In an opinion delivered on Wednesday 15 May, the European Court of Auditors said that the €542 million budget surplus accumulated by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) must be reinvested in a productive way to support research and innovation.
Based in Alicante (Spain), the European agency is the only one that makes such profits through its work registering EU trademarks and Community designs. At the end of 2018, it had accumulated profits of €542 million and 90% of this amount was deposited in bank accounts generating fees amounting to €1.4 million in 2018.
"EUIPO’s surpluses are currently not assigned to any productive use either at office or EU level. The Office and the European Commission should explore the possibility of using its budget surpluses to invest in financial instruments supporting research and innovation activities by European enterprises", said Rimantas Šadžius, Member of the European Court of Auditors, in a statement.
The Court also considers that EUIPO should be more accountable to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in relation to its budgetary situation, by being subjected to the same procedures as other European agencies. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)