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2018/2174(DEC) 2017 discharge: EU general budget, European Ombudsman
Next event: Final act published in Official Journal 2019/09/27 more...

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT KOHN Arndt (icon: S&D S&D) SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA José Ignacio (icon: PPE PPE), FITTO Raffaele (icon: ECR ECR), KLINZ Wolf (icon: ALDE ALDE), JÁVOR Benedek (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), VALLI Marco (icon: EFDD EFDD), JALKH Jean-François (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion EMPL
Committee Opinion BUDG
Committee Opinion ITRE
Committee Opinion JURI
Committee Opinion ECON
Committee Opinion LIBE
Committee Opinion INTA
Committee Opinion IMCO
Committee Opinion TRAN
Committee Opinion FEMM
Committee Opinion PETI
Committee Opinion REGI
Committee Opinion AFCO
Committee Opinion DEVE
Committee Opinion CULT
Committee Opinion AFET
Committee Opinion PECH
Committee Opinion AGRI
Committee Opinion ENVI
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2019/09/27
   Final act published in Official Journal
2019/03/26
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/03/26
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2019/03/26
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided, by 529 votes to 97, with 11 abstentions, to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the 2016 financial year.

It welcomed the fact that the Court of Auditors observed that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics relating to human resources and procurement for the Ombudsman. The Court concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2017 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error.

Budgetary and financial management

The Ombudsman’s budget is mostly administrative, with a large amount being used for expenditure related to persons, buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous running costs. This amounted in 2017 to EUR 10 905 441 (EUR 10 658 951 in 2016).

Members welcomed the Ombudsman’s commitment to ensure that all available funds are spent in a result-oriented manner.

Of the total appropriations, 93.91 % were committed (compared to 95.40 % in 2016) and 86.20 % paid (compared to 85.89 % in 2016), with an implementation rate of 93.9 % (compared to 95.40 % in 2016).

Parliament noted a decrease in the implementation rate in 2017 which is the result of underspending of the budget line for European Schools. It also welcomed the new budget appropriation which is intended to finance a scheme to support the use of public transport towards the various places of work.

Complaints and inquiries

The resolution noted the increase of received complaints by 20 %, from 1 839 in 2016 to 2 216 in 2017. The Ombudsman opened a total of 433 inquiries on the basis of complaints (245 in 2016) and closed 348 such inquiries (291 in 2016).

In 2017, the overall number of new complaints dealt with was 2 181, of which 751 were within the mandate, compared to 1 880 complaints dealt with in 2016 of which 711 were within the mandate. Therefore, the number of complaints within the mandate has increased by 5.5%.

The average time for dealing with a complaint decreased from 86 in 2013 to 64 days and the average time for dealing with inquiries decreased from 369 days in 2013 to 266 days in 2017.

Documents
2019/03/26
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2019/02/27
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Arndt KOHN (S&D, DE) calling on the European Parliament to give discharge to the European Ombudsman in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2017.

It welcomed the fact that the Court of Auditors observed that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics relating to human resources and procurement for the Ombudsman. The Court concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2017 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error.

Budgetary and financial management

Members noted that the Ombudsman’s budget is mostly administrative, with a large amount being used for expenditure related to persons, buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous running costs. This amounted in 2017 to EUR 10 905 441 (EUR 10 658 951 in 2016).

They welcomed the Ombudsman’s commitment to ensure that all available funds are spent in a result-oriented manner.

Of the total appropriations, 93.91 % were committed (compared to 95.40 % in 2016) and 86.20 % paid (compared to 85.89 % in 2016), with an implementation rate of 93.9 % (compared to 95.40 % in 2016).

Members noted a decrease in the implementation rate in 2017 which is the result of underspending of the budget line for European Schools.

Complaints and inquiries

The report noted the increase of received complaints by 20 %, from 1 839 in 2016 to 2 216 in 2017. The Ombudsman opened a total of 433 inquiries on the basis of complaints (245 in 2016) and closed 348 such inquiries (291 in 2016).

In 2017, the overall number of new complaints dealt with was 2 181, of which 751 were within the mandate, compared to 1 880 complaints dealt with in 2016 of which 711 were within the mandate. Therefore, the number of complaints within the mandate has increased by 5.5%.

The average time for dealing with a complaint decreased from 86 in 2013 to 64 days and the average time for dealing with inquiries decreased from 369 days in 2013 to 266 days in 2017.

Documents
2019/02/20
   EP - Vote in committee
2019/02/12
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2019/02/11
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Details

Based on the observations contained in the report by the Court of Auditors, the Council called on the European Parliament to grant discharge to all of the EU institutions in respect of the implementation of their respective budgets for the financial year 2017.

However, it considered that budget implementation required a series of comments from the Council which should be fully taken into account by the Commission.

The Council welcomed the fact that the administrative and related expenditure of the EU institutions remained, as in previous years, free from material error with an estimated level of error of 0.5 %, which while being well below the materiality threshold is higher by 0.3 % compared to the Court's findings for 2016 (0.2 %). It noted with satisfaction that no serious weaknesses were identified by the Court in the supervisory and control systems and in the examined annual activity reports.

The Council took note that, as in previous years, there was a small number of errors relating to staff costs and some weaknesses in the Office for Administration and Payment of individual entitlements' (PMO) management of family allowances. It called on the Commission to improve its procedures to avoid errors related to staff expenditure.

The Court did not identify any specific problems concerning the European Ombudsman.

Documents
2018/12/13
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2018/09/11
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/07/27
   EP - KOHN Arndt (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2018/07/12
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Details

PURPOSE: presentation of the Annual report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2017.

CONTENT: the Court of Auditors published its 41th annual report on the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the year 2017. This report follows a five-part structure:

- the statement of assurance (DAS) and a summary of the results of the audit on the reliability of accounts and the regularity of transactions;

- the analysis of budgetary and financial management;

- the Commission’s performance reporting framework;

- the findings on EU revenue;

- the presentation of the main headings of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), the results of the testing of the regularity of transactions.

The Court concludes that payments for 2017 are legal and regular, with the expenditure recorded in 2017 covering spending on a reimbursement basis. It believes that the EU accounts present a true and fair view of the EU’s financial position.

The report also assessed the potential impact on the 2017 accounts of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom (UK) formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the European Union (EU). On 22 May 2017, the negotiations started for the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK.

Part Five (Financial Provisions) of the draft withdrawal agreement of 19 March 2018 concerning the financial settlement states that the UK will pay all its obligations under the current and previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks as if it were still a Member State.

Based on this, the Court concluded that the accounts as at 31 December 2017 correctly reflect the withdrawal process.

The audit also focuses on the budget implementation of the European Ombudsman .

The overall audit evidence indicates that the level of error in spending on ‘Administration’ was not material. For this MFF heading, the testing of transactions produced an estimated overall level of error of 0.5 %

The Court did not detect any specific problem regarding the European Ombudsman.

2018/06/28
   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 2017, as part of the 2017 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions: European Ombudsman.

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 2017 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 with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge . It is the decision by which the European Parliament ‘ releases ’ the Commission from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. It is granted by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council.

The decision is based in particular on the European Court of Auditors reports, in particular its annual report, in which the Court provides a Statement of Assurance (DAS) on the legality and regularity of transactions (payments and commitments).

The procedure results in the granting, postponement or refusal of 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.

All EU institutions and other agencies, bodies and joint undertakings are subject to their own discharge procedures.

(2) Implementation of the Ombudsman’s appropriations for the financial year 2017 : budgeted appropriations amounted to EUR 10 905 441 .

As regards the implementation of the Ombudsman’s budget, the 2017 Annual Activity Report highlighted that this year was characterised by the following:

2 181 new complaints were dealt with; 447 inquiries opened and 363 closed; the office’s Twitter account saw a 16% rise in followers (now more than 19 000) between 2016 and 2017; enhanced transparency as regards the Brexit negotiations.

Documents

History

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

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  • date: 2018-07-12T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2018:357:TOC title: OJ C 357 04.10.2018, p. 0001 title: N8-0013/2019 summary: PURPOSE: presentation of the Annual report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2017. CONTENT: the Court of Auditors published its 41th annual report on the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the year 2017. This report follows a five-part structure: - the statement of assurance (DAS) and a summary of the results of the audit on the reliability of accounts and the regularity of transactions; - the analysis of budgetary and financial management; - the Commission’s performance reporting framework; - the findings on EU revenue; - the presentation of the main headings of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), the results of the testing of the regularity of transactions. The Court concludes that payments for 2017 are legal and regular, with the expenditure recorded in 2017 covering spending on a reimbursement basis. It believes that the EU accounts present a true and fair view of the EU’s financial position. The report also assessed the potential impact on the 2017 accounts of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom (UK) formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the European Union (EU). On 22 May 2017, the negotiations started for the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK. Part Five (Financial Provisions) of the draft withdrawal agreement of 19 March 2018 concerning the financial settlement states that the UK will pay all its obligations under the current and previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks as if it were still a Member State. Based on this, the Court concluded that the accounts as at 31 December 2017 correctly reflect the withdrawal process. The audit also focuses on the budget implementation of the European Ombudsman . The overall audit evidence indicates that the level of error in spending on ‘Administration’ was not material. For this MFF heading, the testing of transactions produced an estimated overall level of error of 0.5 % The Court did not detect any specific problem regarding the European Ombudsman. type: Court of Auditors: opinion, report body: CofA
  • date: 2018-12-13T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE626.823 title: PE626.823 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2019-02-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=5824%2F19&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 05824/2019 summary: Based on the observations contained in the report by the Court of Auditors, the Council called on the European Parliament to grant discharge to all of the EU institutions in respect of the implementation of their respective budgets for the financial year 2017. However, it considered that budget implementation required a series of comments from the Council which should be fully taken into account by the Commission. The Council welcomed the fact that the administrative and related expenditure of the EU institutions remained, as in previous years, free from material error with an estimated level of error of 0.5 %, which while being well below the materiality threshold is higher by 0.3 % compared to the Court's findings for 2016 (0.2 %). It noted with satisfaction that no serious weaknesses were identified by the Court in the supervisory and control systems and in the examined annual activity reports. The Council took note that, as in previous years, there was a small number of errors relating to staff costs and some weaknesses in the Office for Administration and Payment of individual entitlements' (PMO) management of family allowances. It called on the Commission to improve its procedures to avoid errors related to staff expenditure. The Court did not identify any specific problems concerning the European Ombudsman. type: Supplementary non-legislative basic document body: CSL
  • date: 2019-02-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE634.536 title: PE634.536 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
events
  • date: 2018-06-28T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2018/0521/COM_COM(2018)0521_EN.pdf title: COM(2018)0521 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2018&nu_doc=0521 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2017, as part of the 2017 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions: European Ombudsman. 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 2017 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 with a view to granting discharge. Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge . It is the decision by which the European Parliament ‘ releases ’ the Commission from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. It is granted by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council. The decision is based in particular on the European Court of Auditors reports, in particular its annual report, in which the Court provides a Statement of Assurance (DAS) on the legality and regularity of transactions (payments and commitments). The procedure results in the granting, postponement or refusal of 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. All EU institutions and other agencies, bodies and joint undertakings are subject to their own discharge procedures. (2) Implementation of the Ombudsman’s appropriations for the financial year 2017 : budgeted appropriations amounted to EUR 10 905 441 . As regards the implementation of the Ombudsman’s budget, the 2017 Annual Activity Report highlighted that this year was characterised by the following: 2 181 new complaints were dealt with; 447 inquiries opened and 363 closed; the office’s Twitter account saw a 16% rise in followers (now more than 19 000) between 2016 and 2017; enhanced transparency as regards the Brexit negotiations.
  • date: 2018-09-11T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2019-02-20T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2019-02-27T00:00:00 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=A8-2019-0099&language=EN title: A8-0099/2019 summary: The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Arndt KOHN (S&D, DE) calling on the European Parliament to give discharge to the European Ombudsman in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2017. It welcomed the fact that the Court of Auditors observed that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics relating to human resources and procurement for the Ombudsman. The Court concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2017 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error. Budgetary and financial management Members noted that the Ombudsman’s budget is mostly administrative, with a large amount being used for expenditure related to persons, buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous running costs. This amounted in 2017 to EUR 10 905 441 (EUR 10 658 951 in 2016). They welcomed the Ombudsman’s commitment to ensure that all available funds are spent in a result-oriented manner. Of the total appropriations, 93.91 % were committed (compared to 95.40 % in 2016) and 86.20 % paid (compared to 85.89 % in 2016), with an implementation rate of 93.9 % (compared to 95.40 % in 2016). Members noted a decrease in the implementation rate in 2017 which is the result of underspending of the budget line for European Schools. Complaints and inquiries The report noted the increase of received complaints by 20 %, from 1 839 in 2016 to 2 216 in 2017. The Ombudsman opened a total of 433 inquiries on the basis of complaints (245 in 2016) and closed 348 such inquiries (291 in 2016). In 2017, the overall number of new complaints dealt with was 2 181, of which 751 were within the mandate, compared to 1 880 complaints dealt with in 2016 of which 711 were within the mandate. Therefore, the number of complaints within the mandate has increased by 5.5%. The average time for dealing with a complaint decreased from 86 in 2013 to 64 days and the average time for dealing with inquiries decreased from 369 days in 2013 to 266 days in 2017.
  • date: 2019-03-26T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20190326&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2019-03-26T00:00:00 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-2019-0252 title: T8-0252/2019 summary: The European Parliament decided, by 529 votes to 97, with 11 abstentions, to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the 2016 financial year. It welcomed the fact that the Court of Auditors observed that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics relating to human resources and procurement for the Ombudsman. The Court concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2017 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error. Budgetary and financial management The Ombudsman’s budget is mostly administrative, with a large amount being used for expenditure related to persons, buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous running costs. This amounted in 2017 to EUR 10 905 441 (EUR 10 658 951 in 2016). Members welcomed the Ombudsman’s commitment to ensure that all available funds are spent in a result-oriented manner. Of the total appropriations, 93.91 % were committed (compared to 95.40 % in 2016) and 86.20 % paid (compared to 85.89 % in 2016), with an implementation rate of 93.9 % (compared to 95.40 % in 2016). Parliament noted a decrease in the implementation rate in 2017 which is the result of underspending of the budget line for European Schools. It also welcomed the new budget appropriation which is intended to finance a scheme to support the use of public transport towards the various places of work. Complaints and inquiries The resolution noted the increase of received complaints by 20 %, from 1 839 in 2016 to 2 216 in 2017. The Ombudsman opened a total of 433 inquiries on the basis of complaints (245 in 2016) and closed 348 such inquiries (291 in 2016). In 2017, the overall number of new complaints dealt with was 2 181, of which 751 were within the mandate, compared to 1 880 complaints dealt with in 2016 of which 711 were within the mandate. Therefore, the number of complaints within the mandate has increased by 5.5%. The average time for dealing with a complaint decreased from 86 in 2013 to 64 days and the average time for dealing with inquiries decreased from 369 days in 2013 to 266 days in 2017.
  • date: 2019-03-26T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget commissioner: OETTINGER Günther
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
CONT/8/14223
New
  • CONT/8/14223
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting committee decision
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
procedure/subject
Old
  • 8.70.03.02 2017 discharge
New
8.70.03.02
2017 discharge
activities/0/commission/0
DG
Commissioner
OETTINGER Günther
activities/1
date
2018-09-11T00:00:00
body
EP
type
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
committees
other/0
body
EC
dg
commissioner
OETTINGER Günther
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
CONT/8/14223
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
committees/4/date
2018-07-27T00:00:00
committees/4/rapporteur
  • group: S&D name: KOHN Arndt
committees/4/shadows
  • group: EPP name: SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA José Ignacio
  • group: ALDE name: KLINZ Wolf
  • group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis
  • group: Verts/ALE name: JÁVOR Benedek
  • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
  • group: ENF name: JALKH Jean-François
activities
  • date: 2018-06-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2018/0521/COM_COM(2018)0521_EN.pdf title: COM(2018)0521 type: Non-legislative basic document published celexid: CELEX:52018DC0521:EN body: EC type: Non-legislative basic document published commission:
committees
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Constitutional Affairs committee: AFCO
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Agriculture and Rural Development committee: AGRI
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Budgetary Control committee: CONT
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Culture and Education committee: CULT
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Development committee: DEVE
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs committee: ECON
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee: ENVI
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee: FEMM
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee: IMCO
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: International Trade committee: INTA
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Industry, Research and Energy committee: ITRE
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Petitions committee: PETI
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Transport and Tourism committee: TRAN
links
other
    procedure
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    subject
    8.70.03.02 2017 discharge
    type
    DEC - Discharge procedure
    reference
    2018/2174(DEC)
    title
    2017 discharge: EU general budget, European Ombudsman