on the annual accounts of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2005 together with the Authority's replies

Reliability of the accountsThe Authority's accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2005 are, in all material respects, reliable.Legality and regularity of the underlying transactionsExcept for the situation described in paragraph 12, the transactions underlying the Authority's annual accounts, taken as a whole, are legal and regular.

(3) These accounts were drawn up on 20 June 2006 and received by the Court on 29 June 2006.

(4) For example, the provisions governing mission expenses are not systematically observed, which results in unjustified payments.

Table 1

European Food Safety Authority (Parma)

Areas of Community competence deriving from the Treaty

Competences of the Authority

(Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002)

Governance

Resources made available to the Authority in 2005

(2004)

Products and services supplied

Free movement of goods (Article 37 of the Treaty)

Contribution to a high level of protection of health, safety and protection of the environment and of consumers, taking account of any new development based on scientific facts (Article 95 of the Treaty)

Common trade policy (Article 133 of the Treaty)

Public health (Article 152(4)(b) of the Treaty)

Objectives:

—	to provide scientific opinions and scientific and technical support for the Community's legislation and policies which have a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety,

—	to provide independent information on risks relating to food safety,

—	to contribute to the achievement of a high level of protection of human life and health,

—	to collect and analyse data needed to allow characterisation and monitoring of risks.

Tasks:

—	to issue scientific opinions and studies,

—	to promote uniform risk assessment methodologies,

—	to assist the Commission,

—	to search for, analyse and summarise the requisite scientific and technical data,

—	to identify and characterise emerging risks,

—	to establish a network of organisations operating in similar fields,

—	to provide scientific and technical assistance in crisis management,

—	to improve international cooperation,

—	to provide the public and interested parties with reliable, objective and easily comprehensible information,

—	to take part in the Commission's rapid alert system.

1. Management Board

Composition

14 members appointed by the Council (in cooperation with the European Parliament and the Commission) and one representative of the Commission.

Duties

To adopt the work programme and the budget and ensure that they are implemented

2. Executive Director

Appointed by the Management Board on the basis of a list of candidates proposed by the Commission, following a hearing before the European Parliament;

3. Advisory Forum

Composition

One representative per Member State,

Duties

To advise the Executive Director;

4. Scientific Committee and scientific panels:

To draw up the Authority's scientific opinions

5. External audit

Court of Auditors

6. Discharge authority Parliament, on the Council's recommendation.

Final budget:

36,9 million euro (29,1 million euro); Community contribution: 100 % (100 %)

Staff numbers as at 31 December:

Number of posts in establishment plan: 194 (138)

Posts occupied: 124 (102)

+36 (37) other posts (auxiliary contracts, seconded national experts, local staff)

Total staff: 160 (139)

Assigned to the following duties:

—	operational: 104 (83)

—	administrative: 56 (56)

Of the 301 requests for scientific opinions made to the EFSA in 2005 (which represents an increase of 65 % compared with 2004), 163 opinions were adopted and published. They covered many areas including aromatic plants, genetically modified organisms (with the WHO), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). In addition the Authority published its first annual report on animal diseases and other important publications on the determination of risk in the food sector.

The communication of risks and, in general, the activities of the communication department saw a 40 % increase in the number of communications to the public in 2005. Consultations of the EFSA's website also doubled in 2005. The coordination of the communication of risks was stepped up through the advisory forum and workshops organised.

The networking of the EFSA with interested parties, national authorities and institutional counterparts intensified through the setting-up of a forum for interested parties. The Advisory Forum met five times with a view to working as a network with the national authorities on specific topics such as coordination in the event of a crisis scenario or increasing the use of the extranet linking the national authorities, the Commission and the EFSA.

As regards the assessment of the EFSA in 2005, the final consultants' report was published on the EFSA's website by the Management Board which submitted its recommendations at the end of June 2006.

Source: Information supplied by the Authority.

EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY

Source: Authority data — These tables summarise the data supplied by the Authority in its annual accounts.

Table 2

Implementation of the budget for the financial year 2005

(1000 euro)
Revenue			Expenditure
Source of revenue	Revenue entered in the final budget for the financial year	Revenue collected	Allocation of expenditure	Final budget appropriations					Appropriations carried over from the previous financial year (1)			Appropriations for the financial year and carried over from the previous financial year
Source of revenue	Revenue entered in the final budget for the financial year	Revenue collected	Allocation of expenditure	entered	committed	paid	carried over	cancelled	available	paid	cancelled	available	committed	paid	carried over	cancelled
Community subsidies	36 857	31 537	Title I Staff	16 354	14 571	14 024	546	1 784	389	312	77	16 743	14 960	14 336	546	1 861
Own revenue			Title II Administration	6 446	5 591	3 306	2 285	855	1 477	1 307	170	7 923	7 068	4 613	2 285	1 025
Other revenue			Title III Operating activities	14 057	9 300	5 824	3 477	4 756	3 818	2 003	1 815	17 875	13 118	7 827	3 477	6 571
Total	36 857	31 537	Total	36 857	29 462	23 154	6 308	7 395	5 684	3 622	2 062	42 541	35 146	26 776	6 308	9 457

Table 3

Revenue and expenditure account for the financial years 2005 and 2004

(1000 euro)
	2005	2004
Operating revenue
Community subsidies	27 405	20 591
Other subsidies/revenue	0	0
Total (a)	27 405	20 591
Operating expenditure
Staff	13 012	7 564
Administration	6 436	5 788
Operating activities	8 718	6 431
Total (b)	28 166	19 783
Operating result (c = a — b)	– 761	808
Other income (d)	0	0
Other charges (e)	–7	–33
Economic result (f = c + d + e)	– 768	775

Table 4

Balance sheet at 31 December 2005 and 2004

(1000 euro)
	2005	2004
Assets
Fixed assets	1 588	1 071
Short-term receivables	299	5 025
Cash accounts	10 879	3 201
Total	12 766	9 297
Liabilities
Results accumulated from previous financial years	4 452	3 677
Economic result of the year	– 768	775
Short-term debts	9 082	4 845
Total	12 766	9 297

(1) In the table showing the overall implementation of the budget which it publishes in its own annual report the Authority does not include implementation of non-automatic carry-overs of appropriations.