title: Commission Decision of 31 July 1975 to take no action on tenders submitted for 31 July 1975 in response to the invitation to tender issued in Regulation (EEC) No 1841/75

text:
No L 228 / 28                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     29 . 8 . 75
                                                      COMMISSION DECISION
                                                             of 31 July 1975
                to take no action on tenders submitted for 31 July 1975 in response to the invita
                                    tion to tender issued in Regulation ( EEC) No 1841 /75
                                                               (75/ 506/ EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN                                            67/ EEC, or to fix a minimum export levy, taking
COMMUNITIES,                                                              account in particular of the criteria laid down in
                                                                          Article 3(1 ) (b) and (d) of Regulation (EEC) No
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                     1968 / 73 , or to discontinue the invitation to tender ;
Economic Community ;
                                                                          Whereas      none   of  the  tenders    submitted    make    it
Having regard to Council Regulation No 120/                               possible, given the present market situation for the
67/ EEC (') of 13 June 1967 on the common organiza                       cereal in question , to fix a maximum refund in accor
tion of the market in cereals, as last amended by Regu                   dance with the criteria laid down in Articles 2 and 3
lation ( EEC) No 665/75 (2) ;                                             of Regulation No 139/ 67/ EEC or a minimun levy in
                                                                          accordance     with   the  criteria  laid  down   in   Article
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No
1 968 / 73 (3) of 19 July 1973 laying down general rules                  3(1 ) (b) and (d) of Regulation ( EEC) No 1968 /73 ;
                                                                          whereas the invitation to tender should therefore be
to be applied in the event of the cereals market being
disturbed, as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No                         discontinued ;
86/75 (4 ), and in particular Article 4 (2) thereof ;                     Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision
Having regard to Council Regulation No 139/                               are in accordance with the Opinion of the Manage
67/ EEC (5 ) of 21 June 1967 laying down general rules                    ment Committee for Cereals,
for granting export refunds on cereals and criteria for
fixing the amount of such refunds, as last amended by                     HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Regulation ( EEC) No 87/75 (6), and in particular
Article 4a thereof ;                                                                                Article 1
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EEC) No                           No action shall be taken on the tenders submitted for
 1841 /75 (7) of 17 July 1975 on an invitation to tender                  31 July 1975 in response to the invitation to tender
for the levy and/or the refund for the export of                          for the export levy and/or refund on common wheat
common        wheat     to    the   countries     of Zone   I   and
                                                                          referred to in Regulation ( EEC) No 1841 /75 .
Portugal , and in particular Article 10(1 ) thereof ;
Whereas an invitation to tender for the export levy                                                  Article 2
and / or refund on common wheat was issued under
                                                                          This Decision is addressed to the Member States .
Regulation (EEC) No 1841 /75 ;
Whereas Article           10(1 ) of Regulation (EEC) No
  1841 /75 allows the Commission to decide , in accor                    Done at Brussels, 31 July 1975 .
dance with the procedure laid down in Article 26 of
                                                                                For the Commission
 Regulation No 120 /67/ EEC, and on the basis of
tenders submitted , either to fix a maximum export                                                        P.J. LARDINOIS
 refund, taking account in particular of the criteria laid
down in Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation No 139 /                                                     Member of the Commission
(')   O)  No  117, 19 . 6 . 1967, p . 2269 / 67 .
(-')  OJ  No  L 72, 20 . 3 . 1975, p. 14 .
(')   0|  No  L 201 , 21 . 7 . 1973 , p. 10 .
(■♦)  OJ  No  L 11 , 16 . 1 . 1 975, p. 2 .
(s)   O)  No  125, 26 . 6 . 1967, p. 2453 / 67
(h) O'l No L 11 , 16 . 1 . 1975, p. 3 .
 (•") O'l No L 187, IX . 7 . 1975, p. 20 .


title: 2011/572/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 10 May 2011 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009#Resolution of the European Parliament of 10 May 2011 with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009

text:
               27.9.2011

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 250/140

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 10 May 2011
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009
   (2011/572/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 15 February 2011 (05892/2011 — C7-0052/2011),

               —

               having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 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 (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency, and in particular Article 60 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (4), and in particular Article 94 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 Transport and Tourism (A7-0123/2011),

               1.

               Grants the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2009;

               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 Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Jerzy BUZEK

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 338, 14.12.2010, p. 22.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 79, 19.3.2008, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

      RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
      of 10 May 2011
      with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009,

                  —

                  having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2009, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 15 February 2011 (05892/2011 — C7-0052/2011),

                  —

                  having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 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 (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency, and in particular Article 60 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (4), and in particular Article 94 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 Transport and Tourism (A7-0123/2011),

                  A.

                  whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts for the financial year 2009 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

                  B.

                  whereas on 5 May 2010 Parliament granted the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency discharge for implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2008 (5), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:

                              —

                              regretted that in 2008 the system of annual flat fees generated income that was significantly above the actual costs of the services rendered and called upon the Agency to put forward, as a matter of urgency, a detailed plan to guarantee that this does not recur in future years,

                              —

                              drew attention to the fact that the Agency carried forward to 2009 a high level of appropriations for operating expenditure (more than EUR 53 000 000, which was 79 % of the operating appropriations),

                              —

                              stressed how important it was for the Agency to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements,

                              —

                              expressed concern about the lack of coordination between the needs, staff and financial regulation of the Agency and, in particular, that staff selection procedures made it difficult to recruit appropriately qualified personnel,

                  C.

                  whereas the budget of the Agency for 2009 was EUR 92 500 000, which is an increase of 6 % on the financial year 2008; whereas the reserve for fees and charges activities for 2009 was EUR 29 500 000,

                  1.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors found the Agency’s accounts for 2009 to be reliable and the underlying transactions to be, in all material respects, legal and regular;

         Substantial increase of the budget

                  2.

                  Notes that the Agency’s budget increased by 28 % from 2007 to 2009;

                  3.

                  Notes that the Agency received EUR 31 540 000 in commitment appropriations and EUR 29 180 000 in payment appropriations from the 2009 Union budget;

                  4.

                  Notes, in addition, that the Agency’s overall budget increased by almost 20 % from EUR 102 000 000 to EUR 122 000 000 from 2008 to 2009 and that staff numbers rose from 440 to 509;

         Performance

                  5.

                  Stresses, once more, how important it is for the Agency to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements; notes the reply from the Agency, which gives an assurance that it has improved its work programme for 2010, establishing objectives and key performance indicators and a better resource planning system; calls, in addition, on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in a concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results;

                  6.

                  Urges the Agency to implement an activity-based structure for the operational budget in order to establish a clear link between the work programme and the financial forecasts and improve performance monitoring and reporting; notes that the Agency prepares a multiannual plan every year, discussed with all stakeholders and approved by the Management Board, in which the budget per activity is presented; acknowledges the view of the Court of Auditors that the structure of the Agency’s operational budget (Title III) remained partially input-related and that the budget amendments were made without updating the work programme, even when they had a significant impact on the allocation of human and financial resources;

                  7.

                  Calls once more on the Agency to set out, in a table to be annexed to the Court of Auditors’ next report, a comparison of the operations that were carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and during the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess more effectively the Agency’s performance from one year to the next;

         Carry-over of appropriations

                  8.

                  Draws attention to the fact that once again the Agency carried forward to 2010 a high level of appropriations for operating expenditure (65 % from Title III — Operational activities — when assigned revenues are excluded from the carryovers, the percentage of commitments carried forward is 13 %); stresses that this is at odds with the principle of annuality; acknowledges that a certain uncertainty about the level of fees and charges is inherent in the Agency’s initial business cycle because of the multiannuality of the projects; stresses, in addition, that this situation reveals weaknesses in the Agency’s resource planning system resulting from a delay in signing the service contract; calls, accordingly, for more accurate and timely management of contracts and for far more realistic forecasts to be presented to Parliament and the Commission for the next financial year, allowing sufficient time for these to be analysed;

                  9.

                  Requests that a report be attached to each year’s budget on the unspent appropriations carried over from previous years, explaining why those monies have not been used and how and when they will be used;

         Fees and charges levied by the Agency

                  10.

                  Notes that 2009 was the second full year of implementation of certification tasks under Commission Regulation (EC) No 593/2007 of 31 May 2007 on the fees and charges levied by the European Aviation Safety Agency (6);

                  11.

                  Calls once more on the Agency to improve its monitoring system for certification projects to make sure that, over the entire project duration, the fees levied do not deviate significantly from the actual cost;

                  12.

                  Calls on the Agency, specifically, to correctly estimate, for the establishment of the 2010 financial statements, the accrued expenditure related to the management of certification tasks outsourced to national aviation authorities; notes, in fact, that the Court of Auditors reported that the related accrued expenditure at the year end was estimated by assuming an overall percentage of completion not justified by historical experience; acknowledges, nevertheless, the Agency’s intention to introduce a ‘flat-rate agreement’ for certain services (minor changes, minor repairs, standard Supplemental Type Certificates, organisations oversight) to provide for the availability of reliable project costs at the time a service is outsourced;

         Human resources

                  13.

                  Notes, in addition, deficiencies in staff selection procedures which put at risk the transparency of these procedures; acknowledges, that the Court of Auditors reported in respect of these procedures that the decisions by the selection boards were insufficiently justified and documented since thresholds for being invited to interview or put on the reserve list were not defined in advance and minutes were missing;

                  14.

                  Urges the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the actions taken to redress this situation and make the selection procedures of its experts/staff more transparent; stresses that the impact of these deficiencies is even more crucial when considering that the Agency has the objectives of issuing certification specifications, taking decisions regarding airworthiness and environmental certification and conducting standardisation inspections of the competent authorities in the Member States;

         Internal audit

                  15.

                  Acknowledges that the Agency has implemented 20 out of the 26 recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) since 2006;

                  16.

                  Acknowledges that the Agency has sent the discharge authority a report drawn up by its Executive Director summarising the content of the IAS recommendation as provided for in Article 72(5) of the framework Financial Regulation; nevertheless, calls on the Executive Director of the Agency to provide specific information on the content of all open recommendations of the IAS in 2009;

                  17.

                  Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 10 May 2011 (7) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

         (1)  OJ C 338, 14.12.2010, p. 22.

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

         (3)  OJ L 79, 19.3.2008, p. 1.

         (4)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

         (5)  OJ L 252, 25.9.2010, p. 136.

         (6)  OJ L 140, 1.6.2007, p. 3.

         (7)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0163 (see page 269 of this Official Journal).


title: 2013/570/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 17 April 2013 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011#Resolution of the European Parliament of 17 April 2013 with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011

text:
               16.11.2013

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 308/209

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 17 April 2013
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011
   (2013/570/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

               —

               having regard to Article 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 (2), and in particular Article 185 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 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishing a European Chemicals Agency, and in particular Article 97 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 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 the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A7-0097/2013),

               1.

               Grants the Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’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 Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, 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 C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 73.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

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

      (4)  OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

      (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

      RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
      of 17 April 2013
      with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011,

                  —

                  having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2011, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

                  —

                  having regard to Article 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 (2), and in particular Article 185 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 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (4) of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Chemicals Agency, and in particular Article 97 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 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 the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A7-0097/2013),

                  A.

                  whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency (‘the Agency’) for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

                  B.

                  whereas on 10 May 2012, Parliament granted the Executive Director of the Agency discharge for implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2010 (6), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:

                              —

                              underlined that as the Agency works with non-dissociated credits in all its Titles, it is unrealistic to expect that all operations budgeted for one calendar year could both be committed and paid up within the same budgetary year, especially for project-type operational expenditure (e.g. IT systems developments),

                              —

                              called on the Agency to improve the planning of its human resources activities and projects at the time of establishing its Annual Work Programme,

                              —

                              welcomed the establishment by the Agency of a separate registration and submission unit, as well as a contingency task force,

                              —

                              called on the Agency to respect a stringent top down/bottom up methodology for reporting and clear guiding principles in order to define the relevant indicators and tools to be used,

                  C.

                  whereas according to the Court of Auditors’ report, the Agency’s overall budget for the financial year 2011 was of EUR 93 200 000 compared to EUR 75 500 000 in 2010, which represents an increase of 23,44 %,

                  D.

                  whereas during the financial year 2011, the Agency operated as a self-financed agency and did not receive any reimbursable subsidy from the Commission,

         Budgetary and financial management

                  1.

                  Acknowledges from the Agency’s 2011 annual activity report (AAR), that in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, the Agency is financed through fees paid by industry for registrations of chemical substances, and possibly by Union subsidy as referred to in Article 185 of the Financial Regulation;

                  2.

                  Takes note that in 2011, the Agency was effectively fully financed through fee income and did not receive any Union subsidy; notes, however, that the Agency was supported by the Union with an amount of only EUR 500 000 from the Commission (Directorate-General Environment) as contractual compensation for undertaking certain preparatory activities for the upcoming Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) on biocidal products;

                  3.

                  Notes that the initial budgetary payment appropriations for 2011, as concluded by the Management Board in December 2010, amounted to EUR 99 800 000;

                  4.

                  Notes from the AAR that in 2010, the Agency received a balancing subsidy of EUR 36 000 000 registered as a pre-financing liability from the Commission; notes, moreover, that the amount was entirely reimbursed to the Commission in 2011 as the foreseen high level of own fee income of the Agency in 2011 was reached;

                  5.

                  Acknowledges that in 2011, the Management Board adopted two amending budgets, as follows:

                              —

                              the first amending budget increased the revenue with the surplus resulting from 2010 by EUR 280 565 807,25; notes that it also entered the amount of EUR 500 000 on earmarked revenue for the service contract established between the Agency and DG Environment for the preparatory work for Regulation (EU) No 528/2012;

                              —

                              the second amending budget decreased the budget expenditure by EUR 7 142 500 (7 %);

                  6.

                  Observes from the AAR that the budget execution rate for 2011 was 96 %;

         Commitments and payments

                  7.

                  Acknowledges from the AAR that the total amount of carry-over of commitment and payment appropriations was of EUR 14 421 314,76, representing 16,2 % of the established commitments; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the actions taken to address that deficiency as the level of carry-over is excessive and at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality;

                  8.

                  Takes note from the AAR that the adopted budget for Title I in 2011(EUR 54 508 000) was increased via transfers from Title III by 4,25 % (EUR 2 316 781,90), out of which EUR 2 005 138,33 was related to expenditure for staffing; notes, moreover, that as a result, the execution rate for Title I reached 99,16 %;

                  9.

                  Notes that a total amount of EUR 1 758 060,98 was cancelled from the total amount of EUR 12 254 740,59 of commitment and payment appropriations that were carried over from the budget of 2010;

                  10.

                  Welcomes the Agency’s efforts in improving the planning and the monitoring of resources and the fact that it introduced Agency-wide guidelines to foster the principle of annuality; acknowledges, in particular, that the Agency managed to reduce the carry-over rate from 29 % in 2009 to 17 % in 2010 and to 16,2 % in 2011;

         Supervisory and control systems

                  11.

                  Acknowledges from the Court of Auditors’ report that the results of the latest physical inventory carried out in 2011 show several shortcomings, notably as regards the low proportion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) assets checked in terms of value; notes, moreover, that no formal policy on the inventory of fixed assets is in place; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the actions taken to implement a formal policy on the inventory of fixed assets;

                  12.

                  Notes that the Agency records costs related to ICT projects that are already in use as expenditure instead of recognising them as fixed assets; notes furthermore that the policy is expected to be formalised and formally approved in the first quarter of 2013; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the state of play of that policy;

         Recruitment procedures

                  13.

                  Notes that the Court of Auditors identified shortcomings in the recruitment procedures; calls, therefore, on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the actions taken to address that deficiency; considers that some of the provisions of the Staff Regulations may present a considerable administrative burden; therefore encourages the Commission to allow for a certain degree of simplification under Article 110 of the Staff Regulations in regard to the agencies;

                  14.

                  Notes from the AAR that the Agency continued to attract highly qualified personnel, with 88 new staff recruited in 2011, which resulted in the completion of 98 % of the Agency’s establishment plan;

                  15.

                  Acknowledges that as of 31 December 2011, the total number of positions occupied by temporary agents positions was 441 out of 456 available posts and 101 contract agents and seconded national experts were employed by the end of 2011; notes that the total number of positions occupied by contract agents was 62 and the total number of other staff was 46 (seconded national experts, interims, trainees);

                  16.

                  Monitors closely the improved recruitment and selection procedures which have been put into place in the last year; considers the full application of rules and procedures a necessity to ensure the best reputation of the Agency;

         Conflict of interest

                  17.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors carried out an audit aimed at evaluating the policies and procedures for the management of conflict of interest situations for four European agencies, including the Agency, and presented the results of the audit in the Court of Auditors’ Special Report No 15/2012;

                  18.

                  Regrets that according to the findings of the Court of Auditors, at the time of completion of the field work (October 2011), the Agency did not adequately manage situations involving conflicts of interest; notes, moreover, that the Agency’s policies for managing conflict of interest were incomplete, declarations of interest were neither screened nor published but sealed and training on conflict of interest was absent;

                  19.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Agency is to take a number of steps following the Court of Auditors’ audit, in particular:

                              —

                              an Agency policy for the management of potential conflicts of interest, adopted in September 2011,

                              —

                              a new, more detailed template for declarations of interest,

                              —

                              a new guidance for filling in declarations of interests, adopted in November 2011,

                              —

                              publication of declarations of interest of the Agency’s managers on its website since January 2012,

                              —

                              conflicts of interest advisory committee established in June 2012, with a constituent meeting in August 2012,

                              —

                              a code of conduct for the Management Board members, adopted in March 2012,

                              —

                              provisional eligibility criteria for the bodies of the Agency, adopted in September 2012,

                              —

                              implementing rules on prevention of conflicts of interest and on processing information on potential conflicts of interest of the Agency staff, adopted in June 2012 and October 2012 respectively,

                              —

                              guidance for managers on the prevention of conflicts of interest, including concrete assessment criteria, adopted in November 2012,

                              —

                              revised guidelines on gifts and hospitality for staff, adopted in December 2012;

                        urges the Agency to continue to act on the recommendations made by the Court of Auditors in order to avoid any conflict of interests among its various governing and operational structures and to report to the discharge authority on the implementation of the abovementioned policies and procedures, as well as on any further developments as regards management of conflict of interest;

                  20.

                  Calls on the Agency to introduce in its annual activity reports a special section describing the actions taken to prevent and manage conflicts of interest, which shall include, inter alia:

                              —

                              the number of conflicts of interest cases verified,

                              —

                              the number of revolving door cases,

                              —

                              the measures taken in each category of cases,

                              —

                              the number of breach of trust procedures launched and their outcomes,

                              —

                              the sanctions applied;

                  21.

                  Points out that all Management Board members’ declarations of interest are available on the Agency’s website, yet not all curriculum vitae of the Management Board members are available; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the progress made on this matter as soon as possible;

                  22.

                  Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its Resolution of 17 April 2013 (8) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

         (1)  OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 73.

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

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

         (4)  OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

         (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

         (6)  OJ L 286, 17.10.2012, p. 192.

         (7)  OJ L 167, 27.6.2012, p. 1.

         (8)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0134 (See page 374 of this Official Journal).