Report on the closure of the liquidation of the Galileo Joint Undertaking

Transcription

1 Report on the closure of the liquidation of the Galileo Joint Undertaking 12, rue Alcide De Gasperi - L Luxembourg T (+352) E eca-info@eca.europa.eu eca.europa.eu

2 2 CONTENTS Paragraph Introduction 1-5 Closure of the liquidation 6 General remarks 7-8

3 3 INTRODUCTION 1. This report concerns the closure of the liquidation of the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) and is addressed to the Liquidator, who replaced the Director on 1 January 2007, and to the members of the Galileo Joint Undertaking. 2. The Joint Undertaking was initially set up, in Brussels, for a period of four years ending on 28 May 2006, to implement the development phase and to prepare for the deployment and operational phases of the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS the Galileo programme) The founding members of the GJU were the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The National Remote Sensing Centre of China (NRSCC) and the Israeli Industry Centre for Research and Development (MATIMOP) became members of the Joint Undertaking in October 2004 and September 2005 respectively. 4. The life of the GJU was later extended to 31 December , when its activities were taken over by the European GNSS Supervisory Authority 3. The winding-up of the GJU began on 1 January 2007 under the responsibility of the Liquidator appointed under Article 21 of the Statutes of the GJU In December 2016, the Liquidator submitted to the Court the Final Report on the liquidation activities, together with the Decisions of the GJU Administrative Board approving: Regulation (EC) No 876/2002. Council Regulation (EC) No 1943/2006 (OJ L 367, , p. 21). Council Regulations (EC) No 1321/2004 (OJ L 246, , p. 1) and (EC) No 1942/2006 (OJ L 367, , p. 18). Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 (OJ L 138, , p. 1).

4 4 - the GJU audited financial statements for 2010 to 2014 and the note of subsequent events 5 ; - the Final Report by the Liquidator; - the transfer of the outstanding balance of 5 475,01 euro to the Commission and the formal closure of the liquidation. CLOSURE OF THE LIQUIDATION 6. Taking note of the Decisions of the GJU Administrative Board and having examined the Final Report by the Liquidator and the associated documents, the Court considers the liquidation of the GJU as closed in accordance with the requirements of the Statutes of the GJU. GENERAL REMARKS 7. The Court has previously referred to the considerable delays in the winding-up of the GJU 6. The winding-up process began on 1 January 2007 and was initially planned for a period of two years, but was only completed in December Two legal suits hampered the finalisation of the liquidation 7. The case related to the Galileo trademark remains open at the Commission, which took it over from the GJU in March 2013 in order to facilitate the finalisation of the winding-up. 8. The Court reiterates its observation that, in view of the time taken to liquidate the GJU, and of the increasing number of European bodies created for a specific purpose and for a limited duration (e.g. the Joint Undertakings created by the European Union since 2007), the The final set of annual accounts for the GJU relate to the financial year ended 31 December The GJU entered into a limited number of transactions between 1 January 2015 and the closure of the liquidation, as set out in the note on subsequent events. For example, paragraphs 22 and 24 of the Court s report on the 2014 accounts and paragraph 24 of the Court s report on the 2013 accounts. The procedure introduced by a former employee at the Labour Court in Belgium and the procedure related to the trademark designation 'Galileo Joint Undertaking'.

5 5 European Commission should put procedures in place to ensure an efficient and costeffective process for winding up such bodies. This Report was adopted by Chamber IV, headed by Mr Baudilio TOMÉ MUGURUZA, Member of the Court of Auditors, in Luxembourg at its meeting of 7 March For the Court of Auditors Klaus-Heiner LEHNE President