On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Data Protection Supervisor for the financial year 2024

OPINION

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

1. Notes that the 2024 European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) operating budget amounted to EUR 24 329 460, reflecting an increase of 7% compared to the final budget for 2023; welcomes that, in 2024, the implementation rate of the commitment appropriations by the EDPS was 96%;

2. Notes the increased role of the EDPS in multiple new legislative acts, including the Artificial Intelligence Act, under which EDPS becomes the competent authority for the Union institutions, agencies, offices and bodies, where the EDPS has been delegated further tasks; emphasizes that these additional responsibilities, delegated by the co-legislators, require adequate resources to ensure the EDPS can effectively fulfil its obligations;

3. Emphasises the role of the EDPS in supervising the personal data processing operations of European Union institutions, bodies, and agencies (EUIBA); expresses concern about the time it takes the EDPS to handle complaints; recalls the European Ombudsman’s Decision of 7 November 2024 in case 1888/2023/TM, in which the EO found that six years for the EDPS to complete its assessment of a complaint does not constitute a reasonable timeframe and that the EDPS’s approach constituted maladministration; notes that the Ombudsman found that the EDPS also failed to keep the complainant informed on the progress of the case;

4. Welcomes that in 2024, the EDPS finalised 77 admissible complaint cases, which represents an increase of 33% compared to 2023; notes that it is not clear when these complaints were submitted, therefore calls on the EDPS to improve procedural transparency and to publish data on the number of admissible complaints received each year, average time taken to investigate and resolve them, and reasons for significant delays; urges the EDPS to reflect on its KPIs and ensure that they cover complaint handling as well as set targets for handling complaints and inquiries, similarly to the practice of the European Ombudsman;

5. Welcomes the decrease in EDPS staff mission costs and the number of staff missions from 246 in 2023 to 218 in 2024; calls on the EDPS to keep assessing whether the resources spent on missions are being used appropriately and contribute to protection of personal data in EUIBA; notes that in 2024 the EDPS engaged in a number of events, including commercial events and that in line with EDPS speaking engagement policy, the EDPS “would normally expect the organisers to cover the cost of travel and accommodation”, stresses that the EDPS still does not provide information about the number of missions funded by organisers or other third parties, thus reducing transparency regarding EDPS mission expenses;

6. Notes that in 2024, the EDPS concluded a single investigation, in comparison to no investigations concluded in 2023, issued 25 opinions, a decrease in comparison to 54 opinions issued in 2023 and carried out three audits, a drop in comparison to five audits in 2023; urges the EDPS, to make a clear distinction between actual audits and visits in its KPI;