This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 52013TA1213(16)
Report on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2012, together with the Agency’s replies
Report on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2012, together with the Agency’s replies
Report on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2012, together with the Agency’s replies
IO C 365, 13.12.2013, p. 113–119
(BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)
13.12.2013 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 365/113 |
REPORT
on the annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2012, together with the Agency’s replies
2013/C 365/16
INTRODUCTION
1. |
The European Fisheries Control Agency (hereinafter ‘the Agency’, aka ‘EFCA’), which is located in Vigo, was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 (1). The Agency’s main task is to organise the operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States in order to ensure an effective and uniform application of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (2). |
INFORMATION IN SUPPORT OF THE STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE
2. |
The audit approach taken by the Court comprises analytical audit procedures, direct testing of transactions and an assessment of key controls of the Agency’s supervisory and control systems. This is supplemented by evidence provided by the work of other auditors (where relevant) and an analysis of management representations. |
STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE
3. |
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Court has audited:
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The management’s responsibility
4. |
In accordance with Articles 33 and 43 of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 (5), the management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the annual accounts of the Agency and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions:
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The auditor’s responsibility
5. |
The Court’s responsibility is, on the basis of its audit, to provide the European Parliament and the Council (7) with a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the annual accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. The Court conducts its audit in accordance with the IFAC International Standards on Auditing and Codes of Ethics and the INTOSAI International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions. These standards require the Court to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the annual accounts of the Agency are free from material misstatement and the transactions underlying them are legal and regular. |
6. |
The audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, which is based on an assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the accounts and material non-compliance by the underlying transactions with the requirements in the legal framework of the European Union, whether due to fraud or error. In assessing these risks, the auditor considers any internal controls relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the accounts, as well as the supervisory and control systems that are implemented to ensure the legality and regularity of underlying transactions, and designs audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. The audit also entails evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies, the reasonableness of accounting estimates and the overall presentation of the accounts. |
7. |
The Court considers that the audit evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for its statement of assurance. |
Opinion on the reliability of the accounts
8. |
In the Court’s opinion, the Agency’s annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position as at 31 December 2012 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of its Financial Regulation and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer. |
Opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts
9. |
In the Court’s opinion, the transactions underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2012 are legal and regular in all material respects. |
10. |
The comments which follow do not call the Court’s opinions into question. |
COMMENTS ON BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT
11. |
The level of committed appropriations for the different titles varied between 94 % and 99 % of total appropriations, indicating that legal commitments were signed in a timely manner. However, the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2013 was high for title II (administrative expenditure) at 35 % and title III (operating expenditure) at 46 %. For title II, this was caused, to a large extent, by events beyond the Agency’s control, such as the late invoicing of the 2012 office rental costs by the Spanish authorities. Also, in order to meet the increased operational needs that it was faced with in the last quarter of 2012, the Agency ordered a high volume of goods and services for which delivery was still pending by the year end. For title III, an important reason for the high level of carry-overs was the considerable workload faced by the agency as a result of the large number of IT projects that were either launched or ongoing during 2012. This workload had an impact on the timeliness of procurement procedures in the case of two IT projects launched in 2012. Furthermore, expenses related to training and missions undertaken by staff and experts in the last quarter of 2012 were only due for reimbursement at the beginning of 2013. |
OTHER COMMENTS
12. |
In response to the Court’s 2011 report, the Agency took corrective action in June 2012 to improve the transparency of recruitment procedures. In 2012, the only weaknesses identified related to three audited recruitment procedures that were initiated prior to the Court’s 2011 report: the vacancy notices did not provide information to the candidates on complaint and appeal procedures; candidates were given a global score instead of one score for each of the selection criteria; there was no evidence that the questions for interviews and written tests had been set before the date of the examinations. |
FOLLOW-UP OF PREVIOUS YEAR'S COMMENTS
13. |
An overview of the corrective actions taken in response to the Court's previous year's comments is provided in Annex I. |
This Report was adopted by Chamber IV, headed by Dr Louis GALEA, Member of the Court of Auditors, in Luxembourg at its meeting of 10 September 2013.
For the Court of Auditors
Vítor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA
President
(1) OJ L 128, 21.5.2005, p. 1.
(2) Annex II summarises the Agency’s competences and activities. It is presented for information purposes.
(3) These include the balance sheet and the economic outturn account, the cash flow table, the statement of changes in net assets and a summary of the significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes.
(4) These comprise the budgetary outturn account and the annex to the budgetary outturn account.
(5) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
(6) The accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer are derived from the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) issued by the International Federation of Accountants or, where relevant, the International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
(7) Article 185(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1).
ANNEX I
Follow-up of previous year’s comments
Year |
Court’s comment |
Status of corrective action (Completed / Ongoing / Outstanding / N/A) |
2011 |
The Court identified a need to improve procurement procedures. The Agency did not adequately document the estimation of contract values in the procurement files. Some selection criteria for tenderers need to be more specific to further improve the transparency of procedures. |
Completed |
2011 |
The Agency does not yet have adequate procedures in place to record and account for costs related to the generation of internal intangible assets. |
Completed |
2011 |
In the course of the appointment procedure of the executive Director, a member of the Administrative Board contravened the regulations governing appointments to key posts by announcing the candidate the Commission intended to vote for. |
N/A |
2011 |
The Court identified a need to further improve staff selection procedures. Vacancy notices did not provide information on complaint and appeal procedures. Meetings of the Selection Board were insufficiently documented and in one recruitment case the Appointing Authority did not follow the order of the Selection Board’s list without providing a reason. |
Ongoing |
ANNEX II
European Fisheries Control Agency (1) (Vigo)
Competences and activities
Areas of Union competence deriving from the Treaty (Article 43 TFEU) |
The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall establish the common organisation of agricultural markets provided for in Article 40(1) and the other provisions necessary for the pursuit of the objectives of the common fisheries policy. |
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Competences of the Agency (Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005, amended by Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009) |
Objectives
Tasks/Mission
Please note that, among other competences, after the amendment of the Agency’s establishing Regulation by Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009:
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Governance |
Administrative Board Composition Comprises one representative from each Member State and six representatives of the Commission. Duties To adopt the budget, work programme and annual report. To adopt the final budget and the establishment Plan. To give an opinion on the final accounts. Executive Director Appointed by the Administrative Board from a list of at least two candidates proposed by the Commission. External audit European Court of Auditors. Internal control European Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS). Discharge authority European Parliament acting on a recommendation from the Council. |
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Resources made available to the Agency in 2012 (2011) |
Final Budget Total Budget 2012: 9,22 (12,85) million euro
Staff as at 31 December 2012 54 (53) temporary staff foreseen in the establishment plan, of which occupied: 50 (52) + 5 (5) contract staff foreseen of which occupied 5 (4) Total staff foreseen: 59 (58), of which occupied 55 (56) |
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Products and services 2012 (2011) |
Operational Coordination
Capacity Building
(see Annual Work Programme 2012 of the Agency for details.) |
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Source: Information supplied by the Agency. |
(1) Please note that the name of the Agency has changed from ‘Community Fisheries Control Agency’ to ‘European Fisheries Control Agency’ as of the 1 January 2012.
Source: Information supplied by the Agency.
THE AGENCY’S REPLIES
11. |
The Agency takes note of the comments of the Court. In particular in relation to title III, the Agency is dealing with complex and lengthy IT projects. Careful consideration will be given to each new IT project with a view to optimising its lifecycle, in order to avoid where possible carryover of significant amounts from one year to the next. |
12. |
As mentioned by the Court, in June 2012 the Agency took measures to deal with the weaknesses referred to in the Court’s comment. The three files audited relate to procedures which had been carried out prior to this June 2012 date. |