A.

whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

B.

whereas on 23 April 2009 Parliament granted the Director of the European Agency for Reconstruction discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2007 (5), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision noted, inter alia, that the Court of Auditors had, in its annual report for 2007, identified three potential risks relating to the transfer of activities from the Agency to the delegations, namely that:

1.

Notes that the memorandum of understanding of 17 December 2008 between the Commission and the European Agency for Reconstruction stipulates that the Agency’s residual assets become the property of the Commission after 31 December 2008;

2.

Notes the Court of Auditors’ finding that none of the formal conditions required for the award of a direct grant of EUR 1 399 132 (0,31 % of the available operational budget) to an international organisation had been fulfilled;

3.

Stresses that the relevance of the five cross-border cooperation projects audited by the Court of Auditors (worth a total of EUR 528 000 — 0,12 % of the available operational budget) was challenged on the grounds that the Evaluation Committee, comprising the Agency and a Commission delegation, had not taken account of the issues raised by local assessors; notes, nonetheless, the Agency’s reply to the effect that, under the rules in force, the Evaluation Committee was not bound by the opinion of the assessors;

4.

Calls, now that the Agency’s work has finished, for an evaluation of the funding allocated in Kosovo to determine whether the allocation of funding there resulted in the establishment of functional, sustainable justice and administration structures;

5.

Deplores the fact that the efficiently functioning Agency has been wound up and the management of the funding has been transferred to the delegations; demands that the Commission submit a report detailing how many staff the delegations have taken on to cope with the Agency’s tasks; calls on the Commission to supply comprehensive and complete information on whether budget support has been provided from the funds transferred from the Agency to the delegations;

6.

Refers, for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 5 May 2010 (6) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.