BETA


2016/2163(DEC) 2015 discharge: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT AYALA SENDER Inés (icon: S&D S&D) ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš (icon: PPE PPE), FITTO Raffaele (icon: ECR ECR), ALI Nedzhmi (icon: ALDE ALDE), JÁVOR Benedek (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), VALLI Marco (icon: EFDD EFDD), KAPPEL Barbara (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion LIBE JEŽEK Petr (icon: ALDE ALDE) Monica MACOVEI (icon: ECR ECR), Barbara SPINELLI (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2017/09/29
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2015.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2017/1720 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2015.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2015.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 27 April 2017 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 27 April 2017).

Amongst Parliament’s main observations in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision, the latter regretted the fact that the Agency's mandate still limits its role as regards the support for fundamental rights. It stressed that the Agency should be able to offer opinions on legislative proposals on its own initiative and that its remit should extend to all areas of rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including, for example, issues of police and judicial cooperation.

Parliament noted that the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest and has developed an anti-fraud strategy . The Agency was congratulated for continuing its research on the situation of Roma in the Union as well as its work on the fight against anti-Gypsyism .

Lastly, Parliament recommended the inclusion of the proposed new thematic areas of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the new Multiannual Framework, currently under negotiation.

2017/04/27
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2017/04/27
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency’ budget for the financial year 2015.

The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, Article 5 (1) (a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure).

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 501 votes to 114 with 6 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies .

These recommendations may be summarised as follows:

Agency’s financial statements : Parliament noted that the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014. Budget and financial management : Parliament noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year.

Parliament also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls.

On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests : Parliament noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P.

It acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. It noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team.

Members noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report .

Performances : Parliament regretted that the Agency's mandate still limits its role as regards the support for fundamental rights . It stressed that the Agency should be able to offer opinions on legislative proposals on its own initiative and that its remit should extend to all areas of rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including, for example, issues of police and judicial cooperation.

Lastly, it noted that the Agency organised 60 events bringing together its key partners and stakeholders to discuss fundamental rights issues in various thematic areas and that it published its research in 32 reports and papers.

In general, Members welcomed the pro-active approach towards Parliament.

Documents
2017/04/27
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2017/04/26
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2017/03/31
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Inés AYALA SENDER (S&D, ES) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2015.

The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2015.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2015 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’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 :

Agency’s financial statements : the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014. Budget and financial management : Members noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year.

Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls.

On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests: Members noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P.

They acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. They noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team.

Lastly, they noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report .

Documents
2017/03/22
   EP - Vote in committee
2017/03/07
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2017/02/15
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2017/02/07
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Details

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2015 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2015 of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2015, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2015.

The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that the Agency's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2015 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2015 are legal and regular in all material respects.

Nevertheless, it made the following remark:

financial programming : the Council regretted the high level of carry-overs of commitment appropriations to 2016. It encouraged the Agency to continue improving its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation, in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over to the following financial year to the minimum strictly necessary.

Documents
2017/02/06
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2016/10/12
   EP - JEŽEK Petr (ALDE) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2016/10/04
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2016/09/13
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Details

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) for the financial year 2015, together with the Agency’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 Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). In brief, the objective of the Agency is to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights.

Statement of assurance : pursuant to the provisions of Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Court has audited:

the annual accounts of the Agency, which comprise the financial statements and the reports on the implementation of the budget for the financial year ended 31 December 2015; the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts.

Opinion on the reliability of the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2015 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.

Opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the transactions underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2015 are legal and regular in all material respects.

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

The Court’s observations :

budgetary management : the Court states that the level of carry-overs of committed appropriations remained high for operational expenditure at EUR 5 723 282, i.e.70 % (against 75 % in 2014). This results mainly from the nature of activities of the Agency which involve procuring studies that span over many months, often beyond year-end.

The Agency’s replies :

budgetary management : the Agency stated that it plans the carry-overs for the following year and closely monitors their evolution. It stated that the Agency’s consumption of its EU subsidy over the last few years has been in excess of 99 %.

Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report contains a summary of the Agency’s activities in 2015 :

Budget : EUR 21.6 million (in payment appropriations). Staff : 107 including officials, temporary and contract staff and seconded national experts.

2016/08/05
   EP - AYALA SENDER Inés (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2016/07/11
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
Details

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as part of the 2015 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) .

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

The EU's operational expenditure of these institutions takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out and managed.

From 2014 onwards, the Commission classifies its expenditure as follows:

Direct management : the budget is implemented directly by the Commission services. Indirect management : the Commission confers tasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or national law, such as the EU agencies .

Shared management : under this method of budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About 80 % of the expenditure falls under this management mode covering such areas as agricultural spending and structural actions.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2015 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cashflows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, "releases" the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU.

The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).

Fundamental Rights Agency : the Agency, which is located in Vienna (AT), was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 and aims to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights. Its task is to collect information as well as providing expert advice to the institutions on a range of issues.

As regards the Agency’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2015:

Commitment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 22 million;

- paid : EUR 22 million;

- carried -over: 0.

Payment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 28 million;

- paid : EUR 22 million;

- carried-over : EUR 6 million.

For further details on expenditure, please refer to the FRA’s final accounts .

2016/07/10
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published
Details

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as part of the 2015 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) .

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

The EU's operational expenditure of these institutions takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out and managed.

From 2014 onwards, the Commission classifies its expenditure as follows:

Direct management : the budget is implemented directly by the Commission services. Indirect management : the Commission confers tasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or national law, such as the EU agencies .

Shared management : under this method of budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About 80 % of the expenditure falls under this management mode covering such areas as agricultural spending and structural actions.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2015 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cashflows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, "releases" the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU.

The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).

Fundamental Rights Agency : the Agency, which is located in Vienna (AT), was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 and aims to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights. Its task is to collect information as well as providing expert advice to the institutions on a range of issues.

As regards the Agency’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2015:

Commitment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 22 million;

- paid : EUR 22 million;

- carried -over: 0.

Payment appropriations :

- committed : EUR 28 million;

- paid : EUR 22 million;

- carried-over : EUR 6 million.

For further details on expenditure, please refer to the FRA’s final accounts .

Documents

Votes

A8-0146/2017 - Inés Ayala Sender - Résolution #

2017/04/27 Outcome: +: 501, -: 114, 0: 6
DE IT ES FR RO HU SE NL CZ BG PT BE IE DK AT SI EL FI PL LT CY MT LU HR EE SK LV GB
Total
75
61
44
52
23
20
20
23
19
16
19
21
9
10
16
8
20
11
45
8
6
6
5
7
5
13
7
51
icon: PPE PPE
193

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Cyprus PPE

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
146

Netherlands S&D

3

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Finland S&D

1

Lithuania S&D

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Malta S&D

3

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
55

Germany ALDE

2

Romania ALDE

2

Portugal ALDE

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Lithuania ALDE

2

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Croatia ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

2

United Kingdom ALDE

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
47

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

France Verts/ALE

4

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
45

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Czechia GUE/NGL

2

Portugal GUE/NGL

For (1)

4

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

Denmark GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
37

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

France EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Czechia EFDD

Against (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1
icon: NI NI
14

Germany NI

2

France NI

Against (1)

1
3

Poland NI

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom NI

Against (2)

2
icon: ENF ENF
28

Romania ENF

1

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

Poland ENF

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
55

Italy ECR

Against (1)

1

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

Against (1)

1

Czechia ECR

Against (1)

1

Bulgaria ECR

Against (1)

1

Denmark ECR

Against (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1

Finland ECR

2

Lithuania ECR

Against (1)

1

Cyprus ECR

1

Croatia ECR

Against (1)

1

Latvia ECR

Against (1)

1
AmendmentsDossier
28 2016/2163(DEC)
2017/01/23 LIBE 18 amendments...
source: 597.595
2017/03/07 CONT 10 amendments...
source: 600.898

History

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

docs/0
date
2016-07-11T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Non-legislative basic document
body
EC
events/0/date
Old
2016-07-11T00:00:00
New
2016-07-10T00:00:00
events/4/docs
  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-8-2017-04-26-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
committees/0/shadows/3
name
DE JONG Dennis
group
European United Left - Nordic Green Left
abbr
GUE/NGL
docs/1/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE593.885
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CONT-PR-593885_EN.html
docs/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE595.382&secondRef=02
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/LIBE-AD-595382_EN.html
docs/4/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE600.898
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CONT-AM-600898_EN.html
events/1/type
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Committee referral announced in Parliament
events/2/type
Old
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in committee
events/3
date
2017-03-31T00:00:00
type
Committee report tabled for plenary
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2017-0146_EN.html title: A8-0146/2017
summary
events/3
date
2017-03-31T00:00:00
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2017-0146_EN.html title: A8-0146/2017
summary
events/4/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20170426&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
events/6
date
2017-04-27T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2017-0185_EN.html title: T8-0185/2017
summary
events/6
date
2017-04-27T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2017-0185_EN.html title: T8-0185/2017
summary
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: AYALA SENDER Inés date: 2016-08-05T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
shadows
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2016-08-05T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: AYALA SENDER Inés group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
shadows
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
rapporteur
name: JEŽEK Petr date: 2016-10-12T00:00:00 group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe abbr: ALDE
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
date
2016-10-12T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: JEŽEK Petr group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe abbr: ALDE
events/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2017-0146&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2017-0146_EN.html
events/6/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2017-0185
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2017-0185_EN.html
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2016-08-05T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: AYALA SENDER Inés group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
shadows
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2016-08-05T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: AYALA SENDER Inés group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
shadows
activities
  • date: 2016-07-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2016&nu_doc=0475 title: COM(2016)0475 type: Non-legislative basic document published celexid: CELEX:52016DC0475:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget Commissioner: GEORGIEVA Kristalina type: Non-legislative basic document published
  • date: 2016-10-04T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš group: ECR name: FITTO Raffaele group: ALDE name: ALI Nedzhmi group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis group: Verts/ALE name: JÁVOR Benedek group: EFD name: VALLI Marco group: ENF name: KAPPEL Barbara responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2016-08-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés body: EP responsible: False committee: LIBE date: 2016-10-12T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr
  • date: 2017-03-22T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš group: ECR name: FITTO Raffaele group: ALDE name: ALI Nedzhmi group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis group: Verts/ALE name: JÁVOR Benedek group: EFD name: VALLI Marco group: ENF name: KAPPEL Barbara responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2016-08-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés body: EP responsible: False committee: LIBE date: 2016-10-12T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs rapporteur: group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr
  • date: 2017-03-31T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2017-0146&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0146/2017 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2017-04-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20170426&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament body: EP type: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2017-04-27T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=29433&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2017-0185 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0185/2017 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2017-09-29T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal
commission
  • body: EC dg: Budget commissioner: GEORGIEVA Kristalina
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2016-08-05T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: AYALA SENDER Inés group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
shadows
committees/0
body
EP
shadows
responsible
True
committee
CONT
date
2016-08-05T00:00:00
committee_full
Budgetary Control
rapporteur
group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
date
2016-10-12T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: JEŽEK Petr group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe abbr: ALDE
committees/1
body
EP
responsible
False
committee
LIBE
date
2016-10-12T00:00:00
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
rapporteur
group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr
docs
  • date: 2016-09-13T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2016:449:TOC title: OJ C 449 01.12.2016, p. 0203 title: N8-0137/2016 summary: PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) for the financial year 2015, together with the Agency’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 Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). In brief, the objective of the Agency is to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights. Statement of assurance : pursuant to the provisions of Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Court has audited: the annual accounts of the Agency, which comprise the financial statements and the reports on the implementation of the budget for the financial year ended 31 December 2015; the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts. Opinion on the reliability of the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2015 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. Opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the transactions underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2015 are legal and regular in all material respects. The report also makes a series of observations on the budgetary and financial management of the Agency, accompanied by the latter’s response. The main observations may be summarised as follows: The Court’s observations : budgetary management : the Court states that the level of carry-overs of committed appropriations remained high for operational expenditure at EUR 5 723 282, i.e.70 % (against 75 % in 2014). This results mainly from the nature of activities of the Agency which involve procuring studies that span over many months, often beyond year-end. The Agency’s replies : budgetary management : the Agency stated that it plans the carry-overs for the following year and closely monitors their evolution. It stated that the Agency’s consumption of its EU subsidy over the last few years has been in excess of 99 %. Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report contains a summary of the Agency’s activities in 2015 : Budget : EUR 21.6 million (in payment appropriations). Staff : 107 including officials, temporary and contract staff and seconded national experts. type: Court of Auditors: opinion, report body: CofA
  • date: 2017-02-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE593.885 title: PE593.885 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2017-02-07T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=5873%2F17&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 05873/2017 summary: Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2015 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2015 of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2015, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2015. The Council welcomed the Court's opinion that the Agency's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2015 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for 2015 are legal and regular in all material respects. Nevertheless, it made the following remark: financial programming : the Council regretted the high level of carry-overs of commitment appropriations to 2016. It encouraged the Agency to continue improving its financial programming and monitoring of the budget implementation, in order to reduce the level of commitments carried over to the following financial year to the minimum strictly necessary. type: Supplementary non-legislative basic document body: CSL
  • date: 2017-02-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE595.382&secondRef=02 title: PE595.382 committee: LIBE type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2017-03-07T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE600.898 title: PE600.898 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
events
  • date: 2016-07-11T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2016&nu_doc=0475 title: EUR-Lex title: COM(2016)0475 summary: PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as part of the 2015 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) . CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union. The EU's operational expenditure of these institutions takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out and managed. From 2014 onwards, the Commission classifies its expenditure as follows: Direct management : the budget is implemented directly by the Commission services. Indirect management : the Commission confers tasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or national law, such as the EU agencies . Shared management : under this method of budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About 80 % of the expenditure falls under this management mode covering such areas as agricultural spending and structural actions. This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2015 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective. It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cashflows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), with a view to granting discharge. Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, "releases" the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU. The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge. The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made. Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). Fundamental Rights Agency : the Agency, which is located in Vienna (AT), was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 and aims to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights. Its task is to collect information as well as providing expert advice to the institutions on a range of issues. As regards the Agency’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2015: Commitment appropriations : - committed : EUR 22 million; - paid : EUR 22 million; - carried -over: 0. Payment appropriations : - committed : EUR 28 million; - paid : EUR 22 million; - carried-over : EUR 6 million. For further details on expenditure, please refer to the FRA’s final accounts .
  • date: 2016-10-04T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2017-03-22T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2017-03-31T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2017-0146&language=EN title: A8-0146/2017 summary: The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Inés AYALA SENDER (S&D, ES) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2015. The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2015. Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2015 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’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 : Agency’s financial statements : the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014. Budget and financial management : Members noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year. Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls. On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests: Members noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P. They acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. They noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team. Lastly, they noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report .
  • date: 2017-04-26T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20170426&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2017-04-27T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=29433&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2017-04-27T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2017-0185 title: T8-0185/2017 summary: The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency’ budget for the financial year 2015. The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, Article 5 (1) (a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure). Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 501 votes to 114 with 6 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies . These recommendations may be summarised as follows: Agency’s financial statements : Parliament noted that the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014. Budget and financial management : Parliament noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year. Parliament also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls. On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests : Parliament noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P. It acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. It noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team. Members noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report . Performances : Parliament regretted that the Agency's mandate still limits its role as regards the support for fundamental rights . It stressed that the Agency should be able to offer opinions on legislative proposals on its own initiative and that its remit should extend to all areas of rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including, for example, issues of police and judicial cooperation. Lastly, it noted that the Agency organised 60 events bringing together its key partners and stakeholders to discuss fundamental rights issues in various thematic areas and that it published its research in 32 reports and papers. In general, Members welcomed the pro-active approach towards Parliament.
  • date: 2017-04-27T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2017-09-29T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2015. NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2017/1720 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2015. CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2015. This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 27 April 2017 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 27 April 2017). Amongst Parliament’s main observations in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision, the latter regretted the fact that the Agency's mandate still limits its role as regards the support for fundamental rights. It stressed that the Agency should be able to offer opinions on legislative proposals on its own initiative and that its remit should extend to all areas of rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including, for example, issues of police and judicial cooperation. Parliament noted that the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest and has developed an anti-fraud strategy . The Agency was congratulated for continuing its research on the situation of Roma in the Union as well as its work on the fight against anti-Gypsyism . Lastly, Parliament recommended the inclusion of the proposed new thematic areas of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the new Multiannual Framework, currently under negotiation.
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget commissioner: GEORGIEVA Kristalina
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
CONT/8/07437
New
  • CONT/8/07437
procedure/final/title
Old
OJ L 252 29.09.2017, p. 0319
New
OJ L 252 29.09.2017, p. 0319
procedure/final/url
Old
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2017:252:TOC
New
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2017:252:TOC
procedure/subject
Old
  • 8.70.03.05 2015 discharge
New
8.70.03.05
2015 discharge
activities/6
date
2017-09-29T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
procedure/final
url
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2017:252:TOC
title
OJ L 252 29.09.2017, p. 0319
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
New
Procedure completed
activities/5/docs/0
url
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=29433&l=en
type
Results of vote in Parliament
title
Results of vote in Parliament
activities/5/type
Old
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Results of vote in Parliament
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
Old
CELEX:52016PC0475(01):EN
New
CELEX:52016DC0475:EN
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
Old
CELEX:52016DC0475:EN
New
CELEX:52016PC0475(01):EN
activities/5/docs/0/text
  • The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency’ budget for the financial year 2015.

    The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, Article 5 (1) (a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure).

    Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 501 votes to 114 with 6 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

    These recommendations may be summarised as follows:

    • Agency’s financial statements: Parliament noted that the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014.
    • Budget and financial management: Parliament noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year.

    Parliament also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls.

    On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests: Parliament noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P.

    It acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. It noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team.

    Members noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report.

    Performances: Parliament regretted that the Agency's mandate still limits its role as regards the support for fundamental rights. It stressed that the Agency should be able to offer opinions on legislative proposals on its own initiative and that its remit should extend to all areas of rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including, for example, issues of police and judicial cooperation.

    Lastly, it noted that the Agency organised 60 events bringing together its key partners and stakeholders to discuss fundamental rights issues in various thematic areas and that it published its research in 32 reports and papers.

    In general, Members welcomed the pro-active approach towards Parliament.

activities/5
date
2017-04-27T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2017-0185 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0185/2017
body
EP
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
activities/4/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20170426&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament
activities/5
date
2017-04-27T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in plenary scheduled
activities/4/type
Old
Debate in plenary scheduled
New
Debate in Parliament
activities/3/docs/0/text
  • The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Inés AYALA SENDER (S&D, ES) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2015.

    The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2015.

    Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2015 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’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:

    • Agency’s financial statements: the final budget for the financial year 2015 was EUR 21 229 000 representing no change compared to 2014.
    • Budget and financial management: Members noted with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2015 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, the same as the previous year, and that the payment appropriations execution rate was 71.62 %, representing an increase of 2.17 % compared to the previous year.

    Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments and carry-overs, transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal audits and controls.

    On the prevention and management of conflicts of interests: Members noted that with regard to the legal proceedings brought against the Agency before the Civil Service Tribunal in 2015, the judgement was in favour of the Agency in Case T-107/13 P and that it is in the process of recovering the legal costs from the appellant, while in Case T-658/13 P.

    They acknowledged that, in addition to the Staff Regulations, the Agency has introduced for its staff a practical guide on the management and prevention of conflicts of interest, which offers wide-ranging information and advice on a variety of issues. They noted moreover that the Agency regularly provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity, as well as publishes the curricula vitae and declarations of interests of all active members of its management board, scientific committee and its management team.

    Lastly, they noted that the Agency developed an anti-fraud strategy, evaluating the introduction of new controls, where necessary, after a dedicated risk assessment and took note of the fact that the Agency is planning to include a standard chapter on transparency, accountability and integrity in its annual report.

activities/3/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2017-0146&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0146/2017
activities/3
date
2017-03-31T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
activities/3/type
Old
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
New
Debate in plenary scheduled
activities/4
date
2017-04-27T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in plenary scheduled
activities/2
date
2017-03-22T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees
activities/2
date
2017-03-22T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
activities/3
date
2017-04-26T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
activities/2/date
Old
2017-03-23T00:00:00
New
2017-03-22T00:00:00
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52016DC0475:EN
activities/0/docs/0/celexid
CELEX:52016DC0475:EN
activities/0/commission/0/DG/url
Old
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/
New
http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/6/mepref
Old
53b2d70eb819f205b0000008
New
53b2dbc9b819f205b0000096
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/6/name
Old
ALIOT Louis
New
KAPPEL Barbara
committees/0/shadows/6/mepref
Old
53b2d70eb819f205b0000008
New
53b2dbc9b819f205b0000096
committees/0/shadows/6/name
Old
ALIOT Louis
New
KAPPEL Barbara
other/0/dg/url
Old
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/
New
http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as part of the 2015 discharge procedure.

    Analysis of the accounts of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).

    CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

    The EU's operational expenditure of these institutions takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out and managed.

    From 2014 onwards, the Commission classifies its expenditure as follows:

    • Direct management: the budget is implemented directly by the Commission services.
    • Indirect management: the Commission confers tasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or national law, such as the EU agencies.
    • Shared management: under this method of budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About 80 % of the expenditure falls under this management mode covering such areas as agricultural spending and structural actions.

    This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2015 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

    It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cashflows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), with a view to granting discharge.

    Discharge procedure: the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, "releases" the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU.

    The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge.

    The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

    Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).

    Fundamental Rights Agency: the Agency, which is located in Vienna (AT), was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 and aims to provide the relevant authorities of the Union and its Member States with assistance and expertise when implementing Union law relating to fundamental rights. Its task is to collect information as well as providing expert advice to the institutions on a range of issues.

    As regards the Agency’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2015:

    Commitment appropriations:

    -          committed: EUR 22 million;

    -          paid: EUR 22 million;

    -          carried-over: 0.

    Payment appropriations:

    -          committed: EUR 28 million;

    -          paid: EUR 22 million;

    -          carried-over: EUR 6 million.

    For further details on expenditure, please refer to the FRA’s final accounts.

activities/1
date
2016-10-04T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
activities/2/committees
  • body: EP shadows: group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2016-08-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
activities/2/date
Old
2016-10-04T00:00:00
New
2017-03-23T00:00:00
activities/2/type
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees/0/shadows/0
group
EPP
name
ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš
committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
FITTO Raffaele
committees/0/shadows/2
group
ALDE
name
ALI Nedzhmi
committees/0/shadows/4
group
Verts/ALE
name
JÁVOR Benedek
committees/0/shadows/5
group
EFD
name
VALLI Marco
committees/0/shadows/6
group
ENF
name
ALIOT Louis
committees/1/date
2016-10-12T00:00:00
committees/1/rapporteur
  • group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr
activities/1
date
2016-10-04T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
CONT/8/07437
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
activities
  • date: 2016-07-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2016&nu_doc=0475 celexid: CELEX:52016DC0475:EN type: Non-legislative basic document published title: COM(2016)0475 body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/ title: Budget Commissioner: GEORGIEVA Kristalina type: Non-legislative basic document published
committees
  • body: EP shadows: group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2016-08-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: S&D name: AYALA SENDER Inés
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/ title: Budget commissioner: GEORGIEVA Kristalina
procedure
type
DEC - Discharge procedure
title
2015 discharge: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
stage_reached
Preparatory phase in Parliament
reference
2016/2163(DEC)
subject
8.70.03.05 2015 discharge