PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Community Fisheries Control Agency in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2011/570/EU of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Community Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2009.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Executive Director of the Community Fisheries Control Agency for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2009.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 10 May 2011 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 10/05/2011).

A parallel decision, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of this Agency's accounts.

The European Parliament adopted by 509 votes to 66, with 35 abstentions a decision on discharge to be granted to the Executive Director of the Community Fisheries Control Agency in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2009.

Noting that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2009 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament approves the closure of the Agency’s accounts. However, it makes 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 resolution on financial management and control of EU agencies - see DEC/2010/2271 ):

performance: Parliament calls, once more, on the Agency to set out a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess the Agency's performance from one year to the next more effectively. They urge the Agency to improve its annual work programme by including specific and measurable objectives; human resources: Parliament calls on the Agency to redress its weaknesses in recruitment planning; internal audit : Parliament notes that the Agency does not have an internal fulltime audit structure but that it shares one with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon. To this end, a Service Level Agreement between the Agency and EMSA was signed on 17 June 2008. Parliament considers this shared service concept to be a best practice to be promoted by other Agencies.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Georgios STAVRAKAKIS (S&D, EL) on discharge to be granted to the Executive Director of the Community Fisheries Control Agency in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2009.

Noting that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2009 are reliable, and the underlying transactions are legal and regular, MEPs approve the closure of the Agency’s 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 DEC/2010/2271 ):

performance: Members call, once more, on the Agency to set out a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess the Agency's performance from one year to the next more effectively. They urge the Agency to improve its annual work programme by including specific and measurable objectives both at policy area level and at operational activity level, and by establishing SMART indicators. They recall that a delegation from the Committee on Fisheries had visited the Agency in June 2010 and was very satisfied with the overall conduct of this Agency; human resources: Members call on the Agency to redress its weaknesses in recruitment planning; internal audit: Members note that the Agency does not have an internal fulltime audit structure but that it shares one with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon. To this end, a Service Level Agreement between the Agency and EMSA was signed on 17 June 2008. Members consider this shared service as a best practice to be promoted by other Agencies. Members also call on the Executive Director of the Agency to fully fulfil his obligation to include, in his report to the discharge authority all recommendations made (including the ones which could be possibly refused by the Agency) and all action taken on these recommendations, and the follow-up given to the “very important” recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS). They also call on the Agency to review its Internal Control System to underpin its Executive Director’s annual declaration of assurance and to review all its procedures, both administrative and operational.

Based on the observations contained in the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the Community Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2009, as well as on the Court of Auditor’s report and the Authority’s replies to the Court’s observations, the Council recommends that the Parliament grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2009.

The Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, on the one hand, the Agency's annual accounts present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position as at 31 December 2009 and the results of operations and cash-flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation, and that, on the other hand, the underlying transactions for the financial year ended on 31 December 2009 are, in all material respects, legal and regular.

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:

Agency’s work programme : the Council notes with concern the weaknesses identified by the Court in the Agency's 2009 work programme, in particular the lack of specific and measurable objectives and several inconsistencies in setting up the performance indicators. It is concerned about the limited possibilities of assessing achievements and identifying deficiencies resulting from such shortfalls; recruitment planning : the Council calls on the Agency to pay due attention to its recruitment planning and to eliminate the persisting backlog for filling temporary posts without delay.

PURPOSE: presentation by the Court of Auditors of its report on the annual accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) for the financial year 2009, together with the Agency’s replies

CONTENT: in accordance with the tasks and objectives conferred on it by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Court of Auditors, in the context of the discharge procedure, addresses to the European Parliament and the Council a Statement of Assurance on the reliability of the annual accounts, as well as of the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them of each EU institution, body or agency, on the basis of an external, independent audit.

This audit also covered the annual accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).

In the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s annual accounts presented “fairly, in all material respects”, its financial position as of 31 December 2009 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation.

The Court also stated that the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year ended 31 December 2009 were, “in all material respects, legal and regular ”.

The report again confirmed that the Agency’s 2009 final budget amounted to EUR 10.1 million and that it employed 49 agents during the financial year.

The report also included comments on the Agency’s budgetary and financial management, together with the Agency’s replies. The main comments are as follows:

The Court’s comments :

shortcomings in the Agency’s 2009 work programme and related activity-based management issues; backlog for filling certain temporary posts at the Agency.

The Agency’s replies:

the Agency is continuously developing and fine-tuning outputs and relevant performance indicators for each policy area (the Agency’s Annual report 2009 presents a table with the deliverable of activities and the performance indicators evaluation); the rate of occupation of posts in the establishment plan in 2009 was made in line with budget availability for salaries and other staff costs. (Most of these posts have been occupied in early 2010 as planned in line with the budget.)

Lastly, the Court of Auditor’s report contained a summary of the Agency’s activities in 2009 in the following areas:

on the operational level, development of common deployment plans for cod and bluefin tuna in several European fishing areas; support activities to fight illegal unreported and unregulated fisheries; capacity building.

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU’s General Budget, including the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).

In 2009, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

description of CFCA’s tasks: the agency, which is located in Vigo, was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 of 26 April 2005 . Its main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure effective and uniform application of the rules of the common fisheries policy; CFCA’s’s budget for the 2009 financial year: the Agency’s 2009 budget amounted to EUR 10.1 million, compared with EUR 8.5 million the previous year. The number of staff employed by the Agency at the end of the year was 49 as compared with 47 the previous year.

The complete version of CFCA’s final accounts may be found at the following address:

http://cfca.europa.eu

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU’s General Budget, including the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA).

In 2009, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

description of CFCA’s tasks: the agency, which is located in Vigo, was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 of 26 April 2005 . Its main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure effective and uniform application of the rules of the common fisheries policy; CFCA’s’s budget for the 2009 financial year: the Agency’s 2009 budget amounted to EUR 10.1 million, compared with EUR 8.5 million the previous year. The number of staff employed by the Agency at the end of the year was 49 as compared with 47 the previous year.

The complete version of CFCA’s final accounts may be found at the following address:

http://cfca.europa.eu