What changed

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1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

OPINION

on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its proposal for a decision:

(2024/2030(DEC))

General considerations

– having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023,

1. Welcomes the constructive cooperation between the European Parliament and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (the Agencies), illustrated, inter alia, by the annual exchanges of views that took place in 2023 in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI);

– having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2023, together with the agencies’ replies,

2. Considers that regular visits to the Agencies are a key aspect of the scrutiny exercised by the European Parliament over them; notes to this regard the success of the ENVI delegation to EMA in February 2023 and to ECHA in April 2023;

–3. havingExpresses regardits tosatisfaction that the statementEuropean Court of assuranceAuditors as(ECA) tohas declared the reliabilitytransactions of the accountsAgencies andunderlying the legality andannual regularityaccounts offor the underlyingfinancial transactionsyear provided2023 byto thebe Courtlegal ofand Auditorsregular forin theall financialmaterial yearrespects, 2023,and pursuantthat totheir Articlefinancial 287position, ofat the31 TreatyDecember on2023, theis Functioningfairly ofrepresented thein Europeanall Union,material respects;

– having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 17 February 2025 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2023 (05755/2025 – C100024/2025),

4. Welcomes the measures taken by the agencies in light of the European Parliament recommendations in its discharge for the financial year 2022; stresses the importance of increasing the Agencies’ efforts in terms of cooperation with other agencies and international organisations, digitalisation, and gender and geographical balance in senior management positions;

– having regard to its decision of 7 May 2025 postponing the discharge decision for the financial year 2023, and the replies from the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum,

5. Welcomes the fact that the Agencies took effective corrective actions following most of the 2022 observations from the ECA; takes note of 2023 observations for the Agencies, in particular observations related to ex-ante checks, and calls on them to ensure an effective follow-up.

– having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Part I – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for the financial year 2023

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and in particular Article 70 thereof,

1. Acknowledges the key role of the ECDC in identifying and assessing current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases and related special health issues, in order to enhance the capacity of the Union and the Member States to protect human health through the prevention and control of communicable diseases in humans and related special health issues;

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, and in particular Article 70 thereof,

2. Notes that the ECDC mandate was extended following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 which entered into force on 13 December 2022 in order to strengthen the Union's health security framework in the fields of epidemiological surveillance; welcomes the fact that the ECDC began to implement its new mandate by reviewing the modalities of collaboration with its main partners and stakeholders, as well as the structure and content of its Strategy 2021-2027;

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office, in particular Article 36 thereof,

3. Welcomes the continued development of the One Health Framework and the creation of the One Health Task Force to strengthen collaboration with EMA, EFSA, EEA and ECHA; highlights the importance of ensuring good and fair cooperation between the Agencies;

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010, and in particular Article 55 thereof,

4. Welcomes, following the observations in the 2022 discharge, the signing of the Working Arrangements between the ECDC and Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in order to avoid overlaps and duplication of efforts;

– having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and in particular Article 105 thereof,

5. Welcomes the fact that the ECDC was able to deliver 90% of the outputs planned in its Single Programming Document 2023−2025, with 5% of the planned outputs postponed, and 4% cancelled, delayed, not implemented or not applicable by the end of the year.

– having regard to Rule 102 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

Part II – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for the financial year 2023

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

1. Acknowledges that the ECHA is key in implementing a growing number of Union legislation that regulates chemicals for the benefit of public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; recognises that the ECHA collects, evaluates and disseminates a vast amount of information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals;

– having regard to the second report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A100000/2025),

2. Observes that the Agencies budget relies on collected fees and a contribution from the Union’s general budget; takes note with concern that after a rise in 2022, in 2023 the ECHA’s fee income has again decreased, increasing the reliance on the Union to finance its operations; stresses the need to address the lack of predictability of the ECHA’s fee income and reiterates its previous calls to the Commission to improve the ECHA’s budgetary certainty by presenting its proposal to strengthen the governance of ECHA in line with its commitment expressed in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability;

1. Grants / Refuses to grant the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2023;

3. Recalls the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing reflecting the needs of the European Green Deal and the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, Circular Economy Action Plan and, in particular, the zero pollution target, and the associated increase in tasks;

2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

4. Acknowledges that in 2023 the ECHA delivered its regulatory tasks under the Union chemicals legislation, in particular REACH and CLP, provided scientific-technical support to the Commission in the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, as well as preparing and starting work on the implementation of new regulatory tasks under the Drinking Water Directive, the Batteries Regulation and the Serious Cross-Border Threads to Health Regulation;

3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

5. Welcomes the progress made on the Integrated Regulatory Strategy and the Joint Evaluation Action Plan; recognises the advancements in identifying substances and substance groups as candidates for regulatory action; regrets that the ECHA has, however, fallen short on fulfilling key indicators for identification and prioritisation of hazardous substances; stresses the need to complete the identification of hazardous substances to ensure their safe use;

2. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

6. Welcomes the ECHA’s efforts to promote the use of alternatives to animal testing for the regulatory assessment of chemicals and to foster understanding of the opportunities and challenges in moving away from animal testing while ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment;

on the closure of the accounts of European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023

7. Notes with concern the difficulty to recruit sufficient experts from Member States to the ECHA’s Scientific Committees, posing a risk to the ECHA’s ability to meet legal deadlines and targets in regulatory processes that are dependent on the Committees’ outputs, in particular in the light of increasing tasks being attributed to the ECHA;

(2024/2030(DEC))

8. Welcomes the ECHA Strategy Statement for 2024 - 2028 adopted in December 2023, which sets out the priorities for the ECHA in implementing its evolving mandate.

Part III – havingDischarge regardin torespect of the finalimplementation annualof accountsthe budget of the European UnionEnvironment Agency for Asylum(EEA) for the financial year 2023,2023

– having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2023, together with the agencies’ replies,

1. Stresses that the EEA provides sound, independent information on the environment; commends the quality of its outputs released in 2023, such as Pathways towards circular plastics in Europe — good practice examples from countries, business and citizens, Assessing the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and European forest ecosystems: key allies in sustainable development;

– having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2023, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

2. Acknowledges the adaptability of the EEA, which, in addition to its planned publications for 2023, released additional works on topics ranging from extreme weather to human health, such as The importance on restoring nature in Europe, demonstrating its capacity to inform and fuel current policy debates arising from evolving circumstances;

– having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 17 February 2025 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2023 (05755/2025 – C100024/2025),

3. Notes that the EEA is tasked with tracking progress towards the 8th Environment Action programme (‘8th EAP’), which builds on the European Green Deal and sets the framework for Union environmental policy until 2030, with a long-term priority objective for 2050 of living well within planetary boundaries; welcomes the release of its first annual monitoring report in December 2023, on the basis of a set of 28 headline indicators and corresponding targets such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, circular economy and biodiversity;

– having regard to its decision of 7 May 2025 postponing the discharge decision for the financial year 2023, and the replies from the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum,

4. Takes note that, in June 2023 and following a pre-selection by the Commission, a selection by the Management Board and a hearing in ENVI, Leena Ylä-Mononen took over as EEA Executive Director from Hans Bruyninckx, who had served in the role for 10 years; welcomes the swift and effective process which led to this appointment;

– having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

5. Welcomes the fact that, following the Discharge Authority’s recommendations of 2022, the EEA has established regular progress monitoring processes for both the implementation of key reports and assessments and recently with a stronger focus on indicators, and has consecutively reached a budget execution rate of 100% of the annual budget, a 100% delivery rate of key reports and assessments, and high engagement with key stakeholders and network partners throughout the year;

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and in particular Article 70 thereof,

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well as an overload of administrative work for scientists; considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload, and in order to properly perform the tasks on the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature restoration, the EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come.

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, and in particular Article 70 thereof,

Part IV – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the financial year 2023

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office, in particular Article 36 thereof,

1. Welcomes the EFSA's' contribution to the safety of the Union food and feed chain, and its considerable efforts in providing risk managers with comprehensive, independent and up-to-date scientific advice on questions linked to the food chain, communicating clearly to the public on its outputs and the information on which they are based, and cooperating with interested parties and institutional partners to promote coherence and trust in the food safety system;

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010, and in particular Article 55 thereof,

2. Welcomes the involvement of the EFSA in ENVI’s work and more generally the engagement of EFSA with initiatives related to the Farm to Fork and the Union Chemical strategies, with a particular emphasis on pesticides, nutrition, animal welfare, and chemical risk assessment, including establishing an Union chemicals data platform;

– having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and in particular Article 105 thereof,

3. Notes that the EFSA closed 660 scientific questions in 2023, slightly below the target of 673 but better than the result achieved since 2020; highlights the need to decrease the amount of questions in stock; welcomes the measures put in please to increase the speed of the Risk Assessment process;

– having regard to Rule 102 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

4. Takes note that, according to the Annual Strategy Survey launched by the EFSA asking for feedback from its customers, partners, and stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in the delivery of the EFSA’s scientific opinions, the EFSA’s ability to provide its advice in a timely manner remains a point of attention as in the previous year; calls on the EFSA to implement the necessary measures to improve this aspect;

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

5. Highlights the need for the EFSA to develop strong cooperation with all its stakeholders, including the other Agencies for better connection and outputs dissemination; welcomes the fact that the EFSA developed cooperation with Member States, including with the increase support of focal points, mainly focusing on support in the area of data collection and communication;

– having regard to the second report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A100000/2025),

6. Welcomes the fact that the EFSA continued implementing its new organisational structure that was put in place in 2022 to reflect the Transparency Regulation; highlights the need to improve efficiency and transparency in the EFSA’s process architecture.

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023 / Points out that a proposal to close the accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023 must be submitted at a subsequent part-session;

Part V – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the financial year 2023

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

1. Reiterates the key role of the EMA in protecting human and animal health by assessing and supervising medicines for human or veterinary use and protecting public health by raising awareness on key issues including antimicrobial resistance and prevention of communicable diseases through vaccination;

3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

2. Notes that in 2023, the EMA recommended for marketing authorisation 77 new human medicines, including 39 new active substances, and 14 new veterinary medicines, including 9 new active substances; welcomes the fact that the EMA confirmed seventeen orphan-status designations under the Union framework for orphan medicines, the purpose of which is to encourage the development and marketing of medicines for patients with rare diseases;

with observations forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union agencies for the financial year 2023

3. Notes the EMA decision to lift its COVID-19 business continuity measures, in alignment with the World Health Organisation declaration of the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern; welcomes the fact that it enabled the EMA to shift its focus to address other challenges, including the finalisation of the EMA’s extended mandate obligations, of the medical devices and in vitro medical devices regulations (MDR/IVDR), and the first reflections on the EC proposal for the revision of the general Union pharmaceutical legislation for human medicines;

(2024/2030(DEC))

4. Welcomes the EMA’s efforts to contribute to Union priorities, including via inter alia the implementation of the Union Beating Cancer Plan, the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance.

– having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2023,

5. Recalls that the EMA is a fee-funded agency, with 88,21 % of its 2023 revenue stemming from fees for applications for marketing licenses for pharmaceutical products and for post-authorisation activities, 11,43 % stemming from the Union budget and 0,36 % from various other sources; highlights the need to ensure transparency of these revenues and welcomes the fact that in the future the EMA will have the obligation to publish in its activity report the annual revenue received per type of fee and charge according to Regulation (EU) 2024/568;

– having regard to Rule 102 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

6. Notes that in 2023 the EMA received 6 965 requests for information and 709 requests for access to documents and that the EMA applies a queuing system that leads to delays in the treatment of the requests; emphasises the importance of transparency in the EMA operations, hence the need to ensure a timely access to information and documents;

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

7. Notes that the situation regarding the EMA’s former premises in London became increasingly challenging in 2023, with a need for the EMA to dedicate significant levels of resources to managing commercial real estate in a third country, endangering its core activities; calls on the Commission to secure a long-term political resolution of this issue and to allow the EMA to fully focus its efforts on its public health mission.

– having regard to the functioning of the Common European Asylum System, the respect and proper implementation and enforcement of the rules and the sustainable and appropriate financial support of the EUAA are essential to ensure the system of shared responsibility and solidarity among the Member States of the European Union;

Conclusion

– having regard to the OLAF Final Report (OC-2022-0717) on the European Union Agency for Asylum finalised in October 2024, and made available in March 2025 to Members of the Committee on Budgetary Control,

1. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge be granted to the Executive Directors of the Agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget of the EU agencies for the financial year 2023.

– having regard to the letters sent by the Chair of EUAA in March 2025 and the Executive Director of European Union Agency for Asylum in July 2025,

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

– having regard to the exchange of views with representatives from OLAF, the European Union Agency for Asylum and DG Home on 15 July 2025,

The Chair in his capacity as rapporteur for the opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

– having regard to the second report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A100000/2025),

A. whereas all Union decentralised agencies must be transparent and fully accountable to the citizens of the Union for the funds entrusted to them as Union bodies;

B. whereas Parliament's role in respect of the budget discharge is specified in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in the Financial Regulation and in the Framework Financial Regulation;

1. Recalls the role of Parliament within the discharge procedure, as governed by the TFEU, the Financial Regulation and its rules of procedure;

2. Recalls that on 7 May 2025 Parliament decided to postpone the decision on the 2023 discharge of the European Union Agency for Asylum (‘the Agency’);

3. Underlines the importance of acting responsibly and transparently in the implementation of the Union budget;

The outcome of the investigation of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

4. Notes that OLAF made an anonymised version of its final report on the investigation available to the Members of the Committee on Budgetary Control in March 2025 and to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in July 2025; deplores the delayed access to the investigation, which was granted only in March despite the request made by the rapporteur in December 2024, with OLAF’s reply citing objections from the Management Board of European Union Agency for Asylum; insists that access to the report should have been given to CONT members earlier to guarantee the exercise of their mandate adequately;

5. Is aware that OLAF’s investigations shall be conducted continuously over a period which must be proportionate to the circumstances and complexity of the case; is concerned over the length of OLAF’s investigations as it undermines the ability of the discharge authority to consider their findings efficiently: insists on the crucial role of timely investigations in maintaining effective Parliament oversight; calls on OLAF to review and speed up the procedure of completing and sharing investigations with the Discharge Authority;

6. Calls on the Agency to make an anonymised summary of the OLAF report publicly available, to the extent legally possible, in the interest of transparency and public trust;

7. Takes note that OLAF issued disciplinary and administrative recommendations following the investigation;

8. Observes that, concerning the disciplinary recommendations, the Management Board decided, as a follow-up, not to open disciplinary proceedings and instead issued written recommendations with a warning and requested to the Executive Director concrete proposals by way of corrective actions, and a timetable for their implementation as soon as possible; acknowledges that in line with this request, the Executive Director has submitted to the Management Board the following documents, which include:

– the Recommendations made by the Management Board;

– the current state of affairs in the Agency with regard to each Recommendation; and

– the additional corrective actions to be implemented with the inclusion of a provisional timeline for their implementation; calls on the Management Board to follow up on the recommendations and report back to the discharge authority on their full and timely implementation;

9. Notes that the Management Board decided not to implement OLAF’s disciplinary recommendations, even in light of the significant findings; remains vigilant about future actions aimed at enhancing accountability within the Agency; calls on the Agency to share the minutes of Management Board deliberations with the European Parliament, to strengthen parliamentary oversight;

10. Notes that the Executive Director prepared a “Vision Statement on leadership implementing the changes in EUAA” with corrective actions implemented and corrective actions to be implemented; requests the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the corrective actions implemented and to be implemented, along with deadlines for their completion;

11. Notes that the administrative recommendations addressed the practice of staff evaluations by heads of sector rather than heads of unit, as well as the management of conflicts of interest within the Agency;

12. Welcomes that starting in 2025, heads of unit will conduct staff evaluations as foreseen in the applicable rules;

13. Deplores the weaknesses in the management of conflict of interest within the Agency, particularly regarding the handling of complaints by the Management Board against decisions made by the Executive Director; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the corrective actions and organisational changes put in place to address these shortcomings in conflict of interest management;

14. Notes with appreciation the recognition by both the Management Board and the Executive Director of the seriousness of the allegations and the issues at stake;

15. Notes with concern the repeated failures in governance, including the inability of the Management Board to exercise timely and effective oversight; regrets that several of the irregularities could have been prevented with better internal controls and proactive engagement from the Management Board; insists that this institutional failure must be addressed structurally, not just procedurally;

16. Deplores the issues of poor administration, especially in the area of human resources, with serious irregularities, particularly in appointment and selection procedures in breach of Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants; is aware that during the period from 2019 to 2022, the Agency faced challenging circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive, or the entry into force of the EUAA Regulation with a new mandate, competences, and responsibilities; considers that despite these difficult circumstances, they do not justify non-compliance with the applicable legislation; calls the Agency to ensure that all applicable rules are followed in recruitment processes and to establish clear guidelines to promote transparent, merit-based, good practices and procedures in line with the staff regulation and any other applicable rules;

17. Welcomes that the practice of appointing managers ad interim has been discontinued as from January 2023;

18. Recalls that one of the duties of the Management Board is to give general orientation for the Agency’s activities and ensure that the Agency performs its tasks; considers that in order to give general orientation the Management Board needs to be aware and duly informed of applicable legislation to the Agency as well as critical developments in the management of the Agency; calls on the Agency to ensure more efficient and transparent procedures in communication with the Management Board;

19. Calls on the European Commission, who has two seats on the Management Board, to support and assist other board members in their understanding of the rules applicable to the Agency; calls on the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on the measures taken to improve communication with the Management Board;

20. Takes note of the suggestion made by the Commission during the exchange of views on the possibility to share Joint Services in certain horizontal areas across the decentralised Agencies, as this would help to better manage processes and make a more efficient use of resources; encourages the Commission to explore this possibility and propose concrete actions in this regard;

21. Calls on the Agency to establish an independent internal ethics function and emphasizes the importance of having robust whistle-blower protection rules in line with Directive (EU) 2019/1937; stresses that internal reporting channels must be confidential, credible and trusted by staff at all levels;

22. Highlights that although some of the events date back to the years 2021, 2022 and earlier, the OLAF investigation was only concluded in 2024; emphasises that due to the systemic nature of some of the issues, it cannot be assumed that they have been fully resolved; stresses that the Discharge Authority retains the full right to exercise its oversight responsibilities until the situation is entirely remedied and clarified; calls on the Executive Director and the Management Board to recognise and address any structural weaknesses in both the Agency’s human resources management and the Management Board’s oversight functions, and to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar issues and reserves the right to withhold or condition future discharge decisions, including budgetary appropriations, should the Agency fail to deliver full structural reform;

23. Commends the Agency's staff for their dedication and commitment in executing their tasks despite challenging circumstances; considers essential to foster a positive work environment by promoting good practices at the human resources level and rewarding merit-based performances; urges the Management Board and the Executive Director to ensure that the Agency is a safe and supportive workplace that encourages open communication and empowers individuals to speak up without fear of retaliation; calls on the Agency to ensure that all reports of professional misconduct are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated, with appropriate follow-up actions taken to maintain integrity and trust within the organisation;

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24. Refers, for other observations, to its resolution of 7 May 2025 with observations forming an integral part of decisions on discharge in respect of the budget of the European Union agencies.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he included in his report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that he received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

1. Interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register

Nina Gregori, Executive Director of EU Asylum Ageny

2. Representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.