BETA


2021/2138(DEC) 2020 discharge: European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT CHRISTOFOROU Lefteris (icon: EPP EPP) CHINNICI Caterina (icon: S&D S&D), BOYER Gilles (icon: Renew Renew), EICKHOUT Bas (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), KUHS Joachim (icon: ID ID), CZARNECKI Ryszard (icon: ECR ECR), OMARJEE Younous (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion ECON
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2022/10/05
   Final act published in Official Journal
2022/05/04
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2022/05/04
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for the financial year 2020 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority's annual accounts for the financial year 2020 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 558 votes to 50, 35 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the discharge decision and which complement the general recommendations set out in the resolution on the performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

Authority’s financial statements

The Authority's final budget for the financial year 2020 was EUR 56 246 722, representing an increase of 18.72 % compared to 2019. The Authority is financed by Union funds (29.81 % of the total budget), contributions from Member States' supervisory authorities (38.41 %) and fees received from supervised entities (27.67 %).

Budgetary and financial management

The budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.03 %, representing a slight decrease of 0.92 % compared to 2019. The execution rate of payment appropriations was at 85.51 %, representing a decrease of 3.26 % compared to the previous year.

Parliament noted that the surpluses and deficits from the fees charged to credit rating agencies and trade repositories can lead to an annual cross-financing of activities. The Authority should find a means of avoiding such cross-financing.

Other observations

Parliament also made a number of observations concerning performance, staff, public procurement and the prevention of conflicts of interest and Covid-19.

In particular, it noted that:

- the Authority shares the accounting officer function with the EBA, and the majority of its procurements are joint procurements with other agencies and the Commission; further notes that the Authority has implemented its administrative digitalisation programme based on joint IT software shared by six Union agencies, which together cooperate to communicate on best user practices and new releases;

- as a consequence of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Authority completed 81.5 % of the activities included in its annual work programme in 2020, representing a decrease of 13.5 % compared to 2019;

- the Authority continues to contribute actively to the development of the Union regulatory and practical framework for sustainability that is required to meet the political ambition and pressing timetable of the European Green Deal, especially in relation to the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups; on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector and on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment;

- on 31 December 2020, the establishment plan was 76.11 % implemented, with 172 temporary agents appointed out of 226 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 210 authorised posts in 2019). There is a need for a geographical and gender balance among members of staff;

- the Authority experienced a planned increase in its workload in 2020, for which it received 16 new posts that had been foreseen in the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2020. It reallocated posts internally to continue to provide input in the Capital Markets Union agenda and to manage the pressure on the Authority’s activities as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the Union;

- in March 2020, the Authority signed a ‘data services master agreement’ with a Canadian company, for a maximum period of seven years. The maximum amount of the contract was not clearly stated, which reduces the transparency of the signed agreement. Corrective actions were however taken by the Authority to address that serious internal control weakness;

- synergies were created through joint procurement procedures with other Union agencies;

- overall, the pandemic had several key impacts on the Authority, including more frequent meetings of the board of supervisors and other group meetings of the Authority, an increase in the digitalisation and use of audio and video conferencing and voting tools, an increase in the importance of having an online presence on social media and attending online conferences, and a reduced carbon footprint as a result of less printing and less travelling;

- the Authority reinforced its coordination role regarding the supervision of investment funds through the organisation of frequent exchanges with national competent authorities on market developments and supervisory risks, in particular on liquidity issues;

- lastly, it continued to prepare for the end of the transition period of the UK’s withdrawal from the Union, in line with its mission to enhance investor protection and promote stable and orderly financial markets.

Documents
2022/04/07
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2022/04/07
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2022/03/31
   EP - Vote in committee
2022/03/03
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2022/02/16
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2022/01/17
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2021/10/29
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
2021/09/14
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2021/07/29
   EP - CHRISTOFOROU Lefteris (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2021/06/30
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
2021/06/30
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published

Documents

Votes

Décharge 2020: Autorité européenne des marchés financiers - Discharge 2020: European Securities and Markets Authority - Entlastung 2020: Europäische Wertpapier- und Marktaufsichtsbehörde - A9-0108/2022 - Lefteris Christoforou - Proposition de résolution #

2022/05/04 Outcome: +: 558, -: 50, 0: 35
DE ES FR PL RO IT NL HU PT AT BG BE SE IE EL CZ SK DK HR LT LV FI SI CY LU MT EE
Total
89
58
67
46
27
72
26
19
21
18
14
20
20
13
18
19
12
12
12
10
8
12
7
6
6
5
6
icon: PPE PPE
160

Hungary PPE

1

Latvia PPE

2

Finland PPE

2

Slovenia PPE

3
2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Malta PPE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
133

Greece S&D

1

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1

Slovakia S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Finland S&D

1

Slovenia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
94

Poland Renew

1

Italy Renew

3

Hungary Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1
3

Ireland Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Lithuania Renew

1

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Slovenia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
56

Germany ECR

1

Netherlands ECR

4

Bulgaria ECR

1

Belgium ECR

2
3

Greece ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: The Left The Left
37

France The Left

4

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Portugal The Left

4

Belgium The Left

For (1)

1

Sweden The Left

For (1)

1

Czechia The Left

1

Denmark The Left

1

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Cyprus The Left

2
icon: NI NI
38

France NI

2

Slovakia NI

Abstain (1)

2

Croatia NI

Against (1)

2

Lithuania NI

1

Latvia NI

1
icon: ID ID
61

Netherlands ID

Against (1)

1

Austria ID

3

Czechia ID

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Denmark ID

Abstain (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Estonia ID

Against (1)

1
AmendmentsDossier
4 2021/2138(DEC)
2022/03/03 CONT 4 amendments...
source: 704.739

History

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

events/4/docs
  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-9-2022-05-04-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
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date
2022-10-05T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
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OJ L 258 05.10.2022, p. 0341
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EP
events/5/summary
  • The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for the financial year 2020 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.
  • Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority's annual accounts for the financial year 2020 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 558 votes to 50, 35 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the discharge decision and which complement the general recommendations set out in the resolution on the performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.
  • Authority’s financial statements
  • The Authority's final budget for the financial year 2020 was EUR 56 246 722, representing an increase of 18.72 % compared to 2019. The Authority is financed by Union funds (29.81 % of the total budget), contributions from Member States' supervisory authorities (38.41 %) and fees received from supervised entities (27.67 %).
  • Budgetary and financial management
  • The budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.03 %, representing a slight decrease of 0.92 % compared to 2019. The execution rate of payment appropriations was at 85.51 %, representing a decrease of 3.26 % compared to the previous year.
  • Parliament noted that the surpluses and deficits from the fees charged to credit rating agencies and trade repositories can lead to an annual cross-financing of activities. The Authority should find a means of avoiding such cross-financing.
  • Other observations
  • Parliament also made a number of observations concerning performance, staff, public procurement and the prevention of conflicts of interest and Covid-19.
  • In particular, it noted that:
  • - the Authority shares the accounting officer function with the EBA, and the majority of its procurements are joint procurements with other agencies and the Commission; further notes that the Authority has implemented its administrative digitalisation programme based on joint IT software shared by six Union agencies, which together cooperate to communicate on best user practices and new releases;
  • - as a consequence of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Authority completed 81.5 % of the activities included in its annual work programme in 2020, representing a decrease of 13.5 % compared to 2019;
  • - the Authority continues to contribute actively to the development of the Union regulatory and practical framework for sustainability that is required to meet the political ambition and pressing timetable of the European Green Deal, especially in relation to the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups; on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector and on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment;
  • - on 31 December 2020, the establishment plan was 76.11 % implemented, with 172 temporary agents appointed out of 226 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 210 authorised posts in 2019). There is a need for a geographical and gender balance among members of staff;
  • - the Authority experienced a planned increase in its workload in 2020, for which it received 16 new posts that had been foreseen in the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2020. It reallocated posts internally to continue to provide input in the Capital Markets Union agenda and to manage the pressure on the Authority’s activities as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the Union;
  • - in March 2020, the Authority signed a ‘data services master agreement’ with a Canadian company, for a maximum period of seven years. The maximum amount of the contract was not clearly stated, which reduces the transparency of the signed agreement. Corrective actions were however taken by the Authority to address that serious internal control weakness;
  • - synergies were created through joint procurement procedures with other Union agencies;
  • - overall, the pandemic had several key impacts on the Authority, including more frequent meetings of the board of supervisors and other group meetings of the Authority, an increase in the digitalisation and use of audio and video conferencing and voting tools, an increase in the importance of having an online presence on social media and attending online conferences, and a reduced carbon footprint as a result of less printing and less travelling;
  • - the Authority reinforced its coordination role regarding the supervision of investment funds through the organisation of frequent exchanges with national competent authorities on market developments and supervisory risks, in particular on liquidity issues;
  • - lastly, it continued to prepare for the end of the transition period of the UK’s withdrawal from the Union, in line with its mission to enhance investor protection and promote stable and orderly financial markets.
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