OBJECTIVE : granting of discharge for implementing the EU’s general budget for 2003 – Committee of the Regions.

LEGISLATIVE ACT : Decision 2005/536/EC of the European Parliament concerning the discharge for implementing the general budget of the EU for the 2003 financial year (Section VII – Committee of the Regions).

CONTENT : With this Decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions for the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament’s resolution adopted on 12 April 2005 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 12/04/2005).

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Alexander STUBB (EPP-ED, FI) g ranting the

Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year. (Please see the summary of 17/03/2005.) The Committee of the Regions administered a budget of EUR 38 999 436, of which 97.29 % had been committed and 86.58% spent by 31 December 2003. Parliament noted it has received neither the Committee of the Regions’ report pursuant to Article 86(4) of the Financial Regulation, nor the Internal Auditor's annual report. It also noted that the position of internal auditor was not occupied during the latter half of 2004 and was eventually advertised in a vacancy notice on two occasions. Parliament wanted to be informed about the outcome of this recruitment procedure.

Finally, Parliament welcomed the fact that the Committee regularly evaluates the impact of its political work, and asked to also receive the annual impact reports in the context of the discharge procedures.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Alexander STUBB (EPP-ED, FI) g ranting the

Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year. (Please see the summary of 17/03/2005.) The Committee of the Regions administered a budget of EUR 38 999 436, of which 97.29 % had been committed and 86.58% spent by 31 December 2003. Parliament noted it has received neither the Committee of the Regions’ report pursuant to Article 86(4) of the Financial Regulation, nor the Internal Auditor's annual report. It also noted that the position of internal auditor was not occupied during the latter half of 2004 and was eventually advertised in a vacancy notice on two occasions. Parliament wanted to be informed about the outcome of this recruitment procedure.

Finally, Parliament welcomed the fact that the Committee regularly evaluates the impact of its political work, and asked to also receive the annual impact reports in the context of the discharge procedures.

EP: decision of committee responsible, 1st reading/single reading

The committee referred to the remarks in the 2001 discharge highlighting evidence of "systemic incompetence and disregard for the essential rules of tendering procedures and financial management". It once more emphasised its support for the Internal Auditor, who drew Parliament's attention to irregularities occurring in the CoR, and "its confidence in his personal and professional integrity". MEPs also noted that the former Secretary-General of the CoR was initially granted unpaid leave and then early retirement as from September 2004 "against the express wish of the European Parliament".

The report acknowledged that, under the new Secretary-General, the CoR had made "strenuous efforts to bring its administration up to speed" and had kept Parliament informed. It noted however that the position of Internal Auditor was not occupied during the latter half of 2004 and asked to be informed about the outcome of the recruitment procedure for this post.

The committee remained concerned about the system of political control in the CoR and called on it to look into setting up a Conference of (Group) Presidents, as the political steering committee, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bureau (which has more than 50 members).

Lastly, the CoR was urged to evaluate the implications of the new Financial Regulation for its administrative and political work in time for its review in 2005/2006.

PURPOSE : to present the report from the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2003 (Other institutions – Committee of the Regions).

CONTENT : in its 27 th Annual Report on the 2003 financial year, the Court states that, on the whole, the institutions have made a considerable effort to adapt their supervisory systems and controls to the requirements of the new Financial Regulation. Nevertheless, most of them have not succeeded to implement the changes necessary and weakness have been stated in terms of the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. These discrepancies do not however jeopardise the positive character of the State of Assurance (DAS) on the implementation of the budget for the other institutions.

Concerning the expenditure, the Court highlights that there were no significant discrepancies. It does note that the new supervisory systems and controls should have been better applied by all the institutions in order to respect the rules of the new Financial Regulation.

It should be noted that in 2003, the authorising officers by delegation have presented for the first time annual activity reports which provide very useful information on the working of the control systems. The Court would like these report to be more comprehensive so that they can be used in the framework of the annual DAS.

More specifically, as regards the execution of the Committee of the Regions’ budget, the Court highlights some difficulties in the application of control standards. Other shortcomings have been identified in the area of procurement. Moreover, for staff remunerations, the Court identified weaknesses. Pe rsonnel data were input manually and separately in both the personnel database and the payroll system. As there was no computer link between the two systems, an automatic reconciliation of data was not possible. On the other hand, a systematic and periodic reconciliation was not made manually. The administration found a large number of differences between the payroll according to the system used in 2003 and the new system, introduced in May 2004.

PURPOSE : to present the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet concerning the activities of the budget for the financial year 2003 (Committee of the Regions).

CONTENT : this document sets out the amount of expenditure and the balance sheet for the Committee of the Regions (CoR). Its budget amounted to EUR 68 million in 2003. The report states that the CoR continued its consolidation process as an institution by strengthening the recognition of its institutional role.

The main issues of its activities in 2003 included the consolidation of its advisory role; the active participation in the work of Convention on the future of the Union; the implementation of additional actions aiming to improve the quality of opinions and their impact on the decision-making process.

Within the framework of its activities, the 4 political groups of the CoR (PES, EPP, ALDE, EA) play an essential role. It is for this reason that its Rules of procedure seek to accommodate them in terms of organising meetings, carrying out their activities and publishing work as well as the work of the Secretariat. The financial report is thus accompanied by a very precise description of the activities of the political groups within the framework of the budgetary headings which relate to them.

Other points to be retained as regards the execution of the 2003 budget include the low level of committed appropriations as regards allowances to Members because certain working groups were cancelled at the beginning of 2003 and also fewer meetings were envisaged (Plenary sessions, Convention...); increasing appropriations in order to receive 95 observers from the 10 applicant countries within the framework of enlargement (via a credit transfer between lines); the decrease of mission expenses; the significant decrease of costs for freelance interpreters.

Most of the surplus amounts were used to make new advances to the Belliard building and for the preparation of enlargement.

PURPOSE : to present the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet concerning the activities of the budget for the financial year 2003 (Committee of the Regions).

CONTENT : this document sets out the amount of expenditure and the balance sheet for the Committee of the Regions (CoR). Its budget amounted to EUR 68 million in 2003. The report states that the CoR continued its consolidation process as an institution by strengthening the recognition of its institutional role.

The main issues of its activities in 2003 included the consolidation of its advisory role; the active participation in the work of Convention on the future of the Union; the implementation of additional actions aiming to improve the quality of opinions and their impact on the decision-making process.

Within the framework of its activities, the 4 political groups of the CoR (PES, EPP, ALDE, EA) play an essential role. It is for this reason that its Rules of procedure seek to accommodate them in terms of organising meetings, carrying out their activities and publishing work as well as the work of the Secretariat. The financial report is thus accompanied by a very precise description of the activities of the political groups within the framework of the budgetary headings which relate to them.

Other points to be retained as regards the execution of the 2003 budget include the low level of committed appropriations as regards allowances to Members because certain working groups were cancelled at the beginning of 2003 and also fewer meetings were envisaged (Plenary sessions, Convention...); increasing appropriations in order to receive 95 observers from the 10 applicant countries within the framework of enlargement (via a credit transfer between lines); the decrease of mission expenses; the significant decrease of costs for freelance interpreters.

Most of the surplus amounts were used to make new advances to the Belliard building and for the preparation of enlargement.