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Document 52004TA1230(04)

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

IO C 324, 30.12.2004, p. 23–29 (ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, SK, SL, FI, SV)

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Official Journal

30.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 324/23

REPORT

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

(2004/C 324/04)

CONTENTS

1	INTRODUCTION

2-5	THE COURT'S OPINION

6-8	OBSERVATIONS

Tables 1 to 4

The Agency's replies

INTRODUCTION

The European Environment Agency (hereinafter called the Agency) was established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 (1). It is responsible for setting up an observation network that provides the Commission, the Member States and, more generally, the public with reliable information on the state of the environment. The information should, in particular, enable the European Union and the Member States to take action to safeguard the environment and assess the effectiveness of such action. Table 1 summarises the Agency's competencies and activities on the basis of information it has forwarded.

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).

The Court has examined the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year ended 31 December 2003. In accordance with Article 13 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90, the budget was implemented on the responsibility of the Director. This responsibility includes the drawing-up and presentation of the accounts (3), in accordance with the internal financial provisions adopted on the basis of Article 14 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90. The Court of Auditors is required under Article 248 of the Treaty establishing the European Community to examine these accounts.

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. The Court carried out such tests on the accounting records and applied such other procedures as it deemed necessary in the circumstances.

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

OBSERVATIONS

The implementation of the appropriations for the financial year 2003 and of the appropriations carried over from the previous financial year is shown in Table 2 (4). The Agency's revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year are presented in summary form in Tables 3 and 4.

7.	Contrary to the provisions of the Agency's financial regulation (5), recovery orders are not issued on a systematic basis when claims are established. This was the case for claims amounting to 2 539 000 euro, 1 472 000 euro of which had already been collected.

8.	The statements for the Agency's seven bank accounts were not reconciled with the corresponding balances in the accounts during the course of 2003. Reconciliation should be carried out monthly and the details forwarded to the responsible person in the administration.

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 120, 11.5.1990.

(2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

(3) As required under Article 13(3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90, the final accounts of all the Agency's revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2003 were drawn up on 6 August 2004 and were sent to the Court of Auditors. They were received by the Court on 22 September 2004. A summary version of these accounts is presented in the tables annexed to this report.

(4) All the tables in this report have been drawn up on the basis of the most accurate values possible for the data used. The totals may include minimal differences due to rounding for the purposes of presentation. A dash indicates a non-existent or zero value and 0,0 indicates a value below the rounding threshold.

(5) Article 53(2).

Table 1

European Environment Agency (Copenhagen)

Areas of Community competence deriving from the Treaty

Competencies of the Agency as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990

Governance

Resources made available to the Agency (2002 data)

Products and services supplied in 2003

Policy on the environment

Community policy on the environment aims at a high level of protection, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community. It is based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay. (…) In preparing its policy (…) the Community takes account of available scientific and technical data (…)

(Article 174 of the Treaty)

Objectives

To set up a European environment observation network to provide the Community and the Member States with reliable information so that they are able to:

(a)	take the requisite action to protect the environment

(b)	evaluate its implementation

(c)	ensure that the public is well-informed about the state of the environment.

Tasks

—	To supply the Community and the Member States with the requisite information

—	To record and evaluate data on the state of the environment and to report on its quality

—	To ensure that environmental data are comparable at European level

—	To promote the incorporation of European environment information into international programmes

—	To publish a report every five years on the state of, changes in and outlook for the environment

—	To encourage the development of environment forecasting techniques, as well as methods for evaluating the cost of damage caused to the environment, and the exchange of information concerning damage-prevention technology

Management Board

Composition

—	One representative per Member State

—	Two representatives of the Commission

—	Two scientists appointed by the European Parliament

Tasks

To adopt the work programme and ensure that it is implemented

2.	Director Appointed by the Management Board on the Commission's proposal

3.	Advisory Forum Made up of one representative per Member State; advises the Executive Director

4.	Scientific Committee Made up of persons qualified in the environmental field who are appointed by the Management Board

5.	External audit Court of Auditors

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

Final budget

27,5 million euro

(25,1 million euro), Community contribution: 77 % (76 %)

Staff numbers as at 31 December 2003

Number of posts in establishment plan: 111 (106)

Posts occupied: 95 (85)

+16 (26) other staff (auxiliary contracts, seconded national experts, local staff, temporary staff)

Total staff: 111 (111)

assigned to the following duties:

operational: 69 (69)

administrative: 41 (41)

mixed: 1 (1)

—	Support work and provision of indicators for the Synthesis report on sustainable development

—	Indicators concerning the state of the environment in 2003

—	Analysis and estimation of greenhouse gas emissions (1990 to 2020)

—	Finalisation of the Kiev report (state of the environment in candidate Central and Eastern European countries)

—	Three seminars organised under the Greek Presidency of the Council

—	Provision of environmental indicators in specific fields (transport sector in candidate countries, Danube region — Black Sea)

—	Assistance in harmonising data

—	Management of the EIONET network (European Environment Information and Observation Network)

Source:Information supplied by the Agency.

Table 2

European Environment Agency — Implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year

(million euro)
Revenue			Expenditure
Origin of revenue	Revenue entered in the final budget for the financial year	Revenue collected	Expenditure allocation	Appropriations under the final budget					Appropriations carried over from the previous financial year					Available appropriations (2003 budget and financial year 2002)
Origin of revenue	Revenue entered in the final budget for the financial year	Revenue collected	Expenditure allocation	entered	committed	paid	carried over	cancelled	entered	committed	paid	to be carried over	cancelled	available	committed	paid	carried over	cancelled
Community subsidies	21,4	21,4	Title I Staff	11,5	11,5	11,1	0,3	0,1	1,4	1,4	0,8	0,3	0,3	13,0	13,0	11,9	0,7	0,4
Other subsidies	6,1	8,4	Title II Administration	2,9	2,8	2,4	0,4	0,0	0,3	0,2	0,2	0,0	0,1	3,1	3,1	2,6	0,4	0,1
Other revenue	0,0	0,1	Title III Operating activities	13,1	13,0	6,0	7,0	0,1	5,9	5,6	4,9	0,8	0,3	19,0	18,6	10,9	7,8	0,4
Total	27,5	29,9	Total	27,5	27,4	19,6	7,7	0,2	7,6	7,3	5,8	1,1	0,6	35,1	34,6	25,4	8,9	0,9
NB:The totals may contain differences due to the effects of rounding. Source:Information supplied by the Agency. These tables summarise the data provided by the Agency in its own accounts.

Table 3

European Environment Agency — Revenue and expenditure account for the financial years 2003 and 2002

(1000 euro)
	2003	2002
Revenue
Community subsidies	21 380	18 749
Other subsidies	8 423	1 136
Other revenue	89	198
Total revenue (a)	29 891	20 083
Expenditure
Staff — Title I of the budget
Payments	11 123	9 714
Appropriations carried over	315	1 018
Administration — Title II of the budget
Payments	2 447	2 054
Appropriations carried over	395	247
Operating activities — Title III of the budget
Payments	5 997	6 493
Appropriations carried over	7 008	5 611
Total expenditure (b)	27 284	25 136
Outturn for the financial year (a – b)	2 607	–5 053
Balance carried over from the previous financial year	–7 427	–3 275
Appropriations carried over and cancelled	617	889
Sums for re-use from the previous financial year not used	36	8
Exchange-rate differences	–4	4
Adjustments	–18	0
Balance for the financial year	–4 190	–7 427
NB:The totals may include differences due to rounding. Source:Information supplied by the Agency. These tables summarise the data provided by the Agency in its own accounts.

Table 4

European Environment Agency — Balance sheet at 31 December 2003 and 31 December 2002

(1000 euro)
Assets	2003	2002	Liabilities	2003	2002
Fixed assets			Own capital
Computer equipment	1 366	1 847	Own capital	1 265	1 295
Equipment and furniture	2 302	2 254	Balance for the financial year	–4 190	–7 427
Financial fixed assets	425	405	Subtotal	–2 925	–6 133
Depreciation	–2 860	–3 237	Current liabilities
Subtotal	1 232	1 269	Commission	3 124	5 263
Stocks			Other contributors	1 066	2 270
Office supplies	33	26	Automatic carry-overs	8 852	7 591
Subtotal	33	26	Sundry accounts payable	0	769
Current assets			Deductions from salaries	417	111
Community subsidies	3 124	5 263	Subtotal	13 460	16 003
Other subsidies	1 066	2 270	Suspense accounts and deferrals
Recovery orders	65	226	Sums to be reused	212	175
Sundry accounts receivable	127	153	Recovery orders	65	226
Recoverable VAT	232	266	Subtotal	277	400
Subtotal	4 614	8 178
Cash accounts
Bank accounts	4 892	740
Imprest account	40	40
Subtotal	4 932	780
Suspense accounts and accruals
Suspense accounts	0	18
Subtotal	0	18
Total	10 811	10 271	Total	10 811	10 271
NB:The totals may include differences due to rounding. Source:Information supplied bythe Agency. These tables summarise the data provided by the Agency in its own accounts.

THE AGENCY'S REPLIES

7 and 8.

The need to reinforce the management of recoveries and the requirement for regular reconciliations of the accounts is recognised by the European Environment Agency.

To remediate the resource limitations that have occurred and to increase the capacities it has been decided to recruit an accountant at the administrator level against the establishment table 2004.

In the short term, an EEA task force on accounting is being established to ensure regular and correct operations throughout the year, to implement accrual accounting and to prepare for the closing of the accounts against the necessary standards and requirements.

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