Activites

• 2014/04/03 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T7-0320/2014
• 2014/04/02 Debate in Parliament
• 2014/03/20 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • A7-0209/2014 summary

    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 Executive Director of the European Railway Agency (ERA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency'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 Agency for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approved the closure of ERA’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. Budget and financial management: Members noted that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 94.92% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 85.63%. Two locations: Members deplored the fact that using two locations (Lille and Valenciennes) to carry out its activities exposes the Agency to additional costs. They acknowledged the efforts made by the Agency to minimise the negative impact of the decision on its seat and called for a single location for the Agency, in a place easily accessible by public transport in order to save scare resources and increase its efficiency. Members also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls. Lastly, Members stated that the Agency should review its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests in 2014 on the basis of Commission's Guidelines on the matter and inform the discharge authority on the assessment results once available.

• 2014/03/17 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2013/10/22 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2013/07/26 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(2013)0570 summary

    PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2012, as part of the 2012 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the European Railway Agency (ERA). CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2012 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 European Railway Agency (ERA). In 2012, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows: description of ERA's tasks: ERA, which is located in Lille-Valenciennes, was created by Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Its aim is to : (i) enhance the level of interoperability of railway systems and; (ii) develop a common approach to safety in order to contribute to creating a more competitive European railway sector with a high level of safety; ERA's budget for the 2012 financial year: the Agency’s budget for 2012, as presented in the Commission document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union, gives the following figures: §         Commitment appropriations : - committed : EUR 26 million; - paid : EUR 25 million; - carried-over : 0. §         Payment appropriations : - committed : EUR 30 million; - paid : EUR 26 million; - carried-over : EUR 2 million. Please refer also to the final accounts of the ERA.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/', 'title': 'Budget'}, ŠEMETA Algirdas

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2013)0570
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A7-0209/2014
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0320/2014

Amendments

Dossier

18

2013/2228(DEC) 2014/01/29 TRAN 3 amendments... Amendment 1 # Michel DANTIN Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.. Notes that the Agency’s annual budget for 2012 was EUR 24.45.8 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 24.4 million ind payment appropriations, and that the implementation rates were 94.9% and 94.9% respectively; Amendment 2 # Bogusław LIBERADZKI Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Calls for a single seat. The Agency shall be based at a single location being easily accessible by public transport in order to save scarce resources and increase the efficiency of the Agency. Amendment 3 # Silvia-Adriana ȚICĂU Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses the importance of the Agency improving its recruitment procedures as rapidly as possible, this measure having been commenced in 2011, so as to ensure transparency and equal treatment for applicants. source: PE-527.840 2014/02/25 CONT 15 amendments... Amendment 1 # Petri SARVAMAA Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012; Amendment 10 # Bogusław LIBERADZKI Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4a (new) 4a. Calls for a single location for the Agency, which is to be based at a single location easily accessible by public transport in order to save scare resources and increase the efficiency of the Agency; Amendment 11 # Monica MACOVEI Motion for a resolution Subheading 6 a (new) Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency Amendment 12 # Monica MACOVEI Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Acknowledges that the Agency will review its policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interests in 2014 based on the Commission's draft Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interest in EU Decentralised Agencies; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the assessment results once available; Amendment 13 # Monica MACOVEI Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 b (new) 6b. Observes that the CVs and Declarations of Interests of the members of the Management Board are not publicly available; calls on the Agency to remedy the situation as a matter of urgency; Amendment 14 # Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Chris DAVIES, Jan MULDER Performance Amendment 15 # Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Chris DAVIES, Jan MULDER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Requests that the Agency communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website; Amendment 2 # Karin KADENBACH Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012; Amendment 3 # Philip BRADBOURN, Ryszard CZARNECKI, Marta ANDREASEN, Andrea ČEŠKOVÁ, Derk Jan EPPINK Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012; Amendment 4 # Philip BRADBOURN, Ryszard CZARNECKI, Marta ANDREASEN, Andrea ČEŠKOVÁ, Derk Jan EPPINK Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012; Amendment 5 # Petri SARVAMAA Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012; Amendment 6 # Karin KADENBACH Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012 / Postpones its decision on the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2012; Amendment 7 # Elena BĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Citation 10 a (new) – having regard to the previous discharge reports of the Parliament; Amendment 8 # Monica MACOVEI Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas according to its financial statements, the budget of the European Railway Agency (‘"the Agency’") for the financial year 2012 was EUR 25 799 000, representing a decrease of 0,72 % compared to 2011, Amendment 9 # Philip BRADBOURN, Ryszard CZARNECKI, Marta ANDREASEN, Andrea ČEŠKOVÁ, Derk Jan EPPINK Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Deplores the fact that using two locations (Lille and Valenciennes) to carry out its activities exposes the Agency to additional costs; acknowledges the efforts made by the Agency to minimise the negative impact of the decision on the Agency's seatnd represents a waste of European taxpayers' money; demands that this issue be addressed in order to restore value for taxpayers' money and operational efficiency, while also avoiding needless indirect costs such as "wasted" working hours due to travelling or additional administrative work; source: PE-521.803

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)