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Discharge 2024: EU general budget - European Economic and Social Committee

TA-10-2026-0131 · P10_TA(2026)0131 · PE778.063

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Parliament grants discharge to the European Economic and Social Committee for the 2024 budget and adopts observations on its management, covering budget execution, internal control, human resources, ethics, digitalisation, buildings, environment, interinstitutional cooperation and communication.

Key points

  1. Notes the Committee's budget was EUR 164 945 524 in 2024, up 3.90% from 2023, with high implementation rates and reduced payment times.
  2. Calls on the Committee to strengthen transparency and proportionality of remote participation allowances and ensure financial compensation is strictly justified.
  3. Calls for cost-saving measures including hybrid meeting technologies and building optimisation, with regular progress reports.
  4. Notes cybersecurity spending is about 4% of IT budget, far from the 10% target, and calls for a roadmap to reach it.
  5. Welcomes efforts to improve performance monitoring and impact measurement, calling for clear quantifiable indicators and regular reporting.
  6. Notes the Committee adopted 142 opinions in 2024, down from 213 in 2023, and encourages prioritisation of initiatives supporting growth and strategic autonomy.
  7. Notes internal control effectiveness dropped from 78% in 2023 to 66% in 2024, and calls for addressing structural causes.
  8. Notes staff numbers and gender balance, with women holding 52% of management positions but only two of seven senior management posts.
  9. Urges the Committee to consult the EDPS on collecting burnout data and to keep the discharge authority updated.
  10. Notes a suspected fraud case referred to EPPO and welcomes measures to prevent future cases, including an anti-fraud strategy.
  11. Welcomes cooperation with the CoR, noting estimated savings of about EUR 16 million in IT and other areas, and calls for expanding cooperation.
  12. Notes communication efforts, including outreach events involving 350 000 citizens and increased social media presence.

Who is affected

  • The European Economic and Social Committee and its Secretary-General, who is granted discharge for the 2024 budget.
  • Committee members and staff, affected by changes to allowances, working conditions, and training requirements.
  • The European Committee of the Regions, with which the Committee shares joint services and cooperation projects.
  • External service providers, subject to more rigorous compliance checks and potential fraud investigations.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 164 945 524: final adopted budget for the Committee in 2024, up 3.90% from 2023.
  • EUR 367: daily allowance for in-person meetings, up from EUR 290; EUR 149 for remote, up from EUR 145.
  • EUR 13 827 713: carry-over from 2023 to 2024, 8.38% of budget.
  • EUR 1.2 million: estimated cost for cybersecurity upgrade to reach 10% of IT budget.
  • EUR 13 700 000: combined IT budget of the Committee and CoR in 2024, up 7.87% from 2023.
  • EUR 198 894: amount earmarked for greening operations in 2024.
  • EUR 2.5 million: communication budget in 2024, 1.4% of overall budget.

Legal basis: Article 287, 314(10), 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union