Brussels, 28/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU Medicines Agency, Environment Agency, Food Safety Authority and Council of Ministers all failed to win the European Parliament budgetary control committee's approval for their spending in 2010. On Tuesday 27 March, the budgetary control committee recommended that the plenary postpone (until May) the granting of the discharge on the execution of the 2010 budgets for these three agencies. All the other Community agencies received a favourable opinion on operational spending. Monica Luisa Macovei (EPP, Rumania) is the rapporteur on the 2010 discharge for the different Community agencies.
Postponement of the decision on the discharge for execution of the 2010 budget for the EU Medicines Agency (based in London) was taken by 14 votes to 9. MEPs asked for an action plan to improve procurement and contract management and sought assurances as to the impartiality of the Agency's employees and of national experts temporarily seconded to it. MEPs were also not amused by the refusal of the Agency's Management Board to establish a new payment system.
Postponement of the decision on the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen was taken by 16 votes to 10. MEPs criticised the fact that from June 2010 to April 2011, its Executive Director was also a member of the International Advisory Board of the NGO Earthwatch (see EUROPE 10583), an NGO active in the environment sector. Some staff members, including the Executive Director herself, went on “research” trips to Earthwatch projects in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, for which, according to the Executive Director, the Agency paid Earthwatch €33,791. MEPs called on the Agency to provide detailed information on these trips and the amounts paid to Earthwatch.
The Food Safety Authority was also criticised. The decision to postpone the discharge for the food safety agency in Parma was taken by 15 votes to 7, with 4 abstentions. MEPs found it unacceptable that meetings of the 15-strong Management Board cost on average €92,630 - or €6,175 per member - and called for “drastic cuts in these excessive costs”. MEPs also pointed to conflicts of interests, given that the Chair of the Management Board was reported to have direct links to the food industry, and to be a member of the Board of Directors of the International Life Science Institute (ILSI) - Europe. The committee called on the Court of Auditors to finalise and present an audit on conflicting interests within the Authority and on the Authority itself to show what it has done to improve screening of staff members and members of expert panels.
Committee members unanimously decided to postpone the Council's discharge. MEPs hope that mediation by the Council's current Presidency might lead to a workable arrangement. (LC/transl.fl)