1.   The Executive Director shall act as authorising officer and shall implement the Authority’s budget.

2.   By 1 March following the completion of each financial year, the Authority’s accounting officer shall forward to the Commission’s accounting officer and to the Court of Auditors the provisional accounts, accompanied by the report on budgetary and financial management during the financial year. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send the report on budgetary and financial management to the members of the Board of Supervisors, the European Parliament and the Council by 31 March of the following year.

The Commission’s accounting officer shall then consolidate the provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with Article 128 of the Financial Regulation.

3.   After receiving the observations of the Court of Auditors on the provisional accounts of the Authority in accordance with Article 129 of the Financial Regulation, the Executive Director, acting on his own responsibility, shall draw up the final accounts of the Authority and transmit them, for opinion, to the Management Board.

4.   The Management Board shall deliver an opinion on the final accounts of the Authority.

5.   The Executive Director shall transmit those final accounts, accompanied by the opinion of the Management Board, by 1 July following the completion of the financial year, to the Members of the Board of Supervisors, the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

6.   The final accounts shall be published.

7.   The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to the latter’s observations by 30 September. He shall also send a copy of that reply to the Management Board and the Commission.

8.   The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request and as provided for in Article 146(3) of the Financial Regulation, any information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question.

9.   The European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 15 May of the year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Authority for the implementation of the budget comprising revenue from the General Budget of the European Union and competent authorities for the financial year N.