On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union agencies for the financial year 2023

PR_DEC_Agencies2

1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

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

(2024/2030(DEC))

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

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

– 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,

– 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),

– 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,

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

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

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

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

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

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;

2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

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).

2. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

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

(2024/2030(DEC))

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

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

– 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,

– 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),

– 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,

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

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

– 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,

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

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

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

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;

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).

3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

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

(2024/2030(DEC))

– 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,

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

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

– 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;

– 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,

– 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,

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

– 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.