The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) for the financial year 2021 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority's annual accounts for the financial year 2021 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 549 votes to 57 with 15 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the discharge decision and which complement the general recommendations contained 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 2021 was EUR 32 839 626, representing an increase of 15.69 % compared to 2020. The Authority is financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 12 140 600, representing 36.96 %) and contributions from national supervisory authorities of the Member States (EUR 20 258 026, representing 61.69 %).

Budgetary and financial management

Budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2021 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.98 %, representing a decrease of 0.02 % compared to 2020. Payment appropriations execution rate was 79.12 %, representing a decrease of 3.67 % compared to 2020. Parliament called on the Authority to enhance its payment appropriation execution rate.

Other observations

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

In particular, it noted that:

- the Authority set 14 strategic level targets for performance across its seven main areas of work. It achieved or exceeded 12 of these targets and is in the process of achieving the two remaining key performance indicators;

- 304 products and services, or 88 % of the total, were delivered on time by the Authority, with a further 35 products and services experiencing minor delays and eight not taken forward, often as a result of re-prioritisation due to political decisions, the impact of the pandemic;

- on 31 December 2021, the establishment plan was 99 % implemented, with 137 temporary agents appointed out of 138 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 127 authorised posts in 2020);

- on gender equality, the Authority raised the profile of insurance and pensions as a rewarding career choice for women, especially in leadership positions;

- public procurement weaknesses were increasing and remain the largest source of irregular payments for most of agencies. The Authority should implement the e-procurement information technology tools developed by the Commission;

- more systematic rules on transparency, incompatibilities, conflict of interests, illegal lobbying and revolving doors should be put in place. The Authority should also strengthen its internal control mechanisms, including the setting up of an internal anticorruption mechanism

- in 2021, the Authority carried out for the first time an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of its controls regarding ex-ante and ex-post activities, budget management, planning, evaluation, anti-fraud, data protection, ethics, risk management and internal control. Those controls had direct costs representing 1.98 % of the Authority’s 2021 total budget with 7.47 FTEs allocated thereto;

- the Authority has invested the funds saved due to COVID-19 prevention measures into new technologies and digitalisation of processes;

- budget savings of around EUR 1 150 000 were reported primarily as a result of suspension of staff travel and exclusively remote meetings of staff, the management board and board of supervisors.