The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) for the financial year 2022 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 2022 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 523 votes to 38 with 36 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 2022 was EUR 34 571 120 , representing an increase of 5.27 % compared to 2021; The Authority is financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 12 932 000, representing 37.40 %) and contributions from national supervisory authorities from the Member States (EUR 21 076 120, representing 60.96 %).

Budgetary and financial management

Budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.46 %, representing a decrease of 0.52 % compared to 2021. Payment appropriations execution rate was 92.07 %, representing an increase of 12.95 % compared to 2021.

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 17 strategic level targets for performance across its seven main areas of work. It achieved or exceeded 15 of those targets;

- 342 products and services, representing 91 % of the total, were delivered as planned by the Authority, with a further 20 products and services experiencing minor delays and 13 not taken forward;

- numerous achievements were carried out in 2022 that delivered to a great extent on its objectives in the areas of supervision convergence, consumer protection and financial stability;

- the Authority was commended for its various initiatives and actions in the area of digital transformation supporting the objectives of Union’s Digital Finance Strategy, including by contributing, together with several stakeholders, such as the European University Institute, to the setting up of the ‘EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy’;

- the Authority contributed to ensure financial stability and protect consumers by thoroughly monitoring the markets and assessing impact in the new context of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine and the progressive monetary policy tightening in response to record-high inflation rates across Europe;

- on 31 December 2022, 99 %, the same as in 2021, of the establishment plan was completed, with 137 temporary agents appointed out of 138 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget;

-according to the Court, the Authority made irregular payments totalling EUR 25 607 after the end of a contract through which the Authority procured telecommunication services for mobile phone communication for a period of four years (2017-2021);

- the Authority should make all the necessary efforts when launching the procurement procedure for a new lease contract to prevent any conflict between the obligations imposed by the rental agreement and the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation;

- the Authority, together with the other ESAs, issued warnings to consumers in relation to the high-risk and speculative activities associated with many crypto-assets.