PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the financial year 2012.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2014/569/EU of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2012.

CONTENT: with the present decision, the European Parliament grants discharge to the Executive Director of EASA for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2012.

This decision is in line with the European Parliament's resolution adopted on 3 April 2014 and comprises a series of observations that form an integral part of the discharge decision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of 3 April 2014).

Amongst the main observations made, Parliament regretted the issues regarding the internal controls of the Agency and called on it to take steps to rectify this and to report on its actions within the framework of the 2012 discharge follow-up.

The European Parliament adopted a decision concerning the discharge to be granted to the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012. The vote on the discharge decision approved the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex VI, Article 5(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 519 votes to 61, with 13 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations that form an integral part of the discharge decision and as well as the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.

These recommendations are summarised as follows:

Budget and financial management : Parliament noted that the overall level of appropriations committed was 95%. It noted with concern that carry-overs of committed appropriations were high (46%) although this is partly justified by the multiannual nature of the Agency’s operations. Nevertheless, it considered that such a high level is at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality. Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency : Parliament welcomed the Agency's adoption of the "cooling off period" of non-assignment for a year, so that anyone new to the organisation is not allocated work on files they had directly worked on in the previous five years. It noted that following the recommendation of the discharge authority, the Agency will include information and statistics on the management of conflicts of interests in its 2013 annual activity report. Performance : Parliament requested that the Agency communicate the results and impact its work has on European citizens in an accessible way, mainly through its website.

Members also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) in which it recommended the European Parliament to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2012.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2012 are reliable, and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Members approved the closure of the Agency’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed 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.

Budget and financial management : Members noted that the overall level of appropriations committed was 95%. They with concern that carry-overs of committed appropriations were high (46%) although this is partly justified by the multiannual nature of the Agency’s operations. Nevertheless, they considered that such a high level is at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality. Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency : Members welcomed the Agency's adoption of the "cooling off period" of non-assignment for a year, so that anyone new to the organisation is not allocated work on files they had directly worked on in the previous five years. They noted that following the recommendation of the discharge authority, the Agency will include information and statistics on the management of conflicts of interests in its 2013 annual activity report.

Members also made a series of observations on transfers, procurement and recruitment procedures as well as comments on internal controls.

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2012 and the balance sheet at 31 December 2012 of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2012, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2012.

The observations in the Court of Auditors' report call for certain comments by the Council which can be summarised as follows:

in general, the Council welcomes the Court's opinion that, in all material respects, the Agency's annual accounts present fairly its financial position as at 31 December 2012 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Agency's Financial Regulation and that the underlying transactions for that financial year are legal and regular. Controls : notwithstanding this favourable finding, the Council regrets that the Court found deficiencies in the Agency's ex-ante and ex-post controls and urges the Agency to take appropriate actions with a view to reviewing the procedures and implementing the necessary improvements. Carry-overs of appropriations : the Council recalls, once again, that, in line with the principle of annuality, excessive carry-overs should be strictly limited. Recruitment : the Council also invites the Agency to correct weaknesses identified by the Court in its staff selection practices, stressing the importance of full compliance with the Staff Regulations.

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the year 2012, together with the Agency’s reply.

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 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

In the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s Annual Accounts fairly present, in all material respects, its financial position as of 31 December 2012 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its financial rules and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer.

The Court also considers that the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 are, in all material respects, legal and regular .

The report confirms that the Agency’s 2012 budget amounted to EUR 150.2 million.

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:

The Court’s observations :

audits and internal controls: a methodology for ex post verifications was established. Room for improvement still exists in the following areas: there is still no annual planning of verifications, the sample of transactions to be checked is not risk-based and the methodology does not cover public procurement procedures; budget implementation: carry-overs of committed appropriations were high for title III at 46%.

The Agency’s replies :

audits: the Agency states that it has an annual plan in place which is risk-based and approved by the Executive Director. The annual plan for 2013 includes public procurement procedures; budget implementation: the Agency states that great efforts have been made to encourage responsible authorising officers to commit earlier. This is already demonstrated by the improvement in title III carry over levels compared to the previous year which have reduced significantly from 59 % in 2011 to 46 % in 2012.

As regards the activities of the Agency in 2012 , the report refers to the adoption of:

opinions, including one alignment of Commission Regulation No (EC) 2042/2003 with Regulation (EC) No 216/2008; decisions related to certification specifications and guidance material.

It supported the implementation of Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreements between the USA and the EU. It also adopted a number of decisions and carried out standardisation inspections in the Member States.