PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012 (BEREC).

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2014/822/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012.

CONTENT: with the present decision, and in accordance with Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for implementation of the Office's budget for the financial year 2012.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 23 October 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 23/10/2014).

A parallel decision, 2014/823/EU, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of this Agency's accounts for the 2012 financial year.

In accordance with Annex V, Article 5, paragraph 2(a) of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, Parliament decided by 493 votes to 137, with 52 abstentions, to grant the Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications discharge for implementation of the Office's budget for the financial year 2012.

In so doing, Parliament approved the closure of the Office’s accounts for 2012.

Improvement of the Office’s internal management : taking note that in order to address the shortcomings related to the legality and regularity of transactions, the Office has included in its Financial and Accounting Manuals clear procedures, detailed steps and workflows to be used by all financial actors, Parliament welcomed the changes and improvements made to procedures applied by the Office as regards:

financial and budget management, in particular as regards the rate of budget implementation (89.55%); commitments and carryovers, even if necessary efforts still need to be made as regards the cancellation of appropriations (28% of cancelled credits or carried over to 2013); procurement and recruitment procedures since the revision of the recruitment guidelines implemented in 2013.

Parliament also welcomed the Office's revised communication policy, which ensures the attribution of mobile phones to staff based on professional needs, and the internal controls made for monitoring compliance with that policy.

Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency : Parliament noted that the conflicts of interests policy concerning the Office's staff members follows the same principles, and that the staff members' conflicts of interests declarations are also available through the Office's public register. It acknowledged that the Office aims at raising awareness of its policy on conflicts of interest, as well as that of its Board.

In parallel, Parliament stated that the Office has met all formal requirements for the Internal Control Standard (ICS) on Information and Communication and noted that a review of the ICS is scheduled by the Internal Audit Service and that the Office should report to the discharge authority on the results of that review as soon as they are available.

Performances : lastly, Parliament noted that the Office has begun to increase its profile as a Union body by uploading the Union logo on some pages on its website, and looks forward to this being extended to the BEREC's home page and systematically to all communications, thereby ensuring visibility of the contribution from the Union budget to the Office.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) in which it called on the European Parliament to grant the Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications discharge for implementation of the Office's budget for the financial year 2012.

Taking note that in order to address the shortcomings related to the legality and regularity of transactions, the Office has included in its Financial and Accounting Manuals clear procedures, detailed steps and workflows to be used by all financial actors, Members welcomed the changes and improvements made to procedures applied by the Office as regards:

financial and budget management, in particular as regards the rate of budget implementation; commitments and carryovers, even if necessary efforts still need to be made as regards the cancellation of appropriations; procurement and recruitment procedures since the revision of the recruitment guidelines implemented in 2013.

Members also welcomed the Office's revised communication policy, which ensures the attribution of mobile phones to staff based on professional needs, and the internal controls made for monitoring compliance with that policy.

Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency : Members noted that the conflicts of interests policy concerning the Office's staff members follows the same principles, and that the staff members' conflicts of interests declarations are also available through the Office's public register. They acknowledged that the Office aims at raising awareness of its policy on conflicts of interest, as well as that of its Board.

In parallel, Members stated that the Office has met all formal requirements for the Internal Control Standard (ICS) on Information and Communication and noted that a review of the ICS is scheduled by the Internal Audit Service and that the Office should report to the discharge authority on the results of that review as soon as they are available.

Performances : lastly, Members noted that the Office has begun to increase its profile as a Union body by uploading the Union logo on some pages on its website, and looks forward to this being extended to the BEREC's home page and systematically to all communications, thereby ensuring visibility of the contribution from the Union budget to the Office.

The European Parliament adopted a decision to postpone its decision on granting the Administrative Manager of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Body’s budget for the financial year 2012. In parallel, Parliament postponed the closure of the Body’s 2012 accounts.

Parliament adopted by 572 votes to 10, with 14 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:

Legality and regularity of transactions : Parliament regretted that the Body’s accounting system has not been validated in 2013. It called on the Body to take steps in order to avoid such situations in the future and to report on the steps taken by 1 September 2014. It regretted that the committed appropriations carried over, amounting to EUR 61.5 million (10% of the total committed appropriations carried over), did not correspond to legal commitments and were thus irregular . Budget and financial management : it noted with concern that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 63.4% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 66.16%. Commitments and carryovers : Parliament also regretted that 45% of the committed appropriations carried over from 2011 were cancelled and that appropriations of EUR 545 000 were not used and had to be cancelled. It worried that the level of carry-overs of committed appropriations to 2013 was high at EUR 611 000. It believed that this indicates difficulties in the planning and/or implementation of the Body’s activities. Recruitment procedures : Parliament regretted that the recruitment procedures examined showed significant shortcomings affecting transparency, namely that questions for written tests and interviews were set after the applications had been examined by the selection board. Improvements should be made in this area. Conflicts of interests : it also regretted that the Body has provided limited information regarding conflicts of interests policy. It noted that personal conflicts of interests declarations are requested from the members of the Body's Management Committee and the Board of Regulators, as well as from their staff members. Parliament called on the Body to inform the discharge authority of whether it plans to review its conflict of interests arrangements on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interests in EU Decentralised Agencies. Performance : Parliament requested that the Body communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website.

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

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) in which it recommended the European Parliament to postpones its decision on granting the Administrative Manager of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications discharge in respect of the implementation of the Body’s budget for the financial year 2012. In parallel, Members postponed the closure of the Body’s accounts and made a number of recommendations in addition to those that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

Legality and regularity of transactions : Members regretted that the Body’s accounting system has been validated in 2013. They called on the Body to take steps in order to avoid such situations in the future and to report on the steps taken by 1 September 2014. Members regretted that the committed appropriations carried over, amounting to EUR 61.5 million (10% of the total committed appropriations carried over), did not correspond to legal commitments and were thus irregular . Budget and financial management : Members noted with concern that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2012 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 63.4% and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 66.16%. Commitments and carryovers : Members also regretted that 45% of the committed appropriations carried over from 2011 were cancelled and that appropriations of EUR 545 000 were not used and had to be cancelled. They are worried that the level of carry-overs of committed appropriations to 2013 was high at EUR 611 000. They believed that this indicates difficulties in the planning and/or implementation of the Body’s activities. Recruitment procedures : Members regretted that the recruitment procedures examined showed significant shortcomings affecting transparency, namely that questions for written tests and interviews were set after the applications had been examined by the selection board. Improvements should be made in this area. Conflicts of interests : Members regretted that the Body has provided limited information regarding conflicts of interests policy. They noted that personal conflicts of interests declarations are requested from the members of the Body's Management Committee and the Board of Regulators, as well as from their staff members. They called on the Body to inform the discharge authority of whether it plans to review its conflict of interests arrangements on the basis of the Commission's Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interests in EU Decentralised Agencies.

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

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2012 of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year 2012, accompanied by the Office's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Management Committee of the Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2012.

The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in relation to the financial year 2012 call for some comments by the Council, which may be summarised as follows:

in general, the Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Office'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 Office's Financial Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission's accounting officer, and that the underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and regular.

Carry-overs : notwithstanding this favourable opinion, the Council regrets, however, that certain appropriations were carried over without an existing legal commitment and urges the Office to remedy the situation in compliance with the Financial Regulation. Controls : the Council urges the Office to complete its internal control procedures, to implement a number of Internal Control Standards and to put in place procedures related to the inventory management and the management of exceptions and deviations from policies and procedures. In line with the budgetary principle of annuality, the Council also calls on the Office to continue to improve its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation, in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over and amounts cancelled at the end of the following year to the minimum necessary. Procurement : furthermore, the Council encourages the Office to take actions to remedy the weaknesses found by the Court in the management of its procurement procedures, the transparency of the Office's recruitment procedures and the control of mobile communication expenses. Treasury : lastly, the Council expects the Office to take the necessary measures in terms of implementation of a sound treasury policy.

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for the year 2012, together with the Office’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 Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

In the Court’s opinion, BEREC’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 Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer.

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

The report confirms that the Office’s 2012 budget amounted to EUR 3.1 million.

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

The Court’s observations :

carried-over commitments: the level of carryovers of committed appropriations to 2013 was high at EUR 611 000 or 19 % of the total, indicating difficulties in the planning of the Office’s activities. Some EUR 101 000, 45 % of the committed appropriations carried over from 2011, were cancelled ; recruitment : the recruitment procedures examined revealed significant shortcomings affecting transparency.

The Office’s reply:

to address the situation of commitments being carried forward irregularly, the Office has undertaken the development of a financial manual, which will address, the definition, conditions, follow-up procedure and the corresponding workflow inside the organisation that will be implemented for the carry-forward exercise to be performed at the end of the year ; as of 2013, the recruitment procedures′ consistency is ensured by the Human Resources team in the Office through policies and guidelines.

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

professional and administrative support services to BEREC ; collection of information from NRAs and exchange and transmission of information ; dissemination of regulatory best practices among NRAs within the EU and to third parties ; assistance to the Chair in the preparation of the work of the Board of Regulators and the Management Committee of the Office ; support to the Expert Working Groups set up by the Board of Regulators.