EU Agencies 2024 Budget Clearance and Performance Review

Discharge decisions

• The European Parliament approved the 2024 accounts of 31 EU decentralised agencies, confirming that money was spent correctly and that financial rules were followed.
• The decision gives each agency a discharge, meaning they can keep using the budget they spent in 2024.
• Examples of agencies that received discharge:
• European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)
• European Medicines Agency (EMA)
• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
• European Banking Authority (EBA)
• European Environment Agency (EEA)
• European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)
• European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)
• European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
• European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex)

Closure of accounts

• For the same 31 agencies, the Parliament also approved the closure of the 2024 accounts, a bookkeeping step that finalises the year’s financial statements.

Observations and recommendations

• Accountability & transparency – Agencies must publish budgets, contracts and performance reports promptly and keep a public register of meetings with industry to avoid conflicts of interest.
• Performance & value for money – Set measurable goals (KPIs) and report on outcomes, not just spending; a common performance framework is needed.
• Budget management – The total budget rose from €3.6 bn in 2023 to €4.1 bn in 2024; future increases must be justified and resources used efficiently.
• Procurement & contracts – Strengthen controls, improve documentation, and train staff to prevent irregularities such as non‑competitive awards or over‑payments.
• Cybersecurity – Adopt zero‑trust IT architectures, improve incident reporting, and train staff under the new 2023/2841 regulation.
• Staffing & gender balance – Reduce reliance on temporary staff, create clearer career paths, and improve gender balance in senior roles.
• Fund‑raising & self‑financing – Agencies that generate revenue from fees must keep clear records and ensure this money does not influence regulatory decisions.
• Carry‑overs & late payments – Avoid large carry‑overs and pay suppliers on time to prevent interest costs.
• Fundamental rights & rule of law – All agencies must respect EU fundamental rights and the rule of law.
• Specific agency actions – Detailed recommendations for individual agencies (e.g., ENISA’s procurement planning, Eurojust’s business‑continuity plan, EMA’s conflict‑of‑interest procedures).

Bottom line

• 31 EU agencies have been formally cleared for their 2024 budgets and their accounts closed.
• The Parliament issued comprehensive observations calling for greater transparency, stronger performance measurement, tighter procurement rules, improved cybersecurity, and more efficient use of resources.
• These decisions and observations will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series) and will guide the agencies’ work in the coming years.

Broader context

The EU runs dozens of specialist agencies that handle everything from approving medicines (EMA) to guarding borders (Frontex) to monitoring cybersecurity threats (ENISA). Each year, the European Parliament reviews whether these agencies spent their budgets correctly — this review is called a discharge procedure. It is required by EU law and happens every year for the previous year's accounts.

The Court of Auditors (the EU's independent financial watchdog) checks the books first, then the Parliament votes on whether to formally approve — or "discharge" — each agency's spending. A refusal to grant discharge would be a serious political signal that something went badly wrong.

The total budget across all 33 agencies grew from €3.6 billion in 2023 to €4.1 billion in 2024 — money that comes primarily from EU member states' contributions and, for some agencies, from fees paid by businesses seeking approvals (e.g. pharmaceutical companies paying EMA to review new drugs).

Impact on people living in the EU

Most of these agencies work quietly in the background, but their decisions affect everyday life directly:

The Parliament's call for better transparency and conflict-of-interest controls — especially at agencies like EMA that receive fees from the industries they regulate — matters to ordinary people because it protects the independence of decisions about what medicines or chemicals are safe.

The push for stronger cybersecurity rules across all agencies is also directly relevant: a breach at eu-LISA, which runs large EU IT systems including the Schengen visa database, could expose the personal data of millions of people.