Brussels, 04/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - At its meeting on Monday 3 October, the European Parliament's budgetary control committee was not able to recommend discharge of implementation of the Council of Ministers' budget for 2009, but finally endorsed implementation of the 2009 budgets for the European Police College (EPC) and the European Medicines Agency. The remaining EU bodies and institutions have already been granted clearance of their 2009 budgets by the EP. In May 2011, the EP decided to postpone clearance of the 2009 budgets of the Council of Ministers, the EPC and the European Medicines Agency.
The European Police College in Bramshill (the United Kingdom) responded well to the criticisms in May 2011 of the management of its operational expenditure. The EP budgetary control committee therefore recommends that implementation of its 2009 budget be cleared.
The European Medicines Agency in London has dealt with the shortcomings in the management of its 2009 budget, yet although the EP committee recommends that the budget be cleared, some concerns remain. The European Parliament wants the impartiality and independence of potential staff members to be carefully examined when they are appointed project leaders for the assessment of medicines. The MEPs require the agency to improve its market procedures and keep the EP better informed about the impact of the requested action. The closure of the accounts (the final formal stage in the clearance process) for the 2009 tax year has now been approved for both the European Police College and the European Medicines Agency.
The EP's budgetary control committee has not given clearance to the implementation of the Council of Minsters' budget for 2009, saying that the EP has not yet been provided with all the documents and information needed. The MEPs say that it is in their power to take decisions about whether the Council of Ministers' budget should be cleared.
Crescenzio Rivellini (EPP, Italy), rapporteur on discharge of the Council's budget for 2009, commented: “The budgetary control committee today voted to reject the discharge of the Council, due to the inability to obtain the necessary documentation. The lack of cooperation shown by the Council to Parliament and the choice of not wanting to recognise the legitimacy of the latter as a discharge authority are the main reasons which justify the strong negative opinion on the actions of Council spending.”
The EP will be voting in plenary on 25 October on reports on the budget discharge for the Council of Ministers, the European Police College and the European Medicines Agency. (LC/transl.fl)