BETA


2018/2168(DEC) 2017 discharge: EU general budget, European Council and Council

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT GARCÍA MUÑOZ Isabel (icon: S&D S&D) WINZIG Angelika (icon: EPP EPP), GARCÍA MUÑOZ Isabel (icon: S&D S&D), CHASTEL Olivier (icon: Renew Renew), PEKSA Mikuláš (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), FLANAGAN Luke Ming (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Former Responsible Committee CONT
Committee Opinion ECON
Committee Opinion JURI
Committee Opinion ITRE
Committee Opinion BUDG
Committee Opinion EMPL
Committee Opinion ENVI
Committee Opinion AGRI
Committee Opinion PECH
Committee Opinion AFET
Committee Opinion CULT
Committee Opinion DEVE
Committee Opinion AFCO
Committee Opinion FEMM
Committee Opinion REGI
Committee Opinion PETI
Committee Opinion TRAN
Committee Opinion IMCO
Committee Opinion INTA
Committee Opinion LIBE
Former Committee Opinion IMCO
Former Committee Opinion PETI
Former Committee Opinion ENVI
Former Committee Opinion TRAN
Former Committee Opinion AGRI
Former Committee Opinion ECON
Former Committee Opinion PECH
Former Committee Opinion INTA
Former Committee Opinion AFET
Former Committee Opinion JURI
Former Committee Opinion CULT
Former Committee Opinion REGI
Former Committee Opinion DEVE
Former Committee Opinion ITRE
Former Committee Opinion AFCO
Former Committee Opinion LIBE
Former Committee Opinion FEMM
Former Committee Opinion BUDG
Former Committee Opinion EMPL
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2019/12/27
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Council for the 2017 financial year.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2019/2224 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II — European Council and Council.

CONTENT: the European Parliament has refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the 2017 financial year.

The decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 2017 financial year.

In its resolution, Parliament recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the Council discharge procedures to date due to the lack of cooperation from the Council which led Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016 and to postpone its decision on discharge in March 2019 for the financial year 2017.

Outstanding issues

Parliament expressed regret that the request to separate the budget of the European Council and the Council into one budget for each institution, made by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions, has not been considered. It insisted on this separation that will contribute to increased transparency in the financial management of both institutions and improve their accountability and expenditure efficiency.

It also reiterated its concern at the very high level of appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018, in particular for furniture, technical equipment, transport and IT systems. It also deplored the Council's failure to give sufficient information on real estate policy.

Parliament deplored the Council's lack of participation in the transparency register. The Council should continue discussions on the technical aspects of the package of instruments regarding the transparency register in order to achieve a political agreement between the three institutions as soon as possible, given that enhanced transparency within in the European institutions will increase public confidence in the Union.

Moreover, concern was expressed about reports in the European media about corporate sponsorship of Member States hosting the EU Presidency. It proposed that the Council adopt guidelines to promote financial transparency and independence of Presidencies, and recommended that the Council envisage budgetisation of the Presidencies.

State of play

Parliament is encouraged by the fact that the Council considers it necessary to address the discharge procedure and is open to arriving at an agreement with Parliament on how to cooperate in this regard as rapidly as possible.

2019/10/23
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the 2017 financial year.

In a resolution adopted by 662 votes to 24 with 9 abstentions, the European Parliament recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the Council discharge procedures to date due to the lack of cooperation from the Council which led Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016 and to postpone its decision on discharge in March 2019 for the financial year 2017.

Members stressed the importance of separating the budget of the European Council and the Council in order to contribute to greater transparency in the financial management of the two institutions and to strengthen their accountability and the effectiveness of their expenditure.

Parliament reiterated its concern at the very high level of appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018, in particular for furniture, technical equipment, transport and IT systems. It also deplored the Council's failure to give sufficient information on real estate policy.

Deploring the Council's lack of participation in the transparency register, Members called on the Council to continue discussions on the technical aspects of the package of instruments regarding the Transparency Register in order to achieve a political agreement between the three institutions as soon as possible, given that enhanced transparency within in the European institutions will increase public confidence in the Union. They recalled Parliament's support for the Ombudsman's recommendations to the Council, namely to make it easier for citizens to follow the Union's legislative process (transparency of the Council's legislative process). They also called on the Council to be transparent to the citizens of the Union regarding the funds entrusted to it.

Members stressed that satisfactory cooperation between the European Parliament and the Council institutions, in the form of an open and formal dialogue procedure, would send a strong signal to the citizens of the Union.

Lastly, Parliament expressed concern about reports in the European media about corporate sponsorship of Member States hosting the EU Presidency. It proposed that the Council adopt guidelines to promote financial transparency and independence of Presidencies, and recommended that the Council envisage budgetisation of the Presidencies.

Documents
2019/10/23
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2019/10/22
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2019/09/30
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted a second report, presented by Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II – European Council and Council.

The committee invited the European Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the 2017 financial year.

In the draft resolution accompanying the report, Members recalled Parliament's role in the discharge procedure while stressing that the European institutions must act in a responsible and professional manner with regard to the implementation of their budgets.

Members recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the Council discharge procedures to date due to the lack of cooperation from the Council which led Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016 and in March 2019 for the financial year 2017. They regretted that the request to separate the budget of the European Council and the Council into one budget for each institution, made by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions, has not been considered. They reiterated their concern at the very high level of appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018, in particular for furniture, technical equipment, transport and IT systems.

Deploring the Council's lack of participation in the transparency register, Members called on the Council to continue discussions on the technical aspects of the package of instruments regarding the Transparency Register in order to achieve a political agreement between the three institutions as soon as possible, given that enhanced transparency within in the European institutions will increase public confidence in the Union. They recalled Parliament's support for the Ombudsman's recommendations to the Council, namely to make it easier for citizens to follow the Union's legislative process (transparency of the Council's legislative process). They also called on the Council to be transparent to the citizens of the Union regarding the funds entrusted to it.

Members stressed that satisfactory cooperation between the European Parliament and the Council institutions, in the form of an open and formal dialogue procedure, would send a strong signal to the citizens of the Union.

Documents
2019/09/25
   EP - Vote in committee
2019/09/09
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2019/07/26
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2019/07/24
   EP - GARCÍA MUÑOZ Isabel (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2019/03/26
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/03/26
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2019/03/26
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to postpone discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council on the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the financial year 2017.

In its resolution adopted by 588 votes to 29, with 14 abstentions, Parliament stressed that the European Council and the Council, as Union institutions, should be democratically accountable towards the citizens of the Union in so far as they are beneficiaries of the general budget of the European Union.

Parliament postponed the discharge to the European Council and the Council on grounds that they failed to cooperate in supplying the information needed. Parliament has denied discharge to the European Council and the Council for the last eight years.

Financial state of play

Members noted that in 2017 the European Council and Council had an overall budget of EUR 561 576 000 (compared with EUR 545 054 000 in 2016), with a global implementation rate of 93.8 % compared to 93.5 % in 2016.

Efforts were made to further improve its financial management and performance such as the harmonisation of budget planning at a central level by integrating Multiannual Activity and Budget Planning (MABP).

Members noted the increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3 %) in the budget of the European Council and Council in 2017 compared to an increase of 0.6 % in 2016. They also noted with concern the very high amount of appropriations being carried over from 2017 to 2018, particularly those in respect of furniture, technical equipment, transport and computer systems.

Budget separation

Once again, Parliament stressed that the budget of the European Council and the budget of the Council should be separated in order to contribute to transparency in the financial management of the institutions and to improve the accountability of both institutions.

Future cooperation between Council and Parliament

Members regretted that the Council again failed to provide answers to the written questions sent by Parliament and that the Secretary-General of the Council did not attend the hearing organised on 27 November 2018 in the context of the annual discharge which again shows a complete lack of cooperation on the Council's side. The Council’s expenditure must be scrutinised in the same way as that of other institutions.

The resolution recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the discharge procedures to date due to a lack of cooperation from the Council. It recalled that Parliament refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016.

Lastly, Parliament called on the Council to speed up its procedure for the discharge recommendations, with the goal to enable discharge in year n+1. It asked the Council to fulfil its particular role and to give discharge recommendations to the other Union institutions.

Documents
2019/03/06
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2019/03/06
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2019/02/04
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Details

Based on the observations contained in the report by the Court of Auditors, the Council called on the European Parliament to grant discharge to all of the EU institutions in respect of the implementation of their respective budgets for the financial year 2017.

However, it considered that budget implementation required a series of comments from the Council which should be fully taken into account by the Commission.

The Council welcomed the fact that the administrative and related expenditure of the EU institutions remained, as in previous years, free from material error with an estimated level of error of 0.5 %, which while being well below the materiality threshold is higher by 0.3 % compared to the Court's findings for 2016 (0.2 %). It noted with satisfaction that no serious weaknesses were identified by the Court in the supervisory and control systems and in the examined annual activity reports.

The Council took note that, as in previous years, there was a small number of errors relating to staff costs and some weaknesses in the Office for Administration and Payment of individual entitlements' (PMO) management of family allowances. It called on the Commission to improve its procedures to avoid errors related to staff expenditure.

The Court did not identify any specific problems concerning the Council and the European Council.

Documents
2018/09/11
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/07/12
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Details

PURPOSE: presentation of the Annual report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2017.

CONTENT: the Court of Auditors published its 41th annual report on the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the year 2017. This report follows a five-part structure:

- the statement of assurance (DAS) and a summary of the results of the audit on the reliability of accounts and the regularity of transactions;

- the analysis of budgetary and financial management;

- the Commission’s performance reporting framework;

- the findings on EU revenue;

- the presentation of the main headings of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), the results of the testing of the regularity of transactions.

The Court concludes that payments for 2017 are legal and regular, with the expenditure recorded in 2017 covering spending on a reimbursement basis. It believes that the EU accounts present a true and fair view of the EU’s financial position.

The report also assessed the potential impact on the 2017 accounts of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom (UK) formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the European Union (EU). On 22 May 2017, the negotiations started for the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK.

Part Five (Financial Provisions) of the draft withdrawal agreement of 19 March 2018 concerning the financial settlement states that the UK will pay all its obligations under the current and previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks as if it were still a Member State.

Based on this, the Court concluded that the accounts as at 31 December 2017 correctly reflect the withdrawal process.

The audit also focuses on the budget implementation of the Committee of the Council and the European Council .

The overall audit evidence indicates that the level of error in spending on ‘Administration’ was not material. For this MFF heading, our testing of transactions produced an estimated overall level of error of 0.5 %

The Court did not detect any specific problem regarding the Council and the European Council.

2018/06/28
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
Details

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2017, as part of the 2017 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions: European Council and Council.

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2017 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge . It is the decision by which the European Parliament ‘ releases ’ the Commission from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. It is granted by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council.

The decision is based in particular on the European Court of Auditors reports, in particular its annual report, in which the Court provides a Statement of Assurance (DAS) on the legality and regularity of transactions (payments and commitments).

The procedure results in the granting, postponement or refusal of discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

All EU institutions and other agencies, bodies and joint undertakings are subject to their own discharge procedures.

Implementation of the European Council/Council’s (EC/C) appropriations for the financial year 2017 : the overall EC/C budget 2017 was set at EUR 561.6 million . This corresponds to an increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3.0 %) compared to 2016. The global implementation rate of the 2017 budget is 93.8 % (+1.9 % on top of the average of the last eight years).

Some of the main outcomes for 2017 included:

continuous work to consolidate positive developments after previous years’ crises. One visible result of this has been the Leaders’ Agenda which was presented by President Tusk and endorsed in the October European Council; the total number of meetings organised by the GSC went up by 26 % (1 524) compared to 2016 which is explained mainly by the increased activity of the presidency of the second semester and the creation of an ad hoc working group on Brexit.

2018/06/27
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published
Details

PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2017, as part of the 2017 discharge procedure.

Analysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions: European Council and Council.

CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union.

This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2017 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective.

It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies with a view to granting discharge.

Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge . It is the decision by which the European Parliament ‘ releases ’ the Commission from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. It is granted by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council.

The decision is based in particular on the European Court of Auditors reports, in particular its annual report, in which the Court provides a Statement of Assurance (DAS) on the legality and regularity of transactions (payments and commitments).

The procedure results in the granting, postponement or refusal of discharge.

The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made.

All EU institutions and other agencies, bodies and joint undertakings are subject to their own discharge procedures.

Implementation of the European Council/Council’s (EC/C) appropriations for the financial year 2017 : the overall EC/C budget 2017 was set at EUR 561.6 million . This corresponds to an increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3.0 %) compared to 2016. The global implementation rate of the 2017 budget is 93.8 % (+1.9 % on top of the average of the last eight years).

Some of the main outcomes for 2017 included:

continuous work to consolidate positive developments after previous years’ crises. One visible result of this has been the Leaders’ Agenda which was presented by President Tusk and endorsed in the October European Council; the total number of meetings organised by the GSC went up by 26 % (1 524) compared to 2016 which is explained mainly by the increased activity of the presidency of the second semester and the creation of an ad hoc working group on Brexit.

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0096/2019 - Arndt Kohn - Résolution 26/03/2019 17:38:35.000 #

2019/03/26 Outcome: +: 588, -: 29, 0: 14
DE IT GB ES PL FR NL BE RO CZ SE PT BG AT HU FI SK DK LV HR LT SI IE LU EE MT EL CY
Total
85
67
58
47
47
59
25
19
19
18
18
21
16
17
13
12
12
11
8
8
8
8
7
6
6
6
8
1
icon: PPE PPE
176

United Kingdom PPE

2
3

Luxembourg PPE

3

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Greece PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
157

Netherlands S&D

3

Czechia S&D

3

Latvia S&D

1

Croatia S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

1

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Greece S&D

Abstain (1)

3
icon: ECR ECR
65

Netherlands ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Czechia ECR

2

Sweden ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

2
2

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
64

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Romania ALDE

For (1)

1

Portugal ALDE

1

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Croatia ALDE

For (1)

1

Lithuania ALDE

2

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For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

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1

Luxembourg ALDE

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1

Estonia ALDE

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
47

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Hungary Verts/ALE

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

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1

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1

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1

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1

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1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
41

Italy GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

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3

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For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

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4

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1

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1

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1
icon: EFDD EFDD
36

Germany EFDD

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1

Czechia EFDD

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1

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1
icon: NI NI
14

Germany NI

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1

Italy NI

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1

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3

France NI

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2

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1
icon: ENF ENF
30

Germany ENF

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1

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1

Poland ENF

2

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

For (1)

1

A8-0096/2019 - Arndt Kohn - Résolution #

2019/03/26 Outcome: +: 588, -: 29, 0: 14
DE IT GB ES PL FR NL BE RO CZ SE PT BG AT HU FI SK DK LV HR LT SI IE LU EE MT EL CY
Total
85
67
58
47
47
60
25
19
19
18
18
21
16
17
13
12
12
11
8
8
8
8
7
6
6
6
8
1
icon: PPE PPE
176

United Kingdom PPE

2
3

Luxembourg PPE

3

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Greece PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
157

Netherlands S&D

3

Czechia S&D

3

Latvia S&D

1

Croatia S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

1

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Greece S&D

Abstain (1)

3
icon: ECR ECR
65

Netherlands ECR

2

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Czechia ECR

2

Sweden ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

2
2

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
64

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Romania ALDE

For (1)

1

Portugal ALDE

1

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Croatia ALDE

For (1)

1

Lithuania ALDE

2

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

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1

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For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
47

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Hungary Verts/ALE

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

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For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

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For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
41

Italy GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

For (1)

4

Denmark GUE/NGL

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1

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

Greece GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
36

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1

Czechia EFDD

For (1)

1

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
14

Germany NI

Against (1)

1

Italy NI

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1

United Kingdom NI

3

France NI

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2

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1
icon: ENF ENF
31

Germany ENF

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1

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1

Poland ENF

2

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

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1

A9-0010/2019 - Isabel García Muñoz - Résolution #

2019/10/23 Outcome: +: 662, -: 24, 0: 9
DE IT GB ES PL RO FR NL PT EL SE HU AT BE CZ BG SK DK LT IE FI HR SI LV CY MT LU EE
Total
87
71
63
49
47
31
68
24
20
19
19
19
18
19
21
16
13
12
11
11
11
11
7
6
6
6
6
4
icon: PPE PPE
171

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Slovenia PPE

3

Latvia PPE

2
2

Malta PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2
icon: S&D S&D
148

Greece S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

1
icon: Renew Renew
99

Hungary Renew

For (1)

1

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Slovakia Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

2

Ireland Renew

For (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

For (1)

Against (1)

2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
67

Spain Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
55

United Kingdom ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

3

Greece ECR

1

Belgium ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

For (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: NI NI
49

Germany NI

1

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
36

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Belgium GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: ID ID
70
3

Belgium ID

2

Czechia ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Estonia ID

For (1)

1
AmendmentsDossier
36 2018/2168(DEC)
2019/02/12 CONT 16 amendments...
source: 634.523
2020/01/20 CONT 20 amendments...
source: 641.114

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

committees/1/rapporteur
  • name: KOHN Arndt date: 2018-07-27T00:00:00 group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/2
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New
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Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
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Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee
DEVE
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associated
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committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
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False
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associated
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committee
INTA
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False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee
ITRE
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committees/6
Old
type
Committee Opinion
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Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
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False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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committee
EMPL
opinion
False
committees/7
Old
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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committee
EMPL
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False
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Committee Opinion
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False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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committee
AGRI
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False
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type
Committee Opinion
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committee
ITRE
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False
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committee
PECH
opinion
False
committees/10
Old
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associated
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Internal Market and Consumer Protection
committee
IMCO
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Foreign Affairs
committee
AFET
opinion
False
committees/11
Old
type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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Transport and Tourism
committee
TRAN
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
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committee_full
Culture and Education
committee
CULT
opinion
False
committees/12
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type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee
REGI
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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committee_full
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committees/13
Old
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Committee Opinion
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Agriculture and Rural Development
committee
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False
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Committee Opinion
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Constitutional Affairs
committee
AFCO
opinion
False
committees/14
Old
type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee_full
Fisheries
committee
PECH
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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committee_full
Womens Rights and Gender Equality
committee
FEMM
opinion
False
committees/15
Old
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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Culture and Education
committee
CULT
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
opinion
False
committees/16
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
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committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
False
committee_full
Petitions
committee
PETI
opinion
False
committees/17
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
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associated
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committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee_full
Transport and Tourism
committee
TRAN
opinion
False
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Old
type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee_full
Constitutional Affairs
committee
AFCO
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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committee_full
Internal Market and Consumer Protection
committee
IMCO
opinion
False
committees/19
Old
type
Committee Opinion
body
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associated
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committee_full
Womens Rights and Gender Equality
committee
FEMM
opinion
False
New
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
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committee_full
International Trade
committee
INTA
opinion
False
committees/20
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type
Committee Opinion
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associated
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New
type
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committee
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opinion
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Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
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Foreign Affairs
committee
AFET
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee_full
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committee
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committees/22
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
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committee_full
Development
committee
DEVE
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
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associated
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Petitions
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committees/23
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
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associated
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International Trade
committee
INTA
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
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associated
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committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
committee
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committees/24
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
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Budgets
committee
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New
type
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associated
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committee_full
Transport and Tourism
committee
TRAN
committees/25
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Agriculture and Rural Development
committee
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committees/26
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Employment and Social Affairs
committee
EMPL
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs
committee
ECON
committees/27
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
committee
ENVI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Fisheries
committee
PECH
committees/28
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Industry, Research and Energy
committee
ITRE
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
International Trade
committee
INTA
committees/29
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Internal Market and Consumer Protection
committee
IMCO
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
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EP
associated
False
committee_full
Foreign Affairs
committee
AFET
committees/30
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
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Transport and Tourism
committee
TRAN
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
committees/31
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Culture and Education
committee
CULT
committees/32
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Agriculture and Rural Development
committee
AGRI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Regional Development
committee
REGI
committees/33
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Fisheries
committee
PECH
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Development
committee
DEVE
committees/34
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Culture and Education
committee
CULT
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Industry, Research and Energy
committee
ITRE
committees/35
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Legal Affairs
committee
JURI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Constitutional Affairs
committee
AFCO
committees/37
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Constitutional Affairs
committee
AFCO
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Womens Rights and Gender Equality
committee
FEMM
committees/38
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Womens Rights and Gender Equality
committee
FEMM
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Budgets
committee
BUDG
committees/39
Old
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Petitions
committee
PETI
New
type
Former Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Employment and Social Affairs
committee
EMPL
docs/0
date
2018-06-28T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Non-legislative basic document
body
EC
docs/3
date
2019-03-06T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2019-0096_EN.html title: A8-0096/2019
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
events/0/date
Old
2018-06-28T00:00:00
New
2018-06-27T00:00:00
events/2/summary
  • The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Arndt KOHN (S&D, DE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II – European Council and Council.
  • Members proposed postponing the decision on granting the Secretary-General of the Council discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and of the Council for the financial year 2017.
  • Financial state of play
  • Members noted that in 2017 the European Council and Council had an overall budget of EUR 561 576 000 (compared with EUR 545 054 000 in 2016), with a global implementation rate of 93.8 % compared to 93.5 % in 2016.
  • Efforts were made to further improve its financial management and performance such as the harmonisation of budget planning at a central level by integrating Multiannual Activity and Budget Planning (MABP).
  • Members noted the increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3 %) in the budget of the European Council and Council in 2017 compared to an increase of 0.6 % in 2016. They also noted with concern the very high amount of appropriations being carried over from 2017 to 2018, particularly those in respect of furniture, technical equipment, transport and computer systems.
  • Budget separation
  • Once again, Members stressed that the budget of the European Council and the budget of the Council should be separated in order to contribute to transparency in the financial management of the institutions and to improve the accountability of both institutions.
  • Future cooperation between Council and Parliament
  • Members regretted that the Council again failed to provide answers to the written questions sent by Parliament and that the Secretary-General of the Council did not attend the hearing organised on 27 November 2018 in the context of the annual discharge which again shows a complete lack of cooperation on the Council's side. The Council’s expenditure must be scrutinised in the same way as that of other institutions.
  • The report recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the discharge procedures to date due to a lack of cooperation from the Council. It recalled that Parliament refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016.
  • Lastly, Members called on the Council to speed up its procedure for the discharge recommendations, with the goal to enable discharge in year n+1. They asked the Council to fulfil its particular role and to give discharge recommendations to the other Union institutions.
committees/0/shadows/4/group
Old
Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
New
The Left group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL
docs/0
date
2018-07-12T00:00:00
docs
summary
type
Court of Auditors: opinion, report
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CofA
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2018-07-12T00:00:00
docs
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Court of Auditors: opinion, report
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CofA
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date
2019-09-25T00:00:00
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2019-03-26T00:00:00
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2019-09-30T00:00:00
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New
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Committee report tabled for plenary
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date
2019-10-23T00:00:00
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summary
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events/9
date
2019-10-23T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0040_EN.html title: T9-0040/2019
summary
events/10
date
2019-12-27T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
events/11
date
2019-12-27T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
events/11/summary
  • PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the Council for the 2017 financial year.
  • NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2019/2224 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II — European Council and Council.
  • CONTENT: the European Parliament has refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the 2017 financial year.
  • The decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 2017 financial year.
  • In its resolution, Parliament recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the Council discharge procedures to date due to the lack of cooperation from the Council which led Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016 and to postpone its decision on discharge in March 2019 for the financial year 2017.
  • Outstanding issues
  • Parliament expressed regret that the request to separate the budget of the European Council and the Council into one budget for each institution, made by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions, has not been considered. It insisted on this separation that will contribute to increased transparency in the financial management of both institutions and improve their accountability and expenditure efficiency.
  • It also reiterated its concern at the very high level of appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018, in particular for furniture, technical equipment, transport and IT systems. It also deplored the Council's failure to give sufficient information on real estate policy.
  • Parliament deplored the Council's lack of participation in the transparency register. The Council should continue discussions on the technical aspects of the package of instruments regarding the transparency register in order to achieve a political agreement between the three institutions as soon as possible, given that enhanced transparency within in the European institutions will increase public confidence in the Union.
  • Moreover, concern was expressed about reports in the European media about corporate sponsorship of Member States hosting the EU Presidency. It proposed that the Council adopt guidelines to promote financial transparency and independence of Presidencies, and recommended that the Council envisage budgetisation of the Presidencies.
  • State of play
  • Parliament is encouraged by the fact that the Council considers it necessary to address the discharge procedure and is open to arriving at an agreement with Parliament on how to cooperate in this regard as rapidly as possible.
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
procedure/Other legal basis
Rules of Procedure EP 159
procedure/final
title
OJ L 333 27.12.2019, p. 0134
url
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2019:333:TOC
events/10
date
2019-12-27T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
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Old
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
New
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2019-10-23T00:00:00
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forecasts
  • date: 2019-10-22T00:00:00 title: Debate in plenary scheduled
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
docs/4
date
2019-09-30T00:00:00
docs
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type
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body
EP
events/6/summary
  • The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted a second report, presented by Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II – European Council and Council.
  • The committee invited the European Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the 2017 financial year.
  • In the draft resolution accompanying the report, Members recalled Parliament's role in the discharge procedure while stressing that the European institutions must act in a responsible and professional manner with regard to the implementation of their budgets.
  • Members recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the Council discharge procedures to date due to the lack of cooperation from the Council which led Parliament to refuse to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016 and in March 2019 for the financial year 2017. They regretted that the request to separate the budget of the European Council and the Council into one budget for each institution, made by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions, has not been considered. They reiterated their concern at the very high level of appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018, in particular for furniture, technical equipment, transport and IT systems.
  • Deploring the Council's lack of participation in the transparency register, Members called on the Council to continue discussions on the technical aspects of the package of instruments regarding the Transparency Register in order to achieve a political agreement between the three institutions as soon as possible, given that enhanced transparency within in the European institutions will increase public confidence in the Union. They recalled Parliament's support for the Ombudsman's recommendations to the Council, namely to make it easier for citizens to follow the Union's legislative process (transparency of the Council's legislative process). They also called on the Council to be transparent to the citizens of the Union regarding the funds entrusted to it.
  • Members stressed that satisfactory cooperation between the European Parliament and the Council institutions, in the form of an open and formal dialogue procedure, would send a strong signal to the citizens of the Union.
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                                                                          associated
                                                                          False
                                                                          committee_full
                                                                          Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
                                                                          committee
                                                                          LIBE
                                                                          date
                                                                          committees/37
                                                                          type
                                                                          Former Committee Opinion
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                                                                          EP
                                                                          associated
                                                                          False
                                                                          committee_full
                                                                          Constitutional Affairs
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                                                                          AFCO
                                                                          date
                                                                          committees/38
                                                                          type
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                                                                          EP
                                                                          associated
                                                                          False
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                                                                          Womens Rights and Gender Equality
                                                                          committee
                                                                          FEMM
                                                                          date
                                                                          committees/39
                                                                          type
                                                                          Former Committee Opinion
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                                                                          EP
                                                                          associated
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                                                                          committee_full
                                                                          Petitions
                                                                          committee
                                                                          PETI
                                                                          date
                                                                          docs
                                                                          • date: 2018-07-12T00:00:00 docs: url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2018:357:TOC title: OJ C 357 04.10.2018, p. 0001 title: N8-0013/2019 summary: PURPOSE: presentation of the Annual report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2017. CONTENT: the Court of Auditors published its 41th annual report on the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the year 2017. This report follows a five-part structure: - the statement of assurance (DAS) and a summary of the results of the audit on the reliability of accounts and the regularity of transactions; - the analysis of budgetary and financial management; - the Commission’s performance reporting framework; - the findings on EU revenue; - the presentation of the main headings of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), the results of the testing of the regularity of transactions. The Court concludes that payments for 2017 are legal and regular, with the expenditure recorded in 2017 covering spending on a reimbursement basis. It believes that the EU accounts present a true and fair view of the EU’s financial position. The report also assessed the potential impact on the 2017 accounts of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom (UK) formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the European Union (EU). On 22 May 2017, the negotiations started for the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK. Part Five (Financial Provisions) of the draft withdrawal agreement of 19 March 2018 concerning the financial settlement states that the UK will pay all its obligations under the current and previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks as if it were still a Member State. Based on this, the Court concluded that the accounts as at 31 December 2017 correctly reflect the withdrawal process. The audit also focuses on the budget implementation of the Committee of the Council and the European Council . The overall audit evidence indicates that the level of error in spending on ‘Administration’ was not material. For this MFF heading, our testing of transactions produced an estimated overall level of error of 0.5 % The Court did not detect any specific problem regarding the Council and the European Council. type: Court of Auditors: opinion, report body: CofA
                                                                          • date: 2019-02-04T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=5824%2F19&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 05824/2019 summary: Based on the observations contained in the report by the Court of Auditors, the Council called on the European Parliament to grant discharge to all of the EU institutions in respect of the implementation of their respective budgets for the financial year 2017. However, it considered that budget implementation required a series of comments from the Council which should be fully taken into account by the Commission. The Council welcomed the fact that the administrative and related expenditure of the EU institutions remained, as in previous years, free from material error with an estimated level of error of 0.5 %, which while being well below the materiality threshold is higher by 0.3 % compared to the Court's findings for 2016 (0.2 %). It noted with satisfaction that no serious weaknesses were identified by the Court in the supervisory and control systems and in the examined annual activity reports. The Council took note that, as in previous years, there was a small number of errors relating to staff costs and some weaknesses in the Office for Administration and Payment of individual entitlements' (PMO) management of family allowances. It called on the Commission to improve its procedures to avoid errors related to staff expenditure. The Court did not identify any specific problems concerning the Council and the European Council. type: Supplementary non-legislative basic document body: CSL
                                                                          events
                                                                          • date: 2018-06-28T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2018/0521/COM_COM(2018)0521_EN.pdf title: COM(2018)0521 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2018&nu_doc=0521 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2017, as part of the 2017 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the EU Institutions: European Council and Council. CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union. This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2017 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective. It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies with a view to granting discharge. Discharge procedure : the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge . It is the decision by which the European Parliament ‘ releases ’ the Commission from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. It is granted by the European Parliament on the recommendation of the Council. The decision is based in particular on the European Court of Auditors reports, in particular its annual report, in which the Court provides a Statement of Assurance (DAS) on the legality and regularity of transactions (payments and commitments). The procedure results in the granting, postponement or refusal of discharge. The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made. All EU institutions and other agencies, bodies and joint undertakings are subject to their own discharge procedures. Implementation of the European Council/Council’s (EC/C) appropriations for the financial year 2017 : the overall EC/C budget 2017 was set at EUR 561.6 million . This corresponds to an increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3.0 %) compared to 2016. The global implementation rate of the 2017 budget is 93.8 % (+1.9 % on top of the average of the last eight years). Some of the main outcomes for 2017 included: continuous work to consolidate positive developments after previous years’ crises. One visible result of this has been the Leaders’ Agenda which was presented by President Tusk and endorsed in the October European Council; the total number of meetings organised by the GSC went up by 26 % (1 524) compared to 2016 which is explained mainly by the increased activity of the presidency of the second semester and the creation of an ad hoc working group on Brexit.
                                                                          • date: 2018-09-11T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
                                                                          • date: 2019-03-06T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2019-0096&language=EN title: A8-0096/2019 summary: The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Arndt KOHN (S&D, DE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section II – European Council and Council. Members proposed postponing the decision on granting the Secretary-General of the Council discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and of the Council for the financial year 2017. Financial state of play Members noted that in 2017 the European Council and Council had an overall budget of EUR 561 576 000 (compared with EUR 545 054 000 in 2016), with a global implementation rate of 93.8 % compared to 93.5 % in 2016. Efforts were made to further improve its financial management and performance such as the harmonisation of budget planning at a central level by integrating Multiannual Activity and Budget Planning (MABP). Members noted the increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3 %) in the budget of the European Council and Council in 2017 compared to an increase of 0.6 % in 2016. They also noted with concern the very high amount of appropriations being carried over from 2017 to 2018, particularly those in respect of furniture, technical equipment, transport and computer systems. Budget separation Once again, Members stressed that the budget of the European Council and the budget of the Council should be separated in order to contribute to transparency in the financial management of the institutions and to improve the accountability of both institutions. Future cooperation between Council and Parliament Members regretted that the Council again failed to provide answers to the written questions sent by Parliament and that the Secretary-General of the Council did not attend the hearing organised on 27 November 2018 in the context of the annual discharge which again shows a complete lack of cooperation on the Council's side. The Council’s expenditure must be scrutinised in the same way as that of other institutions. The report recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the discharge procedures to date due to a lack of cooperation from the Council. It recalled that Parliament refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016. Lastly, Members called on the Council to speed up its procedure for the discharge recommendations, with the goal to enable discharge in year n+1. They asked the Council to fulfil its particular role and to give discharge recommendations to the other Union institutions.
                                                                          • date: 2019-03-26T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20190326&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
                                                                          • date: 2019-03-26T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2019-0246 title: T8-0246/2019 summary: The European Parliament decided to postpone discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council on the implementation of the budget of the European Council and the Council for the financial year 2017. In its resolution adopted by 588 votes to 29, with 14 abstentions, Parliament stressed that the European Council and the Council, as Union institutions, should be democratically accountable towards the citizens of the Union in so far as they are beneficiaries of the general budget of the European Union. Parliament postponed the discharge to the European Council and the Council on grounds that they failed to cooperate in supplying the information needed. Parliament has denied discharge to the European Council and the Council for the last eight years. Financial state of play Members noted that in 2017 the European Council and Council had an overall budget of EUR 561 576 000 (compared with EUR 545 054 000 in 2016), with a global implementation rate of 93.8 % compared to 93.5 % in 2016. Efforts were made to further improve its financial management and performance such as the harmonisation of budget planning at a central level by integrating Multiannual Activity and Budget Planning (MABP). Members noted the increase of EUR 16.5 million (+3 %) in the budget of the European Council and Council in 2017 compared to an increase of 0.6 % in 2016. They also noted with concern the very high amount of appropriations being carried over from 2017 to 2018, particularly those in respect of furniture, technical equipment, transport and computer systems. Budget separation Once again, Parliament stressed that the budget of the European Council and the budget of the Council should be separated in order to contribute to transparency in the financial management of the institutions and to improve the accountability of both institutions. Future cooperation between Council and Parliament Members regretted that the Council again failed to provide answers to the written questions sent by Parliament and that the Secretary-General of the Council did not attend the hearing organised on 27 November 2018 in the context of the annual discharge which again shows a complete lack of cooperation on the Council's side. The Council’s expenditure must be scrutinised in the same way as that of other institutions. The resolution recalled the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the discharge procedures to date due to a lack of cooperation from the Council. It recalled that Parliament refused to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council in relation to the financial years 2009 to 2016. Lastly, Parliament called on the Council to speed up its procedure for the discharge recommendations, with the goal to enable discharge in year n+1. It asked the Council to fulfil its particular role and to give discharge recommendations to the other Union institutions.
                                                                          links
                                                                          other
                                                                          • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en title: Budget commissioner: OETTINGER Günther
                                                                          procedure/Modified legal basis
                                                                          Rules of Procedure EP 159
                                                                          procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
                                                                          Old
                                                                          CONT/8/14123
                                                                          New
                                                                          • CONT/9/00359
                                                                          procedure/subject
                                                                          Old
                                                                          • 8.70.03.02 2017 discharge
                                                                          New
                                                                          8.70.03.02
                                                                          2017 discharge
                                                                          activities/0/commission/0
                                                                          DG
                                                                          Commissioner
                                                                          OETTINGER Günther
                                                                          activities/1
                                                                          date
                                                                          2018-09-11T00:00:00
                                                                          body
                                                                          EP
                                                                          type
                                                                          Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
                                                                          committees
                                                                          other/0
                                                                          body
                                                                          EC
                                                                          dg
                                                                          commissioner
                                                                          OETTINGER Günther
                                                                          procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
                                                                          CONT/8/14123
                                                                          procedure/stage_reached
                                                                          Old
                                                                          Preparatory phase in Parliament
                                                                          New
                                                                          Awaiting committee decision
                                                                          committees/4/date
                                                                          2018-07-27T00:00:00
                                                                          committees/4/rapporteur
                                                                          • group: S&D name: KOHN Arndt
                                                                          committees/4/shadows
                                                                          • group: EPP name: SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA José Ignacio
                                                                          • group: ALDE name: KLINZ Wolf
                                                                          • group: GUE/NGL name: DE JONG Dennis
                                                                          • group: Verts/ALE name: JÁVOR Benedek
                                                                          • group: EFD name: VALLI Marco
                                                                          • group: ENF name: JALKH Jean-François
                                                                          activities
                                                                          • date: 2018-06-28T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2018/0521/COM_COM(2018)0521_EN.pdf title: COM(2018)0521 type: Non-legislative basic document published celexid: CELEX:52018DC0521:EN body: EC type: Non-legislative basic document published commission:
                                                                          committees
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Constitutional Affairs committee: AFCO
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Foreign Affairs committee: AFET
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Agriculture and Rural Development committee: AGRI
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Budgetary Control committee: CONT
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Culture and Education committee: CULT
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Development committee: DEVE
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs committee: ECON
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee: ENVI
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee: FEMM
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee: IMCO
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: International Trade committee: INTA
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Industry, Research and Energy committee: ITRE
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Fisheries committee: PECH
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Petitions committee: PETI
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Regional Development committee: REGI
                                                                          • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Transport and Tourism committee: TRAN
                                                                          links
                                                                          other
                                                                            procedure
                                                                            stage_reached
                                                                            Preparatory phase in Parliament
                                                                            subject
                                                                            8.70.03.02 2017 discharge
                                                                            type
                                                                            DEC - Discharge procedure
                                                                            reference
                                                                            2018/2168(DEC)
                                                                            title
                                                                            2017 discharge: EU general budget, European Council and Council