Skip to content
REPORT (2023/2151(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022

A-9-2024-0129

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Petri Sarvamaa

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 25 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's committee report proposes granting discharge to the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority for the 2022 budget and approving the closure of the Authority's 2022 accounts. It notes the Authority's 2022 budget of EUR 149 841 816,93, a 15,99 % increase on 2021, and the Court of Auditors' assurance that the accounts are reliable and the transactions legal and regular. It welcomes the Authority's food safety work, its 96 % performance framework rate and its communication results, while noting a shortfall in scientific questions closed against target. It calls on the Commission to ensure the Authority has enough resources and posts for plant protection products, and on the Authority to close the gender gap in senior posts and promote work-life balance. It notes the Authority's handling of seven conflicts of interest, its anti-fraud strategy, and an Internal Audit Service report on information security with two observations and three important observations.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament grant the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority discharge for the 2022 budget and approve the closure of the Authority's 2022 accounts, with observations set out in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Parliament grants the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority discharge for the implementation of the Authority's 2022 budget.
  2. Parliament approves the closure of the Authority's accounts for the financial year 2022.
  3. The Authority's final 2022 budget was EUR 149 841 816,93, up 15,99 % on 2021, and derives mainly from the Union budget.
  4. The Court of Auditors found the Authority's annual accounts reliable and the underlying transactions legal and regular.
  5. No procurement or internal control issues requiring corrective action were reported for 2022, and no corrective actions from earlier audits remain outstanding.
  6. Budget implementation reached a 99,95 % commitment rate and an 89,77 % payment rate; the Authority met 96 % of its performance framework targets.
  7. The Authority closed 586 of 701 targeted scientific questions under Objective 1, roughly matching new questions received so the stock of open questions did not grow.
  8. Parliament calls on the Commission to ensure the Authority has sufficient resources and posts for plant protection products, to double assessments of active substances and triple methodology development speed.
  9. The Authority's establishment plan was 95,55 % implemented, with five officials and 382 temporary agents out of 405 authorised posts, plus 170 contract agents and 14 seconded national experts.
  10. Gender balance was reached overall (60,1 % women) and on the management board (52,9 % women), but men hold 63 % of senior and management positions; Parliament calls for intensified efforts.
  11. The Authority identified and managed seven conflicts of interest among external experts and prevented them from taking part in scientific activity.
  12. The Internal Audit Service issued a report on information security and disaster recovery with two observations and three important observations; the Authority accepted the recommendations and is implementing an action plan.

Who is affected

  • The European Food Safety Authority and its Executive Director: granted discharge and told to close the 2022 accounts.
  • The Commission: asked to ensure the Authority has enough resources and posts for plant protection products.
  • The Authority's staff and management: called on to improve gender balance in senior posts and work-life balance.
  • External experts and management board members: subject to conflict-of-interest declarations and post-employment rules.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 149 841 816,93 — the Authority's final budget for the financial year 2022.
  • 15,99 % — the increase in the Authority's 2022 budget compared to 2021.
  • 99,95 % — the current year commitment appropriation implementation rate for 2022.
  • 89,77 % — the current year payment appropriations execution rate for 2022.
  • 96 % — the overall performance rate against the targets in the Performance Framework.
  • 586 out of 701 — scientific questions finalised under Objective 1.
  • 95,55 % — implementation of the establishment plan on 31 December 2022.
  • 405 posts authorised under the Union budget, with five officials and 382 temporary agents appointed.

Legal basis: Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.