L 23424 Official Journal of the European Communities 16.9.2000 DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT of 6 July 2000 giving discharge to the Commission in respect of implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 1998 financial year (2000/546/EC, ECSC, Euratom) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, Having regard to the revenue and expenditure account, the analysis of financial management and the balance sheet of the European Union for the 1998 financial year [SEC(1999) 412 — (C5-0006/1999, SEC(1999) 413 — (C5-0007/1999, SEC(1999) 415 — C4-0009/1999, SEC(1999) 1473 — C5-0204/1999], Having regard to the annual report concerning the 1998 financial year (C5-0266/1999) and the special reports of the Court of Auditors and the Institutions' replies (!), Having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty (C5-0266/1999), Having regard to the Council recommendation of 13 March 2000 (C5-0154/2000), Having regard to its resolution of 13 April 2000 on the postponement of discharge to the Commission in respect of implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1998 and the Commission's replies, Having regard to the ECSC Treaty and in particular Article 78g thereof, Having regard to the EC Treaty and in particular Article 276 thereof, Having regard to the EAEC Treaty and in particular Article 180b thereof, Having regard to Rule 93 of its Rules of Procedure, Having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5-0190/2000), Whereas: A. Pursuant to Article 274 of the EC Treaty, the Commission bears responsibility for implementing the budget in accordance with the principles of sound financial management. B. The Commission must, in so doing, ensure the legality and regularity of revenue and expenditure. C. Pursuant to Article 276 of the EC Treaty, Parliament is required to give a discharge to the Commission in respect of implementation of the budget and thereby assumes responsibility for ensuring that the Commission meets its Treaty obligations in full. D. Parliament is thus accountable to the citizens of the Union for ensuring that their money is spent as economically and efficiently as possible and that the institutions of the Union do everything in their power to secure maximum protection against fraud, corruption and organised crime and to reduce the number of errors in the implementation of the budget as far as possible. E. Parliament has postponed discharge for the 1998 financial year in order to ensure that the Commission actually makes all the necessary efforts to improve the implementation of the budget as far as possible and that the Commission pursues a policy of zero tolerance in dealing with cases of fraud, corruption or mismanagement. F. The Commission has satisfied most of the requirements set out in its abovementioned resolution of 13 April 2000 on the postponement of the discharge: (a) the Commission is prepared to take action to cut drastically the errors in implementation of the budget; () O] C 349, 3.12.1999.