Article 14 Implementation and control of the budget

The Executive Director shall implement the budget of the Agency.

By 1 March following each financial year, the accounting officer of the Agency shall communicate the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The Commission’s accounting officer shall consolidate the provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with Article 128 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

By 31 March following each financial year, the Commission’s accounting officer shall forward the provisional accounts of the Agency to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The report shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.

On receipt of the Court of Auditors’ observations on the provisional accounts of the Agency, under Article 129 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, the Executive Director shall draw up the final accounts of the Agency under his own responsibility and submit them to the Administrative Board for an opinion.

The Administrative Board shall deliver an opinion on the final accounts of the Agency.

The Executive Director shall, by 1 July following each financial year, forward the final accounts to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, together with the Administrative Board’s opinion.

The final accounts shall be published.

The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September. He shall also send this reply to the Administrative Board.

The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request, all information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question, as laid down in Article 146(3) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of the year N + 2, grant discharge to the Executive Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N, with the exception of the part of the budget implementation covering tasks which are, where appropriate, entrusted to the Agency under Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1285/2013 to which the procedure referred to in Articles 164 and 165 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall apply ^f1 .