annual activity report - european commission · the annual activity report is a management report...

2014

Annual Activity Report

Secretariat-General

Final

Ref. Ares(2015)1350443 - 27/03/2015

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: 4

THE SG IN BRIEF ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 THE YEAR IN BRIEF .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ............................................................................................................................................ 7 POLICY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PART I) ............................................................................................. 9 KEY CONCLUSIONS ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON PART 2 AND 3) ..... 10 INFORMATION TO THE COMMISSIONER................................................................................................................................. 11

1. POLICY ACHIEVEMENTS 12

1.1 ACHIEVEMENT OF SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................. 12 1.1.1 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'SUPPORT THE DEFINITION OF THE POLITICAL PRIORITIES OF THE COMMISSION FOR 2015 AND MONITOR PROGRESS IN DELIVERING THE COMMITMENTS IN THE COMMISSION WORK PROGRAMME 2014.'12 1.1.2 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'PURSUE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK AND ALLOCATION OF ADEQUATE RESOURCES IN ALL COMMISSION SERVICES IN ORDER TO DELIVER EFFICIENTLY ON THE POLITICAL PRIORITIES OF THE COMMISSION.' ............................................................................................................... 13 1.1.3 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'PURSUE GROWTH ENHANCING REFORMS AT BOTH EU AND NATIONAL LEVEL BY MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY AND PROVIDING GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT TO MEMBER STATES IN THEIR REFORM EFFORTS.'........................................................................................................................ 15 1.1.4 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'PROVIDE THE PRESIDENT WITH HIGH QUALITY BRIEFINGS AS WELL AS FLASH REPORTS ON MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES.' ............................................................................................................. 16 1.1.5 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'ACHIEVE GREATER OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND RESOURCES EFFICIENCY OF THE ORGANISATION BY STREAMLINING, OPTIMISING AND HARMONISING BUSINESS PROCESSES AND THEIR AUTOMATION THROUGH DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A ROBUST AND VISIONARY CORPORATE IT STRATEGY.' .................................................. 16 1.1.6 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'FOSTER THE COMMISSION'S CAPACITY TO ANSWER UNEXPECTED EVENTS QUICKLY, EFFICIENTLY AND IN A COORDINATED MANNER AND, IN THE CASE OF A MAJOR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ENSURE THAT THE COMMISSION IS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CRITICAL AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, CONTINUE TO OPERATE AND RETURN TO NORMAL ACTIVITIES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.'....................................................................................................................................................... 18 1.1.7 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'FOSTER THE HIGHEST ETHICAL STANDARDS OF SERVICE IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE ETHICAL CONDUCT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENSURE, IN THE SG, HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS AND AN ANTI-FRAUD CULTURE.' 21 1.1.8 ABB ACTIVITY COORDINATION WITHIN THE COMMISSION: 'COORDINATE THE COMMISSION’S PARTICIPATION IN INTER-INSTITUTIONAL MEETINGS, STRENGTHEN ITS NEGOTIATION POSITION, AND ENSURE PROPER FOLLOW-UP.'.......................................... 22 1.1.9 ABB ACTIVITY BETTER REGULATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: 'PROMOTE THE GOOD FUNCTIONING OF THE REGULATORY AGENCIES SYSTEM.'......................................................................................................................................... 24 1.1.10 ABB ACTIVITY BETTER REGULATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: 'IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF EU REGULATION BY APPLYING SMART REGULATION INSTRUMENTS THROUGHOUT THE LEGISLATIVE CYCLE.'......................................... 25 1.1.11 ABB ACTIVITY COMMISSION'S POLICY COORDINATION AND LEGAL ADVICE: 'FOSTER TRANSPARENCY IN RELATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS BY ENCOURAGING INTEREST REPRESENTATIVES TO REGISTER IN THE TRANSPARENCY REGISTER.' .................................. 27 1.1.12 ABB ACTIVITY COMMISSION'S POLICY COORDINATION AND LEGAL ADVICE: 'FACILITATE THE PUBLIC ACCESS TO COMMISSION DOCUMENTS WITH A VIEW TO INCREASING TRANSPARENCY.' ..................................................................................................... 28 1.1.13 ABB ACTIVITY SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION AND PROTOCOL: 'STANDARDISE AND STREAMLINE THE COMMISSION'S DECISION-MAKING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY LIFECYCLE, BY REVIEWING PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES AND STREAMLINING SUPPORT IT SYSTEMS (DECIDE (PREVIOUSLY "DORSALE DÉCISIONNELLE") PROJECT).' ................................................ 29 1.1.14 ABB ACTIVITY SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION AND PROTOCOL: 'PROVIDE USEFUL AND UPDATED INFORMATION, AS WELL AS SPECIFIC GUIDANCE, TO ALL COMMISSION USERS REGARDING ALL COMMISSION CORPORATE PROCEDURES HANDLED BY THE SG.'....... 34 1.1.15 ABB ACTIVITY SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION AND PROTOCOL: 'ENCOURAGE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMISSION POLICY ON ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND ARCHIVING THROUGH MONITORING, GUIDANCE AND MAKING AVAILABLE THE NECESSARY IT TOOLS AS PART OF A WIDER COMMISSION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT POLICY.'...................................................... 35 1.1.16 ABB ACTIVITY SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION AND PROTOCOL: 'PROMOTE RESPECT BY COMMISSION SERVICES OF THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA.' .......................................................................................................................... 39 1.1.17 ABB ACTIVITY SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION AND PROTOCOL: 'PROVIDE THE PRESIDENT, THE COLLEGE AND DGS WITH PROTOCOL SUPPORT AND DIPLOMATIC ASSISTANCE' ................................................................................................................ 42 1.1.18 ABB ACTIVITY POLICY STRATEGY AND COORDINATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT: 'RATIONALISATION OF THE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE SG' .......................................................................................................................... 43

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1.1.19 ABB ACTIVITY POLICY STRATEGY AND COORDINATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT: 'DEVELOP GOOD EXTERNAL VISIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING OF SG ACTIVITIES, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BOOSTING STAFF ENGAGEMENT AND ENSURING A SMOOTH FLOW OF INFORMATION WITHIN THE SG.' .......................................................................................................................................... 46 1.1.20 ABB ACTIVITY POLICY STRATEGY AND COORDINATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT: 'IMPLEMENT AND MAINTAIN AN EFFECTIVE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM SO THAT REASONABLE ASSURANCE CAN BE GIVEN THAT RESOURCES ASSIGNED TO THE ACTIVITIES ARE USED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SOUND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND THAT THE CONTROL PROCEDURES PUT IN PLACE GIVE THE NECESSARY GUARANTEES CONCERNING THE LEGALITY AND REGULARITY OF THE UNDERLYING TRANSACTIONS'................................ 48 1.2 ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY OF SPENDING AND NON-SPENDING ACTIVITIES. .............................................................. 50 1.2.1 EXAMPLE 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 50 1.2.2 EXAMPLE 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 51

2. MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES 52

2.1 MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES BY SG .............................................................................. 53 2.2 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION TASKS ENTRUSTED TO OTHER DGS AND ENTITIES ............................................................ 56 2.3 ASSESSMENT OF AUDIT RESULTS AND FOLLOW-UP OF AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................... 56

3. ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS 58

4. MANAGEMENT ASSURANCE 59

DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE 61

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INTRODUCTION:

The SG in brief

The Secretariat-General is one of the central services of the European Commission, facilitating its smooth and effective functioning and providing strategic direction.

It is the President’s department, at the service of the President, the College and the other Commission departments. It manages the collegial decision-making process and ensures the alignment of EU policies with the political priorities of the Commission. In agreement with the President, the SG provides support to the Vice-Presidents in the performance of their role (as of 1.11.2014).

In particular, the Secretariat-General:

Supports the President in defining the Commission’s strategic objectives and priorities and shaping cross-cutting policies;

Coordinates, facilitates, advises and arbitrates - so as to ensure the coherence, quality and delivery of policy, legislation and operations across policy areas and Commission departments;

Facilitates the smooth running of the Commission through planning, programming and operation of an efficient/modern registry;

Acts as the Commission’s interface and manages relations with the other European institutions, national parliaments and non-governmental organisations and entities;

Fosters the Commission’s institutional strengths and the development of a service oriented, transparent, responsible European administration which works to the highest standards of ethics and integrity.

The Secretariat-General had around 548 staff members including contract agents at 31/12/2014. On top of this, a certain number of intra muros IT consultants are present on the premises. The Secretariat-General is structured around 7 Directorates and is based in Brussels.

Most of the activities for which the Secretariat-General has a leading role have a high political profile, however without a direct financial risk. Many activities depend on the actions of other institutions and Member States.

The Secretariat-General has systemic responsibility for a number of corporate processes, including the decision making process, document management, business continuity planning and strategic planning and programming. Robust procedures and IT applications, such as the Decide project, have been developed by the Secretariat-General to achieve objectives and provide the best possible service to other DGs. All new applications rely on resilient systems built according to the accepted standards in the field.

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The breakdown of the 2014 total budget of 11.626.271 EUR (see table 1 in annex 3) by type of activity is showed in the following graph (direct management).

The development and maintenance costs of IT systems represent 72% of the Secretariat-General budget. This is funded by appropriations available in the "global envelope – IT" and in "registries & publications". About 74% of this budget is cross sub-delegated to DG DIGIT and thus not managed by the Secretariat-General itself.

The other expenses of the global envelope (missions, meeting, conferences, training) account for 8% of the Secretariat-General budget.

The contribution to the historical archives of the European Union under a partnership framework agreement with the European University Institute in Florence represents 20% of the Secretariat-General budget.

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The year in brief

2014 was a year of continued policy delivery from the Secretariat-General in support of the President of the Commission, the College and the Commission's Directorates General and Services, with the added challenge to deliver during a year of institutional transition, in particular the winding up of the 7th legislature of the European Parliament and the change of Commission college.

During the first half of 2014, the Secretariat-General's coordination work within the Commission helped the President and the College to complete their political priorities for this mandate, in particular through intensive work with the other institutions to secure agreement on key initiatives proposed by the Commission before the parliamentary recess. Many of these proposals will help to support economic growth across the EU.

In addition, during the second half of 2014, the legislative work of the co-legislators increased dramatically once the new European Parliament resulting from the elections held in May was in place. Secretariat-General coordinated through the GRI mechanism the collegiate validation of Commission positions in inter-institutional negotiations and coordinated the Commission's representation in Council and Parliament.

The Secretariat-General helped to prepare the hearings for the replacement of four Commissioners of the Barroso II Commission who had been elected as Member of the European Parliament during the European elections.

This year was also dedicated to the preparation of the arrival of the new College. The continuity and coherence of the Commission's operations throughout this period was ensured and the administrative and practical aspects of the changeover were facilitated. In particular, the Secretariat-General coordinated the full parliamentary hearing process of the incoming College in September and October 2014. Great flexibility of all actors and excellent cooperation ensured a smooth running and a satisfactory outcome of the 27 hearings (plus two supplementary hearings) under a very tight time-frame, making the way for the timely approval of the new College by Parliament and subsequently the Council, enabling it to take office on 1 November 2014 as envisaged in the Treaty.

The Secretariat-General also helped to define political priorities of the new College and to translate these into the Commission Work Programme for 2015.

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Executive Summary

The Annual Activity Report is a management report of the Secretary-General to the College of Commissioners. It is the main instrument of management accountability within the Commission and constitutes the basis on which the Commission takes its responsibility for the management of resources by reference to the objectives set in the management plan and the efficiency and effectiveness of internal control systems, including an overall assessment of the costs and benefits of controls.

Key performance indicators

Result indicator Target Latest known result

KPI 1: Implementation rate of CWP Annex II initiatives (i.e. new initiatives)

Implementation rate of CWP 2014 for Annex II initiatives planned in 2014: 100%

73%

KPI 2: Recognition of the quality of the Commission's analysis and of the pertinence/relevance of the country-specific recommendations, as evidenced by the absence of/limited number of factual corrections the Commission has to make.

0-5 corrections 0 corrections

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KPI 3: Level of integration of workflows and systems linked to the decision-making process

Milestone (end 2014) Proposals for the rationalisation of procedures. First release of the "dorsale décisionnelle", including: - enhanced core systems (CIS-Net, e-Greffe and Vista); - integrated decision-making workflow; - single entry point. Target for next phase (end

2015 / early 2016)

Further development of Decide, for example: Integration of the Enterprise Search engine in Decide. Enhancement of the decision step with a first phase of the revamping of e-Greffe. Enhancement of the planning step to rationalise the planning process, integrate new needs of the Commission and develop a new planning module in Decide (thus absorbing Agenda Planning). Improvement of the handling of delegated and implementing acts.

Entry into operation of the first release of Decide on 2 February 2015, including:

- enhanced core systems with a new revamped Consultation part of Decide replacing Cis-Net;

- integrated decision-making workflow from planning to decision;

- single entry point

KPI 4: Percentage of impact assessments carried out for initiatives with impact assessment requirement

99% 97,1%

KPI 5: Number of registered exception notes and non-compliance events

≤ 17 13

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Policy highlights of the year (executive summary of part I)

The Secretariat-General continued to play a coordinating role in the programming and preparation of policy initiatives in inter-service groups, impact assessment steering groups and through timely replies to inter-service consultations. This work also included the preparation of fiches for the weekly meetings of heads of cabinet, flash reports and policy option notes for the attention of the hierarchy or the President's cabinet, as well as the drafting of notes for orientation debates in College.

The Secretariat-General continued to play a coordinating role in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and job, preparing for its mid-term review. The Secretariat-General also coordinated work on the European semester of economic governance, in particular the country-specific recommendations for 2014. Preparations for the setting of priorities and the new cycle for 2015 were initiated in the second half of 2014.

In the area of smart regulation, the Secretariat-General developed further the Commission's work on impact assessment, evaluation and simplification, and in particular the next wave of the "REFIT" regulatory fitness programme. The impact assessment culture is increasingly well-established in the Commission and during the year the Secretariat-General was working to complement this with a sharper focus on the ex post evaluation of the Commission's policies.

In 2014, the Commission continued its political dialogue with national Parliaments, with the number of opinions remaining at a high level, and made a significant number of visits to national Parliaments to discuss important files. The new Commission signalled from the outset of its mandate that forging a renewed partnership with national Parliaments was a priority. The partnership will be based on the existing political dialogue, but a special emphasis will be put on visiting national Parliaments as often as possible to explain the Commission's Work Programme, to present major Commission initiatives as well as to listen to the concerns of national Parliamentarians.

In 2014 the Secretariat-General prepared and followed-up negotiations of the Council Decision determining the composition of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions.

The SG provided continuous dedicated support and guidance activities to all stakeholders of the decision-making process. This concerned, for instance, the adoption of procedures related to the implementation of the European Structural and Investment Funds (handled in close cooperation with REGIO, MARE, EMPL and AGRI). These activities led to a better understanding of and respect for rules of procedures, as well as ensured an efficient processing of files.

The Secretariat-General has worked closely with other central services, HR, BUDG, DIGIT and the IAS, to rationalise and streamline working processes and procedures across the Commission services, in particular to make efficiency gains in the context of the 5% reduction in staffing levels. A good example is the 'Decide' project, an integrated and user-friendly IT system to streamline and rationalise the Commission's decision-making procedures. The work done in 2014, in close cooperation with DIGIT, led to the successful entry into operation, on 2 February 2015, of the first release of Decide. The new IT system allows Commission staff to easily monitor via a single entry point the files

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they are working on or are interested in. The focus in 2014 was on the integration in Decide of the core systems of the decision-making process (Agenda Planning, CIS-Net and e-Greffe), thus enabling a streamlined flow of files and information from planning, through consultation to decision.

In 2014, the Secretariat-General oversaw the review of the Transparency Register. The Transparency Register provides information on stakeholders seeking to influence the EU decision-making process and gives information on the stakeholders they represent and their budgets. In April, the European Parliament and the European Commission signed a revised Inter-institutional Agreement (IIA) on the operation of the voluntary Register, marking the conclusion of a review process led by an Inter-institutional High Level Group. Much of the work of the Joint (European Parliament-Commission) Transparency Register Secretariat (JTRS) focused on preparing the launch of the new version of the Transparency Register planned for January 2015. The new system brings about a series of changes and improvements related to the registration process, disclosure of relevant activities, complaint handling and incentives for joining. There were 2,122 new registrations in the Register in 2014 and at the end of the year the total number stood at approximately 7,300.

President Juncker's "transparency initiative" of November 2014 gave an additional boost to the Register by requiring interest representatives wishing to meet Commissioners, Cabinet members and Directors-General to register, thereby increasing the incentives for joining.

Another priority in 2014 was to improve the procedures for handling citizens' access-to-documents requests filed under Regulation 1049/2001. New working methods were put in place to reduce and monitor delays. As a result, the speed in replying to new requests improved by 44 percent and the number of replies provided within the legal deadlines virtually doubled. These results were achieved despite a 30 percent increase in the overall number of incoming confirmatory applications as compared to the previous year.

Finally, the Secretariat-General actively contributed to ensuring a smooth institutional transition by supporting the new Commission during the process of taking office. It prepared briefings on policy fields, procedures and corporate administrative matters. The Secretariat-General also organised special training sessions (both generic and tailor-made) for the new cabinets, and accompanied cabinets' staff and DGs in setting-up new processes under the newly adopted Commission Working Methods.

Key conclusions on resource management and internal control effectiveness (executive summary on part 2 and 3)

The Secretariat-General conducts its operations in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations, operates in an open and transparent manner and meets the expected high level of professional and ethical standards.

The Commission has adopted a set of internal control standards, based on international good practice, aimed at ensuring the achievement of policy and operational objectives. As required by the Financial Regulation, the Secretary-General has put in place the organisational structure and the internal control systems suited to the achievement of

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the policy and control objectives, in accordance with the standards and having due regard to the risks associated with the environment in which it operates.

The Secretariat-General has assessed the effectiveness of its key internal control systems during the reporting year and has concluded that the internal control standards are effectively implemented. Please refer to Part 3 for further details.

In addition, the Secretariat-General has systematically examined the available control results and indicators, including those aimed at supervising entities to which it has entrusted budget implementation tasks, as well as the observations and recommendations issued by internal auditors and the European Court of Auditors. These elements have been assessed to determine their impact on the management's assurance as regards the achievement of control objectives. Please refer to part 2 for further details.

In conclusion, the management of the Secretariat-General has reasonable assurance that, overall, suitable controls are in place and working as intended; risks are being appropriately monitored and mitigated; and necessary improvements and reinforcements are being implemented. The Secretary-General, in her capacity as Authorising Officer by Delegation, has signed the Declaration of Assurance.

Information to the Commissioner

The main elements of this report and the declaration of assurance have been brought to the attention of President Juncker.

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1. POLICY ACHIEVEMENTS

1.1 Achievement of specific objectives

1.1.1 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Support the definition of the political priorities of the Commission for 2015 and monitor progress in delivering the commitments in the Commission Work Programme 2014.'

Specific objective 1: Support the definition of the political priorities of the

Commission for 2015 and monitor progress in delivering the commitments in

the Commission Work Programme 2014.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Implementation rate of CWP Annex II initiatives (i.e. new initiatives)

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2010)

71%

Current situation

73%

Target (2014)

Implementation rate of CWP 2014 for Annex II initiatives

planned in 2014: 100%

Conclusion: result is not in line with planning. The fact that only 73% of the CWP items were adopted in 2014 is due to specific political circumstances during a year of institutional transition.

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Main outputs in 2014

Description Indicator Current situation Target

Regular forecast and execution reports Completion Completed End 2014

Commission Work Programme 2015 Completion Completed End 2014

Revision of the internal guidelines on ECI

procedures.

Completion Postponed

(awaiting the

conclusions on

handling of the

3rd initiative

"Stop

vivisection")

End 2014

Communication: revision of the guide on the

citizens' initiative.

Completion Completed End 2014

1.1.2 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Pursue the implementation of a performance management framework and allocation of adequate resources in all Commission services in order to deliver efficiently on the political priorities of the Commission.'

Specific objective 2: Pursue the implementation of a performance management

framework and allocation of adequate resources in all Commission services in

order to deliver efficiently on the political priorities of the Commission.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of reservations included in Annual Activity Reports (AARs) of the DGs for at least 3 consecutive years

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

4

Current situation

18

Target (end 2014)

Ensure DGs take corrective action to lift all reservations

except for those that relate to errors which will be only

avoided in the next programming period

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Conclusion: result is not in line with planning. A number of corrections related to previous programming periods are still under discussion and therefore the reservations could not be lifted. This extension in time does not mean that additional errors have been made.



Revision of standing instructions for the

preparation of the management plans

Completion Completed October 2014

Synthesis Report of management

achievements

Completion Completed June 2014

Revision of guidelines on the preparation of

2014 Annual Activity Reports

Completion Completed October 2014

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1.1.3 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Pursue growth enhancing reforms at both EU and national level by monitoring the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and providing guidance and support to Member States in their reform efforts.'

Specific objective 3: Pursue growth enhancing reforms at both EU and

national level by monitoring the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy

and providing guidance and support to Member States in their reform

efforts.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Recognition of the quality of the Commission's analysis and of the

pertinence/relevance of the country-specific recommendations, as evidenced by the absence

of/limited number of factual corrections the Commission has to make.

Baseline (2013)

n/a

Current situation

No corrections

Target (end 2014)

0 -5 corrections

Conclusion: result is in line with planning.



Commission's Annual Growth Survey

launching the European Semester of policy

coordination


Country specific recommendations Adoption by Council

Adopted July 2014

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1.1.4 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Provide the President with high quality briefings as well as flash reports on major institutional issues.'

Specific objective 4: Provide the President with high quality briefings as well as

flash reports on major institutional issues.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of instances generating negative feedback

Baseline (2011)

3 out of 276

Current situation

0 out of 309(204 for the President and 105 for Vice-

Presidents)

Target (end 2014)

0


1.1.5 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Achieve greater operational effectiveness and resources efficiency of the organisation by streamlining, optimising and harmonising business processes and their automation through developing and implementing a robust and visionary corporate IT strategy.'

Specific objective 5: Achieve greater operational effectiveness and resources

efficiency of the organisation by streamlining, optimising and harmonising

business processes and their automation through developing and implementing

a robust and visionary corporate IT strategy.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of IT systems in the Commission

(Source: Commission)

Baseline (2010)

1696

Milestone (end 2014)

1250 systems by end

2014, with an improved

distinction between

"systems" and "sub-

systems/reusable

Current situation

750

Target (end 2015)

< 1100

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modules")




Projects examination Number and size

[expressed in

total cost of

ownership (TCO)]

of examined

projects

462 projects,

210m€

(The target for

2014 was

erroneously set)

100% of the

portfolio should

have been

examined by

2014,

representing a

five year TCO of

around EUR 1.6

billion

Task force recommendations Number of task

force

recommendation

s addressed

Not Applicable

[IT Task Force

disbanded]

End 2015: all

addressed or

permanent

End 2014: 25

18

completed or

permanent and 8

ongoing

1.1.6 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Foster the Commission's capacity to answer unexpected events quickly, efficiently and in a coordinated manner and, in the case of a major business interruption, ensure that the Commission is able to maintain critical and essential functions, continue to operate and return to normal activities as quickly as possible.'

Specific objective 6: Foster the Commission's capacity to answer unexpected

events quickly, efficiently and in a coordinated manner and, in the case of a

major business interruption, ensure that the Commission is able to maintain

critical and essential functions, continue to operate and return to normal

activities as quickly as possible.

⌧Non-spending

Result indicator: Percentage of DGs and Executive Agencies (EAs) which adopted and sent to SG new

Business Continuity Plans (BCP) compliant with the SG's guidance

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2010)

13% of 42 DGs – 6 EAs not considered

Current situation

96%

Target (end 2014)

90%

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Result indicator: Percentage of DGs and Executive Agencies which used and passed the Business

Continuity Management (BCM) self-assessment tool created in 2012 to evaluate the BCM competence,

capability and relative maturity of all Commission entities

(Source: SG)

Baseline (October 2012)

56% of 42 DGs and 6 EAs have used the tool

Current situation

93%

Target (end 2014)

95%

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Result indicator: Fast response (within maximum 60 minutes) from the Duty Officers

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2011)

62% of all DGs (the EAs were not in the scope)

Current situation

86% of all DGs and 67% of 6 EAs

Target (end 2014)

More than 80% of all DGs [85% in 2013 was an exceptional result, above target and expectations]

More than 50% of 6 EAs

Conclusion: 2 out of 3 results are in line with planning. The Business Continuity Management (BCM) self-assessment tool has been created to evaluate the Business Continuity Management (BCM) competence, capability and relative maturity of all Commission entities. SG has provided all the necessary guidance, support and training to meet the above-mentioned objectives; however, the responsibility of drafting BCPs as well as using and passing the BCM Self-Assessment tool lies directly with DGs and EAs.



BCN (Business Continuity Network) inter-

service meetings

Number of BCN

(Business

Continuity

Network) inter-

service meetings

4 meetings in

2014

4 by end 2014

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1.1.7 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Foster the highest ethical standards of service in order to encourage ethical conduct and accountability and ensure, in the SG, high ethical standards and an anti-fraud culture.'

Specific objective 7: Foster the highest ethical standards of service in order to

encourage ethical conduct and accountability and ensure, in the SG, high ethical

standards and an anti-fraud culture.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: % of SG anti-fraud action plan measures implemented according to their set deadline

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2013)

0%

Current situation

95%, 2 small actions are not 100% completed

Target (end 2014)

100%

Conclusion: result was not in line with planning but remaining 2 actions completed early 2015.



Communication campaign promoting the

roles of the anti-fraud contact person and

the ethics correspondent and design of an

integrated ethics - anti-fraud website


Adequate preparation and awareness

raising actions for setting up of the new

Commission in order to achieve full and

coherent implementation of the Code of

Conduct for Commissioners


Update of list of FAQ on issues related to

ethical matters, especially as concerns the

implementation of the Code of Conduct for


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Commissioners.

Memorandum of understanding

OLAF/Commission

Completion Completed

Administrative

arrangements

OLAF/Commission

final text was

agreed at services

level in order to

be adopted by the

new Commission

in early 2015

End 2014

1.1.8 ABB activity Coordination within the Commission: 'Coordinate the Commission’s participation in inter-institutional meetings, strengthen its negotiation position, and ensure proper follow-up.'

Specific objective 8: Coordinate the Commission’s participation in inter-

institutional meetings, strengthen its negotiation position, and ensure proper

follow-up.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of legislative proposals adopted against the position of the Commission (e.g.

number of instances where the Commission has to force unanimous agreement in the Council).

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2013)

13

Current situation

5 cases

Target (end 2014)

less than 10


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Follow-up to National Parliaments (NP)

opinions

Percentage of NP

opinions for

which proper

follow-up was

given within the

self-imposed

deadline of 3

months

55%

This result is due

to the decision

taken by the

outgoing College

to leave to the

new College the

responsibility for

issuing the

replies to

opinions

received from

national

parliaments in

the last three

months of the

mandate.

75% in 2014

High level strategic planning meetings with

presidencies

Number of high

level strategic

planning

meetings with

presidencies

3 2 meetings /

presidency

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1.1.9 ABB activity Better regulation and institutional development: 'Promote the good functioning of the regulatory agencies system.'

Specific objective 9: Promote the good functioning of the regulatory agencies system.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Percentage of actions with concrete deadlines (i.e. 2013 or 2014) implemented under

the SG's direct responsibility, stemming from the December 2012 Roadmap on the follow up to the

Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2012)

0%

Current situation

100 % of the actions completed

or well advanced

Target (end 2014)

100% of the actions under SG's direct responsibility completed

or well advanced.




2nd Report on the implementation of the

Common Approach on EU decentralised

agencies


25

1.1.10 ABB activity Better regulation and institutional development: 'Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of EU regulation by applying smart regulation instruments throughout the legislative cycle.'

Specific objective 10: Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of EU regulation

by applying smart regulation instruments throughout the legislative cycle.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Percentage of impact assessments carried out for initiatives with impact assessment

requirement

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2011)

95%

Current situation

97,1%

Target (end 2014)

99%

Result indicators: Percentage of Impact Assessments backed by ex-post evaluation results

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2012)

18%

Current situation

24%

Target (end 2014)

25%

26

Result indicator: Number of REFIT initiatives adopted by the Commission

NB As from year 2014 the Simplification Rolling Programme was integrated into the new Regulatory

Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT). The target for 2014 therefore covers REFIT actions.

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2010)

5

Current situation

5 (21 REFIT items in Annex II of the CWP 2014, as indicated in

the next box for the: Target (end 2014). Out of those 21, 5 were

adopted, 5 are still in preparation for adoption in 2015 or later and 11 were carried over

to CWP 2015, for adoption in that year.

Target (end 2014)

21

Conclusion: results are not in line with planning. The gap in percentage of impact assessments carried out for initiatives with impact assessment requirement was due to erroneous or misinterpreted entries as regards IA need in Agenda Planning for two initiatives. The delay in the number of REFIT initiatives adopted by the Commission was as a result of the new mandate of the Commission especially concerning items that were initially due from mid-2014 onwards. The adoption by the Commission of REFIT items is not fully under our (SG) control and depends on the DGs making putting this as a priority in their legislative / evaluation work.



Communication on evaluation guidelines Completion Pending

Postponed for

adoption under

the new

Commission.

November 2014

Communication on REFIT Completion Completed June 2014

27

Article 318 TFEU report Completion Completed June 2014

1.1.11 ABB activity Commission's policy coordination and legal advice: 'Foster transparency in relation with stakeholders by encouraging interest representatives to register in the Transparency Register.'

Specific objective 11: Foster transparency in relation with stakeholders by

encouraging interest representatives to register in the Transparency Register.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of quality checks concerning the correctness of data contained in the

Transparency Register

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2012)

500

Curent situation

871

Target (end 2014)

800




Annual report and revised inter-institutional

agreement on the Transparency Register


Internal and external information and

awareness-raising on the Transparency

Register


28

1.1.12 ABB activity Commission's policy coordination and legal advice: 'Facilitate the public access to Commission documents with a view to increasing transparency.'

Specific objective 12: Facilitate the public access to Commission documents with

a view to increasing transparency.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Average time needed (working days) for dealing with confirmatory requests

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2010)

89

Current situation

35

Target (end 2014)

10% improvement (41)




Improved working methods to speed up the

handling of confirmatory applications

(access to documents).


29

1.1.13 ABB activity Support for the Commission and Protocol: 'Standardise and streamline the Commission's decision-making in the context of the legislative and policy lifecycle, by reviewing procedures and processes and streamlining support IT systems (Decide (previously "Dorsale décisionnelle") project).'

Specific objective 13: Standardise and streamline the Commission's decision-

making in the context of the legislative and policy lifecycle, by reviewing

procedures and processes and streamlining support IT systems (Decide

(previously "Dorsale décisionnelle") project).

⌧Non-spending

Result indicator: Level of integration of workflows and systems linked to the decision-making process (Source: SG)

Baseline (2013)

Project launched.

Adoption of vision

document.

Milestone (end 2014)

Proposals for the

rationalisation of

procedures First

release of the

"dorsale

décisionnelle",

including:

- enhanced core

systems (CIS-Net, e-

Greffe and Vista);

- integrated decision-

making workflow;

- single entry point.

Current situation

Entry into operation

of the first release

of Decide on 2

February 2015,

including

- enhanced core

systems with a new

revamped

Consultation part of

Decide replacing

Cis-Net;

- integrated

decision-making

workflow;

- single entry point

Target (end 2015)

Integration of the Enterprise

Search engine in Decide.

Enhancement of the

decision step with a first

phase of the revamping of

e-Greffe (foreseen in

February 2016).

Enhancement of the

planning step to rationalise

the planning process,

integrate new needs of the

Commission and develop a

new planning module in

Decide (thus absorbing

Agenda Planning).

Improvement of the

handling of delegated and

30

implementing acts

Result indicator: Reduction of paper production and distribution by the Registry in the context of the

Commission's decision-making process

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2005)

33,5 million pages

Current situation

8,95 million pages in 2014 , thus

40% reduction compared with

2013 (15,3 million pages)

Target (end 2014)

60% reduction compared with

2013

Conclusion: 1 out of 2 results is in line with planning. The main rationalisation measure (namely, the suppression of the paper distribution of written procedure) was implemented only on 1.11.2014. Therefore, the last two months of 2014 saw a major decrease in the amount of paper treated. It went from 2.801.698 pages in the last two months of 2013 to 458,158 pages in the last two months of 2014 (i.e., 84% reduction).



Project workplan:

main priorities and

timing of analysis

and developments

for the first

iteration

Adoption Adopted Beginning 2014 "Dorsale

décisionnelle" (Decide

project)

First release of

Decide

Delivery Delivered on 2

February 2015

(postponed due

to some delays

in the IT

developments)

2014

Vision document Adoption Adopted Mid-2014 New edition tool

"Legisweb" (successor

of LegisWrite) Prototype Delivery January 2015 End 2014

31

Slight delay due

to Decide works

Pilot phase for

some DGs

Delivery Postponed due

to Decide works.

New target:

end 2016

2015

Release for all DGs Delivery Postponed due

to Decide works.

New target :

end 2017

End 2016

Suppression of paper distribution of written

procedures to cabinets for normal

documents

Delivery Delivered on

29/10/2014

(based on e-

Greffe release

1.19 of

29/10/2014)

with an

extended scope

to marked

documents.

Applies to

standard and

marked written

procedures

which are now

made available

to cabinets via e-

mail only

(directly with

files attached for

standard

procedures or

through a link to

the e-Greffe

November 2014

32

application. for

marked ones)

Electronic workflow for the adoption of

empowerment procedures

Delivery Delivered on

29/10/2014

(based on e-

Greffe release

1.19 of

29/10/2014).

Suppression of

SG-based paper

workflow

suppressed for

the adoption of

all

empowerment

procedures.

Specific paper

arrangements

established for

responses to

national

Parliaments'

opinions, reply

to the

Ombudsman and

empowerment

procedures

adopted by the

President

(request from

President and

1st Vice-

President)

November 2014

(provided that

the Dorsale/e-

Greffe systems

can effectively

support it)

Suppression of the paper transmission of

legislative proposals and delegated acts with

Delivery Partially

delivered on

End 2014

33

"lettres de saisine" to the other institutions. 01/10/2014:

paper

transmission of

proposals and

acts to the

Council

discontinued;

sending through

e-Trustex. Paper

transmission of

the "lettre de

saisine"

maintained upon

their request but

opening for a

future change

made. Further

changes linked

to progress to be

made on the e-

Trustex

approach to

other institutions

34

1.1.14 ABB activity Support for the Commission and Protocol: 'Provide useful and updated information, as well as specific guidance, to all Commission users regarding all Commission corporate procedures handled by the SG.'

Specific objective 14: Provide useful and updated information, as well as specific

guidance, to all Commission users regarding all Commission corporate

procedures handled by the SG.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Rate of completion of the drafting of GoPro, the guide to procedures.

(Source: SG)

Baseline (beginning 2013)

0%

Milestone (2014)

71% (13 chapters more out of 72 foreseen chapters)

Current situation

56% (43 out of 76 currently foreseen)

Target (mid-2016 at the latest)

100% of all corporate procedures handled

by the SG

Conclusion: result is not in line with planning. Less new chapters drafted than foreseen due to the need to add pages to existing chapters or update existing pages + internal reallocation of resources to Decide. Updates are still ongoing to further reflect the new working methods of the Commission; this delays the drafting of new chapters.



Communication campaign on GoPro Completion Postponed due

to the focus on

Decide and the

delays in the

drafting of new

chapters

End 2014

Consolidation, rationalisation and update of

intranet web pages dedicated to information

on the decision-making process

Completion Reported due to

the focus on

Decide

End 2014

35

Review of trainings given to Commission

staff on decision-making procedures and

related tools, in the context of the release of

the "dorsale décisionnelle"


1.1.15 ABB activity Support for the Commission and Protocol: 'Encourage full implementation of Commission policy on electronic document management and archiving through monitoring, guidance and making available the necessary IT tools as part of a wider Commission information management policy.'

Specific objective 15: Encourage full implementation of Commission policy on

electronic document management and archiving through monitoring, guidance

and making available the necessary IT tools as part of a wider Commission

information management policy.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Percentage of the document management and archives lifecycle covered by corporate

IT tools

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2008)

10%

Current situation

85%

Target (end 2014)

10% increase (85%)

36

Result indicator: Percentage of IT systems in the document management domain that are integrated

with Hermes-Ares-Nomcom or absorbed into Ares

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2011)

3% of IT systems in the

document management domain

integrated (8) or absorbed (1)

(out of the 215 systems

originally identified)

[source: eDomec Annual Activity Report

2011]

Current situation

As from 15 December 2014, 52%

(111) of IT systems have been

integrated/absorbed or are

currently in the process of

integrating Hermes.

Remark: this indicator is not

relevant anymore as among the

systems originally identified and

not yet integrated/absorbed, all

don't necessarily qualify

anymore for integration or

absorption (because they have

been terminated or are obsolete

and in the process of being

terminated). In parallel, new

systems have been developed

and are not in the list. For that

reason, the indicator has been

updated (see SG MP 2015)

Target (end 2014)

> 32.5% of systems in the

document management area

should be integrated with

Hermes

37

Conclusion: results are in line with planning.



Customisation of software for Hermes

Preservation Services (HPS) and Historical

Archives Management Information System

(HAMIS): customised archival repository

model, needs analysed regarding the

archives management module, approach

defined and possible pilots executed

Delivery Delayed

Full delivery of

archival

repository

(HPSII)

scheduled for

end 2015

Contract

negotiations and

signing were

handled by DIGIT

and took longer

than expected,

leading to a

delay in being

able to

customize the

End 2014

38

product to the

needs of the

Commission.

Action plan to implement an information

management strategy at the Commission


Preparation of draft implementing rules for

the amended Archives Regulation for

discussion with the other institutions.


Preparation for approval of new Framework

Partnership Agreement with the European

University Institute under the amended

Archives Regulation


39

1.1.16 ABB activity Support for the Commission and Protocol: 'Promote respect by Commission services of the right to protection of personal data.'

Specific objective 16: Promote respect by Commission services of the right to

protection of personal data.

⌧Non-spending

Result indicator: Percentage of compliance with the data protection regulation for the inventory

entries, within the deadline set by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2008)

81,8%

Current situation

97%

Target (end 2014)

≥ 97%

40

Result indicator: Number of complaints to the Data Protection Officer (Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

10

Current situation

5

Target (end 2014)

≤ 10

Result indicator: Number of complaints to the EDPS

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

5

Current situation

7

Target (end 2014)

≤ 10

41




Further contribution to the reform of the

data protection legal framework initiated by

DG JUST; launch a reflection on how to

anticipate entry into force of reform in the

Commission's services


Data Protection Awareness campaign:

surveys, information sessions, training,

communications, brochures, articles

Completion Completed Q1 2014

More user-friendly DPO website on

MyIntracomm


Improved quality of privacy statements Completion Completed End 2014

Enhanced visibility and recognition of DPC

function (actions with the EDPS and inside

DGs)


42

1.1.17 ABB activity Support for the Commission and Protocol: 'Provide the President, the College and DGs with protocol support and diplomatic assistance'

Specific objective 17: Provide the President, the College and DGs with protocol

support and diplomatic assistance.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Number of diplomatic incidents and complaints from the College (Source: SG)

Baseline (2011)

2

Current situation

2

Target (end 2014)

None

Conclusion: result is not in line with planning. Two incidents happened in 2014 during the same event "Audience solennelle des Membres de la Commission à la Cour de Justice européenne de Luxembourg, le mercredi 10 décembre 2014"

• One of the two rented buses was decorated with the colours of the football club of Bruges. The point was made by the OIB to the contractor providing the buses.

• During the official lunch, Members of the College and their guests were seated in separate dining rooms. This created an uncomfortable situation for one Member of the College and his spouse. The point was made to the Protocol Service of the CJEU.

43



Improvement of expertise on protocol

(training, assistance, advice, etc.), also in the

context of the preparation of the next

Commission.

Delivery Delivered End 2014

1.1.18 ABB activity Policy strategy and coordination and Administrative support: 'Rationalisation of the resources management within the SG'

Specific objective 18: Rationalise resources management within the SG through:

• Forward planning and more effective management of human resources;

• The implementation of the new IT governance and the related

rationalisation of information systems.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Staff reduction in the SG according to the commitment made by the Commission

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2013)

2013: 5 posts

Milestone

5 posts by 01/07/2014

Current situation

5 posts given back on 01/07/2014

Target (2013-2017)

Over 5 years: 25 posts

44

Result indicator: Representation (%) of women in senior management, in middle management and in

non-management AD posts in SG

(Source: SG EO performance card produced by DG HR)

Baseline (2010)

30% female senior managers

25% female middle managers

47,2% female officials AD non-management

Current situation

33,3% female senior managers

30% female middle managers

51,6% female officials AD non-management

Target (end 2014)

More than 25% female senior managers (EC official target

2014)

More than 30,8% female middle managers (SG target defined by

DG HR)

More than 43% female officials AD non-management (EC official

target 2014)

45

Result indicator: Number of Information Systems: before and after the rationalisation

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2011)

42

Current situation

331

Target (end 2015)

262

Result indicator: Number of SG staff equipped with mobile IT workstations, smart mobile devices

(smartphones, tablets) and remote access tokens.

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2012)

Mobile IT workstations: 72

Smart mobile devices:

- corporate: 39

Current situation



- corporate: 84

Target (end 2014)



- corporate: 90

1 Systems phased-out since 2011: Estel, SG Applications Portal, eMeetings, Médiateur, Inter-service Groups, Indis, Documat, ASP, SG Framework RefApp

2 Systems to be phased out by end 2015: e-Greffe, Vista, CISNet, Basil, ASAP, Petitions (all to be absorbed into Dorsale décisionnelle), NIF, MNE, EU-Pilot (all to be absorbed into Themis), Sybil, Manual of Procedures

46

- private: 73

Remote access tokens: 338

- private: 142


- private: 120





SG Human Resources Management report Completion Completed End 2014

SG Resources services survey report Completion Completed End 2014

IT Master Plan Completion Completed End 2014

1.1.19 ABB activity Policy strategy and coordination and Administrative support: 'Develop good external visibility and understanding of SG activities, while at the same time boosting staff engagement and ensuring a smooth flow of information within the SG.'

Specific objective 19: Develop good external visibility and understanding of SG

activities, while at the same time boosting staff engagement and ensuring a

smooth flow of information within the SG.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: Degree of implementation of the actions in the SG's internal communication strategy

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2013)

Not available

Current situation

90%

Target (end 2014)

80%




47

External communication strategy Completion Completed End 2014

Internal communication strategy Completion Completed End 2014

New SG intranet with all content revised and

kept up-to-date

Completion Completed Q2 2014

Rationalised and revised SG pages on

MyIntracomm and europa.eu

Completion Advanced

SG websites on

My IntraComm

were given new

content,

structure and

appearance. A

brand new

homepage was

rolled out in

December 2014,

leading to 11

revised sub-sites

covering 60% of

most frequently

visited content.

The revision of

the remaining

sites is ongoing

and will be

completed in

early 2015

End 2014

48

1.1.20 ABB activity Policy strategy and coordination and Administrative support: 'Implement and maintain an effective internal control system so that reasonable assurance can be given that resources assigned to the activities are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and that the control procedures put in place give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions'

Specific objective 20: Implement and maintain an effective internal control

system so that reasonable assurance can be given that resources assigned to the

activities are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial

management and that the control procedures put in place give the necessary

guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.

⌧ Non-spending

Result indicator: % of budget execution in commitments of new appropriations (C1) – budget lines for

which SG is accountable in AAR

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

100%

Current situation

100%

Target (end 2014)

100%

49

Result indicator: % of number of payments made within contractual deadline

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

97%

Current situation

99%

Target (end 2014)

99%

Result indicator: Number of registered exception notes and non-compliance events

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2010)

26

Current situation

13

Target (end 2014)

≤ 17

Result indicator: % of a posteriori commitments out of total commitments (C1, C4 and C5)

(Source: SG)

Baseline (2009)

0%

Current situation

0%

Target (end 2014)

0%


50



Awareness-raising campaign on exceptions

and non-compliance events


1.2 Economy and efficiency of spending and non-spending activities.

According to the financial regulation (Article 30), the principle of economy requires that the resources used by the institution in the pursuit of its activities shall be made available in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality and the best price. The principle of efficiency concerns the best relationship between resources employed and results achieved.

The respect of these principles is continuously pursued through the implementation of internal procedures and predefined practices. These procedures ensure that activities are executed in an efficient manner (e.g. the different workflows contribute to the efficient cooperation between staff, units, etc…) and according to the principle of economy (e.g. the procurement rules ensure procurement in optimal conditions).

The Secretariat-General is continuously fine-tuning its internal arrangements in order to improve the efficiency and economy of its operations. The following two initiatives show how these principles are implemented in the Secretariat-General:

1.2.1 Example 1

The number of Parliamentary Questions addressed to the Commission dipped in mid-2014, undoubtedly due to the European elections and the transition to the new Parliament. However, figures for the last months of 2014 show that, despite Parliament's reform of its system for questions to the Commission that was hoped to reduce the number of questions, the record level of the year 2013, with a monthly average of more than 1000 questions and a total of more than 13,000 questions in that year, is reached again. Only with mobilisation of all efficiency reserves was the SG team for Parliamentary Questions, reduced from 11 to 7 ASTs with the reorganisation of the SG in 2014, able to maintain a workflow that allows responding to the large majority of Parliamentary Questions for written answers within the intended deadlines. The reorganisation of the Commission with the installation of 5 Vice-Presidents relying on the administrative support from the SG, and the subsequent involvement of a higher number of actors in the drafting of replies, pose new challenges.

51

1.2.2 Example 2

In the domain of IT Governance, for the past 25 years the services have been compelled to develop their local IT Master Plans in fine detail and more than 40 of these documents have to be analysed and synthesised by SG's strategic planning unit. In 2014, the ABM Steering Committee agreed to abolish this bureaucratic labour intensive requirement and replace it with a more focussed and automated approach in which the services input their IT plans and resource requirements into a new IT portfolio management system and summarise their IT priorities and how they align with business needs in the management plan itself. This slimmed-down, more structured approach is a good example of administrative simplification. It has saved significant resources and allowed critical management information to be updated on a dynamic on-line basis.

52

2. MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES Assurance is an objective examination of evidence for the purpose of providing an assessment of the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. This examination is carried out by management, who monitors the functioning of the internal control systems on a continuous basis, and by internal and external auditors. The results are explicitly documented and reported to the Secretary-General. The reports produced are:

- the reports by AOSDs;

- the reports from AOSDs in other DGs managing budget appropriations in cross-delegation;

- the contribution of the Internal Control Coordinator, including the results of internal control monitoring at the DG level;

- the opinion and the observations of the Internal Audit Capability (IAC);

- the observations and the recommendations reported by the Internal Audit Service (IAS);

- the observations and the recommendations reported by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

The control results and other relevant elements that support management's assurance on the achievement of the internal control objectives3 are: (1) the Secretariat-General’s assessment of its own activities for the management of its resources; (2) the assessment of the activities carried out by other entities to which the Secretariat-General has entrusted budget implementation tasks; and (3) the assessment of the results of internal and external audits, including the implementation of audit recommendations.

Please see section 'Introduction – Secretariat-General in brief' for a brief overview of the kinds of expenditure.

In conclusion, the Secretariat-General has a low-risk profile in financial management for the following reasons:

• the managed 2014 budget of 11.623.737 EUR is considered low;

• almost all IT expenses are paid based on DG DIGIT framework contracts (tender procedures not managed by the Secretariat-General, see annex 5);

3 Effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations; reliability of reporting; safeguarding of assets and information; prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities; and adequate management of the risks relating to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, taking into account the multiannual character of programmes as well as the nature of the payments (FR Art 32).

53

The Secretariat-General introduced in October 2013 one common ABAC workflow for all transactions and budget lines, including the use of standardised checklists. The central financial unit plays a key role in the financial circuits used in the Secretariat-General in 2014 whether based on a fully centralised or partially decentralised model with a key role of the central financial unit.

2.1 Management of human and financial resources by SG

This section reports and assesses the elements identified by management that support the assurance on the achievement of the internal control objectives. Annex 5 outlines the main risks together with the control processes aimed to mitigate them and the indicators used to measure the performance of the control systems.

Control effectiveness as regards legality and regularity

The Secretariat-General's control strategy for the public procurement procedures is based on intensive ex-ante controls, which give a key role to the financial unit. Consequently, there is relatively limited scope for additional value from supervisory ex-post controls on procurement. However, the ICC has verified that the recorded control overrides, exceptions and/or non-compliance events do not indicate any systemic control weaknesses. Furthermore, the absence of procurement procedures abandoned, the low number of subsequent amendments to contracts 'needed' and the absence of litigations related to procurement decisions provided an indication for assessing the 'quality' of the Secretariat-General's procurement procedures - which is a second-best alternative to having an estimation of an 'error rate'. Finally, as moreover the ECA has found no serious procedural procurement issue – which it would quantify as a 100% error – the Secretariat-General concludes that there are no indications that its procurement procedures and payment transactions would not be legal and regular.

Control efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

The percentage of overdue payments is the main control efficiency indicator in the Secretariat-General. The payment delay is followed up on a weekly basis. 1,22% of payments volume was honoured too late. The late payments are linked to the ISA (Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations) budget line. The non-respect of the payment deadline was caused by the unavailability of payment appropriations on this budget line. End December, after the approval of the 2014 amended budget, the necessary appropriations were made available and all awaiting payments have been validated before 31 December 2014.

As a non-spending DG and in line with sections 3.2.5 and 4.6 of the note Ares(2014)3702334 on the minimum set of common control efficiency indicators, below are the details of the indicator for overall cost of control.

54

The above table quantifies the costs of the resources and inputs required for carrying out the controls described in Annex 5 and the payments authorised by the Secretariat-General.

The overall cost of control (the total cost of control divided by the payments authorised) for 2014 is 1,86% compared with 1,59% for 2013.

As there are currently no sufficient chronological data, it is not possible to draw a conclusion.

Fraud prevention and detection

The Secretariat-General has developed its anti-fraud strategy as foreseen in the Commission’s overall anti-fraud strategy. All the resulting measures have been identified. Almost all measures need to be implemented by the end of 2014. No temporary measures are necessary until full implementation. As indicated in the specific objective 7, 95% of the 2014 actions have been implemented. The remaining 5% will be implemented beginning of 2015.

The controls aimed at preventing and detecting fraud are not essential, unlike those intended to ensure the legality and regularity of the transactions. No cases were transmitted to OLAF/IDOC for investigation in 2014. In addition, during the same period, OLAF initiated no cases which concern the activities of the Secretariat-General, based on other sources of information.

Other control objectives: use of resources for their intended purpose, reliability of reporting, safeguarding of assets and information

The Secretariat-General (SG) plays a key role in managing information in all its forms. Information should be accurate and reliable and at the same time accessible and secure. The core principles are confidentiality on a 'need to know base', integrity and availability.

The Secretariat-General does not manage the procedures/systems for sensitive or classified information. This is done by the Security Directorate in DG HR.

About the safeguarding of information, the e-Domec rules are regularly updated by the

55

SG. The Hermes IT system is to be considered the backbone of the information safeguarding policy. The use of Hermes across DGs is increasing considerably (integration of 52% of DGs' document management IT tools) and is to be considered the main official electronic archive in future.

As regards information on European policy, the SG manages the access rights to the database in a strict way. The same goes for other IT applications under the Secretariat-General's ownership.

The Secretariat-General is considering how to better measure efficiency and effectiveness in this field in 2015.

56

2.2 Budget implementation tasks entrusted to other DGs and entities

This section reports and assesses the elements that support the assurance on the achievement of the internal control objectives as regards the results of the SG’s supervisory controls on the budget implementation tasks carried out by other Commission services and entrusted entities distinct from the Commission.

In 2014, the AOD of the Secretariat-General gave crossed sub-delegations to DG DIGIT (6.221.933 EUR commitment appropriations) and OIB (50.000 EUR commitment appropriations) for the development and/or maintenance of specific IT systems.

As stipulated in the crossed sub-delegation act, DG DIGIT and OIB reported to the Secretariat-General by the end of July covering the first semester of 2014 and by the end of January 2015 covering the second semester of 2014. These reports do not indicate any problem or deviation from procedures in their financial management for the budget lines crossed sub-delegated to them. There were no incidents.

The management information reported by the services and entities is deemed reliable and was sufficient to draw assurance conclusions. The SG's supervision arrangements are based on the principle of controlling 'with' the relevant entity. There were no additional actions from the responsible AOD needed (e.g. control "around the entity") before being able to conclude on assurance.

2.3 Assessment of audit results and follow-up of audit recommendations

This section reports and assesses the observations and conclusions reported by auditors which could have a material impact on the achievement of the internal control objectives, and therefore on assurance, together with any management measures taken in response to the audit recommendations.

The DG is audited by both internal and external independent auditors: its internal audit capability (IAC), the Commission internal audit service (IAS) and the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

During the period of reference, the IAS completed one audit on the Administrative Processes Supporting the European Semester and did the follow-up of open recommendations relating to audits in previous years.

The European Court of Auditors did not issue a special report to the SG nor select the SG during its examination of financial management (legality & regularity of transactions, reliability of control systems, and quality of the AAR) in its Annual Report. Based on the 2013 Annual Report of the European Court of Auditors, the Secretariat-General is aware of the needed future focus on performance reporting and EU added value.

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The IAC carried out two audit assignments and one follow-up audit, in accordance with its multiannual audit planning, which covers the DG management processes, on a risk basis, over a period of five years.

Consequently, the IAC expressed the opinion that the internal control system in place provided reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of the business objectives set up for the processes audited except for four very important observations related to the Audit on Risk Management in the Secretariat-General (implementation date is 31 March 2015).

Equally, all IAS audits carried out concluded that the internal control system in place provides reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of the business objectives set up for the process examined. There are no open, very important or critical recommendations.

Finally, the ECA observations did not include previously undisclosed issues related to transactions, control systems or the management representations in the AAR.

Management has accepted all the auditors’ recommendations and submitted action plans which have been assessed favourably by the auditors. The various management measures included in these action plans have been, or are being, implemented as foreseen.

As a result of the assessment of the risks underlying the auditors' observations together with the management measures taken, the Secretariat-General believes that the recommendations issued do not raise any assurance implication and are being implemented as part of the continuous efforts towards further improvements.

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3. ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS The Commission has adopted a set of internal control standards, based on international good practice, aimed at ensuring the achievement of policy and operational objectives. In addition, concerning financial management, compliance with these standards is a compulsory requirement.

The SG has put in place the organisational structure and the Internal Control Systems (ICS) suited to the achievement of the policy and control objectives, in accordance with the standards and having due regard to the risks associated with the environment in which it operates.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Secretariat-General system of controls in its entirety, the model explained in the guidelines on assessing the effectiveness of the Internal Control System has been applied. The evidence required to support the assessment has been gathered from management knowledge gained from daily operations, management reviews conducted, audit reports and results of key controls. The functioning of the internal control systems was also closely monitored throughout the year by the systematic registration of exceptions (under ICS 8) and internal control weaknesses (ICS 15). The underlying causes behind these exceptions and weaknesses were analysed and corrective and alternative mitigating controls were implemented when necessary.

ICS 7 (Operational Structure) and ICS 8 (Processes and Procedures) were prioritised in 2014. Although prioritised also in 2013 and having attained considerable progress during that year, ICS 7 and ICS 8 were prioritised again in 2014 in order to keep up efforts to achieve further results in these areas.

Regarding ICS 7, the IT systems of the Secretariat-General have to use all possible synergies to their maximum extent. The Decide project was operationally launched in July 2013, IT development took place in 2014 and it went live in February 2015. For this reason, the 2014 measures cannot be considered as fully implemented. This ICS is therefore reprioritised in 2015.

Concerning ICS 8, a completely revamped guide to procedure was launched in February 2013. As the work continued in 2014 and will continue in 2015, the 2014 measures cannot be considered as fully implemented. This ICS is therefore reprioritised in 2015.

In conclusion, the internal control standards are effectively implemented with the exception of standards 7 and 8. As 2015 prioritised ICSs, adequate measures have been defined in the 2015 Secretariat-General Management Plan.

http://www.cc.cec/budg/man/icrm/_doc/services/guidelines/doc_081110_icsystemeffectivenessmeasureguidelines_en.pdf

http://www.cc.cec/budg/man/icrm/_doc/services/guidelines/doc_081110_icsystemeffectivenessmeasureguidelines_en.pdf

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4. MANAGEMENT ASSURANCE This section reviews the assessment of the elements reported in Parts 2 and 3 and draws conclusions supporting the declaration of assurance and, namely, whether it should be qualified with reservations.

4.1 Review of the elements supporting assurance

The information reported in Parts 2 and 3 stems from the results of management and auditor monitoring contained in the reports listed. These reports result from a systematic analysis of the evidence available. This approach provides sufficient guarantees as to the completeness and reliability of the information reported and results in a complete coverage of the budget delegated to the Secretary-General.

The intrinsic risk for administrative expenditure managed by the SG including procurement is relatively low because of the limited budget as well as the centralised and direct mode of budget implementation. The risks are effectively mitigated by means of controls put in place.

Further assurance is obtained by the risk management process put in place, and the very limited number and significance of exceptions and internal control weaknesses reported in 2014. Management has obtained satisfactory evidence that the internal control system in its entirety is effectively implemented in the Secretariat-General.

Results from audits during the reporting year give an overall positive feedback and did not include any critical findings. The residual risk from audit recommendations remaining open from previous years is not considered to have a bearing on the declaration of assurance.

Assurance letters have been received for crossed sub-delegations given to other DGs.

As a conclusion, the AOD of the Secretariat-General has obtained reasonable assurance for the budget delegated to her.

4.2 Overall conclusion on assurance and reservations (if applicable)

The Secretariat-General does not report any reservation.

The Secretariat-General is responsible for administrative budget lines under direct management amounting to 12 million EUR payments made in 2014, be it by the Secretariat-General itself or by a DG having received a cross sub-delegation from the Secretariat-General. Taking into account the absence of any error and/or correction in the reports on cross sub-delegated appropriations, the low financial risk profile of the Secretariat-General, the absence of any finding in the yearly IAC review on Regularity and Legality of financial transactions, ex ante control corrections only having a non-financial impact and the absence of financial corrections or recoveries the past years, the average error rate of the SG can be estimated close to 0%.

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Taking into account the conclusions of the review of the elements supporting assurance and the expected corrective capacity of the controls to be implemented in subsequent years, it is possible to conclude that the internal controls systems implemented by the Secretariat-General provide sufficient assurance to adequately manage the risks relating to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. Furthermore, it is also possible to conclude that the internal control systems provide sufficient assurance with regards to the achievement of the other internal control objectives.

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DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE

I, the undersigned,

Secretary-General

In my capacity as authorising officer by delegation

Declare that the information contained in this report gives a true and fair view4.

State that I have reasonable assurance that the resources assigned to the activities described in this report have been used for their intended purpose and in accordance with the principles of sound financial management, and that the control procedures put in place give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.

This reasonable assurance is based on my own judgement and on the information at my disposal, such as the results of the self-assessment, ex-post controls, the work of the internal audit capability, the observations of the Internal Audit Service and the lessons learnt from the reports of the Court of Auditors for years prior to the year of this declaration.

Confirm that I am not aware of anything not reported here which could harm the interests of the institution.

Brussels, 26 March 2015

[Signed]

Catherine Day

4 True and fair in this context means a reliable, complete and correct view on the state of affairs in the service.

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