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REPORT (2023/2156(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022

A-9-2024-0133

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Petri Sarvamaa

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Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control proposes granting discharge to the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency for the 2022 budget and approving the closure of the Agency's 2022 accounts. The accompanying resolution notes the Agency's 2022 budget of EUR 421 815 000, a 96,80 % commitment implementation rate and a 71,48 % payment execution rate, and regrets the latter. It raises concerns over the London office lease, an unauthorised commitment, asset inventory gaps, gender and geographical imbalance, and access-to-documents delays, and calls for action on each. It welcomes the Agency's extended mandate, its crisis-preparedness bodies, digitalisation and efficiency work, and its conflict-of-interest and cybersecurity measures. It calls on the Commission and Council to give the Agency adequate resources, and asks the Agency to report back on several points.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency for the 2022 budget and approve the closure of the Agency's 2022 accounts, and sets out its observations in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Parliament grants the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency discharge for the implementation of the Agency's 2022 budget.
  2. Parliament approves the closure of the Agency's accounts for the financial year 2022.
  3. The Agency's final 2022 budget was EUR 421 815 000, up 11,23 % on 2021, with about 88 % of revenue from fees and 12 % from the Union budget and miscellaneous income.
  4. The Court of Auditors found the Agency's annual accounts reliable and the underlying transactions legal and regular.
  5. Budget implementation reached 96,80 % for current-year commitments and 71,48 % for payments; Parliament regrets the fall in the payment execution rate.
  6. For one audited payment of EUR 2 million the Agency authorised the budgetary commitment after the legal commitment, contrary to Article 73(2) of its Financial Regulation; Parliament calls for immediate corrective measures.
  7. The London former premises lease runs to 2039, with an estimated EUR 366 million outstanding, about EUR 23 million a year; Parliament insists on a political decision for a long-term solution and a short-term measure while the subtenant fails to pay.
  8. Parliament notes the Agency reported on 41 performance indicators with a 92,60 % implementation rate, and welcomes its extended mandate, new bodies and management of medical device expert panels.
  9. Parliament welcomes the approval of two new vaccines and two COVID-19 treatments, the monkeypox vaccine recommendations, and the DARWIN EU coordination centre.
  10. Parliament calls on the Commission and Council to allocate adequate Union funding so the Agency can carry out all its activities without delay.
  11. Parliament regrets the lack of gender balance on the management board and in senior management, and the geographical imbalance with only one senior or middle manager from Central-Eastern Europe, and asks the Agency to report back.
  12. Parliament calls for an audit of the Agency's access-to-documents rules and queuing mechanism, and for detailed information on requests left inactive and average queuing time.

Who is affected

  • The European Medicines Agency and its Executive Director: granted discharge and asked to act on the observations.
  • The Commission and the Council: called on to allocate adequate Union funding to the Agency.
  • The Agency's management and staff: concerns raised on gender and geographical balance and on post-employment and conflict-of-interest rules.
  • Applicants for access to documents: affected by the Agency's queuing mechanism and processing times.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 421 815 000: the Agency's final budget for the financial year 2022.
  • 11,23 %: increase in the 2022 budget compared to 2021.
  • 88 % of 2022 revenue from fees; 12 % from the Union budget and miscellaneous income.
  • 96,80 %: budget implementation rate of current-year commitment appropriations, down 0,42 % on 2021.
  • 71,48 %: current-year payment appropriations execution rate, down 0,88 % on 2021.
  • EUR 2 million: audited payment whose budgetary commitment was authorised after the legal commitment.
  • EUR 366 million: estimated outstanding rent, service charges and landlord insurance to 2039, about EUR 23 million annually.
  • EUR 15 million: Dutch government incentive scheme used to fit and furnish the Amsterdam building.

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