PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge\nprocedure.
\nAnalysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions:\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: this Commission document sets out the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information\npresented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU,\nin accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation\napplicable to the EU's General Budget, including the European\nOmbudsman.
\nThe document helps to bring insight into the EU budget\nmechanism and the way in which the budget has been managed and\nspent in 2009. It recalls that European Union's operational\nexpenditure covers the various headings of the financial framework\nand takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out\nand managed.
\nIn accordance with the Financial Regulation, the\nCommission implements the general budget using the following\nmethods:
\n\n· \ndirect centralised management: direct implementation of the budget by the\nCommission services;
\n\n· \nindirect centralised\nmanagement: the Commission confers\ntasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or\nnational law, such as the EU agencies of public law or with public\nservice missions;
\n\n· \ndecentralised management: the Commission delegates certain tasks for\nimplementation of the budget to third countries;
\n\n· \nshared management: under this method of management budget\nimplementation tasks are delegated to Member States. The majority\nof the expenditure falls under this mode \"Shared Management\"\ninvolving the delegation of tasks to Member States, covering such\nareas as agricultural spending and Structural Actions;
\n\n· \njoint management: under this method, the Commission entrusts certain\nimplementation tasks to an international organisation.
\nThe document also presents the different financial\nactors involved in the budget process (accounting officers,\ninternal officers and authorising officers) and recalls their\nrespective roles in the context of the tasks of sound financial\nmanagement.
\nAmongst the other legal elements relating to the\nimplementation of the EU budget presented in this document, the\npaper focuses on the following issues:
\n\n· \nthe way in which EU public expenditure is\ncommitted and spent;
\n\n· \nthe means of recovery following irregularities\ndetected;
\n\n· \nthe modus operandi of the accounting\nsystem:
\n\n· \nthe audit process followed by the European\nParliament's granting of the discharge.
\nTo recall, the final control is the discharge of the\nbudget for a given financial year. The discharge represents the\npolitical aspect of the external control of budget implementation\nand is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a\nCouncil recommendation, \"releases\" the Commission from its\nresponsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end\nof that budget's existence.
\nLastly, the document presents a series of tables and\ndetailed technical indicators on (i) the balance sheet; (ii) the\neconomic outturn account; (iii) cashflow tables; (iv) technical\nannexes concerning the financial statements.
\nImplementation of\nappropriations under Section VIII of the budget for the financial\nyear 2009: the document comprises a\nseries of detailed tables, the most important concerning the\nimplementation of the budget. As regards the European Ombudsman's\nexpenditure, the table on the financial and budgetary\nimplementation of this institution shows the following:
\nA) Table showing the commitment\nappropriations:
\n\n· \nCommitments: EUR 8 million (91.98% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCancelled: EUR 1 million
\nB) Table showing the\nimplementation of payments:
\n\n· \nPayments: EUR 8 million (84.57% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCarry-overs to 2010: EUR 1 million (7.75% of\nauthorised appropriations)
\n\n· \nCancellations: EUR 1 million.
\nLastly, the annexes detail specific expenditure of the\ninstitutions, in particular:
\n\n· \npensions: an\nadministrative budget heading includes the pension obligations\ntowards the Members and former members of the European\nOmbudsman;
\n\n· \njoint sickness insurance\nscheme: a valuation is made for the\nestimated liability that the EU has regarding its contributions to\nthe Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme in relation to its retired\nstaff. This gross liability has been valued at EUR 3 535 million.\nThe calculations take into account active officials and pensioners\nfrom the various EU Institutions and Agencies, and their families,\nand active Members and pensioners from the European\nOmbudsman.
\nFor further details on the budgetary\nimplementation of expenditure of Section VIII of the Budget\n(European Ombudsman) please refer to the 2009\nAnnual Activity Report. This report outlines the main administrative objectives of the European\nOmbudsman. The main challenges in 2009 were:
\n· \nre-election of the Ombudsman\nfor a new mandate of 5 years (Nikiforos\nDIAMANDOUROS);
\n· \ntaking into account of the effects of the Treaty\nof Lisbon on the institution in order to strengthen transparency\nand sound administration of the EU institutions and\nbodies;
\n· \nprospective study of the issues which might be\nraised by the 'future citizens' initiative \"under the Treaty of\nLisbon;
\n· \nenhancing initiatives (from institutions and\nbodies of the EU) to further improve the results in terms of good\nadministration;
\n· \nenhancing the objectives of awareness and\ncommunication among citizens (to improve media coverage of the\nOmbudsman).
\nThe\nreport gives an overview of the results achieved as against the\nobjectives set for 2009.
\nPURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge\nprocedure.
\nAnalysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions:\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: this Commission document sets out the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information\npresented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU,\nin accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation\napplicable to the EU's General Budget, including the European\nOmbudsman.
\nThe document helps to bring insight into the EU budget\nmechanism and the way in which the budget has been managed and\nspent in 2009. It recalls that European Union's operational\nexpenditure covers the various headings of the financial framework\nand takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out\nand managed.
\nIn accordance with the Financial Regulation, the\nCommission implements the general budget using the following\nmethods:
\n\n· \ndirect centralised management: direct implementation of the budget by the\nCommission services;
\n\n· \nindirect centralised\nmanagement: the Commission confers\ntasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or\nnational law, such as the EU agencies of public law or with public\nservice missions;
\n\n· \ndecentralised management: the Commission delegates certain tasks for\nimplementation of the budget to third countries;
\n\n· \nshared management: under this method of management budget\nimplementation tasks are delegated to Member States. The majority\nof the expenditure falls under this mode \"Shared Management\"\ninvolving the delegation of tasks to Member States, covering such\nareas as agricultural spending and Structural Actions;
\n\n· \njoint management: under this method, the Commission entrusts certain\nimplementation tasks to an international organisation.
\nThe document also presents the different financial\nactors involved in the budget process (accounting officers,\ninternal officers and authorising officers) and recalls their\nrespective roles in the context of the tasks of sound financial\nmanagement.
\nAmongst the other legal elements relating to the\nimplementation of the EU budget presented in this document, the\npaper focuses on the following issues:
\n\n· \nthe way in which EU public expenditure is\ncommitted and spent;
\n\n· \nthe means of recovery following irregularities\ndetected;
\n\n· \nthe modus operandi of the accounting\nsystem:
\n\n· \nthe audit process followed by the European\nParliament's granting of the discharge.
\nTo recall, the final control is the discharge of the\nbudget for a given financial year. The discharge represents the\npolitical aspect of the external control of budget implementation\nand is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a\nCouncil recommendation, \"releases\" the Commission from its\nresponsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end\nof that budget's existence.
\nLastly, the document presents a series of tables and\ndetailed technical indicators on (i) the balance sheet; (ii) the\neconomic outturn account; (iii) cashflow tables; (iv) technical\nannexes concerning the financial statements.
\nImplementation of\nappropriations under Section VIII of the budget for the financial\nyear 2009: the document comprises a\nseries of detailed tables, the most important concerning the\nimplementation of the budget. As regards the European Ombudsman's\nexpenditure, the table on the financial and budgetary\nimplementation of this institution shows the following:
\nA) Table showing the commitment\nappropriations:
\n\n· \nCommitments: EUR 8 million (91.98% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCancelled: EUR 1 million
\nB) Table showing the\nimplementation of payments:
\n\n· \nPayments: EUR 8 million (84.57% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCarry-overs to 2010: EUR 1 million (7.75% of\nauthorised appropriations)
\n\n· \nCancellations: EUR 1 million.
\nLastly, the annexes detail specific expenditure of the\ninstitutions, in particular:
\n\n· \npensions: an\nadministrative budget heading includes the pension obligations\ntowards the Members and former members of the European\nOmbudsman;
\n\n· \njoint sickness insurance\nscheme: a valuation is made for the\nestimated liability that the EU has regarding its contributions to\nthe Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme in relation to its retired\nstaff. This gross liability has been valued at EUR 3 535 million.\nThe calculations take into account active officials and pensioners\nfrom the various EU Institutions and Agencies, and their families,\nand active Members and pensioners from the European\nOmbudsman.
\nFor further details on the budgetary\nimplementation of expenditure of Section VIII of the Budget\n(European Ombudsman) please refer to the 2009\nAnnual Activity Report. This report outlines the main administrative objectives of the European\nOmbudsman. The main challenges in 2009 were:
\n· \nre-election of the Ombudsman\nfor a new mandate of 5 years (Nikiforos\nDIAMANDOUROS);
\n· \ntaking into account of the effects of the Treaty\nof Lisbon on the institution in order to strengthen transparency\nand sound administration of the EU institutions and\nbodies;
\n· \nprospective study of the issues which might be\nraised by the 'future citizens' initiative \"under the Treaty of\nLisbon;
\n· \nenhancing initiatives (from institutions and\nbodies of the EU) to further improve the results in terms of good\nadministration;
\n· \nenhancing the objectives of awareness and\ncommunication among citizens (to improve media coverage of the\nOmbudsman).
\nThe\nreport gives an overview of the results achieved as against the\nobjectives set for 2009.
\nThe Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report\nby Crescenzio RIVELLINI (EPP, IT) recommending the European\nParliament to grant the European Ombudsman discharge in respect of\nthe implementation of its budget for the financial year\n2009.
\nThe committee cites that in 2009 the European\nOmbudsman had commitment appropriations available amounting to a\ntotal of EUR 9 million (as in 2008), with a utilisation rate\nof 91.98%, lower than the average of the other institutions\n(97.69%).
\nMembers note that the Court of Auditors performed an\nin-depth assessment of supervisory and control systems in the Court\nof Justice, the Ombudsman and the European Data Protection\nSupervisor which included the examination of an additional sample\nof transactions involving payments relating to human resources and\nto other administrative expenditure. As far as the European\nOmbudsman is concerned, it would appear that it had not adopted\ngeneral provisions on the procedures for recruitment of temporary\nstaff, although the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of\nthe European Union requires that each institution shall have done\nso. This omission may affect a majority of the Ombudsman's staff,\nas 47 out of 63 posts granted under the 2009 budget were temporary\nposts. Members welcome the fact that the Ombudsman has instructed\nhis services to draft provisions on the procedures for recruitment\nof temporary staff to be adopted in accordance with the observation\nof the Court of Auditors.
\nThey also note that in 2009:
\nLastly, Members take note of the audits carried out by\nthe Internal Audit Service (IAS), in particular its annual report,\nand of the follow up of the IAS reviews of management and\ncontrol system for missions and payroll areas, which concluded that\nall the actions contained in the reviews had been implemented. They\nstress that the audit of the processing of the payment requests has\nidentified several issues to be addressed by the management, and\ninvites the Ombudsman to follow that up in his next annual activity\nreport.
\nThe European Parliament\nadopted by 477 votes to 55, with 11 abstentions a decision on\ndischarge to be granted to the European Ombudsman in respect of the\nimplementation of its budget for the financial year\n2009.
\nFurthermore, Parliament\nadopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part\nof the decision to grant discharge. The resolution recalls that, in\n2009, the European Ombudsman had commitment appropriations\navailable amounting to a total of EUR 9 million (as in 2008), with\na utilisation rate of 91.98%, lower than the average of the other\ninstitutions (97.69%).
\nParliament notes that the\nCourt of Auditors performed an in-depth assessment of supervisory\nand control systems in the Court of Justice, the Ombudsman and the\nEuropean Data Protection Supervisor which included the examination\nof an additional sample of transactions involving payments relating\nto human resources and to other administrative expenditure. As far\nas the European Ombudsman is concerned, it would appear that it had\nnot adopted general provisions on the procedures for recruitment of\ntemporary staff, although the Conditions of Employment of Other\nServants of the European Union requires that each institution shall\nhave done so. This omission may affect a majority of the\nOmbudsman's staff, as 47 out of 63 posts granted under the 2009\nbudget were temporary posts. Members welcome the fact that the\nOmbudsman has instructed his services to draft provisions on the\nprocedures for recruitment of temporary staff to be adopted in\naccordance with the observation of the Court of\nAuditors.
\nParliament welcomes the\nfact that the Court did not make any other significant observations\nconcerning the Ombudsman and is pleased to note that the Ombudsman\nwas able to help with almost 77% of all complaints, and that he\ndealt with 70% of inquiries in less than one year,
\nLastly, Parliament notes\nthe audits carried out by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) and\nstresses that the audit of the processing of the payment requests\nidentified several issues to be addressed by the Ombudsman. It\nlooks forward to reading of the follow-up to this in the\nOmbudsman's next annual activity report.
\nPURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman\nfor the financial year 2009.
\nNON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2011/562/EU of the\nEuropean Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation\nof the European Union general budget for the financial year 2009,\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: with the present decision, the European\nParliament grants discharge to the Ombudsman for the implementation\nof its budget for the financial year 2009.
\nThis decision is in line with the European\nParliament's resolution adopted on 10 May 2011 and comprises a\nseries of observations that form an integral part of the discharge\ndecision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of\n10/05/2011).
\nA\nparallel decision, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of\nthis Institution's accounts.
\nPURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge\nprocedure.
\nAnalysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions:\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: this Commission document sets out the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information\npresented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU,\nin accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation\napplicable to the EU's General Budget, including the European\nOmbudsman.
\nThe document helps to bring insight into the EU budget\nmechanism and the way in which the budget has been managed and\nspent in 2009. It recalls that European Union's operational\nexpenditure covers the various headings of the financial framework\nand takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out\nand managed.
\nIn accordance with the Financial Regulation, the\nCommission implements the general budget using the following\nmethods:
\n\n· \ndirect centralised management: direct implementation of the budget by the\nCommission services;
\n\n· \nindirect centralised\nmanagement: the Commission confers\ntasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or\nnational law, such as the EU agencies of public law or with public\nservice missions;
\n\n· \ndecentralised management: the Commission delegates certain tasks for\nimplementation of the budget to third countries;
\n\n· \nshared management: under this method of management budget\nimplementation tasks are delegated to Member States. The majority\nof the expenditure falls under this mode \"Shared Management\"\ninvolving the delegation of tasks to Member States, covering such\nareas as agricultural spending and Structural Actions;
\n\n· \njoint management: under this method, the Commission entrusts certain\nimplementation tasks to an international organisation.
\nThe document also presents the different financial\nactors involved in the budget process (accounting officers,\ninternal officers and authorising officers) and recalls their\nrespective roles in the context of the tasks of sound financial\nmanagement.
\nAmongst the other legal elements relating to the\nimplementation of the EU budget presented in this document, the\npaper focuses on the following issues:
\n\n· \nthe way in which EU public expenditure is\ncommitted and spent;
\n\n· \nthe means of recovery following irregularities\ndetected;
\n\n· \nthe modus operandi of the accounting\nsystem:
\n\n· \nthe audit process followed by the European\nParliament's granting of the discharge.
\nTo recall, the final control is the discharge of the\nbudget for a given financial year. The discharge represents the\npolitical aspect of the external control of budget implementation\nand is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a\nCouncil recommendation, \"releases\" the Commission from its\nresponsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end\nof that budget's existence.
\nLastly, the document presents a series of tables and\ndetailed technical indicators on (i) the balance sheet; (ii) the\neconomic outturn account; (iii) cashflow tables; (iv) technical\nannexes concerning the financial statements.
\nImplementation of\nappropriations under Section VIII of the budget for the financial\nyear 2009: the document comprises a\nseries of detailed tables, the most important concerning the\nimplementation of the budget. As regards the European Ombudsman's\nexpenditure, the table on the financial and budgetary\nimplementation of this institution shows the following:
\nA) Table showing the commitment\nappropriations:
\n\n· \nCommitments: EUR 8 million (91.98% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCancelled: EUR 1 million
\nB) Table showing the\nimplementation of payments:
\n\n· \nPayments: EUR 8 million (84.57% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCarry-overs to 2010: EUR 1 million (7.75% of\nauthorised appropriations)
\n\n· \nCancellations: EUR 1 million.
\nLastly, the annexes detail specific expenditure of the\ninstitutions, in particular:
\n\n· \npensions: an\nadministrative budget heading includes the pension obligations\ntowards the Members and former members of the European\nOmbudsman;
\n\n· \njoint sickness insurance\nscheme: a valuation is made for the\nestimated liability that the EU has regarding its contributions to\nthe Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme in relation to its retired\nstaff. This gross liability has been valued at EUR 3 535 million.\nThe calculations take into account active officials and pensioners\nfrom the various EU Institutions and Agencies, and their families,\nand active Members and pensioners from the European\nOmbudsman.
\nFor further details on the budgetary\nimplementation of expenditure of Section VIII of the Budget\n(European Ombudsman) please refer to the 2009\nAnnual Activity Report. This report outlines the main administrative objectives of the European\nOmbudsman. The main challenges in 2009 were:
\n· \nre-election of the Ombudsman\nfor a new mandate of 5 years (Nikiforos\nDIAMANDOUROS);
\n· \ntaking into account of the effects of the Treaty\nof Lisbon on the institution in order to strengthen transparency\nand sound administration of the EU institutions and\nbodies;
\n· \nprospective study of the issues which might be\nraised by the 'future citizens' initiative \"under the Treaty of\nLisbon;
\n· \nenhancing initiatives (from institutions and\nbodies of the EU) to further improve the results in terms of good\nadministration;
\n· \nenhancing the objectives of awareness and\ncommunication among citizens (to improve media coverage of the\nOmbudsman).
\nThe\nreport gives an overview of the results achieved as against the\nobjectives set for 2009.
\nPURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009, as part of the 2009 discharge\nprocedure.
\nAnalysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions:\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: this Commission document sets out the\nconsolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the\nfinancial year 2009 as prepared on the basis of the information\npresented by the institutions, organisations and bodies of the EU,\nin accordance with Article 129 (2) of the Financial Regulation\napplicable to the EU's General Budget, including the European\nOmbudsman.
\nThe document helps to bring insight into the EU budget\nmechanism and the way in which the budget has been managed and\nspent in 2009. It recalls that European Union's operational\nexpenditure covers the various headings of the financial framework\nand takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out\nand managed.
\nIn accordance with the Financial Regulation, the\nCommission implements the general budget using the following\nmethods:
\n\n· \ndirect centralised management: direct implementation of the budget by the\nCommission services;
\n\n· \nindirect centralised\nmanagement: the Commission confers\ntasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or\nnational law, such as the EU agencies of public law or with public\nservice missions;
\n\n· \ndecentralised management: the Commission delegates certain tasks for\nimplementation of the budget to third countries;
\n\n· \nshared management: under this method of management budget\nimplementation tasks are delegated to Member States. The majority\nof the expenditure falls under this mode \"Shared Management\"\ninvolving the delegation of tasks to Member States, covering such\nareas as agricultural spending and Structural Actions;
\n\n· \njoint management: under this method, the Commission entrusts certain\nimplementation tasks to an international organisation.
\nThe document also presents the different financial\nactors involved in the budget process (accounting officers,\ninternal officers and authorising officers) and recalls their\nrespective roles in the context of the tasks of sound financial\nmanagement.
\nAmongst the other legal elements relating to the\nimplementation of the EU budget presented in this document, the\npaper focuses on the following issues:
\n\n· \nthe way in which EU public expenditure is\ncommitted and spent;
\n\n· \nthe means of recovery following irregularities\ndetected;
\n\n· \nthe modus operandi of the accounting\nsystem:
\n\n· \nthe audit process followed by the European\nParliament's granting of the discharge.
\nTo recall, the final control is the discharge of the\nbudget for a given financial year. The discharge represents the\npolitical aspect of the external control of budget implementation\nand is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a\nCouncil recommendation, \"releases\" the Commission from its\nresponsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end\nof that budget's existence.
\nLastly, the document presents a series of tables and\ndetailed technical indicators on (i) the balance sheet; (ii) the\neconomic outturn account; (iii) cashflow tables; (iv) technical\nannexes concerning the financial statements.
\nImplementation of\nappropriations under Section VIII of the budget for the financial\nyear 2009: the document comprises a\nseries of detailed tables, the most important concerning the\nimplementation of the budget. As regards the European Ombudsman's\nexpenditure, the table on the financial and budgetary\nimplementation of this institution shows the following:
\nA) Table showing the commitment\nappropriations:
\n\n· \nCommitments: EUR 8 million (91.98% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCancelled: EUR 1 million
\nB) Table showing the\nimplementation of payments:
\n\n· \nPayments: EUR 8 million (84.57% rate of\nimplementation)
\n\n· \nCarry-overs to 2010: EUR 1 million (7.75% of\nauthorised appropriations)
\n\n· \nCancellations: EUR 1 million.
\nLastly, the annexes detail specific expenditure of the\ninstitutions, in particular:
\n\n· \npensions: an\nadministrative budget heading includes the pension obligations\ntowards the Members and former members of the European\nOmbudsman;
\n\n· \njoint sickness insurance\nscheme: a valuation is made for the\nestimated liability that the EU has regarding its contributions to\nthe Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme in relation to its retired\nstaff. This gross liability has been valued at EUR 3 535 million.\nThe calculations take into account active officials and pensioners\nfrom the various EU Institutions and Agencies, and their families,\nand active Members and pensioners from the European\nOmbudsman.
\nFor further details on the budgetary\nimplementation of expenditure of Section VIII of the Budget\n(European Ombudsman) please refer to the 2009\nAnnual Activity Report. This report outlines the main administrative objectives of the European\nOmbudsman. The main challenges in 2009 were:
\n· \nre-election of the Ombudsman\nfor a new mandate of 5 years (Nikiforos\nDIAMANDOUROS);
\n· \ntaking into account of the effects of the Treaty\nof Lisbon on the institution in order to strengthen transparency\nand sound administration of the EU institutions and\nbodies;
\n· \nprospective study of the issues which might be\nraised by the 'future citizens' initiative \"under the Treaty of\nLisbon;
\n· \nenhancing initiatives (from institutions and\nbodies of the EU) to further improve the results in terms of good\nadministration;
\n· \nenhancing the objectives of awareness and\ncommunication among citizens (to improve media coverage of the\nOmbudsman).
\nThe\nreport gives an overview of the results achieved as against the\nobjectives set for 2009.
\nThe Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report\nby Crescenzio RIVELLINI (EPP, IT) recommending the European\nParliament to grant the European Ombudsman discharge in respect of\nthe implementation of its budget for the financial year\n2009.
\nThe committee cites that in 2009 the European\nOmbudsman had commitment appropriations available amounting to a\ntotal of EUR 9 million (as in 2008), with a utilisation rate\nof 91.98%, lower than the average of the other institutions\n(97.69%).
\nMembers note that the Court of Auditors performed an\nin-depth assessment of supervisory and control systems in the Court\nof Justice, the Ombudsman and the European Data Protection\nSupervisor which included the examination of an additional sample\nof transactions involving payments relating to human resources and\nto other administrative expenditure. As far as the European\nOmbudsman is concerned, it would appear that it had not adopted\ngeneral provisions on the procedures for recruitment of temporary\nstaff, although the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of\nthe European Union requires that each institution shall have done\nso. This omission may affect a majority of the Ombudsman's staff,\nas 47 out of 63 posts granted under the 2009 budget were temporary\nposts. Members welcome the fact that the Ombudsman has instructed\nhis services to draft provisions on the procedures for recruitment\nof temporary staff to be adopted in accordance with the observation\nof the Court of Auditors.
\nThey also note that in 2009:
\nLastly, Members take note of the audits carried out by\nthe Internal Audit Service (IAS), in particular its annual report,\nand of the follow up of the IAS reviews of management and\ncontrol system for missions and payroll areas, which concluded that\nall the actions contained in the reviews had been implemented. They\nstress that the audit of the processing of the payment requests has\nidentified several issues to be addressed by the management, and\ninvites the Ombudsman to follow that up in his next annual activity\nreport.
\nThe European Parliament\nadopted by 477 votes to 55, with 11 abstentions a decision on\ndischarge to be granted to the European Ombudsman in respect of the\nimplementation of its budget for the financial year\n2009.
\nFurthermore, Parliament\nadopted a resolution with observations which are an integral part\nof the decision to grant discharge. The resolution recalls that, in\n2009, the European Ombudsman had commitment appropriations\navailable amounting to a total of EUR 9 million (as in 2008), with\na utilisation rate of 91.98%, lower than the average of the other\ninstitutions (97.69%).
\nParliament notes that the\nCourt of Auditors performed an in-depth assessment of supervisory\nand control systems in the Court of Justice, the Ombudsman and the\nEuropean Data Protection Supervisor which included the examination\nof an additional sample of transactions involving payments relating\nto human resources and to other administrative expenditure. As far\nas the European Ombudsman is concerned, it would appear that it had\nnot adopted general provisions on the procedures for recruitment of\ntemporary staff, although the Conditions of Employment of Other\nServants of the European Union requires that each institution shall\nhave done so. This omission may affect a majority of the\nOmbudsman's staff, as 47 out of 63 posts granted under the 2009\nbudget were temporary posts. Members welcome the fact that the\nOmbudsman has instructed his services to draft provisions on the\nprocedures for recruitment of temporary staff to be adopted in\naccordance with the observation of the Court of\nAuditors.
\nParliament welcomes the\nfact that the Court did not make any other significant observations\nconcerning the Ombudsman and is pleased to note that the Ombudsman\nwas able to help with almost 77% of all complaints, and that he\ndealt with 70% of inquiries in less than one year,
\nLastly, Parliament notes\nthe audits carried out by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) and\nstresses that the audit of the processing of the payment requests\nidentified several issues to be addressed by the Ombudsman. It\nlooks forward to reading of the follow-up to this in the\nOmbudsman's next annual activity report.
\nPURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman\nfor the financial year 2009.
\nNON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision 2011/562/EU of the\nEuropean Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation\nof the European Union general budget for the financial year 2009,\nSection VIII - European Ombudsman.
\nCONTENT: with the present decision, the European\nParliament grants discharge to the Ombudsman for the implementation\nof its budget for the financial year 2009.
\nThis decision is in line with the European\nParliament's resolution adopted on 10 May 2011 and comprises a\nseries of observations that form an integral part of the discharge\ndecision (please refer to the summary of the opinion of\n10/05/2011).
\nA\nparallel decision, adopted on the same day, approves the closure of\nthis Institution's accounts.
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