BETA

50 Amendments of Herbert BÖSCH

2008/2279(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that two new Members joined the ECA in the course of 2007 following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania; reiterates its hope that it will be possible to devise a more rational structure for the ECA before the next enlargement; asks the ECA to consider existing models with a view to reducing the total number of Members; calls on the ECA to keep Parliament informed of the follow-up to this recommendatnotes the fact that the original organising principle of the European audit function - one national from each Member State - has now resulted in an organisation governed by a college of 27 members; is convinced that this structure has reached its limits and that an in-depth reform and strengthening of the European Union's external audit arrangements are needed; stresses that the stronger the ECA is, the stronger the discharge authority and the better the scrutiny of the executive; invites, therefore, the Member States to initiate discussions on a reform of the ECA and to include Parliament in these discussions;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2279(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Observes that a "peer review" report by an international peer review team was delivered in December 2008 with the aim of assessing the design and operation of the ECA's Audit Management Framework; notes with satisfaction that the peer review concluded that "the management framework of the Court is suitably designed in accordance with international auditing standards"; further notes the opportunities and challenges for the ECA, identified in the report, to further strengthen itself as a supreme audit institution; welcomes the endeavour of the Court to implement all the recommendations of the peer review; regrets that the peer review avoided the fundamental question which is whether the actual structure of the Union's external audit function is adequate;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2279(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Notes that its President received the Court's Gold Medal in recognition of the successful cooperation between Parliament and the ECA; is of the opinion that this award reflects in particular the high standard of collaboration between the ECA and Parliament's competent committee which has led to, for example, a clearer ECA annual report, to a systematic follow-up of the Court's special reports and the preparation of a statute for Members' assistants;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Underlines its high regard for the results achieved by the Agency and congratulates the Director and its staff for the work done in a very difficult environment, improving considerably the image of the EU and its visibility;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Has seen ample evidence that the Agency had not only the systems (logistics, IT systems, and others) to swiftly implement large amounts of support in post-conflict situations, but that it also had the proven expertise and know-how to design and deliver high quality assistance that had real impact;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Regrets that the Commission did not respect discharge resolutions for the financial years 2005 and 2006 asking to prolong the Agency’s activities which ended in 2008, and is concerned about the consequential risk that the EU may lose much of the expertise the Agency had acquired over the last eight years;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Is therefore convinced that the Agency should have been transformed into an Agency for the implementation of certain EU external actions, in particular the management of EU assistance in post- conflict situations;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Urges the Commission to now create a "RELEX external actions Agency” for assistance in post-conflict situations that would draw heavily on the systems, experience and expertise of the European Agency for Reconstruction;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 f (new)

2f. Considers that this new Agency should play a crucial role in delivering EU assistance in situations in which traditional development assistance cannot be implemented by the Commission’s services in Brussels or its Delegations;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 g (new)

2g. Believes that this new Agency would not only provide an efficient means of delivering well targeted assistance in these situations, but would also greatly increase the EU’s visibility and credibility;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes the Commission's statement, in its follow-up to the 2006 Commission discharge, that the Agency would stop all operational activities by the end of September 2008; that the Agency would have three months, from October to December 2008, to finalise the administrative closure; and that in 2009, a closure cell attached to the Commission would undertake the closing of residual administrative activities during a limited period of a few months;deleted

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Herbert BÖSCH, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 g (new)

-1g. Continues to worry about the lack of EU capacity in crisis management; considers that the EU is losing in political guidance, visibility and accountability when using international trust funds which could have been managed by the Commission if it had respected discharge reports 2005 and 2006 and built up an own post-crisis instrument; is highly preoccupied by the lack of control of EU funds implemented by certain UN agencies and the unwillingness by UN agencies to follow up on fraud cases where EU funds are involved;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Section headed 'Sectoral issues' – before the subsection headed 'Agriculture and natural resources' – subheading (new)

Own resources

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)

50a. Notes that, according to information provided by the Commission (see the answer to Written Question E-5221/08), in September-October 2008 for the first time all 27 Member States included the allocation of Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured (FISIM) in their national accounts data; on the basis of that data, the increase in the gross national income (GNI) of the EU-27 as a result of FISIM allocation amounts to EUR 149.2 billion in 2007 (i.e. 1.2% of EU-27 GNI); this new statistical approach thus serves to increase GNI by an amount substantially greater than the volume of the entire European Union budget;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 b (new)

50b. Draws attention to paragraph 93 of its resolution of 24 April 2007 on the discharge granted to the Commission for 2005 (OJ C 74 E, 20 March 2008, p. 292), in which it pointed out that allocated Financial Intermediation Services Indirectly Measured (FISIM) will automatically be included in the own resource decision, for GNI own resource purposes, since, in its proposal for a Council decision on the system of the European Communities' own resources (COM(2006)0099), the Commission entered no limiting reservation in that respect;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 c (new)

50c. Notes that the Council, when adopting its decision of 7 June 2007 on the system of the European Communities' own resources (OJ L 163, 23 June 2007, p. 17) on the basis of the Commission proposal (COM(2006)0099), likewise entered no limiting reservation concerning FISIM; expects, therefore, that when the new own resources decision comes into force, and backdated to 1 January 2007, GNI data including FISIM will be used to calculate Community own resources and that, on that basis, past and future payments by the Member States will be calculated afresh;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Follow-up measures in the light of the discharge

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 a (new)

127a. Deplores the fact that, in the annual accounts of the European Communities for the financial year 2007, the Commission fails to repeat in full the provisions of the EC Treaty on follow-up measures in the light of the discharge, stating merely (see OJ C 287, 10 November 2008, p. 9) that when granting discharge Parliament may highlight observations it considers important, often recommending actions that the Commission should take concerning these matters; notes that, although this is correct, the Commission fails to mention that Article 276 of the EC Treaty also requires the Commission to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations in Parliament's decisions giving discharge relating to the execution of expenditure; reminds the Commission, therefore, that the calls made in its discharge resolution are not simply non- binding recommendations, but instructions which the Commission must act on when implementing the budget;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2063(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Welcomes the strengthening of the legal basis for the adoption of EU measures in the fields of the prevention of and fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union (Art.icle 325 of the TFEU); highlights the fact that the Treaty of Lisbon removes the qualification, contained in the current Article 280 of the EC Treaty, that such measures ‘shall not concern the application of national criminal law or the national administration of justice’;

2009/02/05
Committee: AFCO

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

- having regard to the response by the European Court of Auditors to the Commission's communication "Reforming the Budget, Changing Europe" (SEC(2007)1188),

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that this Parliament has intensively contributed to the setting-up of the 2007-2013 multi-annual financial framework and IIA of 17 May 2006 on Budgetary Discipline and Sound Financial Management while, in parallel, allowing the continuity of EU legislation through the launching of a huge number of multi- annual programmes; in this context, is of the opinion that some broad principles and orientations based on past experience could be transmitted to the incoming Parliament; invites in particular the incoming Parliament to increase its attention on the serious accountability problems on the control side of the budget and to give itself the necessary means to improve the situation;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Regrets however deeply that the Commission has failed to produce a common model for the drawing-up of future national management declarations is as far as such a model would have been a very helpful instrument for those Member States who are producing such declarations on a voluntary basis;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls its awareness of the fact that a number of deficits remained unresolved in the final agreement - such as the introduction of national management declarations; stresses that the need for additional financing for EU political priorities, notably for Galileo, the EIT and the food facility arose and a solution was found by means of the existing instruments of the IIA of 17 May 2006; believes that further adjustments within the current MFF and IIA based on a sufficient and ambitious review will be necessary;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the general magnitude of the EU resources should not be affected by the current world economic crisis, even if the Member States' GNI will cease to follow an ever increasing curve; therefore is convinced that the EU spending should concentrate on policies with a clear European added value, fully in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;deleted

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that sound financial management, improved management by the Member States and matching political priorities and financial needs should remain a priority for the coming years; and that this objective should be pursued through prior identification of positive and negative priorities rather than through self- imposed ceilings;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Reiterates its will to see a concrete and rapid improvement of the Member States' implementation of EU policies and of the cohesion policy in particular; firmly expects the joint commitment made by the Commission and the Council on behalf of the Member States in November 2008 to simplify the procedures (notably of the ETS) in order to accelerate payments, and to produce a positive effect in the coming budgets; is ready to take political and administrative measures, should the current situation remain unchanged;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2055(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls that heading 4 "The EU as a global partner" remains chronically underfinanced; asks the Commission to make proposals for a long-term perspective financing for CFSP/ESDP in order to secure the means dedicated to this policy area and to avoid recurrent and endless negotiations with the Council during the annual budgetary procedures; is in favour of providing additional means for Defence Policy subject to adequate discharge procedures;

2009/02/16
Committee: BUDG

2008/2025(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 a (new)

54a. Takes note of the progressing reform process for the European schools and in particular of the opening of the system, triggered recently by the Commission, and fully supports it; recalls point 47 of the IIA which provides for the same procedure to be followed for new European Schools as for possible new agencies; urges Member States and the Commission to face the logical and practical implications of the agreed decisions and make sure that they fulfil their obligations;

2008/06/09
Committee: BUDG

2007/2055(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

Motion for a resolution 61. Notes that Eurojust's administrative expenditure, as a proportion of overall expenditure, is higher than average; calls on Eurojust, therefore, to assess and reduce its administrative expenditure;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2054(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

~~61. Notes that the Agency has by far the highest buildings-related costs; calls on the Agency to assess the overall costs under Chapter 20 of the budget and if possible reduce them;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

~~61. Notes that the Centre's administrative spending in 2006 accounted for much too high a proportion of its overall costs, making effective and efficient working impossible;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62

~~62. Notes that no strict logic was applied to the choice of location for the Centre and that as a result a substantial volume of unnecessary additional costs has arisen;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63

~~63. Notes that it is not clear how this activity can be carried out more efficiently and more effectively in a decentralised agency and in this location than in the Commission itself;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64

~~64. Notes that in the financial year 2006 the cost of privileges for Centre staff made up more than 5% of the Centre's budget;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65

~~65. Notes that the cost of private travel for Centre staff and members of their families is unacceptably high;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2053(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66

~~66. Notes that the Centre's staff expenditure per post increased by 24% between the financial year 2006 and the 2008 preliminary draft budget;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

~~61. Notes that the agency's administrative spending in 2006 accounted for a substantial proportion of its overall expenditure, making the effective and efficient performance of its tasks impossible;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62

~~Motion for a resolution 62. Notes that no strict logic was applied to the choice of location for the agency and that as a result a substantial volume of unnecessary additional costs has arisen;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63

63. Notes the unacceptable and frequently criticised overlaps between this agency's area of activity and that of other agencies; this is generating yet more additional costs, particularly as a result of the duplication of work in the administrative sphere;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64

64. Notes that it is not clear how this activity can be carried out on the basis of the small number of posts in the agency's establishment plan more efficiently and more effectively in a decentralised agency and in this location than in the Commission itself;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65

~~65. Notes that in the financial year 2006 the cost of privileges for agency staff made up more than 4% of the agency's final budget;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66

~~66. Notes that the cost of private travel for agency staff and members of their families is unacceptably high;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67

~~67. Notes that the agency's staff expenditure per post increased by 18% between the financial year 2006 and the 2008 preliminary draft budget;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2052(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Jan MULDER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68

~~68. Notes that the administrative board has an unacceptably high number of members, so that efficient decision- making is impossible;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2048(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)

60a. Congratulates the Director and his staff for the work done in a very difficult environment, which has considerably improved the image of the EU and its visibility;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2048(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 b (new)

60b. Considers that the Agency has not only the systems (logistics, IT systems, and others) to implement swiftly large amounts of support in post-conflict areas, but that it has especially also proven high levels of expertise and know-how in post- war reconstruction;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2048(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 c (new)

60c. Is convinced that, at the point where the Commission takes over the management of the new Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in view of the acquis-related tasks related to the Balkans, it should finally present to the Council a new mandate for the Agency, which should, as decided, finish its work in the Balkans by the end of 2008 and be converted into a truly European Agency for external actions;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2048(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 d (new)

60d. Considers that a new mandate for this successful agency would be the most efficient way to carry out the new tasks in external actions, which cannot be carried out by Commission services in Brussels or by Commission delegations;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2007/2048(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Edit HERCZOG, Herbert BÖSCH, Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Christofer FJELLNER, Bart STAES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 e (new)

60e. Considers that, with this new mandate, the Agency could play a most efficient role in areas where traditional development assistance cannot be implemented; considers also that this would significantly increase the EU's visibility;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2006/0084(COD)

Proposal for a regulation - amending act
Article 1 - point 10 a a) (new)

Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999
Article 11 - paragraph 6

(aa) paragraph 6 shall be replaced by the following: "6. The Supervisory Committee shall appoint its chairman. It shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It shall hold at least 10 meetings per year. It shall take its decisions by a majority of its members. Its secretariat shall be attached, for administrative purposes, to the General Secreteriat of the European Parliament. The staff of the secretariat shall be composed of officials seconded by the Community institutions pursuant to Article 37(a) of the Staff Regulations. They shall perform their duties under the authority of the chairman of the Supervisory Committee."

2008/09/19
Committee: CONT