30.12.2004   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 324/16

REPORT

on the annual accounts of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the 2003 financial year together with the Agency's replies

(2004/C 324/03)

CONTENTS

1

 INTRODUCTION

2-5

 THE COURT'S OPINION

6-10

 OBSERVATIONS

Tables 1-4

The Agency's replies

INTRODUCTION

1.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (hereinafter called the Agency) was established by Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002. The financial year 2003 was the first one during which the Agency actually began to carry out its operational activities. The Agency's tasks are to ensure a high level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships, to provide the Commission and the Member States with technical assistance, to monitor the implementation of the relevant Community legislation and to evaluate its effectiveness. Table 1 summarises the powers and activities of the Agency on the basis of information supplied by it.

THE COURT'S OPINION

2.

This opinion is addressed to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Article 185(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (2).

3.

The Court has examined the Agency's annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003. In accordance with Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, the budget was implemented on the responsibility of the Executive Director. This responsibility includes the drawing-up and presentation of the financial statements (3) in accordance with the internal financial provisions adopted on the basis of Article 21 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002. The Court of Auditors is required under Article 248 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to examine these accounts.

4.

The Court carried out its audit in accordance with its auditing policies and standards, which have been adapted from generally accepted international auditing standards to reflect the specific nature of the Community context. It examined the accounting documents and applied the audit procedures that it considered necessary in that context.

5.

The Court thus obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular. The content of the following observations does not call the audit opinion expressed by the Court in this respect into question.

OBSERVATIONS

6.

Table 2 shows the implementation of appropriations for the financial year 2003. The Agency's revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet for the financial year 2003 are summarised in Tables 3 and 4.

7.

The Executive Director, who is the authorising officer, is also empowered to sign banking instructions, which is contrary to Article 37 of the Agency's financial regulation.

8.

Article 43(1)(e) of the Agency's financial regulation stipulates that the accounting officer is to validate the systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information. This validation has yet to be formalised.

9.

The Agency should carry out systematic checks on salary payments made to its employees.

10.

An analysis of the computer system control environment showed that it requires strengthening in view of the forecast increase in the Agency's activities.

This Report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at its meeting of 29 and 30 September 2004.

For the Court of Auditors

Juan Manuel FABRA VALLÉS

President

(1)  OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 8.

(2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

(3)  As required by Article 82 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2343/2002, the final accounts for all Agency revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2003 were drawn up on 1 March 2004 and forwarded to the Court of Auditors, which received them on 20 September 2004. A summarised version of these accounts is presented in the tables attached to this report.

Table 1

European Maritime Safety Agency (temporary headquarters in Brussels, planned relocation to Lisbon)

Areas of Community competence deriving from the Treaty

Competence of the Agency

(European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of 27 June 2002)

Organisation

Resources made available to the Agency in 2003

Products and services supplied during the financial year 2003 (1)

Common transport policy

The Council may, acting by a qualified majority, decide whether, to what extent and by what procedure appropriate provisions may be laid down for sea and air transport.

(Article 80 of the Treaty)

Objectives

—

To ensure a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships

—

To provide the Member States and the Commission with technical and scientific assistance

—

To monitor the implementation of the relevant Community legislation and to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures in place.

Tasks

—

To assist the Commission with the development and implementation of Community legislation

—

To monitor the functioning of the Community port State control regime, including visits to the Member States

—

To provide the Commission with technical assistance for the port State control of ships

—

To work with the Member States to develop technical solutions and provide technical assistance related to the implementation of Community legislation

—

To promote cooperation between riparian States in the shipping areas concerned

—

To develop any necessary information system

—

To facilitate cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in the development of a common methodology for investigating accidents

—

To provide the Commission and the Member States with reliable information on maritime safety and on pollution by ships

—

To assist the Commission and the Member States in the identification and pursuit of ships making unlawful discharges.

1.

Administrative Board

Composition

One representative of each Member State, four representatives of the Commission and four representatives, without the right to vote, from the professional sectors concerned.

Duties

To adopt the budget and the work programme

To examine requests from Member States for assistance

2.

Executive Director

Appointed by the Administrative Board at the proposal of the Commission

3.

External audit

European Court of Auditors

4.

Discharge authority

Parliament, on the Council's recommendation

Final budget:

4,5 million euro. Community contribution: 100 %

Staff numbers as at 31 December 2003:

Data not provided

Number of opinions delivered: 2

Inspections: 4

Source:Information supplied by the Agency.


Table 2

European Maritime Safety Agency — Implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year

(1000 euro)

Revenue

Expenditure

Origin of revenue

Revenue entered in the final budget for the financial year

Revenue collected

Allocation of expenditure

Final budget appropriations

entered

committed

paid

carried over

cancelled

Community subsidies

4 500

2 630

Title I

Staff

1 552

713

647

66

838

Other subsidies

 

2

Title II

Administration

848

553

238

315

295

 

 

 

Title III

Operating expenditure

230

167

13

155

63

Total

4 500

2 632

Total

2 630

1 434

898

536

1 196

NB:Totals may include differences due to rounding.

Source:Data from the Agency. These tables summarise the data supplied by the Agency in its own acounts.


Table 3

European Maritime Safety Agency — Revenue and expenditure account for the 2003 financial year

(1000 euro

 

2003

Revenue

Commission subsidies

2 630

Other revenue

2

Total revenue (a)

2 632

Expenditure

Staff — Title I of the budget

Payments

647

Appropriations carried over

66

Administration — Title II of the budget

Payments

238

Appropriations carried over

315

Operating expenditure — Title III of the budget

Payments

13

Appropriations carried over

155

Total expenditure (b)

1 434

Outturn for the financial year (a – b)

1 198

NB:Totals may include differences due to rounding.

Source:Data from the Agency.


Table 4

European Maritime Safety Agency — Balance sheet as at 31 December 2003

(1000 euro)

Assets

2003

Liabilities

2003

Fixed assets

 

Own capital

 

Computer software

11

Own capital

8

Depreciation

–3

Balance for the financial year

1 198

Subtotal

8

Subtotal

1 206

Current assets

 

Current liabilities

 

Advances to staff

17

Automatic carry-overs of appropriations

536

Sundry accounts receivable

3

Sundry accounts payable

29

Subtotal

20

Subtotal

566

Cash accounts

 

 

 

Bank accounts

1 744

 

 

Subtotal

1 744

 

 

Total

1 772

Total

1 772

NB:Totals may include differences due to rounding.

Source:Data from the Agency.

(1)  The Agency was only able to begin operations in November 2003.

Source:Information supplied by the Agency.

THE AGENCY'S REPLIES

7.

It was not possible to ensure the separation of duties due to the Agency’s insufficient human resources. Since January 2004, following the recruitment of other members of staff, internal controls have been strengthened and the separation of duties ensured.

8.

Further to the Court’s observations, the accounting officer validated the accounting and budgetary systems in March 2004.

9.

The Commission’s Paymaster's Office (PMO) is in charge of calculating EMSA employee salaries. Following an increase in staff numbers in the Human Resources department, checks on payments have been strengthened.

10.

The Agency has strengthened its IT team considerably, and staff numbers should increase from one (end 2003) to five (end 2004). This will allow for a better division of tasks and responsibilities and thus improve control of the computer system.