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DRAFT REPORT (2023/2138(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section IX – European Data Protection Supervisor

CONT-PR-753487

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Luke Ming Flanagan

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This is the rapporteur's draft report on granting the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) discharge for the 2022 budget. It proposes to grant discharge and sets out observations on the EDPS's budgetary and financial management, internal management, human resources, ethics, digitalisation, buildings, environment, interinstitutional cooperation and communication. The draft notes the Court of Auditors found no specific issues concerning the EDPS, that the budget implementation rate was 98%, and that the EDPS received 367 complaints in 2022. It calls on the EDPS to keep the discharge authority informed on several matters, including any extension of its mandate, the outcome of its IT feasibility study, and the working group on workload distribution.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament grant the EDPS discharge for the 2022 financial year and sets out observations in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Grants the EDPS discharge for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2022.
  2. Notes the EDPS budget falls under MFF heading 7, which amounted to EUR 11.6 billion, and the EDPS budget represented 0.17% of that heading.
  3. Notes the Court examined 60 transactions, found 14 (23%) contained errors, and estimated the error level below the materiality threshold; the Court identified no specific issues concerning the EDPS.
  4. Notes the final adopted EDPS budget was EUR 20 266 000 in 2022, an increase of 4.12% compared to 2021, and the budget implementation rate was 98%.
  5. Notes the average payment time was 21.54 days in 2022 and welcomes a new electronic payment system; calls on the EDPS to consider extending it to other payments.
  6. Notes the EDPS conducted a mid-term review of its 2020-2024 strategy and made major organisational changes, including creating a Head of Secretariat, a legal service, new sectors and a Strasbourg antenna.
  7. Notes the EDPS received 367 complaints in 2022, issued final decisions in 23 of 65 admissible cases within 42 days on average, and dealt with Europol complaints in 5 to 12 months.
  8. Notes the EDPS had 127 staff members at the end of 2022, an occupancy rate of 86.9%, and employed 64% women and 36% men; regrets no women were in senior management.
  9. Welcomes that no cases of burnout or harassment were reported, and asks the EDPS to inform the discharge authority of the outcome of the working group on workload distribution.
  10. Regrets the EDPS has not formally joined the transparency register, and notes no conflicts of interest or whistle-blowing cases were reported in 2022.
  11. Notes the EDPS did not encounter any cyber-attack in 2022 and congratulates it for piloting privacy-friendly open source IT solutions.
  12. Welcomes interinstitutional cooperation savings and the EDPS's role in coordinating Data Protection Authorities and promoting consistent data protection.

Who is affected

  • The European Data Protection Supervisor, which would receive discharge for its 2022 budget implementation.
  • The EDPS's staff and management, affected by observations on human resources, ethics and internal management.
  • The European Parliament, which would grant discharge and receive follow-up information from the EDPS.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 11.6 billion: total MFF heading 7 in 2022, 5.9% of Union budget spending.
  • 0.17%: the EDPS budget as a share of MFF heading 7 appropriations.
  • EUR 20 266 000: the final adopted EDPS budget for 2022, an increase of 4.12% compared to 2021.
  • 98%: the budget implementation rate in 2022, up from 86% in 2021.
  • 21.54 days: the average payment time in 2022, compared to 19.98 days in 2021.
  • EUR 41 000 to EUR 251 000: the EDPS staff mission budget, an increase of 512% between 2021 and 2022.
  • 367 complaints received in 2022, 47 more than in 2021; 65 admissible and 302 inadmissible.
  • 127 staff members at the end of 2022, compared to 124 at the end of 2021 and 114 at the end of 2020.

Legal basis: Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.