2013 discharge. Questionnaire to the European Court of Auditors

Transcription

1 2013 discharge Questionnaire to the European Court of Auditors 1. How many meetings of the Court took place in 2013? Could you please provide the Parliament with a list for each meeting indicating how many Court members were present at each of these meetings? Please see Annex What internal measures are in place to ensure a cost-effective and environment-friendly working place? ECA is currently developing an environmental management programme, the aim of which is to implement the EU s eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November An EMAS-compliant environmental management system will be implemented in the Court s three buildings: K1, K2 and K3. EMAS registration is foreseen for December The benefits from the implementation of EMAS will be: Cost reductions: better management of resources (e.g. energy and resources efficiency); Risk minimization: possibilities to reduce associated risk levels by assessing operational procedures; Regulatory compliance: full compliance with applicable European and National legal requirements relating to the environment; Simplification: the system offers solutions which simplify a number of administrative procedures. In order to ensure a cost-effective and environment-friendly working place, the following measures have already been implemented at the Court: Measures for reduction of energy: During the construction of the K3 building, assessment schemes for building projects were used and a BREEAM environmental certification was requested. One of the criteria for the design of the new building was rational energy management; Progressive replacement of desktops by laptops; ECA promotes the use of video-conferencing and electronic data exchange to reduce travelling. The ECA offers the possibility of teleworking; The electricity used by the ECA comes from 100% renewable resources; ECA is progressively replacing traditional light bulbs with low energy light bulbs. Measures for reduction of natural resources consumption: Paper and plastic cups have been removed and replaced with reusable mugs; Implementation of an environmental cost-effective printing policy; Use of 100% recycled paper; Installation of a rain water recovery system. 1

2 Staff awareness: Promotion of best practices through the organisation of and participation in different environmental campaigns, events and seminars such as: EU Mobility Week, EU Week for Waste Reduction, Green IT seminar, Printing policy presentation, Take the stairs Campaign, Earth Hour, eco-consciousness training for newcomers with the ultimate objective to ensure a costeffective and environment-friendly working place. Public Procurement: ECA has included environmental criteria in recent tenders with the aim of awarding contracts to contractors who provide environment-friendly services. Waste management: ECA has obtained a quality label for exemplary waste management. Management measures: Inventory of consumption of natural resources, direct and indirect environmental impacts has been performed; On-the-spot verification of the buildings - Audit on environmental legal compliance for all three ECA buildings has been completed; Action plan for managing non-conformities has been drawn up; All existing practices and procedures with regard to environmental management have been reassessed. Measures for promotion of sustainable mobility: A new bicycle room equipped with showers and changing areas has recently been installed and a recharging station for electric cars is available for free for those who opt for more sustainable form of transport; Promotion of public transport by providing bus passes to ECA staff (Jobkaart); ECA is registered with the Luxembourg City's Vel oh! hire scheme. All ECA staff are entitled to free use of the Vel'oh! Bicycle network; ECA promotes carpooling through the ECA Carpooling website. 3. How many cases of suspected fraud were reported to the European Anti-Fraud Office by the Court of Auditors in 2013? In 2013, the Court identified 14 cases of suspected fraud during its audit work, all of which it sent to OLAF. In addition to the 14 cases arising from its own audit work, the Court received 73 communications from the public concerning alleged fraud, mismanagement or waste. After careful examination of these communications, the Court forwarded 10 of them to OLAF. 4. In how many cases did OLAF decide to open an enquiry in 2013? OLAF decided to open investigations in seven of the 14 cases. In most or all of the cases where OLAF did not open an investigation itself, the information provided by the Court was sent to another authority (such as the responsible directorate general or the national judicial authorities) for follow-up action. 2

3 5. Please provide the total number of officials working at the Court of Auditors with a breakdown of staff from each Member State Number of officials at ECA by Member State at 31/12/2013 Austria 11 Belgium 64 Bulgaria 18 Cyprus 3 Czech Republic 23 Germany 74 Denmark 13 Spain 47 Estonia 11 Finland 16 France 106 United Kingdom 42 Greece 28 Croatia 3 Hungary 22 Ireland 11 Italy 52 Lithuania 14 Luxembourg 5 Latvia 11 Malta 6 Netherlands 13 Poland 41 Portugal 28 Romania 37 Slovakia 12 Slovenia 9 Sweden 15 Grand Total 735 3

4 6. What is the number of women working in managerial and higher positions compared to the number of men, broken down by nationality? F M Total Austria 1 1 Belgium 3 3 Bulgaria 1 1 Czech Republic 1 1 Germany Denmark Spain Estonia 1 1 Finland 1 1 France 9 9 United Kingdom Greece Hungary 1 1 Ireland 3 3 Italy Lithuania Latvia 1 1 Malta 1 1 Netherlands Poland 1 1 Portugal Romania 1 1 Slovakia 1 1 Slovenia 1 1 Sweden 1 1 Total What are the total costs for external employees broken down by the type of service they provide? Costs for external employees in 2013 (in EUR) Interim workers ,05 Special advisers Doctors medical service ,39 Trainees ,49 Seconded national experts ,07 Contract agents ,60 Total ,60 4

5 8. What were the costs in 2013 respectively for away days, closed conferences or similar events for staff? How many staff members participated in the respective events? Where did these events take place? Events Away days in 2013 (includes preparation and delivery of training, location and catering) Conferences in 2013 with costs Conferences in 2013 no costs Practice sharing sessions Number of events Costs in EUR Number of Participants Location , Luxembourg external location , Luxembourg ECA 30 0, Luxembourg ECA 9 0, Luxembourg ECA TOTAL , Mission Costs: a. What was the total mission cost of Court staff in 2013? The total mission costs of Court staff in 2013 amounted to EUR ,15. b. What were the highest and lowest amounts paid? Lowest amount paid Highest amount paid Average cost EUR 0,00 EUR 8 199,70(*) EUR 734,20 (*) DAS mission to Peru, transaction testing on the spot, to , including 5.764,54 euros flight tickets. 5

6 10. Travel Costs: a. What were the travel costs of Members in 2013? The total mission costs of Members of the Court in 2013 amounted to EUR ,87. b. What were the highest and lowest amounts paid? Lowest amount paid Highest amount paid Average cost EUR 19,30 EUR 5 854,30(*) EUR 461,60 (*) Member representing the Court to XXI INCOSAI in Beijing (China), to , including 3.437,50 euros flight tickets. 11. How many former MEPs, Commissioners or high officials (from AD 14) still receive money from the budget of your institution as advisors, contract agents or others? What are their tasks and their respective salaries? None. 12. Pensions: a. What was the amount of the highest pensions for officials of your institution actually paid in 2013? The highest pension paid in 2013 for an official of our institution was 10855,26 euros. b. What was the average pension paid in 2013 for officials of your institution? The average pension paid in 2013 for officials of our institution was 5235,19 euros. c. What is the average pension paid for officials of your institution who retired in 2013? The average pension paid for officials of our institution who retired in 2013 is 5316,37 euros. 13. What are the translations costs per page for the different languages? The translation costs at the Court of Auditors for the year 2013 are 203 EUR per page. The Court has arrived at this figure applying, firstly, the fine-tuned methodology for calculating the Key Performance Indicators. The methodology was refined, and agreed between the EU institutions, in Secondly, at the Secretary-General s request, the Court s Internal Audit Service carried out an audit on the cost of translation at the Court; its recommendations, issued in May 2014, permitted further adjustment of the calculations in accordance with the interinstitutional methodology. 6

7 It should be noted, however, that the Executive Committee for Translation (ECT) still considers that.full implementation of the methodology is not yet final as regards the reliability of the data; as long as some figures have to be based on estimates, they could not be used to compare institutions Cost per page in-house Language 2013 per language (in EUR) BG 204 CS 184 DA 219 DE 191 EL 210 EN 175 ES 172 ET 213 FI 202 FR 281 GA HR HU 193 IT 182 LT 207 LV 237 MT 213 NL 232 PL 182 PT 218 RO 203 SK 203 SL 208 SV What is the reason for the very high, 246 EUR per page translation cost, which is more than double of the cost that the European Court of Justice incurred (98 EUR per page) The two figures used in the 2012 Discharge, namely 246 EUR per page for the Court of Auditors and 98 EUR per page for the Court of Justice are not comparable. The Court of Auditors figure included all the direct and indirect costs, while the Court of Justice counted in only direct costs related to translation. If only direct costs are compared, for the year 2013, the direct costs for translation incurred by the Court of Auditors were 124 EUR per page. In this context, the issue of critical mass is an important factor to consider - as the Court is a demand-driven organisation and its translation demand is relatively small compared to the big institutions, its costs per page will always be slightly higher. 7

8 15. Vehicles: a. How many official cars, including drivers, does the Court provide for personal use only? b. What were the costs in 2013 for each of these official cars including the driver? c. How many of these personal official cars are allocated respectively to Members of the Institution and officials? d. What rules are in place for the private use of these cars? Reply to questions 15 a., 15 b., 15 c. and 15 d. No official vehicles or drivers are allocated for personal use only. Official vehicles are made available to the Members of the Court, the Secretary General and the auditors of the Court for journeys undertaken in the performance of their duties. Our car fleet is composed of 32 official vehicles (including a shuttle bus and a mini-van for technical services). Each Member as well as the Secretary General is allocated one official car to be used according to the following rules: - during journeys undertaken in the performance of official duties covered by a travel order, - during other journeys undertaken in the performance of official duties, evaluated at a standard rate of kilometres per year, - if used for other journeys than those noted above, any related expenditure (tolls, fuel costs etc.) is fully charged to the Members and the Secretary General. The shuttle bus (8 seats) is primarily made available to auditors for missions to Brussels or other nearby destinations. For instance, in 2014 the shuttle bus has been used for 61 missions to Brussels carrying a minimum of three auditors for each travel thus also achieving savings on the Court s missions budget. Each vehicle is covered by an individual long-term leasing agreement drawn up on the basis of a framework contract entered into with a private company following an interinstitutional call for tenders. On average, the cars remain in the vehicle fleet at the Court for a period of 48 months. In addition to the cost of the lease itself, the rental charge includes the cost of insuring the vehicle, replacing the tyres and providing an equivalent replacement vehicle for any leased vehicle which is immobilised. Please find the total rental charges for each official car for 2013 in Annex 2. The drivers of the Court are mainly assigned to other tasks (see reply to questions 15. e and 15 f.). 600 missions (mainly to Brussels and other surrounding areas) have been done by the drivers of the Court in 2013 at a total amount of ,21 euros. 8

9 e. What rules exist for the drivers if they are off duty? f. How many personally assigned drivers run private errands for their VIP or for the family of their VIP? Reply to questions 15 e. and 15 f. No specific rules exist for staff of the Court when being off duty. Within the framework of the Staff Regulations, staff of the Court, including drivers, are employed to work 40 hours/week with a maximum overtime allocation of 150 hours in a six month period. Please be informed that, when not assigned to official driver duties, Court drivers perform clerical and administrative tasks as part of a Logistical Support Team. As a result of this, significant savings have been achieved both in terms of budget and staff. Please find below a complete list of tasks (as per December 2014): List of tasks assigned to the Logistical Support Team Transport - Coordination and follow-up of tasks assigned to drivers and coordination of the Court's vehicle fleet FOBU (management of all office supplies) - Management of main stock - Management of replacement stock - Main stores clerk Printing - Printing Escorting people visiting the Court - Reception Distribution of mail and documents - Daily sorting of K1, K2 and K3 mail - Availability for the distribution of urgent mail - Management and circulation of documents from the Court s Secretariat Assignments to tasks of Departments under the Secretariat-General - K1/6.25: presence at Court meetings ( huissier ) - Library - Missions Office - Data protection/it security/ Efficient clocking system - Training - Accounting department Finances associated with Secretariat-General departments - Management of imprest account 9

10 g. What were the highest and lowest kilometre readings of the official cars at the European Court of Auditors? In 2013 the vehicle with the least usage travelled km while the one with the highest usage travelled km. 16. Please provide an estimate of the Court s cost of office space per square meter in a yearly breakdown The cost per square meter is approximately 42 euro or 36 euro without rental costs (please see Annex 3). 10

11 Annex 1 COURT MEETINGS IN 2013 Court meetings in 2013 Present Members Excused Members 956 th meeting 10 January th meeting 24 January th meeting 7 February th meeting 21 February th meeting 7 March st meeting 21 March nd meeting 11 April rd meeting 25 April th meeting 2 May th meeting 16 May th meeting 30 May th meeting 6 June th meeting 13 June th meeting 27 June th meeting 11 July st meeting 18 July 2013 (*) nd meeting 5 September Extraordinary meeting 11 September rd meeting 12 September th meeting 19 September th meeting 26 September Extraordinary meeting 8 October th meeting 17 October th meeting 7 November th meeting 12 December th meeting 19 December (*) As of 15 July 2013, the Court has 28 Members (nomination of a Croatian Member).

12 Annex 2 Total rental charges for each official car for 2013 Cars Annual costs (in EUR) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,52 32 vehicles ,72

13 1. Calculation of square meters CALCULATION OF TOTAL COSTS PER SQUARE METER OF OFFICE SPACE Annex 3 Building Sq. meters Occupancy 2013 Pro-rata K All year K All year K All year K Jan - 30 Jun K Jan - 30 Jun Antenne Brussels 124 All year 124 Total Calculation of total costs Budget line Description Index 11 (Note 1) Index 44 (Note 2) Payments in 2013 Carry-overs (Note 3) Total 2000 Rent 0, , ,22 0, , Cleaning and Maintenance 3 987, , , , , Energy consumption 0, , , , , Security and surveillance of bldgs 1 902, , , , , Insurance 0,00 0, ,59 104, , Other expenditure on buildings 0,00 633, , , ,09 Total 5 889, , , , ,03 Note 1: Index 11 - Use of Assigned Revenues of the Year Note 2: Index 44 - Use of Assigned Revenues Carried over from Previous year Note 3: Use of Carried over appropriations from 2013 (as at )

14 3. Calculation of total costs per square meter CALCULATION OF TOTAL COSTS PER SQUARE METER OF OFFICE SPACE Annex 3 Average cost of office space Equates to ,03 euro divided by ,42 euro per sq. m Rent cost per sq.m rented Equates to ,22 euro divided by ,68 euro per sq. m Expenditure on buildings (excluding rent) Equates to ,81 euro divided by ,03 euro per sq. m