2023 discharge: General budget of the EU - Committee of the Regions
This European Parliament decision postpones the final approval of the EU's 2023 budget implementation for the European Council and the Council. The postponement is due to the Council's ongoing refusal to cooperate with the Parliament's scrutiny process. This decision directly affects the European Council and the Council, as it delays the formal discharge of their budget implementation for the financial year 2023. It also impacts citizens by potentially reducing transparency and accountability in how public funds are managed. The key change is the Parliament's continued refusal to grant discharge, a practice maintained since 2009 due to the Council's lack of cooperation. This means the Parliament cannot fully verify the legality and regularity of the Council's budget spending. The Parliament reiterates its right to grant discharge and calls for amendments to ensure institutions comply with transparency obligations. It urges the Council to resume negotiations to resolve this long-standing impasse and improve interinstitutional cooperation.
Analysis
The European Parliament grants the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee discharge for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2023.
What changes
- The final adopted budget for the Committee in 2023 was EUR 158,767,970, an increase of 4.1% compared to 2022.
- An allowance for remote attendance at non-statutory meetings was set at EUR 145 per day, 50% of the physical attendance allowance.
- Approximately 3% of the IT budget was allocated to cybersecurity in 2023, which is below the target of 10% mentioned in relevant legislation.
Expected impact
- The report stresses the importance of strengthening democratic legitimacy through improved transparency and accountability, and implementing performance-based budgeting.
- Savings of approximately EUR 1.8 million were achieved due to the geographical concentration of buildings, equivalent to the rent for one building.
- The Committee implemented a flexible, trust-based hybrid working policy effective from January 2024, aiming to improve work-life balance and efficiency.
Limitations
- The document is a report on discharge for the financial year 2023 and does not contain forward-looking legislative proposals or detailed operational plans beyond the scope of budget implementation review.
- Specific financial figures for all budget lines are not detailed in this summary report, only key changes and implementation rates are highlighted.
- The document focuses on the European Economic and Social Committee's budget implementation and does not provide analysis on the broader EU budget or other institutions' performance.
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