The European Parliament adopted by 571 votes to 61, with 15 abstentions, a resolution on the Court of Auditors' special reports in the context of the 2010 Commission discharge.

The resolution recalls that the special reports of the Court of Auditors provide information on issues of concern related to the implementation of funds, which are thus useful for Parliament in exercising its role of discharge authority.

Parliament also points out that the observations on the special reports of the Court of Auditors form an integral part of the resolution on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010, Section III – Commission.

Parliament then refers to each of the special reports in turn and makes a number of recommendations in order to improve the use of Community funds.

To recall, these special reports refer to the following topics:

Special Report No 7/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Audit of the clearance of accounts procedure"; Special Report No 13/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Is the New European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument successfully launched and achieving results in the Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)?" Special Report No 14/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The Commission’s management of the system of veterinary checks for meat imports following the 2004 hygiene legislation reforms" Special Report No 1/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Has the devolution of the Commission's management of external assistance from its headquarters to its delegations led to improved aid delivery?" Special Report No 2/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Follow-up of Special Report No 1/2005 concerning the management of the European Anti-Fraud Office" Special Report No 3/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The efficiency and effectiveness of EU contributions channelled through United Nations Organisations in conflict-affected countries" Special Report No 4/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The audit of the SME Guarantee facility" Special Report No 5/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Single Payment Scheme (SPS): issues to be addressed to improve its sound financial management" Special Report No 6/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Were ERDF co-financed tourism projects effective?" Special Report No 7/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Is agri-environment support well designed and managed?" Special Report No 8/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Recovery of undue payments made under the common agricultural policy" Special Report No 9/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Have the e-Government projects supported by ERDF been effective?" Special Report No 10/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Are the School Milk and School Fruit Schemes effective?" Special Report No 11/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Do the design and management of the geographical indications scheme allow it to be effective?" Special Report No 15/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Do the Commission's procedures ensure effective management of State aid control?"

A summary of the special reports is on the website of the Court of Auditors.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Christofer FJELLNER (EPP, SE) on the Court of Auditors' special reports in the context of the 2010 Commission discharge.

In the draft resolution, Members recall that the special reports of the Court of Auditors provide information on issues of concern related to the implementation of funds, which are thus useful for Parliament in exercising its role of discharge authority.

The also point out that the observations on the special reports of the Court of Auditors form an integral part of the resolution on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010, Section III – Commission,

Members then refer to each of the special reports in turn and make a number of recommendations in order to improve the use of Community funds.

To recall, these special reports refer to the following topics:

· Special Report No 7/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Audit of the clearance of accounts procedure";

· Special Report No 13/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Is the New European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument successfully launched and achieving results in the Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)?"

· Special Report No 14/2010 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The Commission’s management of the system of veterinary checks for meat imports following the 2004 hygiene legislation reforms"

· Special Report No 1/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Has the devolution of the Commission's management of external assistance from its headquarters to its delegations led to improved aid delivery?"

· Special Report No 2/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Follow-up of Special Report No 1/2005 concerning the management of the European Anti-Fraud Office"

· Special Report No 3/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The efficiency and effectiveness of EU contributions channelled through United Nations Organisations in conflict-affected countries"

· Special Report No 4/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "The audit of the SME Guarantee facility"

· Special Report No 5/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Single Payment Scheme (SPS): issues to be addressed to improve its sound financial management"

· Special Report No 6/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Were ERDF co-financed tourism projects effective?"

· Special Report No 7/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Is agri-environment support well designed and managed?"

· Special Report No 8/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Recovery of undue payments made under the common agricultural policy"

· Special Report No 9/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Have the e-Government projects supported by ERDF been effective?"

· Special Report No 10/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Are the School Milk and School Fruit Schemes effective?"

· Special Report No 11/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Do the design and management of the geographical indications scheme allow it to be effective?"

· Special Report No 15/2011 of the Court of Auditors entitled "Do the Commission's procedures ensure effective management of State aid control?"

A summary of the special reports is on the website of the Court of Auditors.