PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2011.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2013/555/EU of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2011.

CONTENT: with the present decision, and in accordance with Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the European Parliament grants discharge to the Administrative Manager of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications in respect of its budget for the financial year 2011.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 17 April 2013 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 17 April 2013).

A parallel decision, 2013/556/EU, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of the Body’s accounts for the 2011 financial year.

The European Parliament adopted a decision on discharge to be granted to the Administrative Manager of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) in respect of the implementation of the Body’s budget for the financial year 2011. The vote on the decision to grant discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex VI, Article 5(1) of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure).

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Body for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted a resolution containing a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies :

Financing, budget and financial management : Parliament recalls that the overall budget of the Body for the financial year 2011, EUR 1 178 785,60, was entirely funded by a Union contribution. Implementation rate of appropriations and carryovers : it recalls that appropriations were committed at a rate of 63.4%, while payments reached a level of 70.1% of the total appropriations managed (or 44.5% of available appropriations). It also notes with concern that the Court of Auditors identified 21 cases where appropriations carried over to 2012 did not correspond to legal commitments and that those carryovers were, therefore, irregular. Recruitment procedures : Parliament notes that the Court’s observation that there is a need to improve the transparency of recruitment procedures and calls on the Office to follow up this issue and to report to the discharge authority on the actions taken.

Lastly, Parliament made a series of observations as regards its internal control standards.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY (ADLE, NL) on discharge to be granted to the Administrative Manager of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) in respect of the implementation of the Body’s budget for the financial year 2011.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Body for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approve the closure of BEREC’s accounts. However, they make a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies :

Financing, budget and financial management : the overall budget of the Body for the financial year 2011, EUR 1 178 785,60, was entirely funded by a Union contribution. Implementation rate of appropriations and carryovers : Members observe that appropriations were committed at a rate of 63.4%, while payments reached a level of 70.1% of the total appropriations managed (or 44.5% of available appropriations). They note with concern that the Court of Auditors identified 21 cases where appropriations carried over to 2012 did not correspond to legal commitments and that those carryovers were, therefore, irregular.

Lastly, Members made a series of observations as regards the Body’s recruitment procedures as well as its internal control standards.

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2011 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2011 of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year 2011, accompanied by the Office's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Management Committee of the Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2011.

The observations in the Court of Auditors' report in relation to the financial year 2011 call for some comments by the Council, which may be summarised as follows:

the Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Office's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2011 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Office's Financial Regulation, and that the underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and regular; however, it regrets that the budget adopted for 2011 showed an insufficient level of detail (articles and items) contrary to the budgetary principle of specification. It also regrets the irregularities concerning the appropriations carried over to 2012; moreover, with respect to the Office's supervisory and control systems , the Council urges the Office to implement complete administrative rules and practices; lastly, the Council encourages the Office to pursue its efforts to address the shortcomings detected by the Court in its staff recruitment procedures.

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for the financial year 2011, together with the Office’s replies.

CONTENT: in accordance with the tasks conferred on the Court of Auditors by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Court presents to the European Parliament and to the Council, in the context of the discharge procedure, a Statement of Assurance as to the reliability of the annual accounts of each institution, body or agency of the EU, and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying them, on the basis of an independent external audit.

This audit concerned, amongst others, the annual accounts of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

In the Court’s opinion, the Office’s Annual Accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2011 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation.

The Court also considers that the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Office for the financial year ended 31 December 2011 are, in all material respects, legal and regular .

The report confirms that the Office’s 2011 budget amounted to EUR 1.8 million and that the number of staff employed by the Agency at the end of the year was 18.

The report also makes a series of observations on the budgetary and financial management of the Agency, accompanied by the latter’s response. The main observations may be summarised as follows:

Court’s observations :

carry-overs: the Court identified 21 cases with a total value of EUR 94 120 in which appropriations carried over to 2012 did not correspond to legal commitments. These carryovers were therefore irregular; recrutement: the Office needs to improve the transparency of recruitment procedures.

Office’s replies :

the start-up phase made it difficult to forecast correctly the carry-forwards. It states that a close follow-up of the budget implementation is in place now; as from June 2012 the Office has updated its Guidelines for recruitment procedures in order to address these findings.

Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report contains a summary of the Office’s activities in 2011 . This is focused on the following:

professional and administrative support services to BEREC, collection of information from NRAs and exchange and transmission of information, dissemination of regulatory best practices among NRAs within the EU and to third parties, assistance to the Chair in the preparation of the work of the Board of Regulators and the Management Committee of the Office, support to the Expert Working Groups set up by the Board of Regulators.

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011, as part of the 2011 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) – new agency .

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU's General Budget, including the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

In 2011, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

description of BEREC's tasks : BEREC, which is located in Riga, was set up by Regulation (EU) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with a view to developing the single market for electronic communication networks and services, as well as to improving its operation by ensuring the consistent application of the European Union’s regulatory framework for electronic communications;

BEREC's budget for the 2011 financial year : BEREC’s budget for 2011, as presented in the Commission document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union , gives the following figures:

§ forecasted income budget: EUR 1 million;

§ entitlements established: EUR 1 million;

§ amounts received: EUR 1 million;

§ outstanding: EUR 0 million.

The complete version of BEREC’s final accounts may be found at the following address: http://berec.europa.eu/eng/about_berec/what_is_berec/

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011, as part of the 2011 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) – new agency .

CONTENT: this Commission document sets out the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011 as prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU, in accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU's General Budget, including the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

In 2011, the tasks and budget of this agency were as follows:

description of BEREC's tasks : BEREC, which is located in Riga, was set up by Regulation (EU) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with a view to developing the single market for electronic communication networks and services, as well as to improving its operation by ensuring the consistent application of the European Union’s regulatory framework for electronic communications;

BEREC's budget for the 2011 financial year : BEREC’s budget for 2011, as presented in the Commission document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union , gives the following figures:

§ forecasted income budget: EUR 1 million;

§ entitlements established: EUR 1 million;

§ amounts received: EUR 1 million;

§ outstanding: EUR 0 million.

The complete version of BEREC’s final accounts may be found at the following address: http://berec.europa.eu/eng/about_berec/what_is_berec/