64 EU decentralised agencies
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | (a) Cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; (b) Cleared from scrutiny
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| Document details | (a) Progress report on the implementation of the Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies (b) Guidelines on key performance indicators (KPIs) for agency directors
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| Legal base | —
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| Department
Document numbers
| Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(a) (36839), 8789/15, COM(15) 179
(b) (36697), 7496/15, SWD(15) 62
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
64.1 Both documents are relevant to the Common Approach and follow-up
Roadmap for EU decentralised agencies. The Common Approach provides
a set of principles for EU decentralised agencies to help them
streamline their activities and improve their performance. In
the Roadmap, the Commission set out in detail how it intended
to follow-up on the Common Approach, listing 30 action points
and deadlines for itself, agencies, Member States, the European
Parliament and the Council.
64.2 Document (a) is the second Commission progress
report on the progress of the Commission and decentralised agencies'
implementation of the Common Approach. It supersedes a first progress
report which was published in December 2013[ 465]
but this document was not considered by our predecessors
as it was not deposited by the Government (an oversight for which
it now apologises). The report shows some progress has been made
on the implementation of the roadmap. It focuses on the setting
up, operation and evaluation/audit of agencies and their management
of financial/human resources and budgetary process. It also looks
at the revision of agencies' founding acts and the role of Commission
representations on agencies' boards.
64.3 Document (a) also references a separate report
by the Network of EU Agencies on specific actions set out in the
Roadmap which was sent to the President of the European Council
on 27 February 2015.
64.4 Document (b) sets out guidelines on the introduction
of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are intended to
measure the performance of the agency directors as proposed under
the Common Approach and Roadmap.
64.5 The Commission suggests that as agencies vary
so much, no one set of indicators could be used to measure performance
across the board, and therefore proposes that the management board
of each agency choose from a set of agreed indicators those that
are best suited to measure their Director's performance. They
cover both operational objectives (encompassing work programme
and annual report) and financial and human resource management
(spanning budgetary and financial discipline, internal control
systems; fulfilment of the Agency's establishment plan and the
level of staff wellbeing).
64.6 The Government welcomes both documents, with
qualifications. It has made efforts to ensure the Commission's
commitment to an overall 5% reduction in agency staffing is implemented,
but is disappointed that the 2015 EU Budget shows a 6% year on
year increase in agency expenditure.
64.7 We thank the Minister for his Explanatory
Memorandum and letter addressing document (a). We note the Minister's
apology for the non-deposit of the first progress report. As this
is now superseded by the second progress report (document (a)),
on this occasion we do not insist on deposit of the earlier document.
We commend the efforts of the Government to ensure that the 5%
reduction in agency staff is delivered, but share its disappointment
at the 6% "year-on-year" increase in agency expenditure.
64.8 Document (b) is technical in nature and not
inherently important. However, we report it briefly to the House
because of its possible relevance to the outcome of the Government's
review of agencies, initiated by its predecessor. This could identify
shortcomings in the management of agencies as a factor affecting
their performance. We ask the Government for an update on how
that review is progressing and when we will be informed of the
outcome.
64.9 In the meantime, we clear both documents
from scrutiny.
Full
details of the documents:
(a) Progress report from the Commission on the implementation
of the Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies: (36839),
8789/15, COM(15) 179; (b) Commission Staff Working Document: Guidelines
on key performance indicators (KPIs) for directors of EU decentralised
agencies: (36697), 7496/15, SWD(15) 62.
Background and previous scrutiny
64.10 These are new documents which we have not previously
scrutinised. They are connected, however, to two documents that
our predecessors have retained under scrutiny: the Commission
Roadmap on the follow-up to the Common Approach on EU decentralised
agencies[ 466] and the
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and
the Council — Programming of human and financial resources
for decentralised agencies 2014-2020.[ 467]
64.11 The documents were held under scrutiny because
the previous Government has been conducting a cross-departmental
review of the performance of EU decentralised agencies which it
initiated in 2013. We understand from the previous Government's
most recent correspondence on the review (8 October 2014) that
it had decided to broaden and deepen its analysis of feedback
from departments in the light of developments such as the creation
of an Inter-institutional Working Group (IIWG) on resources for
decentralised agencies, the conclusion of the Balance of Competences
review and a new Commission.
The Government's view of both documents
64.12 In two separate Explanatory Memoranda of 15
June 2015 the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) addresses
these respective documents. He makes some remarks which are common
to both documents, namely that the Government:
· continues
to welcome efforts to ensure that EU decentralised agencies operate
with improved efficiency, accountability and greater coherence;
· therefore
welcomes, with the qualifications outlined further below, the
Commission Roadmap and progress reports (including document (a))
and the KPIs (document (b)); but
· continues
to be disappointed that the EU Budget 2015 saw "a 6% year
on year increase in expenditure on decentralised agencies",
believing that EU institutions such as agencies should be subject
to maximum budgetary restraint and to the same cost cutting measures
and resource constraints as Member States.
DOCUMENT (A)
64.13 The Minister says that the Government:
·
welcomes the work undertaken by the Commission and the agencies
to implement the Roadmap but that it must continue to be seen
as a "work in progress", reflecting the Commission's
commitment to follow-up implementation;
· notes
the Commission's start-up toolkit on the procedures to be followed
when an agency is being set up, but believes that whether a host
country signs a headquarters' agreements with an EU agency located
in their country is a decision for them after discussions with
the agency concerned; and
· supports
efforts to maximise efficiencies in how the agencies operate,
and notes progress in some areas and also efforts to prevent conflicts
of interest and the adoption of anti-fraud strategies.
64.14 The Minister also welcomes the Multi-Annual
Financial Framework 2014-2020 provision to progressively reduce
EU staffing levels[ 468]
by 5% over five years (the staffing target). Noting progress to
streamline Human Resource practices across the agencies, he tells
us that:
· the
IIWG met twice in 2014 and took forward the staffing target, with
an expectation that it will be reached by 2018; and
· the
Government takes an active role in IIWG meetings to advance the
reform agenda and, in particular, has intervened during a number
of Working Groups and Committee Councils to influence the progress
towards the staffing target.
64.15 The Minister adds:
"The Government welcomes the Commission's
commitment that the reforms undertaken will remain relevant in
the coming years. We will continue to monitor closely Commission
and agency efforts to reform, streamline and adapt to meet the
realities of resource constraints in the years to come, and will
continue to push for further budgetary restraint."
64.16 He further explains that wider work is planned
at EU level on agency reform. The European Parliament recently
published two documents for the IIWG which focussed on the financing
of the agencies and potential for efficiency gains, including:
·
streamlining agencies' competences to reduce any overlap;
· reconsidering
the criteria for choosing a location for an agency; and
· looking
at the partially and fully self-funded agencies.
DOCUMENT (B)
64.17 The Minister explains that KPIs:
· are
another step towards greater coherence between the agencies and
a standardised way of measuring the performance of their directors,
but should not be seen as a single source of measuring director
or agency performance; and
· only
measure the areas within the direct control of the director and
not the agency as a whole "where performance could be affected
by a multitude of factors".
64.18 However, he says that the Government welcomes
measures which will more closely monitor the budgets of the agencies.
He adds however that the Government is concerned that:
·
there is no provision in the guidance on how the directors would
be held to account should they fail to meet the standards set
by the KPIs;
· there
is no measurement of the quality of agency output, which has as
big an impact on performance as meeting objectives; and
· there
is no provision for reviewing the KPIs and their effectiveness
and so is itself currently conducting a review with agencies on
KPI effectiveness.
The Minister's letter of 18 June 2015
64.19 The Minister apologises for the Government's
"regrettable oversight" in failing to deposit the first
progress report referred to in document (a), which has only just
"come to light". The document was presented by the Commission
without a formal inter-institutional cover and "slipped through"
the normal scrutiny processes. Recognising the importance of our
scrutiny role, the Minister says that he remains committed to
updating us in a timely manner on issues involving decentralised
agencies.
Previous Committee Reports
None, but see (34625), 5022/13: Thirteenth Report
HC 219-xiii (2014-15), chapter 16 (15 October 2014); Thirty-second
Report HC 86-xxxii (2012-13), chapter 4 (13 February 2013); (35208),
12421/13: Thirteenth Report HC 219-xiii (2014-15), chapter 16
(15 October 2014); Thirteenth Report HC 83-xiii (2013-14), chapter
15 (4 September 2013).
465 http://europa.eu/agencies/documents/2013-12-10_progress_report_on_the_implementation_of_the_common_approach_en.pdf. Back
466 (34625), 5022/13, -:http://europa.eu/agencies/documents/2012-12-18_roadmap_on_the_follow_up_to_the_common_approach_on_eu_decentralised_agencies_en.pdf. Back
467 (35208), 12421/13, COM(13) 519: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/documents/fin_fwk1420/COM_2013_519_en.pdf. Back
468 Of all EU institutions, bodies and agencies Back
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