This opinion responds to the observations made by the European Parliament during the 2023 discharge process. It was approved by the EBA Board of Supervisors and emphasizes the importance of evaluating the Authority's performance. The EBA also provides responses to the Parliament's observations in a tabular format, thereby facilitating the understanding of the measures taken.
This document is the opinion of the European Banking Authority (EBA) on the 2023 discharge report of the European Parliament. It was approved by the EBA Board of Supervisors in 2024. The report covers the financial and operational management of the European Union’s decentralized agencies, including the EBA, for the 2023 financial year. It addresses the European Parliament’s observations on budget implementation and agency performance, with a particular focus on governance, budget management, risks identified by the European Court of Auditors, personnel policy, equality and inclusion. The scope includes the 33 decentralized agencies concerned by the discharge procedure, including the EBA, as well as cross-cutting aspects related to financial management, governance and performance.
This document formally responds to the European Parliament’s observations within the 2023 discharge procedure, concerning the budgetary and operational management of the EBA and other decentralized agencies. The EBA welcomes the Parliament’s approval of the 2023 accounts closure and the discharge granted to its Executive Director, underlining the importance of this process for transparency and accountability. The main findings concern the need to ensure sufficient resources for new legislative missions, notably related to DORA, MICA and EMIR, for which the EBA requested additional posts not yet approved by the Commission. The EBA highlights the complexity of mixed funding (Union and national contributions) and defends the 40/60% arrangement without detailed cost distinction by activity, to preserve its independence. In communication, the EBA intensified its media and social network presence in 2024 to improve public awareness. Regarding governance, the EBA confirms compliance with common agency structures. Concerning financial management, the EBA meets transparency requirements, notably on external contracts, and has implemented mechanisms to budget and account for activities financed by fees. The EBA is involved in ongoing litigation related to a tender, without reliable estimate of potential costs at this stage. Finally, the EBA continues its efforts on diversity, inclusion and gender balance, with concrete measures for persons with disabilities and notable female representation in leadership positions. Main recommendations focus on the need to support new missions with adequate resources, to continue financial transparency and communication, and to maintain effective and balanced governance.
The document was drafted in response to observations made by the European Parliament during the 2023 budget discharge procedure, which aims to evaluate the financial and operational management of the European Union’s decentralized agencies, including the EBA. This procedure is an obligation based on European treaties, aiming to ensure transparency, accountability and open dialogue on the use of European public funds. The objective is to provide a reasoned response to the Parliament’s remarks, to explain measures taken or planned, and to demonstrate compliance with financial rules and good governance practices. The scope covers budget management, governance, performance, risks identified by the Court of Auditors, personnel policy, as well as issues related to communication and agency visibility. The document does not cover pages beyond the 37th, limiting coverage to the first part of the report.
- Governance: The EBA confirms that its governance structure complies with the common practice of decentralized agencies, with a Board of Supervisors and a Director. No adjustment is necessary (p. 14). Agencies must ensure effectiveness and accountability, avoiding duplication and ensuring transparent governance (p. 7-9).
- Funding and budget management: The EBA is partially self-financed, with about 37% of its budget coming from Union grants and 60% from national contributions, in line with the 40/60% arrangement provided by its founding regulation. The EBA stresses that this distribution aims to guarantee its independence from Member States and the Commission (p. 13-16). In 2023, the EBA’s budget amounted to about €52.7 million, an increase of 4.68% compared to 2022 (p. 10-13). The EBA requested additional resources (6 temporary and 5 permanent posts) to address new missions related to DORA, MICA and EMIR, but these requests were not supported in the 2026 draft budget (p. 4).
- Communication and visibility: In 2024, the EBA organized 63 press conferences and interviews, covering 12 Member States and international media, and strengthened its presence on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube to improve public awareness (p. 6).
- Financial transparency: The EBA publishes annually expenses related to external contracts in accordance with the public procurement handbook. It notes that implementing real-time financial reporting would require significant investments in human and financial resources (p. 17).
- Risks and litigation: The EBA is involved in a legal dispute concerning a joint tender with ESMA and EIOPA, without reliable estimate of potential costs at this stage. The hearing took place in April 2025 (p. 23-24).
- Human resources policy, equality and inclusion: The EBA implements measures for the inclusion of persons with disabilities, such as reasonable accommodations, assistive technologies and awareness training. The organization shows gender balance with 50% women among permanent staff and strong female representation in leadership positions (60% of directors, 41% of unit heads) (p. 32-33). The EBA also awarded a 4-year cleaning framework contract, with staff employed by the service provider (p. 37).
- Performance and indicators: The report notes that current key performance indicators (KPIs) do not allow effective multi-year monitoring nor a full evaluation of operational results. The EBA has no specific remarks on this point (p. 26).
- General observations on agencies: The report recalls the importance of the discharge procedure for transparency and accountability, as well as the need for regular agency evaluations every 5 years to ensure their effectiveness and relevance (p. 3-5).
- Established facts: The EBA complied with budgetary and financial management rules in 2023, with a slightly increased budget of €52.7 million. It responded to the European Parliament’s observations within the discharge procedure. The EBA strengthened its communication and maintained governance in line with decentralized agency standards. It implemented inclusion and gender equality measures. The EBA is involved in ongoing litigation concerning a tender.
- Assumptions: The 40/60% funding arrangement (Union/Member States) is interpreted by the EBA as a global model without detailed cost distinction by activity, to preserve its independence. The EBA considers the requested additional resources necessary for new missions, although not yet granted.
- Interpretations: The EBA emphasizes that the discharge procedure is an essential exercise for transparency and accountability, and that Parliament’s observations contribute to improving management and performance. It considers enhanced communication an important lever for public awareness.
- Uncertainties: The outcome of the ongoing litigation is uncertain, without reliable estimate of potential costs. The impact of non-granted resources on the EBA’s capacity to fulfill new missions remains to be monitored.
The EBA welcomes the discharge granted for the 2023 financial year and underlines the importance of the procedure for transparency and accountability. It recommends that any new legislative mission be accompanied by adequate resources in financial acts to ensure effective implementation. The EBA commits to continuing its communication efforts to improve visibility and understanding of its role. It maintains its financial transparency practices, notably on external contracts, while underlining the resource needs to develop more advanced reporting tools. The EBA continues to promote inclusion and gender equality within its organization. Finally, it closely monitors the ongoing litigation and commits to informing stakeholders of developments. No specific action plan is detailed in the document beyond ongoing measures and resource requests.
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