title: 2013/545/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 17 April 2013 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2011, Section IV — Court of Justice

text:
               16.11.2013

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 308/118

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

   of 17 April 2013
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2011, Section IV — Court of Justice
   (2013/545/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2011 (1),

               —

               having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011 (COM(2012) 436 – C7-0227/2012) (2),

               —

               having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on implementation of the budget for the financial year 2011, together with the institutions’ replies (3),

               —

               having regard to the statement of assurance (4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2011 pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (6), and in particular Articles 164, 165 and 166 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

               —

               having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A7-0090/2013),

               1.

               Grants the Registrar of the Court of Justice discharge in respect of the implementation of the Court of Justice’s budget for the financial year 2011;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Auditors, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Martin SCHULZ

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ L 68, 15.3.2011.

      (2)  OJ C 348, 14.11.2012, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ C 344, 12.11.2012, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ C 348, 14.11.2012, p. 130.

      (5)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (6)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

      of 17 April 2013
      with observations forming an integral part of the Decision on discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2011, Section IV — Court of Justice
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2011 (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2011 (COM(2012) 436 – C7-0227/2012) (2),

                  —

                  having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on implementation of the budget for the financial year 2011, together with the institutions’ replies (3),

                  —

                  having regard to the statement of assurance (4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2011 pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

                  —

                  having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

                  —

                  having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (6), and in particular Articles 164, 165 and 166 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

                  —

                  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A7-0090/2013),

                  1.

                  Welcomes the fact that in 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘Court of Justice’) had commitment appropriations amounting to EUR 335 904 453,30 (EUR 323 784 221,30 in 2010) and that the rate of implementation of appropriations for the Section IV – Court of Justice, remained very high in 2011 (more than 98 % in total, and even higher than 99 % for the appropriations in Title 2); stresses that the rate of implementation could have reached 99 % had it not been for the Council’s refusal to follow the Commission’s proposed salary adjustment (+ 1,7 % backdated to 1 July 2011);

                  2.

                  Stresses that the Court of Justice’s budget is purely administrative, with 75 % spent on persons working in the institution and 25 % on buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure;

                  3.

                  Notes with satisfaction that in its 2011 annual report, the Court of Auditors observed that no significant weaknesses had been identified in respect of the audited topics related to human resources and procurement for the Court of Justice;

                  4.

                  Welcomes the fact that on the basis of its audit work, the Court of Auditors concluded that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2011 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error;

                  5.

                  Expresses concern that the amount of pending cases in the General Court is still very high in 2011 (i.e. 1 300 pending cases in 2010 and 1 308 pending cases in 2011); stresses the importance of the rapid administration of justice for the smooth operation not only of the institutions but also of the economy because it increases legal certainty;

                  6.

                  Urges the Court of Justice to examine what type of organisational changes could lead to a reduction in the number of pending cases and also believes that the General Court needs human resources reinforcement; is of the opinion that the proposal for the creation of additional appointments of judges in the General Court — which is still under examination in the Council — could contribute to the moderation of that trend; calls on the General Court to assess whether there are any additional proposals not related to human resources to reverse this trend;

                  7.

                  Points out that the statistics concerning the Court of Justice’s activity in 2011 show, overall, a need to improve efficiency as regards the duration of proceedings; notes that as far as preliminary rulings are concerned, the average period taken to deal with a case is 16,4 months, compared to the figure for the year 2010 (16 months); notes that the average time taken to deal with direct actions and appeals in 2011 was 20,2 months and 15,4 months respectively (compared to 16,7 months and 14,3 months in 2010);

                  8.

                  Notes that the Civil Service Tribunal has a steady evolution of new and completed cases in recent years (i.e. 139 new cases in 2010 compared with 159 in 2011 and 129 completed cases in 2010 and 166 in 2011);

                  9.

                  Notes that the Court of Justice completed 550 cases in 2011, an appreciable increase compared with the previous year (522 cases completed in 2010), and that of those cases, 370 were dealt with by judgment and 180 gave rise to an order;

                  10.

                  Welcomes the e-Curia application, which came into operation in November 2011, enabling procedural documents to be lodged and notified electronically; notes with satisfaction that this application has contributed, as far as the Court of Justice is concerned, to a 25 % decrease in the use of paper between 2011 and 2012 and to savings of EUR 150 000;

                  11.

                  Stresses that e-Curia must, in due course, make it possible to do away with a great proportion of exchanges of correspondence and with the scanning of documents coming in and going out, and enable the optimisation of internal work flows; asks Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control to be given an accurate description of costs relating to the creation, maintenance and updating of the e-Curia application;

                  12.

                  Asks to be informed of the measures taken to resolve informatics breakdowns which can affect the e-Curia performance;

                  13.

                  Considers very positive that by the end of 2012, 14 Member States, two European Free Trade Association countries and five European institutions (in particular Parliament, the Council and the Commission) were active users of e-Curia;

                  14.

                  Welcomes the development and improvement of the integrated management system SAP which was established in 2008 on an interinstitutional basis by the Council, the Court of Auditors and the Court of Justice, and which forms the essential instrument for handling all financial and budgetary transactions of the Court of Justice; considers, therefore, that it is important to assure the smooth functioning of the SAP;

                  15.

                  Supports the initiative taken by the Court of Justice to reform its Statute and Rules of Procedure in light of the challenges it faces in connection with the increased number of cases; notes that various changes agreed by the legislators have already entered into force and are being implemented; hopes that further urgent structural measures, allowing in particular for the appointment of additional judges at the General Court, will be adopted in 2013;

                  16.

                  Notes with satisfaction the creation of a new search engine for consulting case law and the availability of the catalogue of the Court of Justice’s library online in order to bring citizens closer to the Court of Justice as a Union institution;

                  17.

                  Takes note of the modification of the Court of Justice’s administrative structure with the creation of a Directorate of Protocol and Information; expects that the annual activity report 2012 gives a detailed description of the benefits that the change has brought for the Court of Justice’s performance;

                  18.

                  Finds the engagement of the Court of Justice in holding a collection of works of art representative of the Union’s artistic heritage an ambitious project requiring specialised resources; invites the Court of Justice to explain how this project articulates with the traditional activities of the Court of Justice; takes note that in 2012, the Court of Justice paid EUR 7 500 to insure a collection valued at EUR 2 400 000;

                  19.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Justice allowed 5 % of its permanent interpreters to add another working language to their language combinations in 2011; highlights that this was possible due to intensive language training;

                  20.

                  Notes that the number of hearings and other meetings with interpretation continue to grow in 2011, which was mainly attributable to enlargement and the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon;

                  21.

                  Recognises that interinstitutional cooperation in regard to the recruitment of interpreters represents considerable savings for the Court of Justice;

                  22.

                  Takes note of the new activities in 2011 of the Directorate-General for Infrastructure and asks that the Court of Justice give further information to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the building project for the fifth extension to the Court of Justice’s buildings;

                  23.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Justice has prepared such a thorough and detailed annual activity report and has included in it in-depth information on its human resources management, as requested by Parliament.

         (1)  OJ L 68, 15.3.2011.

         (2)  OJ C 348, 14.11.2012, p. 1.

         (3)  OJ C 344, 12.11.2012, p. 1.

         (4)  OJ C 348, 14.11.2012, p. 130.

         (5)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

         (6)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.


title: Council Decision of 30 June 1986 reallocating the unexpended balance of the resources set aside under the fifth EDF for the stabilization of the export earnings of the overseas countries and territories

text:
No L 175 / 112                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                   1.7.86
                                                     COUNCIL DECISION
                                                         of 30 June 1986
                 reallocating the unexpended balance of the resources set aside under the fifth EDF for
                        the stabilization of the export earnings of the overseas countries and territories
                                                          (86/285 /EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                             and territories, as allocated by the Council under
                                                                     Decision 80/ 1186/EEC, should be increased,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community,                                                  HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
Having regard to Council Decision 80/ 1186/EEC of 16                                          Article 1
December 1980 (*) on the association of the overseas
countries and territories, hereinafter referred to as                1.    The balance allocated under the. fifth EDF for the
'countries and territories', with the European Economic              implementation of the system to ensure the stabilization
Community, and in particular Article 32 thereof,                     of earnings by the countries and territories from exports
                                                                     shall be added to the funds earmarked for the financing
Having regard to the Internal Agreement on the                       of projects and programmes under the fifth EDF.
financing and administration of Community aid, signed
in Brussels on 20 November 1979, hereinafter referred to             2.    The balance referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
                                                                     allocated as follows :
as the 'Internal Agreement', and in particular Article 7
thereof,                                                             — countries and territories coming under the
                                                                         responsibility of the French Republic : 1 100 000
Having regard to the proposal presented by the                           ECU,
Commission,
                                                                     — countries and territories coming under the
Whereas, pursuant to the Decision referred to above,                     responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands :
and as a result of the reallocation of previous                          1 100 000 ECU,
unexpended balances, the sum of 13 587 997 ECU,,had                  — countries and territories coming under the
been made available to the countries and territories for
                                                                         responsibility of the United Kingdom : 1 542 944
the implementation of the system to ensure the stabil                   ECU.
ization of earnings by the countries and territories from
exports to the Community of the products listed in the                                        Article 2
said Decision ;
                                                                     This Decision shall take effect on the day following its
Whereas, now that the deadline laid down for the                     publication in the Official Journal of the European
submission of requests for transfers has passed, there is             Communities.
an unexpended balance of 3 742 944 ECU ; whereas the
Council should decide upon its use ;
                                                                     Done at Luxembourg, 30 June 1986.
Whereas this balance should remain allocated to the
countries and territories ; whereas the sum earmarked for                                                  For the Council
the stabilization of export earnings should not be                                                           The President
increased but whereas the funds for financing
development projects and programmes in the countries                                                       N. SMIT-KROES
 0) OJ No L 361 , 31 . 12. 1980, p. 1 .


title: 2005/446/EC: Decision of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 30 May 2005 setting the deadline for the commitment of the funds of the 9th European Development Fund (EDF)

text:
               18.6.2005

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 156/19

      DECISION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

   of 30 May 2005
   setting the deadline for the commitment of the funds of the 9th European Development Fund (EDF)
   (2005/446/EC)
   THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (1), hereinafter referred to as the ‘Partnership Agreement’,
   Having regard to the Internal Agreement between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of community aid under the financial protocol to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (2), hereinafter referred to as the ‘Internal Agreement’, and in particular Article 2(4) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Point 5 of Annex I (Financial Protocol) of the Partnership Agreement provides that the overall amount of the Financial Protocol, supplemented by the balances transferred from previous EDFs, covers the period 2000 to 2007.

               (2)

               Point 7 of the said Annex and Article 2(3) of the Internal Agreement provide for an assessment of the degree to which the funds have been committed and disbursed as a basis for evaluating the need for new resources after the expiry of the existing Financial Protocol.

               (3)

               The EU Declaration on the Financial Protocol, attached as Declaration XVIII to the Partnership Agreement, specifies that, in evaluating the need for new resources, full account should also be taken of the date beyond which the funds of the 9th EDF will no longer be committed.

               (4)

               It is therefore necessary, according to Article 2(4) of the Internal Agreement, to set, before the expiry of the 9th EDF, the date, which could be reviewed if need be, beyond which the funds of the 9th EDF may no longer be committed,

         HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The date beyond which the funds of the 9th EDF managed by the Commission, the interest subsidies managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the revenue accruing from the interest on these appropriations will not be committed, shall be set at 31 December 2007. This date could be reviewed if need be.
   Article 2
   The amount allocated to finance the Investment Facility as a revolving fund, and managed by the EIB, shall not be affected by this Decision.
   Article 3
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 30 May 2005.

            On behalf of the Governments of the Member States

            The President

         F. BODEN

      (1)  OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 2/2004 of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers (OJ L 297, 22.9.2004, p. 18).

      (2)  OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 355.


Important legal notice

|

52007BP0108(01)

1. European Parliament decision of 24 April 2007 on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section V - Court of Auditors (C6-0468/2006 - 2006/2074(DEC))

Official Journal 074 E , 20/03/2008 P. 0163 - 00164

		1.European Parliament decision of 24 April 2007 on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section V — Court of Auditors (C6-0468/2006 — 2006/2074(DEC))The European Parliament,- having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 [1],- having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Communities for the financial year 2005 — Volume I (C6-0468/2006) [2],- having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on implementation of the budget for the financial year 2005 and the Court of Auditors' special reports, together with the audited institutions' replies [3],- having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty [4],- having regard to Articles 272(10), 274, 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,- having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities [5], and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,- having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0107/2007),1. Grants the Court of Auditors' Secretary-General discharge for the implementation of the Court of Auditors budget for the financial year 2005;2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below;3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).[1] OJ L 60, 8.3.2005.[2] OJ C 264, 31.10.2006, p. 1.[3] OJ C 263, 31.10.2006, p. 1.[4] OJ C 263, 31.10.2006, p. 10.[5] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1).--------------------------------------------------