1. The Executive Director shall perform the duties of authorising officer and shall implement the Agency's budget.

2. Monitoring of the commitment and payment of all the Agency's expenditure and of the establishment and recovery of all the Agency's revenue shall be carried out by the Accounting Officer of the Agency.

3. By 1 March at the latest following each financial year, the Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the provisional accounts to the Commission's accounting officer together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The Commission's accounting officer shall consolidate the provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with Article 128 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

4. By 31 March at the latest following each financial year, the Commission's accounting officer shall forward the Agency's provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.

5. On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on the Agency's provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, the Executive Director shall draw up the Agency's final accounts under his own responsibility and forward them to the Management Board for an opinion.

6. The Management Board shall deliver an opinion on the Agency's final accounts.

7. By 1 July of the following year at the latest, the Executive Director shall send the final accounts, together with the opinion of the Management Board, to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

8. The final accounts shall be published.

9. The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall also send this reply to the Management Board.

10. The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council, shall, before 30 April of year N + 2, give a discharge to the Executive Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N.