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having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (1),

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having regard to the annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (COM(2011) 473 – C7-0261/2011) (2),

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having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2010,

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having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2010, together with the institutions’ replies (3),

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having regard to the statement of assurance (4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2010 pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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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 (5), and in particular Articles 50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

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having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0092/2012),

1.

Notes that in 2010 the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) had commitment appropriations available amounting to a total of EUR 127 200 000 (EUR 122 000 000 in 2009), and that the utilisation rate of these appropriations was 98 % (98 % in 2009); stresses that the EESC budget is purely administrative: 70 % relates to expenditure on persons working with the institution, and 30 % on buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure;

2.

Calls on the EESC to limit increases to its budgets in the coming years to an absolute minimum and to finance new and extended activities primarily though savings;

3.

Reiterates the call made in its Resolution of 10 May 2011 (6) on discharge to the EESC for the financial year 2009 to undertake with urgency a comprehensive spending review of all areas of activity to ensure that all expenditure delivers value for money, and in order to identify possible savings which would allow pressure on the budget to be reduced given the period austerity currently being experienced in the Union;

4.

Welcomes the fact that in its annual report, the Court of Auditors concluded, based on its audit work, that the payments for the financial year ended 31 December 2010 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were, on the whole, free from material error; the most likely rate of error in the category of ‘administrative and other expenditure’ in general, was estimated at 0,4 % (points 7.9 and 7.10);

5.

Points out that the Court of Auditors included observations in its 2010 annual report concerning the reimbursement of travel expenses to EESC members and the awarding of procurement contracts based on a restricted procedure;

6.

Notes with satisfaction that the EESC Bureau decided, on 6 December 2011, to undertake a reform of the system for reimbursing expenses to members, which is aimed, in particular, at reimbursement of transport tickets on the basis of real costs only, which brings daily allowances and travel allowances into line with those paid by Parliament, and provides for allowances to compensate for the time spent by members in performance of their duties and for related administrative costs, taking into account the fact that EESC members do not receive any form of remuneration or pension from the EU budget;

7.

Encourages and expects a swift implementation of the above mentioned decision of 6 December 2011;

8.

Expresses surprise at the high number of flights invoiced by members of the EESC in 2010, and at their long distance (average: 2 000 km); requests the EESC to provide a detailed list of all flights invoiced in 2010, indicating the departure airport, stops en route, destination, length of flight and the costs incurred by the European taxpayer;

9.

Welcomes the fact that changes were made at the EESC Bureau meeting of 21 February 2012 with regard to confirmation of attendance, and reimbursement for taking part in video conferences, in compliance with the guidance of Parliament (stricter documentary evidence in order to justify entitlement to the allowance referred to in Article 12 of the Decision of the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee of 21 February 2012 on the reimbursement of expenses incurred and the allowances received by the Committee members and consultative commission delegates, as well as their respective alternates, and deletion of the point relating to videoconferencing); looks forward to the results of the negotiations between the EESC and the Council with a view to reaching a definitive and satisfactory solution to all these issues, in respect of which the decision depends on the Council;

10.

Notes with satisfaction the decision by the EESC Bureau providing for publication of the declarations of financial interests of its members; welcomes the fact that this decision has already been implemented;

11.

Welcomes the recent and increased interest on the part of EESC members in financial and budgetary matters, in particular within the budget group, which includes a full commitment as regards both the drafting of the budget and the monitoring of its implementation; would like to see a strengthening of cooperation between EESC members and Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control;

12.

Welcomes the fact that the two committees – the Committee of the Regions and the EESC – finally managed to obtain certification under the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) on 27 December 2011; would like to be informed on an annual basis of the progress which is anticipated and/or made to reduce further the negative impact of the Committees’ activities on the environment;

13.

Expresses satisfaction with the results revealed by the mid-term evaluation of the functioning of the administrative cooperation agreement between the Committee of the Regions and the EESC; notes, primarily, that the establishment of joint services has allowed the two Committees to make budget savings; would like the Committees to implement the recommendations made relating to the areas of staff (greater harmonisation of rules), social and medical services and internal services;

14.

Suggests a strengthening of accounting procedures in relation to the priority budget lines of the two Committees; believes that this will in turn lead to an increase in savings and to additional strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation;

15.

Welcomes the decision taken by the EESC on 24 April 2012 to organise an assessment of its work, as the Committee of the Regions has already done (CAF (7): Common Assessment Framework), following the recommendation contained in this resolution, as adopted by the Committee on Budgetary Control on 27 March 2012;

16.

Notes with satisfaction also that the EESC has taken good note of the observations of the Court of Auditors and that a reminder of the important elements to be observed in procurement procedures has been sent to all authorising officers by sub-delegation; notes, too, that the EESC will step up efforts to ensure that the necessary public procurement expertise is available in the evaluation committees;

17.

Calls on the EESC to improve the quality of the summary of the internal audit service’s activities in order for Parliament to be able to assess the monitoring and control mechanisms within the EESC; stresses that the summary should be both informative and relevant; calls on the EESC to send a re-drafted version to its competent committee without delay;

18.

Found Annex D to the annual activity report, containing activity and performance indicators, to be very useful; is concerned by the fact that 12,3 % of the interpreting service requested was cancelled, at a cost of EUR 913 344; would like to be informed of which urgent measures are taken to remedy this problem;

19.

Calls for better financial planning and budgetary management in order to avoid similar situations in the future;

20.

Expects that the annual activity report will, in future, also include an exhaustive table of all the human resources at the EESC’s disposal, broken down by category, grade, gender, participation in professional training, and nationality;

21.

Reiterates its call for the Ombudsman to inform the Committee on Budgetary Control of the results of the investigations into staff promotion procedures;

22.

Calls for all opinions issued by the EESC to be attached to the relevant files.