual report on the state of the drug problem in Europe (23 language versions, publication and interactive website),

· Selected issues: 3 issues, publication, multilingual summaries EN,

· Statistical bulletin and interactive website containing over 350 tables, 100 graphs,

· General report of activities (annual, EN)

· Drugnet Europe newsletter - 4 issues, EN,

· Drugs in Focus (policy briefings) - 1 issue, 25 language versions,

· EMCDDA Scientific monograph - 1, two volumes, EN,

· EMCDDA Insights - 3, EN,

· EMCDDA technical datasheets - 3,

· Drug profiles - 5 new and 6 updated, DE, EN, FR,

· Technical and scientific studies, including articles and scientific summaries 53,

· Data collection, validation, storage and retrieval system ( Fonte ).

Other websites : set-up/updating/content development of public EMCDDA website including:

· country overviews,

· drug treatment overviews,

· european legal database on drugs,

· evaluation instruments bank,

· best practice portal (exchange on drug demand reduction action).

Promotional brochures : 6 products.

Media products : 177 miscellaneous products.

Participation in international conferences/meetings : 203.

Organisation of technical and scientific meetings : 35.

The Observatory’s full accounts are available from the following address: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index81990EN.html

EUR-Lex
SEC(2009)1089