Activites

• 2017/04/27 Vote in plenary scheduled
• 2017/04/26 Debate in Parliament
• 2017/03/28 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • A8-0079/2017 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 Banking Authority (EBA) for the financial year 2015. The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the EBA’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 Authority 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 Authority’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: Authority’s financial statements: Members noted that the final budget of the Authority for the financial year 2015 was EUR 33 419 863, representing a decrease of 0.54 % compared to 2014. This was due to the Authority’s recently established nature. Budget and financial management: Members emphasised that any potential increases in the Authority's means must be accompanied by adequate prioritisation measures. They suggested that, as the Authority's workload is increasingly shifting from legislative tasks to supervisory convergence and enforcement, the Authority's budget and manpower should be allocated accordingly. Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments, carry-overs, transfers, procurement, recruitment procedures, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests and internal audits. As regards performance, Members took note that the Authority closely cooperates with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) across all support functions in order to reduce administrative costs. They look forward to further efforts from the Authority to enhance cooperation with other decentralised agencies and further reduce overhead and administrative costs. Effects of Brexit: Members recalled that, on 23 June 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Following the outcome of the UK referendum, the Authority, whose headquarters is in London, drafted impact assessments for all support areas, namely IT, human resources, procurement, corporate services and communications, which will be updated according to developments. Members noted that, excluding the rental contract, there would be no financial penalties for early termination of these contracts if the applicable notice periods of between one and three months are observed. However, Members expressed concern regarding the potential operational and business continuity risks and related costs of a relocation decision. Lastly, Members noted that the Authority signed a 12-year-lease with an end date of 8 December 2026 and that, under normal contractual conditions, there is a liability to pay the full rent for the entire period. They observed, however, that the Authority negotiated a break-out clause at the midway point of the contract, meaning that if the clause is exercised, the Authority would be relieved of the obligation to pay the rent for the final six years. They called on the Commission and the Council, following the triggering of the Article 50 by the Government of the United Kingdom, to make the merits and the decision making process on the Authority's reallocation destination transparent and democratic.

• 2017/03/22 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2016/10/04 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2016/07/11 Non-legislative basic document published
  • 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 Banking Authority (EBA). 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 cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Banking Authority (EBA), 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 EBA. The European Banking Authority: the EBA, which is located in London (UK), was established by Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and has the aim of protecting the public interest and contributing to the stability and efficiency of the banking system in the short, medium and long term for the economy of the European Union. As regards the EBA’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 33 million; -          paid: EUR 33 million; -          carried-over: 0. Payment appropriations: -          committed: EUR 39 million; -          paid: EUR 35 million; -          carried-over: EUR 3 million. For further details on expenditure, please refer to the final accounts of the European Banking Authority.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en', 'title': 'Budget'}, GEORGIEVA Kristalina

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2016)0475
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A8-0079/2017

History

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