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  The EU chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear centres of excellence
  More progress needed. Special report No 14, 2018. The EU chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear centres of excellence : more progress needed. Special report No 14, 2018

  The EU CBRN centres of excellence initiative is the main scheme for mitigating chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and risks from outside the EU. Although these risks are low, there are signs that they are on the rise and, if they were to materialise, their impact on the globa...

  The EU CBRN centres of excellence initiative is the main scheme for mitigating chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and risks from outside the EU. Although these risks are low, there are signs that they are on the rise and, if they were to materialise, their impact on the global health, environment and economy could be high. This initiative aims to strengthen partner countries’ capabilities through capacity-building projects and a network for cooperation. We examined whether the EU CBRN initiative had mitigated the CBRN threat, concluding that it did but that many challenges remain. We make a number of recommendations for improving the initiative.

  The EU CBRN centres of excellence initiative is the main scheme for mitigating chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and risks from outside the EU. Although these risks are low, there are signs that they are on the rise and, if they were to materialise, their impact on the global health, environment and economy could be high. This initiative aims to strengthen partner countries’ capabilities through capacity-building projects and a network for cooperation. We examined whether the EU CBRN initiative had mitigated the CBRN threat, concluding that it did but that many challenges remain. We make a number of recommendations for improving the initiative.

  • Published: 2019-02-21
  • Corporate Author(s): European Court of Auditors
  • Subject: accident prevention, accidental pollution, audit, biological weapon, chemical accident, chemical weapon, EU initiative, international cooperation, nuclear weapon, report, risk management, threat to national security
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  The JRC statistical audit of the retail restrictiveness indicator
  

  Monitoring the restrictiveness of regulations governing the retail companies may help to induce a positive dynamic leading to more open and competitive retail markets in the EU. The Commission services have developed for the first time the monitoring framework for the Retail Restrictiveness Indi...

  Monitoring the restrictiveness of regulations governing the retail companies may help to induce a positive dynamic leading to more open and competitive retail markets in the EU. The Commission services have developed for the first time the monitoring framework for the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator, which is made of 14 types of restrictions, two sub-pillars, two pillars and one overall index across the 28 EU Member States. This exercise inevitably entails both conceptual and practical challenges. The statistical audit discussed in this note was conducted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), and it aims at maximising the reliability and transparency of the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator framework. It should enable policy analysts and researchers alike to draw more relevant, meaningful and useful conclusions from the results presented in the Staff Working Document accompanying the Commission Communication A European retail sector fit for the 21st century. Prior to undertaking this statistical assessment, the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator development team and the JRC engaged in previous discussions during fall 2017 and early 2018, whereby earlier versions of the framework were assessed by the JRC. Preliminary JRC suggestions were taken into account for the final computation of the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator and its underlying components. The present statistical assessment of the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator focuses on two main aspects: -The statistical coherence of the indicator framework, and; -The impact of key modelling assumptions on the overall scores and ranks. This JRC analysis complements the reported Retail Restrictiveness Indicator results for the EU Member States – namely those for the two main pillars, the Establishment restrictions and Operations restrictions - with estimated confidence intervals, in order to better appreciate the robustness of the results to key modelling choices (such as choice of the weights and the aggregation formula).

  • Published: 2018-12-19
  • Corporate Author(s): Joint Research Centre (European Commission)
  • Subject: audit, globalisation, goods and services, international trade, research report, retail trade, statistical method, trade restriction
• Commission Decision (EU) 2019/63 of 19 December 2018 on the sectoral reference document on best environmental management practices, sector environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence for the electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing sector under Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)Text with EEA relevance.

  • Published: 2018-12-19
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Environment (European Commission) ; European Commission
  • Subject: audit, corporate social responsibility, electrical engineering, electronics industry, environmental monitoring, environmental protection, EU environmental policy, organisation
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  Demonstrating carbon capture and storage and innovative renewables at commercial scale in the EU
  Intended progress not achieved in the past decade. Special report No 24, 2018

  To help achieve its 2020 and longer term climate and energy objectives, the EU launched two large funding programmes in 2009 to support carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewables: the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) and the NER300 programme. While the EU is likely t...

  To help achieve its 2020 and longer term climate and energy objectives, the EU launched two large funding programmes in 2009 to support carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewables: the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) and the NER300 programme. While the EU is likely to meet its 2020 targets, we found that neither of the programmes succeeded with the deployment of CCS in the EU. The EEPR contributed positively to the development of the offshore wind sector, but the NER300 programme did not achieve the progress intended in supporting the demonstration of a wider range of innovative renewable energy technologies. The EU is now preparing to launch the Innovation Fund to replace NER300 from 2021 and is designing the new multi-annual financial framework (2021-2027). An acceleration of the transition to a low-carbon economy is necessary to meet its climate and energy objectives for 2030 and the longer term. In this context, we make recommendations to the European Commission to address the weaknesses identified during our audit and strengthen the design of future programmes.

  • Published: 2018-11-12
  • Corporate Author(s): European Court of Auditors
  • Subject: adaptation to climate change, audit, carbon capture and storage, climate change policy, energy research, energy technology, fund (EU), innovation, renewable energy, report, wind energy
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  EIOPA made an important contribution to supervision and stability in the insurance sector, but significant challenges remain
  Special report No 29, 2018

  EIOPA, as one of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), has the mission of supporting the stability of the financial system and protecting consumers in the fields of insurance and occupational pensions. The insurance market with assets worth around two-thirds of the EU GDP is a signi...

  EIOPA, as one of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), has the mission of supporting the stability of the financial system and protecting consumers in the fields of insurance and occupational pensions. The insurance market with assets worth around two-thirds of the EU GDP is a significant part of the financial market in Europe. Its failure could negatively affect the real economy and consumers’ well-being. We examined whether EIOPA made an effective contribution to supervision, supervisory convergence and financial stability. For the latter we focused on the 2016 insurance stress test. We concluded that EIOPA has made good use of a wide range of tools, although their design and follow-up should be improved. We found a number of systematic challenges with regard to supervision of cross-border businesses and internal models. They need to be addressed by EIOPA itself, by national supervisors and by legislators, particularly in the context of the ongoing ESAs’ review.

  • Published: 2019-02-14
  • Corporate Author(s): European Court of Auditors
  • Subject: audit, consumer protection, EU body, financial market, financial stability, financial supervision, insurance, pension fund, report, supervisory body
• Public audit in the European Union
  The handbook on supreme audit institutions in the EU and its Member States

  • Published: 2019-02-07
  • Corporate Author(s): European Court of Auditors
  • Subject: audit, auditing, EU Member State, European Court of Auditors, guide, public accounting, public administration, public institution
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  Skills audits
  Tools to identify talent : final report

  Different EU documents, including the 2012 Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning and the 2016 Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways, promote skills audits as one means to support individuals in their transition periods. In these documents skills audits ...

  Different EU documents, including the 2012 Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning and the 2016 Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways, promote skills audits as one means to support individuals in their transition periods. In these documents skills audits are suggested as a practice to identify and document knowledge, skills and competence of individuals with a view to further inform decisions about career orientation, education or training. However, there is limited evidence about the extent to which skills audits are used and what they entail in practice. The purpose of this study was to improve the knowledge base about skills audits, to identify main types of skills audits, the methods and approaches used for skills audits as well as to assess the extent to which standards are used as part of the process. Considerations about effectiveness of skills audits were also analysed.

  • Published: 2019-03-12
  • Corporate Author(s): Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
  • Subject: audit, labour market, professional career, professional qualifications, skilled worker, vocational education, vocational guidance
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  Ex-post review of EU legislation
  A well-established system, but incomplete. Special report No 16, 2018

  Ex-post review of legislation is a key part of the EU better regulation policy, which aims at facilitating the achievement of public policy objectives at minimum cost and improving the added value of EU interventions. We assessed whether the EU system of ex-post review of legislation had been pr...

  Ex-post review of legislation is a key part of the EU better regulation policy, which aims at facilitating the achievement of public policy objectives at minimum cost and improving the added value of EU interventions. We assessed whether the EU system of ex-post review of legislation had been properly planned, implemented, managed and quality-controlled, thereby contributing effectively to the better regulation cycle. We found that the Commission’s current system of reviewing laws compares well overall with its equivalents in the Member States. However, we identified a number of weaknesses related mostly to the lack of common interinstitutional definitions regarding review clauses, the unclear treatment of some kinds of reviews as well as the lack of clarity of the regulatory fitness and performance (REFIT) programme.

  • Published: 2019-02-19
  • Corporate Author(s): European Court of Auditors
  • Subject: added value, audit, EU law, EU law - national law, legislation, regulation, regulation (EU), regulatory policy, report, simplification of legislation
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  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
  The road to more prudent use of antimicrobials and antibiotics

  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms, such as bacteria, to become increasingly resistant to an antimicrobial to which they were previously susceptible. An estimated 25 000 people die in the EU each year from resistant infections – many of which are healthcare- associat...

  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms, such as bacteria, to become increasingly resistant to an antimicrobial to which they were previously susceptible. An estimated 25 000 people die in the EU each year from resistant infections – many of which are healthcare- associated infections (HCAI). With the rise of AMR comes the threat of common infections becoming fatal. Failing to address this serious health threat could lead to millions of lives being lost each year.

  • Published: 2019-01-16
  • Corporate Author(s): Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (European Commission)
  • Subject: antibiotic, audit, drug surveillance, food safety, government policy, health legislation, health policy, health risk, medicament, medicine, microorganism, public health, veterinary medicine
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  How energy audits promote SMEs’ energy efficiency investment
  

  This paper assesses the impact of energy audits on the implementation of energy efficiency investments by SMEs, interactions with financial constraints, and how energy audits can be promoted. Energy audits play an important role in promoting energy-efficiency measures in SMEs. This paper uses EI...

  This paper assesses the impact of energy audits on the implementation of energy efficiency investments by SMEs, interactions with financial constraints, and how energy audits can be promoted. Energy audits play an important role in promoting energy-efficiency measures in SMEs. This paper uses EIB Investment Survey data about energy audits and energy-efficiency investments of some 12,500 signatures from EU28 Member States per year. It suggests that: - Energy audits are a useful tool for overcoming the information barriers and facilitating investments in energy-efficiency measures - They are more important for small firms and for investments in things such as such as lighting, wall insulation etc. than in production processes such as the replacement of machinery and equipment - The beneficial impact of energy audits ceases to exist, however, when firms are finance constrained - Information campaigns are one of the most efficient available instruments among other instruments (regulatory, financial and voluntary agreements) for promoting energy audits in SMEs.

  • Published: 2019-03-05
  • Corporate Author(s): European Investment Bank
  • Subject: audit, energy efficiency, energy policy, EU Member State, investment, small and medium-sized enterprises