PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) for the financial year 2012.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2014/656/EU of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2012.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Director of CEDEFOP for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2012.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 3 April 2014 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 3 April 2014).

Amongst the main observations made, Parliament requested the Centre to communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens .

The European Parliament adopted a decision concerning the discharge to be granted to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in respect of the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2012. The vote on the discharge decision approved the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex VI, Article 5(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 512 votes to 71, with 18 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations that form an integral part of the discharge decision and as well as the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

These recommendations are summarised as follows:

Role of the Centre : Parliament acknowledged the essential role of the Centre in the promotion of vocational education and training (VET) in the Union and the relevance of its contribution to policies aimed at exploring VET’s potential to support economic development. It noted the presence of various stakeholders shows an increased demand for the Centre’s expertise and analytical capacity.

Budget and financial management : Parliament noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.68% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 94.44%.

Commitments and carry-overs : it also noted that carry-overs of committed appropriations were high however it acknowledged that this was mainly due to reasons beyond the Centre’s control.

Performance : Parliament requested that the Centre communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website.

Parliament also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls.

Lastly, it called on the Centre to assess its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the issue. It called on the Centre to inform the discharge authority of the assessment results once available.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) in which it recommended the European Parliament to grant discharge to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in respect of the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2012.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approved the closure of the Cedefop’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

Role of the Centre : Members acknowledged the essential role of the Centre in the promotion of vocational education and training (VET) in the Union and the relevance of its contribution to policies aimed at exploring VET’s potential to support economic development. They noted the presence of various stakeholders shows an increased demand for the Centre’s expertise and analytical capacity. Budget and financial management : Members noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.68% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 94.44%. Commitments and carry-overs : they also noted that carry-overs of committed appropriations were high however they acknowledged that this was mainly due to reasons beyond the Centre’s control.

Members also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls.

Lastly, they acknowledged that the Centre should assess its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the issue. They called on the Centre to inform the discharge authority of the assessment results once available.

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2012 of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year 2012, accompanied by the Centre's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2012.

The observations in the Court of Auditors' report call for certain comments by the Council which can be summarised as follows:

in general, the Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Centre's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2012 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Centre's Financial Regulation and that the underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and regular. Controls : notwithstanding this favourable finding, the Council calls on the Centre to strengthen its ex-ante verifications of grant applications and to base them not only on certificates obtained from independent auditors, but also on checks of original supporting documentation to be submitted by the beneficiaries, in order to increase the assurance provided by the verification process. Carry-overs of appropriations : the Council asks the Centre to continue improving its financial management by further limiting carry-overs of appropriations to the following budgetary year to the minimum necessary, in line with the budgetary principle of annuality.

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) for the financial year 2012, together with the Centre’s reply.

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

This audit concerned, amongst others, the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP).

In the Court’s opinion, the Centre’s Annual Accounts fairly present, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2012 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its financial rules and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer.

The Court also considers that the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 are, in all material respects, legal and regular .

The report confirms that the resources made available for the Agency in 2012 amounted to EUR 19.22 million.

The report also makes a series of observations on the budgetary and financial management of the Centre, accompanied by the latter’s response. The main observations may be summarised as follows:

The Court’s comments :

internal controls: the Centre awards grants on an annual basis to a network of national partners. Grant expenditure in 2012 amounted to nearly EUR 700 000, or 4 % of total operating expenditure. The Centre’s ex ante verifications of grants consist of a comprehensive desk-analysis of cost claims submitted by grant beneficiaries, as well as a review of certificates obtained from external auditors which were contracted by the beneficiaries or of certificates from independent public officers. However, the Centre does not usually verify the staff costs claimed by beneficiaries on the basis of original supporting documentation. Related ex post verifications were last carried out in 2009. As a result, ex ante verifications provide only limited assurance; budgetary management: budget implementation rates were high at 100 %. While carry-overs of committed appropriations were also high, this mainly resulted from reasons beyond the Centre’s control, such as delays in the repair works carried out by the Greek authorities on the Centre’s premises; recruitment: the Court stresses the issues as regards the recruitment procedure of the Centre’s Director.

The Centre’s replies :

internal controls: to address the Court’s concerns, as of this year, Cedefop will introduce, in addition to the audit certificates, detailed checks of personnel costs and time sheets for randomly selected cases of the grant payments; recruitment: the Centre points out that even though it provides assistance to the pre-selection committee it has no control over the procedure and the decisions of the pre-selection committee or Commission.

Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report contains a summary of the Centre’s activities in 2012 . This is focused on the following:

policy analysis and reporting: Cedefop’s report Trends in VET policy in Europe 2010-12: was published. It provided up-to-date information on VET systems, along with news on initiatives and policy developments in the Member States; common European tools, qualifications and learning outcomes: Cedefop coordinated the EQF (European Qualifications Framework) Advisory Group jointly with the European Commission and (co) drafted 23 background papers that informed policy debates; Europass website: has been increasingly used by Europe’s young people. Since its launch, almost 60 million visits have been recorded (2012: 15 million; and users have generated 25 million CVs online (2012: 8.3 million); adult learning and transitions: the study Adult learning in the workplace: skill development to promote innovation in enterprises was issued for a workshop on this issue. To contribute to the European year of active ageing, Cedefop organised a workshop on sustaining employability through learning within DG EAC’s conference ‘One Step Up in later life’; skills analysis: Cedefop presented its latest EU skill demand and supply forecast for 2010-2020 in the briefing note Europe’s skill challenge; organisational impact: key performance indicators show high organisational impact: citations in 169 EU and 68 international policy documents, some drawing substantially on Cedefop’s work; contributions to 26 EU policy documents, 158 Presidency and other EU- level events; etc.