Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-04-24-Speech-2-016"
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"en.20070424.4.2-016"2
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".
Mr President, I should like to present my opinion on the discharge of the 16 EU agencies for 2005.
In my remaining time, I want to focus only on the European Agency for Reconstruction. The results achieved and the considerable improvements put in place by the agency in order to respond positively to the recommendations by the European Court of Auditors and by Parliament can be highly praised. I should like to congratulate the Director and the staff on their work. Taking into consideration the agency’s high value, Parliament should ask the Commission to change the agency’s mandate, which is scheduled to finish in 2008, and transform the agency into one responsible for implementing certain EU external actions, in particular in post-crisis areas.
Finally, I should like to thank the shadow rapporteurs and all my colleagues for their work, as well as the Secretariat. I recommend that Parliament give a positive discharge to all 16 agencies.
The agencies play an important role in the EU institutions’ image, because their goals and commitments are shared by all EU citizens. Therefore, this 1% of the EU’s total budget is wisely spent.
I welcome the conclusions by the European Court of Auditors that certified that the accounts of all 16 agencies were, in all material respects, reliable, legal and regular, except for a few specific observations. The positive statement of assurance for all agencies is a major achievement and I take this opportunity to congratulate them all on their efforts.
I have focused on the agencies’ general functioning and I should like to devote the majority of my speech today to this issue. For the 2005 financial year, we can conclude that the agencies were by and large well managed. However, there are still areas for improvement. There were a number of problems in specific areas of financial accounting. A further problematic field in some agencies was non-compliance with procurement rules. IT systems were not always adapted to needs. Furthermore, we have to mention that shortcomings in human resources management, in particular recruitment procedures, posed a number of problems
Last but not least, it must be mentioned that, unsurprisingly, some typical start-up problems emerged in the newly-established agencies. Let me present to you the nine proposals I have developed in my report, which could considerably improve the agencies’ efficiency in the interest of the Union.
The ever-growing number of agencies does not always reflect the real needs of the Union and its citizens. Therefore, the setting-up of any new agency should be accompanied and underpinned by the cost-benefit study. The Court of Auditors should give its opinion on the cost-benefit study before Parliament takes its decision. The European Parliament should ask the Commission to present a report every five years on the added value of every existing agency. In the event of a negative evaluation of an agency’s added value, all relevant institutions should take the necessary step of reformulating the mandate of the agency in question or closing it.
I strongly urge Parliament to ask the Court of Auditors to insert an additional chapter into its annual report devoted to all agencies to be discharged under the Commission accounts, in order to have a much clearer picture of the use of EU funding in agencies. Parliament should ask the Commission to improve administrative and technical support to agencies. We should call on the Commission to come up with a proposal to harmonise the format for annual reporting from the agencies and to develop performance indicators that could allow the comparison and assessment of their efficiency.
In my report, I welcome the considerable improvements in coordination among EU agencies. We urge all agencies to make increasing use of SMART objectives, which should lead to more realistic planning and better implementation of goals. I insist that the agencies’ work programmes should express their contribution in operational and measurable terms and due consideration should be given to the Commission’s internal control standards.
Let me now say something specific about the discharge procedure for all agencies. Let me underline that all EU agencies are undergoing a discharge procedure but in two different ways. The 16 agencies with which we are dealing today are to receive individual discharge, while the rest are to be discharged within the framework of the Commission’s budget. There is no agency, therefore, that is not subject to the Court’s controls. However, there is a considerable lack of transparency in the management of those agencies receiving discharge within the framework of the Commission’s accounts only. In order to maintain the Commission’s co-responsibility and to increase the transparency and clarity of the discharge procedure for all agencies, I call on the European Court of Auditors to create a new chapter in its annual report that covers all EU agencies."@en1
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"Edit Herczog (PSE ),"1
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