External audit
1. An independent external auditor shall verify that the annual accounts of the PPP body properly present the income, expenditure and financial position of the PPP body prior to the possible consolidation in the final accounts of the Commission.
Unless otherwise provided for in the constituent act, the Court of Auditors shall prepare a specific annual report on the PPP body in line with the requirements of Article 287(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In preparing that report, the Court of Auditors shall consider the audit work performed by the independent external auditor referred to in the first subparagraph and the action taken in response to the external auditor's findings.
2. The PPP body shall send to the Court of Auditors the budget of the PPP body, as finally adopted. It shall inform the Court of Auditors, as soon as possible, of all decisions and acts adopted pursuant to Articles 6, 8 and 12.
3. The scrutiny carried out by the Court of Auditors shall be governed by Articles 254 to 259 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.
Timetable of the discharge procedure
1. The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council, shall, before 15 May of year N+2 except where otherwise provided in the constituent act, give a discharge to the director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N. The director shall inform the governing board of the observations of the European Parliament contained in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision.
2. If the time limit laid down in paragraph 1 cannot be met, the European Parliament or the Council shall inform the director of the reasons for the postponement.
3. If the European Parliament postpones the decision giving a discharge, the director, in cooperation with the governing board, shall make every effort to take measures as soon as possible to remove or facilitate removal of the obstacles to that decision.
The discharge procedure
1. The discharge decision shall cover the accounts of all the revenue and expenditure of the PPP body, the budget result and the assets and liabilities of the PPP body shown in the financial statement.
2. With a view to granting the discharge, the European Parliament shall, after the Council has done so, examine the accounts and financial statements of the PPP body. It shall also examine the annual report drawn up by the Court of Auditors, together with the replies of the director of the PPP body, any relevant special reports by the Court of Auditors in respect of the financial year concerned and the Court of Auditors' statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.
3. The director shall submit to the European Parliament, at its request, in the same manner as provided for in Article 261(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 any information required for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year concerned.
Follow-up measures
1. The director shall take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision and on the comments accompanying the recommendation for discharge adopted by the Council.
2. At the request of the European Parliament or the Council, the director shall report on the measures taken in the light of the observations and comments referred to paragraph 1. The director shall send a copy thereof to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.
On-the-spot checks by the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF
1. The PPP body shall grant Commission staff and other persons authorised by the Commission, as well as the Court of Auditors, access to its sites and premises and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct their audits.
2. OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 12 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
