PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) for the financial year 2016.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1373 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2016.

CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2016.

This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 ( please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018 ).

In this resolution, Parliament acknowledged the quality and relevance of the joint work carried out by the Agency as part of the pilot common project with EMSA and Frontex on the creation of a coastguard function. However, it reminded the Commission that the Agency should be given sufficient resources for that type of project or any other future project, in particular those linked to the use of new technologies in monitoring (drones) or training (e-learning).

Parliament also stressed the need to increase the allocation of resources in order to boost the Agency’s operational capacity to cope with the uncertainties linked to Brexit and the resulting additional checks.

It was proposed to include a Member of the European Parliament on the Administrative Board of the Agency in order to strengthen its institutional transparency, particularly during the approval of the budget by the Board. That Member should be chosen from within Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries.

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2016, and to approve the closure of the accounts for the financial year in question.

Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2016 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular , Parliament adopted by 553 votes to 129 with 11 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies :

Agency’s financial statements : the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2016 was EUR 9 967 000, representing an increase of 8.14 % compared to 2015. The increase was mainly due to additional ad hoc grants related to the European Coastguard Pilot Projects. The entire budget of the Agency derives from the budget of the Union. Budget and financial management : budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2016 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.6 %. Members noted that the additional funds that were received from the Commission during the year for pilot projects in relation to the European Coastguard functions have significantly influenced the budget, notably two ad hoc grants, EUR 750 000 in total, were received in the budget as assigned revenue to be spent in the budget years 2016 and 2017 (i.e. multi-annual). Performance : Members noted the adoption of the Agency’s amended founding Regulation in 2016, which extended the mission of the Agency to cooperate with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support national authorities carrying out coastguard functions. They observed that those three Agencies have been working together with their three “partner” Commission Directorates-General ((Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE), Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) and Mobility and Transport (MOVE)) in the preparation and implementation of the pilot project “Creation of a European coastguard function”, established by Parliament in preparation for the implementation of the “border package”.

Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments, carry-overs, transfers, procurement, recruitment and staff policy, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, internal audits and controls. They called on the Agency to eliminate the gender imbalance (the overall share of men and women in its workforce was 62% and 38% respectively) and stressed the need to establish an independent body with sufficient budgetary resources to help whistleblowers to disclose information on possible irregularities affecting the Union's financial interests, while protecting their confidentiality.

Parliament recalled the importance of expanding the Agency's mandate with a view to developing joint operational activities with other Union agencies in the maritime sector, in order to prevent disasters at sea and to coordinate the work of European coastguards. It also stressed the need to increase the allocation of resources in order to boost the Agency’s operational capacity to cope with the uncertainties linked to Brexit and the resulting additional checks.

Members highlighted the Agency’s contribution to the harmonisation and standardisation of CFP measures relating to monitoring, control and surveillance with the aim of ensuring equal treatment and improving compliance with the CFP rules, including the landing obligation.

They proposed including a Member of the European Parliament on the Administrative Board of the Agency in order to strengthen its institutional transparency, particularly during the approval of the budget by the Board. That Member should be chosen from within Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries.

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Bart STAES (Greens/EFA, BE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) for the financial year 2016.

The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the agency’s budget for the financial year 2016.

Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2016 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve 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 :

Agency’s financial statements : Members noted the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2016 was EUR 9 967 000, representing an increase of 8.14 % compared to 2015. The increase was mainly due to additional ad hoc grants related to the European Coastguard Pilot Projects. The entire budget of the Agency derives from the budget of the Union. Budget and financial management : budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2016 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99.6 %. Members noted that the additional funds that were received from the Commission during the year for Pilot Projects in relation to the European Coastguard functions have significantly influenced the budget, notably two ad hoc grants, EUR 750 000 in total, were received in the budget as assigned revenue to be spent in the budget years 2016 and 2017 (i.e. multi-annual). Performance : Members noted the adoption of the Agency’s amended founding Regulation in 2016, which extended the mission of the Agency to cooperate with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support national authorities carrying out coastguard functions; observes that those three Agencies have been working together with their three “partner” Commission Directorates-General ((Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE), Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) and Mobility and Transport (MOVE)) in the preparation and implementation of the pilot project “Creation of a European coastguard function”, established by Parliament in preparation for the implementation of the “border package”.

Members also made a series of observations regarding commitments, carry-overs, transfers, procurement, recruitment and staff policy, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, internal audits and controls.

Lastly, Members recalled the importance of expanding the Agency's mandate with a view to developing joint operational activities with other Union agencies in the maritime sector, in order to prevent disasters at sea and to coordinate the work of European coastguards. They also stressed the need to increase the allocation of resources in order to boost the Agency’s operational capacity to cope with the uncertainties linked to Brexit and the resulting additional checks.

They proposed including a Member of the European Parliament on the Administrative Board of the Agency in order to strengthen its institutional transparency, particularly during the approval of the budget by the Board. That Member should be chosen from within Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries.

Having examined the revenue and expenditure accounts for the financial year 2016 and the balance sheet as at 31 December 2016 of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), as well as the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2016, accompanied by the Agency's replies to the Court's observations, the Council recommended the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2016.

No further comments were made as regards the accounts.

PURPOSE: presentation of the EU Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) for the year 2016, 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 focused on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency ( EFCA ). The Agency’s main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure an effective and uniform application of the rules of the common fisheries policy.

Statement of assurance : pursuant to the provisions of Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Court has audited:

the annual accounts of the Agency, which comprise the financial statements and the reports on the implementation of the budget for the financial year ended 31 December 2016, and the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts.

Opinion on the reliability of the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2016 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer.

Opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts : in the Court’s opinion, the transactions underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016 are legal and regular in all material respects.

The Court did not make any particular comment on the Agency’s budgetary management.

Lastly, the Court of Auditors’ report also contained a summary of the Agency’s key figures in 2016 :

Budget : EUR 10 million (payment appropriations). Staff : 64 including officials, temporary and contract staff and seconded national experts.

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, " releases " the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU.

The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) .

The European Fisheries Control Agency : EFCA, which is located in Vigo (ES) was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 . Its main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure effective and uniform application of the rules of the common fisheries policy.

2016 was marked by :

the opening of a new chapter for EFCA: its involvement in the European Coast Guard Function; the EFCA assisting the European Union in cooperating with developing countries and with international fisheries organisations to help combat illegal fishing; a successful execution of the budget during 2016. The budget implementation reached 99.6% for commitment appropriations and 88.5% for payment appropriations. EFCA managed its finances cost-effectively, whilst assuming more tasks than ever.

As regards the accounts , the contribution of the EU budget to EFCA has been kept stable since 2012 at EUR 9.2 million. In 2016, in addition to the subsidy contribution, EFCA received two grants from the Commission to be implemented in 2016 and 2017 for an amount of EUR 750 000, which following an amendment of EFCA´s budget, totalled EUR 9.97 million revenue in 2016.

Commitment appropriations :

available: EUR 10 million; made: EUR 10 million.

Payment appropriations :

available: EUR 11 million; paid: EUR 9 million.

Please also refer to the final accounts of the EFCA .

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, " releases " the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU.

The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) .

The European Fisheries Control Agency : EFCA, which is located in Vigo (ES) was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 . Its main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure effective and uniform application of the rules of the common fisheries policy.

2016 was marked by :

the opening of a new chapter for EFCA: its involvement in the European Coast Guard Function; the EFCA assisting the European Union in cooperating with developing countries and with international fisheries organisations to help combat illegal fishing; a successful execution of the budget during 2016. The budget implementation reached 99.6% for commitment appropriations and 88.5% for payment appropriations. EFCA managed its finances cost-effectively, whilst assuming more tasks than ever.

As regards the accounts , the contribution of the EU budget to EFCA has been kept stable since 2012 at EUR 9.2 million. In 2016, in addition to the subsidy contribution, EFCA received two grants from the Commission to be implemented in 2016 and 2017 for an amount of EUR 750 000, which following an amendment of EFCA´s budget, totalled EUR 9.97 million revenue in 2016.

Commitment appropriations :

available: EUR 10 million; made: EUR 10 million.

Payment appropriations :

available: EUR 11 million; paid: EUR 9 million.

Please also refer to the final accounts of the EFCA .