BETA


2017/2183(DEC) 2016 discharge: Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking - BBI Joint Undertaking

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT HAYES Brian (icon: PPE PPE) POCHE Miroslav (icon: S&D S&D), CZARNECKI Ryszard (icon: ECR ECR), DLABAJOVÁ Martina (icon: ALDE ALDE), TARAND Indrek (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), VALLI Marco (icon: EFDD EFDD), KAPPEL Barbara (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion ITRE
Committee Opinion REGI
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2018/10/03
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1436 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016.

CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the implementation of the latters budget for the financial year 2016.

This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 ( please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018 ).

In this resolution, Parliament expressed serious concern about the fact that out of the EUR 975 million of contributions to be made by the industry members to the operational activities and administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking, industry members had reported in-kind contributions of only EUR 15.4 million for operational activities, and the governing board had validated cash contributions by the members to the Joint Undertaking’s administrative costs of EUR 3 million. It regretted the low level of in-kind contributions which stems from the fact that most Joint Undertaking’s projects were only in their preliminary stages in 2016.

Parliament expressed satisfaction of the fact that the programme office achieved all the priority objectives set in the Annual Work Programme 2016 for the internal control systems. It also welcomed the fact that the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking.

2018/04/18
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2018/04/18
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2018/04/18
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking on the implementation of the budget of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016 and to approve the closure of the accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the same exercise. Noting that the Court of Auditors considered that the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016 accurately reflect the financial position of the Joint Undertaking as at 31 December 2016, as well as the results of its operations, Parliament adopted 562 votes in favor, 108 against and 29 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision:

General: Members noted that the maximum Union contribution to the activities of the Joint Undertaking is EUR 975 000 000, to be paid from Horizon 2020. The industry members of the Joint Undertaking are to contribute resources of at least EUR 2 730 000 000 over the period of the Joint Undertaking, consisting of at least EUR 975 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities and at least EUR 1 755 000 000 of in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s additional activities.

They noted that 29 out of 65 retained proposals from Call 2016 were at the grant agreement preparation stage by the end of 2016. By early 2017, the Joint Undertaking programme will have a portfolio of 65 ongoing projects with a total of 729 participants from 30 countries with a total grant value of EUR 414 000 000.

Budget and financial management : the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts provide that the final 2016 budget is to be available for implementation and include commitment appropriations of EUR 194 295 870 and payment appropriations of EUR 67 196 187, the utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations of which were 97.1 % and 95.8 %, respectively.

Members expressed some concern that several industry members participating in Joint Undertaking's projects could not report their in-kind contributions by the given deadline , either because their own 2016 accounts were not yet closed, or because the projects had started close to the end of 2016.

They regretted that, by the end of 2016, the total contribution from the industry members amounted to EUR 313 200 000, compared to the Union’s cash contribution of EUR 65 000 000 which stems from the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities compared to the Union’s input. The Joint Undertaking is invited to inform the discharge authority of developments in in-kind contributions and payments made.

Other observations : the resolution also contained a series of observations on procurement and recruitment procedures, the legal framework and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests.

By the end of 2016, the Joint Undertaking’s staff was almost complete , with 20 posts filled out of a total of 22 posts allocated to the Joint Undertaking by the staff establishment plan. Members welcomed the fact that the target set in the 2016 annual work programme was fully achieved, with the recruitment of 13 temporary agents and 8 contract agents coming from 10 Members States.

Members noted with appreciation that in 2016 the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking. They welcomed the fact that, in that respect, the governing board has adopted nine new implementing rules in 2016. They also recognised the need for the Joint Undertaking to communicate with Union citizens concerning the significant research and collaboration that it is undertaking. The Commission was asked to ensure the direct involvement of the Joint Undertaking in the process of the Horizon 2020 mid-term review in the sphere of the further simplification and harmonisation of joint undertakings.

Documents
2018/04/18
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2018/03/22
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Brian HAYES (EPP, IE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the bio-based industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016.

The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the joint undertaking’s Executive Director discharge in respect of the implementation of the joint undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2016.

Noting that the Court of Auditors issued a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions for the financial year 2016, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the joint undertaking’s accounts .

They made, however, a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted. They may be summarised as follows:

General : Members noted that the maximum Union contribution to the activities of the Joint Undertaking is EUR 975 000 000, to be paid from Horizon 2020. The industry members of the Joint Undertaking are to contribute resources of at least EUR 2 730 000 000 over the period of the Joint Undertaking, consisting of at least EUR 975 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities and at least EUR 1 755 000 000 of in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s additional activities.

They noted that 29 out of 65 retained proposals from Call 2016 were at the grant agreement preparation stage by the end of 2016. By early 2017, the Joint Undertaking programme will have a portfolio of 65 ongoing projects with a total of 729 participants from 30 countries with a total grant value of EUR 414 000 000.

Budget and financial management : the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts provide that the final 2016 budget is to be available for implementation and include commitment appropriations of EUR 194 295 870 and payment appropriations of EUR 67 196 187, the utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations of which were 97,1 % and 95,8 %, respectively.

Members expressed some concern that several industry members participating in Joint Undertaking's projects could not report their in-kind contributions by the given deadline, either because their own 2016 accounts were not yet closed, or because the projects had started close to the end of 2016.

They regretted that, by the end of 2016, the total contribution from the industry members amounted to EUR 313 200 000, compared to the Union’s cash contribution of EUR 65 000 000 which stems from the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities compared to the Union’s input.

Other observations : the report also contained a series of observations on procurement and recruitment procedures, the legal framework and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests.

By the end of 2016, the Joint Undertaking’s staff was almost complete, with 20 posts filled out of a total of 22 posts allocated to the Joint Undertaking by the staff establishment plan. Members welcomed the fact that the target set in the 2016 annual work programme was fully achieved, with the recruitment of 13 temporary agents and 8 contract agents coming from 10 Members States.

Members noted with appreciation that in 2016 the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking. They welcomed the fact that, in that respect, nine new implementing rules have been adopted by the governing board in 2016.

Documents
2018/03/20
   EP - Vote in committee
2018/03/01
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2018/02/09
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Details

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2016 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2016 of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016, accompanied by the Joint Undertaking's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2016.

No further comments were made as regards the accounts.

Documents
2018/01/25
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2017/09/20
   EP - HAYES Brian (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2017/09/19
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Details

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016, together with the Joint Undertaking’s replies.

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 focused on the annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. As a reminder, the objective of the BBI Joint Undertaking is to implement a programme of research and innovation activities in Europe that will assess the availability of renewable biological resources that can be used for the production of bio-based materials, and on that basis support the establishment of sustainable bio-based value chains. Those activities should be carried out through collaboration between stakeholders along the entire bio-based value chain, including primary production and processing industries, consumer brands, SMEs, research and technology centres, and universities.

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 Bio-based Industries JU, which comprise the financial statements and the reports on the implementation of the budget for the financial year ended 31 December 2016; the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts.

Opinion on the reliability of the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the provisions of its financial rules and the 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 2016 are, in all material respects, legal and regular.

The audit also revealed the following points:

budgetary and financial management : the Court noted that out of the EUR 975 million of contributions to be made by the industry members to the operational activities and administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking, by the end of 2016 industry members had reported in-kind contributions of EUR 15.4 million for operational activities, and the Governing Board had validated cash contributions by the members to the Joint Undertaking’s administrative costs of EUR 3 million. The low level of in-kind contributions reflects the fact that most BBI projects were only in their preliminary stages in 2016. Out of the EUR 1.755 billion of industry members’ contributions to be made to additional activities, EUR 294.8 million had been reported and certified by the end of 2016. By the end of 2016, the total contributions from the industry members amounted to EUR 313.2 million, compared to the EU’s cash contribution of EUR 65 million. The significant difference between the EU’s and the industry members’ contributions is explained by the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities.

Joint Undertaking’s reply : the Joint Undertaking stated that it has taken note of the Court’s report.

2017/09/13
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2017/06/26
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
Details

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI .

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.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 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 BBI, 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 bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI .

The bio-based industries joint undertaking : the BBI, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) set up in 2014 and located in Brussels (BE), was established in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 establishing the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The BBI’s main objective is to seek a more resource efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and increase economic growth and employment, in particularly in rural areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably.

As regards the BBI’s accounts , these are presented in detail in the document published by the Joint Undertaking (please refer to the report on financial and budgetary management of the BBI ).

2017/06/25
   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 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI .

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.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 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 BBI, 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 bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI .

The bio-based industries joint undertaking : the BBI, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) set up in 2014 and located in Brussels (BE), was established in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 establishing the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The BBI’s main objective is to seek a more resource efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and increase economic growth and employment, in particularly in rural areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably.

As regards the BBI’s accounts , these are presented in detail in the document published by the Joint Undertaking (please refer to the report on financial and budgetary management of the BBI ).

Documents

Votes

A8-0071/2018 - Brian Hayes - résolution 18/04/2018 13:07:04.000 #

2018/04/18 Outcome: +: 562, -: 108, 0: 29
DE IT FR ES RO AT PT HU SE NL BG CZ BE FI HR LT IE SK LV SI EL CY PL MT LU DK EE ?? GB
Total
88
64
69
49
30
18
20
18
20
25
17
18
20
13
11
10
10
12
7
7
21
6
47
6
5
12
4
1
69
icon: PPE PPE
205

Lithuania PPE

2

Cyprus PPE

1

Luxembourg PPE

3

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom PPE

2
icon: S&D S&D
178

Netherlands S&D

3

Croatia S&D

2

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Malta S&D

3

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Denmark S&D

2
icon: ALDE ALDE
66

Romania ALDE

2

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Portugal ALDE

1

Croatia ALDE

2

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

3

United Kingdom ALDE

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
49

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
47

Portugal GUE/NGL

For (1)

4

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

4

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Denmark GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1
icon: NI NI
17

France NI

Abstain (1)

2

Hungary NI

Abstain (1)

3

Poland NI

Against (1)

2

Denmark NI

1

NI

For (1)

1

United Kingdom NI

3
icon: EFDD EFDD
39

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

France EFDD

3

Sweden EFDD

2

Czechia EFDD

Against (1)

1

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1
icon: ENF ENF
33

Germany ENF

Against (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

Poland ENF

2

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
63

Italy ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Netherlands ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

2

Czechia ECR

2
3

Finland ECR

2

Croatia ECR

Against (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

Against (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

2

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1

Cyprus ECR

1
AmendmentsDossier
5 2017/2183(DEC)
2018/03/01 CONT 5 amendments...
source: 618.276

History

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

docs/0
date
2017-06-26T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Non-legislative basic document
body
EC
events/0/date
Old
2017-06-26T00:00:00
New
2017-06-25T00:00:00
events/5/docs
  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-8-2018-04-18-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
committees/0/shadows/3
name
OMARJEE Younous
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=PE613.435
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CONT-PR-613435_EN.html
docs/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE618.276
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CONT-AM-618276_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
2018-03-22T00:00:00
type
Committee report tabled for plenary
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0071_EN.html title: A8-0071/2018
summary
events/3
date
2018-03-22T00:00:00
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0071_EN.html title: A8-0071/2018
summary
events/5/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20180418&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
events/6
date
2018-04-18T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2018-0166_EN.html title: T8-0166/2018
summary
events/6
date
2018-04-18T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2018-0166_EN.html title: T8-0166/2018
summary
events/3/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2018-0071&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0071_EN.html
events/6/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0166
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2018-0166_EN.html
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
rapporteur
name: HAYES Brian date: 2017-09-20T00:00:00 group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2017-09-20T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: HAYES Brian group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
activities
  • date: 2017-06-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2017/0365/COM_COM(2017)0365_EN.pdf title: COM(2017)0365 type: Non-legislative basic document published celexid: CELEX:52017DC0365:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget Commissioner: OETTINGER Günther type: Non-legislative basic document published
  • date: 2017-09-13T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: POCHE Miroslav group: ECR name: CZARNECKI Ryszard group: ALDE name: DLABAJOVÁ Martina group: GUE/NGL name: OMARJEE Younous group: Verts/ALE name: TARAND Indrek group: EFD name: VALLI Marco group: ENF name: KAPPEL Barbara responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2017-09-20T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: EPP name: HAYES Brian body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Industry, Research and Energy committee: ITRE body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
  • date: 2018-03-20T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: POCHE Miroslav group: ECR name: CZARNECKI Ryszard group: ALDE name: DLABAJOVÁ Martina group: GUE/NGL name: OMARJEE Younous group: Verts/ALE name: TARAND Indrek group: EFD name: VALLI Marco group: ENF name: KAPPEL Barbara responsible: True committee: CONT date: 2017-09-20T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control rapporteur: group: EPP name: HAYES Brian body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Industry, Research and Energy committee: ITRE body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
  • date: 2018-03-22T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2018-0071&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0071/2018 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2018-04-18T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=30927&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20180418&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2018-0166 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T8-0166/2018 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
commission
  • body: EC dg: Budget commissioner: OETTINGER Günther
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2017-09-20T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: HAYES Brian group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE
shadows
committees/0
body
EP
shadows
responsible
True
committee
CONT
date
2017-09-20T00:00:00
committee_full
Budgetary Control
rapporteur
group: EPP name: HAYES Brian
committees/1
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Industry, Research and Energy
committee
ITRE
opinion
False
committees/1
body
EP
responsible
False
committee_full
Industry, Research and Energy
committee
ITRE
committees/2
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
opinion
False
committees/2
body
EP
responsible
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
docs
  • date: 2017-09-19T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2017:426:TOC title: OJ C 426 12.12.2017, p. 0008 title: N8-0042/2018 summary: PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016, together with the Joint Undertaking’s replies. 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 focused on the annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. As a reminder, the objective of the BBI Joint Undertaking is to implement a programme of research and innovation activities in Europe that will assess the availability of renewable biological resources that can be used for the production of bio-based materials, and on that basis support the establishment of sustainable bio-based value chains. Those activities should be carried out through collaboration between stakeholders along the entire bio-based value chain, including primary production and processing industries, consumer brands, SMEs, research and technology centres, and universities. 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 Bio-based Industries JU, which comprise the financial statements and the reports on the implementation of the budget for the financial year ended 31 December 2016; the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts. Opinion on the reliability of the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the provisions of its financial rules and the 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 2016 are, in all material respects, legal and regular. The audit also revealed the following points: budgetary and financial management : the Court noted that out of the EUR 975 million of contributions to be made by the industry members to the operational activities and administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking, by the end of 2016 industry members had reported in-kind contributions of EUR 15.4 million for operational activities, and the Governing Board had validated cash contributions by the members to the Joint Undertaking’s administrative costs of EUR 3 million. The low level of in-kind contributions reflects the fact that most BBI projects were only in their preliminary stages in 2016. Out of the EUR 1.755 billion of industry members’ contributions to be made to additional activities, EUR 294.8 million had been reported and certified by the end of 2016. By the end of 2016, the total contributions from the industry members amounted to EUR 313.2 million, compared to the EU’s cash contribution of EUR 65 million. The significant difference between the EU’s and the industry members’ contributions is explained by the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities. Joint Undertaking’s reply : the Joint Undertaking stated that it has taken note of the Court’s report. type: Court of Auditors: opinion, report body: CofA
  • date: 2018-01-25T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE613.435 title: PE613.435 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2018-02-09T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=5943%2F18&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 05943/2018 summary: Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2016 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2016 of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016, accompanied by the Joint Undertaking's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2016. No further comments were made as regards the accounts. type: Supplementary non-legislative basic document body: CSL
  • date: 2018-03-01T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE618.276 title: PE618.276 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
events
  • date: 2017-06-26T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2017/0365/COM_COM(2017)0365_EN.pdf title: COM(2017)0365 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2017&nu_doc=0365 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI . 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. This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 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 BBI, 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 bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI . The bio-based industries joint undertaking : the BBI, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) set up in 2014 and located in Brussels (BE), was established in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 establishing the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The BBI’s main objective is to seek a more resource efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and increase economic growth and employment, in particularly in rural areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably. As regards the BBI’s accounts , these are presented in detail in the document published by the Joint Undertaking (please refer to the report on financial and budgetary management of the BBI ).
  • date: 2017-09-13T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-03-20T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-03-22T00:00:00 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=A8-2018-0071&language=EN title: A8-0071/2018 summary: The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Brian HAYES (EPP, IE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the bio-based industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016. The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the joint undertaking’s Executive Director discharge in respect of the implementation of the joint undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2016. Noting that the Court of Auditors issued a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions for the financial year 2016, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the joint undertaking’s accounts . They made, however, a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted. They may be summarised as follows: General : Members noted that the maximum Union contribution to the activities of the Joint Undertaking is EUR 975 000 000, to be paid from Horizon 2020. The industry members of the Joint Undertaking are to contribute resources of at least EUR 2 730 000 000 over the period of the Joint Undertaking, consisting of at least EUR 975 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities and at least EUR 1 755 000 000 of in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s additional activities. They noted that 29 out of 65 retained proposals from Call 2016 were at the grant agreement preparation stage by the end of 2016. By early 2017, the Joint Undertaking programme will have a portfolio of 65 ongoing projects with a total of 729 participants from 30 countries with a total grant value of EUR 414 000 000. Budget and financial management : the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts provide that the final 2016 budget is to be available for implementation and include commitment appropriations of EUR 194 295 870 and payment appropriations of EUR 67 196 187, the utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations of which were 97,1 % and 95,8 %, respectively. Members expressed some concern that several industry members participating in Joint Undertaking's projects could not report their in-kind contributions by the given deadline, either because their own 2016 accounts were not yet closed, or because the projects had started close to the end of 2016. They regretted that, by the end of 2016, the total contribution from the industry members amounted to EUR 313 200 000, compared to the Union’s cash contribution of EUR 65 000 000 which stems from the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities compared to the Union’s input. Other observations : the report also contained a series of observations on procurement and recruitment procedures, the legal framework and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests. By the end of 2016, the Joint Undertaking’s staff was almost complete, with 20 posts filled out of a total of 22 posts allocated to the Joint Undertaking by the staff establishment plan. Members welcomed the fact that the target set in the 2016 annual work programme was fully achieved, with the recruitment of 13 temporary agents and 8 contract agents coming from 10 Members States. Members noted with appreciation that in 2016 the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking. They welcomed the fact that, in that respect, nine new implementing rules have been adopted by the governing board in 2016.
  • date: 2018-04-18T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=30927&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2018-04-18T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20180418&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2018-04-18T00:00:00 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-2018-0166 title: T8-0166/2018 summary: The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking on the implementation of the budget of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016 and to approve the closure of the accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the same exercise. Noting that the Court of Auditors considered that the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016 accurately reflect the financial position of the Joint Undertaking as at 31 December 2016, as well as the results of its operations, Parliament adopted 562 votes in favor, 108 against and 29 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision: General: Members noted that the maximum Union contribution to the activities of the Joint Undertaking is EUR 975 000 000, to be paid from Horizon 2020. The industry members of the Joint Undertaking are to contribute resources of at least EUR 2 730 000 000 over the period of the Joint Undertaking, consisting of at least EUR 975 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities and at least EUR 1 755 000 000 of in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s additional activities. They noted that 29 out of 65 retained proposals from Call 2016 were at the grant agreement preparation stage by the end of 2016. By early 2017, the Joint Undertaking programme will have a portfolio of 65 ongoing projects with a total of 729 participants from 30 countries with a total grant value of EUR 414 000 000. Budget and financial management : the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts provide that the final 2016 budget is to be available for implementation and include commitment appropriations of EUR 194 295 870 and payment appropriations of EUR 67 196 187, the utilisation rates for commitment and payment appropriations of which were 97.1 % and 95.8 %, respectively. Members expressed some concern that several industry members participating in Joint Undertaking's projects could not report their in-kind contributions by the given deadline , either because their own 2016 accounts were not yet closed, or because the projects had started close to the end of 2016. They regretted that, by the end of 2016, the total contribution from the industry members amounted to EUR 313 200 000, compared to the Union’s cash contribution of EUR 65 000 000 which stems from the fact that the industry members had already declared a significant amount of in-kind contributions to additional activities compared to the Union’s input. The Joint Undertaking is invited to inform the discharge authority of developments in in-kind contributions and payments made. Other observations : the resolution also contained a series of observations on procurement and recruitment procedures, the legal framework and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests. By the end of 2016, the Joint Undertaking’s staff was almost complete , with 20 posts filled out of a total of 22 posts allocated to the Joint Undertaking by the staff establishment plan. Members welcomed the fact that the target set in the 2016 annual work programme was fully achieved, with the recruitment of 13 temporary agents and 8 contract agents coming from 10 Members States. Members noted with appreciation that in 2016 the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking. They welcomed the fact that, in that respect, the governing board has adopted nine new implementing rules in 2016. They also recognised the need for the Joint Undertaking to communicate with Union citizens concerning the significant research and collaboration that it is undertaking. The Commission was asked to ensure the direct involvement of the Joint Undertaking in the process of the Horizon 2020 mid-term review in the sphere of the further simplification and harmonisation of joint undertakings.
  • date: 2018-04-18T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2018-10-03T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016. NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1436 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2016. CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking for the implementation of the latters budget for the financial year 2016. This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 ( please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018 ). In this resolution, Parliament expressed serious concern about the fact that out of the EUR 975 million of contributions to be made by the industry members to the operational activities and administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking, industry members had reported in-kind contributions of only EUR 15.4 million for operational activities, and the governing board had validated cash contributions by the members to the Joint Undertaking’s administrative costs of EUR 3 million. It regretted the low level of in-kind contributions which stems from the fact that most Joint Undertaking’s projects were only in their preliminary stages in 2016. Parliament expressed satisfaction of the fact that the programme office achieved all the priority objectives set in the Annual Work Programme 2016 for the internal control systems. It also welcomed the fact that the human resources function continued to strengthen the legal framework paying particular attention to the application of the implementing rules of the Commission to the Joint Undertaking.
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget commissioner: OETTINGER Günther
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
CONT/8/10870
New
  • CONT/8/10870
procedure/final
title
OJ L 248 03.10.2018, p. 0350
url
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2018:248:TOC
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
New
Procedure completed
procedure/subject
Old
  • 8.70.03.06 2016 discharge
New
8.70.03.06
2016 discharge
activities/2
date
2018-03-20T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees
activities/3
date
2018-03-22T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2018-0071&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0071/2018
body
EP
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
activities/4
date
2018-04-18T00:00:00
docs
body
EP
type
Results of vote in Parliament
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure.

    Analysis of the accounts of the bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI.

    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.

    This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 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 BBI, 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 bio-based industries joint undertaking - BBI.

    The bio-based industries joint undertaking: the BBI, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) set up in 2014 and located in Brussels (BE), was established in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 establishing the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The BBI’s main objective is to seek a more resource efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and increase economic growth and employment, in particularly in rural areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably.

    As regards the BBI’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document published by the Joint Undertaking (please refer to the report on financial and budgetary management of the BBI).

activities/1/committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
CZARNECKI Ryszard
committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
CZARNECKI Ryszard
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/5
group
ENF
name
KAPPEL Barbara
committees/0/shadows/5
group
ENF
name
KAPPEL Barbara
activities/0/commission/0
DG
Commissioner
OETTINGER Günther
other/0
body
EC
dg
commissioner
OETTINGER Günther
activities/1/committees/0/date
2017-09-20T00:00:00
activities/1/committees/0/rapporteur
  • group: EPP name: HAYES Brian
activities/1/committees/0/shadows
  • group: S&D name: POCHE Miroslav
  • group: ALDE name: DLABAJOVÁ Martina
  • group: GUE/NGL name: OMARJEE Younous
  • group: Verts/ALE name: TARAND Indrek
  • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
committees/0/date
2017-09-20T00:00:00
committees/0/rapporteur
  • group: EPP name: HAYES Brian
committees/0/shadows
  • group: S&D name: POCHE Miroslav
  • group: ALDE name: DLABAJOVÁ Martina
  • group: GUE/NGL name: OMARJEE Younous
  • group: Verts/ALE name: TARAND Indrek
  • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
activities/1
date
2017-09-13T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
CONT/8/10870
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
activities
  • date: 2017-06-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2017/0365/COM_COM(2017)0365_EN.pdf celexid: CELEX:52017DC0365:EN type: Non-legislative basic document published title: COM(2017)0365 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC commission:
committees
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Budgetary Control committee: CONT
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Industry, Research and Energy committee: ITRE
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
links
other
    procedure
    type
    DEC - Discharge procedure
    title
    2016 discharge: Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking - BBI Joint Undertaking
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    reference
    2017/2183(DEC)
    subject
    8.70.03.06 2016 discharge