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OPINION (2024/2030(DEC))

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

ENVI-AD-764979

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Antonio Decaro

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This opinion covers the discharge for five EU agencies for 2023. It recommends granting discharge and makes specific requests to each agency. It welcomes the Court of Auditors' confirmation of the legality of the accounts and calls for continued transparency, cooperation, and attention to gender and geographical balance. For each agency, it notes achievements and issues, such as ECDC's new mandate, ECHA's fee income decline, EEA's budget execution, EFSA's scientific questions, and EMA's revenue transparency.

Committee position. The Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety recommends granting discharge to the Executive Directors of the five agencies for the 2023 budget.

Key points

  1. Recommends granting discharge to the Executive Directors of the five agencies for the 2023 budget.
  2. Welcomes the Court of Auditors' confirmation of the legality and regularity of the agencies' 2023 accounts.
  3. Calls for improved funding distribution, reducing administrative burdens, and simplifying procedures to channel resources to final recipients.
  4. For ECDC: welcomes its new mandate implementation, One Health Task Force, and EMAS certification; notes senior management is 67% men and 33% women; calls for gender and geographical balance.
  5. For ECHA: notes fee income decreased in 2023, increasing reliance on the Union budget; calls for transparency and improved budgetary certainty; regrets falling short on key indicators for hazardous substance identification.
  6. For ECHA: notes it screened 61 groups covering about 1,380 substances and assessed 92% of substances registered above 100 tonnes; senior management is 73% men and 27% women.
  7. For EEA: welcomes its first monitoring report on the 8th Environment Action Programme and 100% budget execution; notes senior management is 50% men and 50% women; calls for staff growth.
  8. For EFSA: notes it closed 660 scientific questions in 2023, below the target of 673; calls for timely advice, cooperation, and focus on food safety; senior management is 63% men and 38% women.
  9. For EMA: notes it recommended 77 new human medicines and 14 new veterinary medicines in 2023; revenue was 88.21% from fees; calls for transparency and timely access to documents.
  10. For EMA: recommends a formal framework for joint procurement of essential medicines and calls on the Commission to resolve the issue of its former London premises.

Who is affected

  • The five agencies: ECDC, ECHA, EEA, EFSA, and EMA, which must follow the recommendations on transparency, balance, and efficiency.
  • The European Commission, asked to improve ECHA's budgetary certainty and resolve EMA's London premises issue.
  • Member States, called to collaborate with agencies and provide experts to ECHA's scientific committees.

Figures and deadlines

  • 67% men and 33% women in ECDC senior management.
  • 22.7% of ECDC staff are nationals of the host Member State.
  • 73% men and 27% women in ECHA senior management.
  • 29.1% of ECHA staff are nationals of the host Member State.
  • 50% men and 50% women in EEA senior management.
  • 20.1% of EEA staff are nationals of the host Member State.
  • 63% men and 38% women in EFSA senior management.
  • 41.8% of EFSA staff are nationals of the host Member State.