The institutions spend around 11 % of their budget on administrative expenditure for buildings. The composition of the buildings portfolios differs and depends on each institution’s mandate and organisational structure, nevertheless a significant share of the space used is devoted to office accommodation. The Commission has the largest buildings portfolio of which more than 80 % is office space.
We examined the management of expenditure on office accommodation of the five institutions with the most office accommodation (Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and ECB). We covered their buildings in Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt and compared their data and management procedures with other EU institutions and bodies.
Overall, we found that the institutions manage their spending on office accommodation efficiently and decisions on office accommodation were well founded. They cooperate with each other and apply similar decision-making principles. However, their building strategies are not always formalised and were sometimes outdated. The financing mechanisms of the large construction projects we analysed were often complex and, in some cases, affected budgetary transparency. Most of these projects were delayed, which in some cases, led to additional costs. Most institutions do not adequately monitor their buildings’ portfolio. The institutions need to develop common indicators and improve the consistency of data presented to the budgetary authorities.