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DRAFT SECOND REPORT (2024/2021(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section II – European Council and Council

CONT-PR-775471

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński

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This draft report concerns the discharge for the 2023 budget of the European Council and Council. It refuses discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council due to lack of cooperation and includes a resolution with observations. Parliament regrets the Council's refusal to answer its questionnaire or participate in hearings since 2009, preventing informed scrutiny. It calls on the Council to cooperate and resume negotiations.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes to refuse discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2023 budget and adopts a resolution with observations calling for cooperation.

Key points

  1. Refuses to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2023 budget implementation.
  2. Regrets that since 2009 the Council has refused to cooperate with Parliament in the discharge procedure, preventing thorough scrutiny.
  3. Notes that Parliament sent a questionnaire with 90 questions to the Council, which declined to answer, and did not participate in the hearing.
  4. Emphasizes Parliament's prerogative to grant discharge under Article 319 TFEU and the Financial Regulation.
  5. Finds incomprehensible the Council's view that discharge should be granted to the Commission for the Council budget, as the Commission confers powers on other institutions.
  6. Stresses the practice of granting discharge to all institutions and the Commission's inability to oversee other institutions' budgets.
  7. Deplores the Council's lack of political willingness to collaborate, which has damaged trust in the Union.
  8. Calls on the Council to follow up on Parliament's recommendations and engage in interinstitutional cooperation.
  9. Notes the Council's expressed willingness to cooperate and calls for resuming negotiations at the highest level.
  10. Reiterates that previous observations on various management areas remain valid and regrets the lack of separate budgets for the European Council and Council.

Who is affected

  • The Council and its Secretary-General, who are refused discharge and urged to cooperate with Parliament.
  • The European Council, whose costs are not separately budgeted, affecting transparency.

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