The European Court of Auditors gave a clean bill of health to 40 of the 41 EU agencies, singling out the Malta-based European Asylum Support Office for non-compliance with public procurement principles.
The EASO, which last year had a budget of €53 million, was found to have shortcomings in two of the five significant procurement procedures in 2016.
In one case, the Court of Auditors found that a €4-million contract for travel services did not comply with the principle of equal treatment and that it was awarded to a bidder who did not fulfil all selection criteria.
Two of the three tenderers were asked to provide additional information in relation to the contract.
The EASO, which last year had a budget of €53 million, was found to have shortcomings in two of the five significant procurement procedures in 2016
Although none of them produced the requested information, namely CVs of those who would be performing tasks at the EASO, only one was excluded from the procedure for this reason, the Court of Auditors said in its report issued earlier this week.
Associated payments made last year, amounting to almost €600,000, were deemed to be irregular
The EASO, however, defended its decision to award the contract, insisting the company in question was the only one with the capacity to fulfil contractual obligations.
In another case, the EASO awarded a €3.6 million contract for interim services in relation to the migrant crisis.
The Court of Auditors found that the contract was awarded to a single company, without applying any of the procurement procedures laid down by EU rules.
The award was, therefore, not in compliance with EU rules and associated payments made last year, almost €600,000, were deemed to be irregular. The Malta-based office said it opted to take that course of action because of the “extreme urgency” linked to the refugee crisis, which was at its peak at the time.
The auditors also flagged instances where the EASO’s internal controls were found wanting.
One case involved equipment worth €1.1 million destined to the Greek police for onward distributions in the Greek islands. The EASO staff members should have been on the spot to ensure proper delivery and installation, however, none turned up.
It was only this July that the Greek authorities confirmed the equipment had been delivered in February and March 2016 and was being used for its intended purpose, the EU auditors said.
In another case, the auditors found the EASO failed to insure €852,000 worth of containers to be used as mobile offices in Greek and Italian “hotspots”.
Some of them were placed in an area where similar containers not belonging to the EASO were destroyed by riots though the EASO had not insured its containers against such a risk, the auditors said.