1.   The authorising officer shall report annually to the governing board on the performance of his or her duties in the form of a consolidated annual activity report containing:

The consolidated annual activity report shall indicate the results of the operations by reference to the objectives set, the risks associated with the operations, the use made of the resources provided and the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control systems, including an overall assessment of the costs and benefits of controls.

The consolidated annual report shall be submitted to the governing board for assessment.

2.   No later than 1 July each year, the governing board shall send the consolidated annual activity report together with its assessment of it to the Court of Auditors, the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.

3.   Additional reporting requirements may be laid down in the constituent instrument in duly justified cases, in particular when it is required by the nature of the field in which the body operates.’;

1.   Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall send the provisional accounts to the accounting officer of the Commission and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following year.

In the case referred to in the first subparagraph, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send by 1 March of the following year a reporting package to the accounting officer of the Commission, in a standardised format as laid down by the accounting officer of the Commission for consolidation purposes.

2.   The Court of Auditors shall, by 1 June of the following year at the latest, make its observations on the provisional accounts of the PPP body.

On receiving the Court of Auditor's observations on the provisional accounts, the accounting officer shall draw up the final accounts of the PPP body. The director shall send the final accounts to the governing board which shall issue an opinion on them.

Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer shall send the final accounts and the opinion of the governing board to the accounting officer of the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament and the Council, by 1 July of the following financial year. In such case the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send by 1 July a reporting package to the accounting officer of the Commission in a standardised format as laid down by the accounting officer of the Commission for consolidation purposes.

Where the accounts of the PPP body are required to be consolidated in accordance with the accounting rules referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the accounting officer of the PPP body shall also send to the Court of Auditors, with a copy to the accounting officer of the Commission, at the same date as the transmission of the final accounts, a representation letter covering those final accounts.

The final accounts shall be accompanied by a note drawn up by the accounting officer in which the latter declares that the final accounts were prepared in accordance with this chapter and with the applicable accounting principles, rules and methods.

The final approved accounts of the PPP body shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of the following year.

The Director of the PPP body shall send to the Court of Auditors a reply to the observations made in its annual report by 30 September of the following year at the latest. The replies of the PPP body shall be sent to the Commission at the same time.’;

1.   An independent external auditor shall verify that the annual accounts of the PPP body properly present the income, expenditure and financial position of the PPP body prior to the consolidation in the final accounts of the PPP body.

Unless otherwise provided for in the constituent instrument, the Court of Auditors shall prepare a specific annual report on the PPP body in line with the requirements of Article 287(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In preparing the report, the Court shall consider the audit work performed by the independent external auditor referred to in the first subparagraph and the action taken in response to his or her findings.

2.   The PPP body shall send to the Court of Auditors the budget of the PPP body, as finally adopted. It shall inform the Court of Auditors, as soon as possible, of all decisions and acts adopted pursuant to Articles 6, 7 and 10.

3.   The scrutiny carried out by the Court of Auditors shall be governed by Articles 158 to 163 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

1.   The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council, shall, before 15 May of year n+2 except where otherwise provided in the constituent instrument, give a discharge to the director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year n. The director shall inform the governing board of the observations of the European Parliament contained in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision.

2.   If the time limit provided for in paragraph 1 cannot be met, the European Parliament or the Council shall inform the director of the reasons for the postponement.

3.   If the European Parliament postpones the decision giving a discharge, the director, in cooperation with the governing board, shall make every effort to take measures as soon as possible to remove or facilitate removal of the obstacles to that decision.’;

1.   The discharge decision shall cover the accounts of all the revenue and expenditure of the PPP body, the budget result and the assets and liabilities of the PPP body shown in the financial statement.

2.   With a view to granting the discharge, the European Parliament shall, after the Council has done so, examine the accounts and financial statements of the PPP body. It shall also examine the annual report drawn up by the Court of Auditors, together with the replies of the director of the PPP body, any relevant special reports by the Court of Auditors in respect of the financial year concerned and the Court of Auditors' statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.

3.   The director shall submit to the European Parliament, at its request, in the same manner as provided for in Article 165(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 any information required for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year concerned.

1.   The director shall take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision and on the comments accompanying the recommendation for discharge adopted by the Council.

2.   At the request of the European Parliament or the Council, the director shall report on the measures taken in the light of the observations and comments referred to paragraph 1. The director shall send a copy thereof to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.’;

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 2, each PPP body referred to in Article 209 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 shall adopt new financial rules within nine months of the date on which the PPP body falls within the scope of Article 209 of that Regulation.

2.   Each PPP body referred to in Article 209 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 which has already adopted its financial rules in accordance with this Regulation shall revise them in view of their entry into force on 1 January 2016.’.