The European Parliament has the final say on approving the way EU bodies spend money that comes from the EU budget. In the annual “discharge” procedure, it verifies whether EU funds were spent according to the rules. It may grant, postpone or refuse to grant a discharge, which is required for the formal closure of institutional accounts.
On 23 March, the Budgetary Control Committee of the European Parliament recommended to postpone the granting of the “discharge” of Fusion for Energy’s (F4E’s) for its 2013 annual accounts. This postponement has been requested to allow for a more detailed examination of the degree of advancement of the ITER project, of the potential risks of further cost increase and of the overall management of the operational contracts . As a result, F4E will have to provide more information on its 2013 annual accounts.
It should be noted that the opinion of the European Court of Auditors on the accounts of F4E, which is the basis for the discharge procedure, is ‘unqualified’ and gives no technical basis for criticisms on F4E accounting nor on material errors in its management of the EU funds. However, what the Court highlighted , and what MEPs are concerned about, is the significant risk of cost overruns and delays in the ITER project as a whole.
ITER is a one-of-a-kind complex and challenging international project at the boundaries of current technologies. As a consequence, it faces risks in terms of costs and delays – the type of challenges common to such large-scale projects. All the seven international ITER parties, and the EU in particular, are conscious of these challenges and have taken significant steps to dramatically improve the way the project has been managed by the ITER Organisation in the past years. On 5 March, the ITER Council appointed Dr. B. Bigot, as Director-General to head the ITER Project, and approved an action plan to address these concerns, and in particular to strengthen decision-making, enhance project management and integrate better all the resources available to the project.
The Budgetary Control Committee’s recommendations will be put to a vote at the plenary session of the European Parliament between 28 and 30 April to take its final decision on the postponed discharge in October.
The postponement of the discharge on the 2013 accounts has no impact on the operations of F4E, which continue with the implementation of the procurement procedures planned, and with the signature of contracts and payments.
Fusion for Energy, in cooperation with the European Commission who has the political responsibility for the European contribution to the ITER Project, will fully cooperate with the European Parliament and will provide all clarifications requested.
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