EU telecoms regulator agency fails budget discharge test

The Riga-based electronic communication regulator body BEREC on 17 March failed to convince budgetary control MEPs that its management of EU funds was in order for 2012.

It may rectify its shortcomings by October when MEPs will have their final say. In separate votes, the rest of the 31 EU agencies were granted discharge. Votes on bookkeeping by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council will be taken on Tuesday.The decision to postpone the budget management discharge for the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) was taken by 18 votes to one, with no abstentions.

MEPs criticized the agency, located in the Latvian capital, for shortcomings in budgetary management and planning that resulted in significant carryovers from 2012 to 2013. Its public procurement and recruitment practices were also found to be lacking in quality. "This agency stands out from the crowd with its poor performance in 2012. Postponing the grant of discharge is necessary to give it time to convince the European Parliament it can correct its shortcomings," argued Mr Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, FI), the MEP in charge of discharges for agencies.

The rapporteur noted that weaknesses in budgetary planning, recruitment processes and public procurement as well as conflicts of interest had been recurrent problems, albeit to a lesser degree, with several other agencies.

BEREC has been up and running since 2011, but 2012 was the first full year of operations checked by the Budgetary Control Committee as part of the discharge procedure. The agency has roughly half a year to remedy its shortcomings before the committee meets for a final vote.

In another voting session for the 2012 discharge process on Tuesday, the Budgetary Control Committee will decide on the bookkeeping of, inter alia, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Parliament as whole will vote on all the committee's discharge recommendations at the April plenary session in Brussels.

The European Parliament is the sole discharge authority vetting spending of the EU annual budget and the European Development Fund. At the end of a budgetary year it may grant, postpone or refuse a discharge, which is required for the formal closure of institutional accounts.

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