Activities of Daniel FREUND related to 2020/2141(DEC)
Plenary speeches (1)
2019 Discharge (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, Section I – European Parliament
Amendments (70)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes the specific finding, concerning Parliament, contained in the annual report of the Court for 2019; notes with concern that the Court found errors in one payment to one of the European political parties, which concerned non- compliance with the expenditure eligibility rules, specifically, no written contractual documents and no supporting evidence for costs actually incurred were provided; regrets the fact that the Court had reported similar shortcomings in transactions relating to political groups and to a European party in its annual reports in 2014, 2015 and 2016; notes, however, that although there is always scope for improvement there has been a lot of positive development over recent years;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes the response given by Parliament in the adversarial procedure with the Court, which re-examined and addressed the individual cases highlighted as a result of the Court’s findings; recalls that, while Parliament’s administration is the authorising service for the payment of the grant towards the European political parties, it is not responsible for their actual expenditure, and that the European political parties are themselves responsible for the legality and regularity of their transactions; notes that Parliament provided European political parties with comprehensive information and guidance on topics in respect of which problems have been identified; calls on the Court to check the European political parties' spending on a regular bases;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – indent 1
Paragraph 13 – indent 1
- with regard to the audit of procurement and contract implementation in the catering sector (DG INLO), achieving the internal control objectives through, notably, allowing longer time- limits for procurement that are proportionate to the complexity of the specifications; ensuring clearer, more relevant and accurate tender specifications; ensuring a transparent evaluation of tenders that is based on the published criteria and is properly documented; validating ad hoc contracts on concessions with the legal service; the critical importance of managing amendments to concession contracts in line with the rules; improved management monitoring and reporting; recalls that these segments are essential for ensuring that public procurement procedures attract more offers, securing better competition and improved services over a certain time period;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – indent 2
Paragraph 13 – indent 2
- with regard to the audit of visitors’ groups, increasing the assurance of the efficiency and effectivenessregularity of payments and efficiency of implementation of the rules on financial contributions, including better definitions of eligible costs and of the eligibility period; improving the adequacy and effectiveness of ex-ante and ex-post controls over reimbursements; ensuring full compliance of the defrayal of visitors’ groups with the applicable rules; measures to ensure the full realisation of the visitors’ groups programme;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that the 2019 follow-up process resulted in the closure of 36 of the 93 open actions; notes with concern that in addition to these validated actions, there was a total of 124 open actions from audit reports, including those not yet due for implementation, and that 62 of this total number of actions address significant risk; expects an effort from different directorates-general’s in ensuring that the overdue actions are closed and that the agreed actions will be implemented in accordance with the set due-dates; calls on the Secretary General to report back to the discharge authority on the closure of the remaining actions during his hearings in the Committee on Budgetary Control in October and November 2021;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. In the light of publicly declaring transparency as one of the leading principles of Parliament’s work, deeply regrets that Parliament’s internal audit reports are not published once the internal auditor has finalised them and that even Members may only read them in the secure reading room for as long as recommended measures have not been implemented; takes note of Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation and calls on Parliament’s bureau to allow Members immediate, full access to the internal audit reports by changing the confidentiality level of those reports to ‘internal report’; further calls on the Bureau to make each internal audit report available to the public one year after its finalisation, once the internal auditor has validated the previous year’s recommendations;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. NotDeplores the fact that no action has been taken in response to some of the recommendations in Parliament's resolution on discharge for 2018, and that the discharge follow-up document does not provide any justification for this; stresses the importance of havingdemands more frequent discussions with the Secretary-General on issues concerning Parliament's budget and its implementation in Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control; invites the bureau to adopt internal rules that describe its decision making;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Acknowledges the steps taken to ease the transition to the new provider of services for Parliament's Crèche; calls on the relevant services to continuously monitor the performance of the new team, guaranteeing that the level of services remains satisfactory, and between others, making sure that a sufficient ratio of care-taking personal to children is respected;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the use of cash payments has decreased significantly, and that Members have used the possibility offered by the revised rules to give the financial responsibility of sponsored visits to professionals, i.e. paying agents or travel agencies instead of accredited parliamentary assistants (‘APAs’); notes, however, with concern that the Secretary- General has not yet released an assessment of the new rules and calls for preparing of such assessment; emphasises that the experience of the internal auditor should be taken into account in the assessment of the existing proceduresconsulted on existing procedures when preparing such assessment;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure has introduced an obligation for rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs to publish information on meetings held with interest representatives in the context of their reports; notes with satisfaction that, since the start of the new legislature, the necessary infrastructure has been available on Parliament’s website to allow Members to publish scheduled meetings with interested representatives in order to improve transparency; stresses, however, that the tool for publication of meetings needs further improvement in order to fulfil its function to make Parliament more open, transparent, and accountable to citizens;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Reiterates that Parliament’s President has instructed Parliament’s services to implement a number of changes to the tool to improve its user- friendliness, first and foremost by connecting it to the Transparency Register and Legislative Observatory; calls on Parliament to put in place these changes without any further delay;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Notes that 324 out of the 705 of current Members had published at least one meeting with an interest representative by 1 December 2020 on Parliament’s website; urges Parliament to take appropriate measures to ensure that all rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs comply with the obligation to publish their lobby meetings, including by enhancing its communication towards Members about the obligation of publishing such information, and to further encourage the publication of lobby meetings on Parliament’s website in all other cases as well;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37 a. Stresses the need for the revival of the debating culture in Parliament; welcomes the decision to require members to give speeches from the lectern facing the plenary; believes that the debating culture can also be improved by allowing sufficient time for the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments, for instance by extending the blue card procedure;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Recalls that in 2019 Parliament’s internal auditor started an audit on the implementation of the new rules, and that in his findings, finalised in 2020, the internal auditor highlighted that financial contributions for the visitors’ groups should be further aligned with the real costs incurred by the groups, that ex-ante controls should be reinforced when the first contribution is paid out, and that the existing system of ex-post controls should be reinforced; reiterates that the findings of internal auditor should be taken into account when evaluating existing procedures and developing tighter ex-ante controls in order to avoid possibilities for accumulating money beyond controls; demands further assessing the current level of ex-post controls;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. In the light of the shift to ‘remote work/work from home’ mode that started as the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and will at least in part remain in place for years to come calls on Bureau to update the "Beyond 2019" building strategy to take proper note of the recent changes in the working environment;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Expresses concern over the overdue actions agreed with the internal auditor in 2018 addressing significant residual risks regarding building maintenance, refurbishment and operation; calls on the Bureau to adopt a comprehensive maintenance policy and report back to the discharge authority; welcomes the gradual phasing out of contracts regarding externalised management functions and the savings this generates;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Takes note of the immediate actions, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 July 2020, which included an awareness campaign, protection of valuable IT equipment, prior notification of maintenance works, and provisions of separate master keys for each floor and strict limitation of their distribution; expects Parliament to adoptconsider long-term measures to prevent thefts including among those envisagproposed the introduction of different levels of access rights within Parliament’s premises, increased CCTV coverage, and further actions relating to keys’ management policy, including the possibility of installing electronic door locks taking due account of the necessary proportionality between the investments needed and the actual value of stolen items, as well as the preservation of privacy;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 b (new)
Paragraph 65 b (new)
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 c (new)
Paragraph 65 c (new)
65 c. Reminds its preference for free and open source software solutions to proprietary ones when considering new internal applications; asks for situations to be reported to the ICT governing bodies when open source solutions are not chosen;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)
Paragraph 71 a (new)
71 a. Reminds that these politically significant requirements of the cloud policy, i.e. on the decision at the highest level on what categories of data may go to the cloud or not, on the definition of sovereign cloud or on the choice of providers, have been expressed by Parliament's Vice-Presidents, and need to betaken into account in the adoption process of the cloud policy by the Bureau, before any contract with a cloud service provider is signed;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 b (new)
Paragraph 71 b (new)
71 b. Requests that the right for Members and assistants to use free and open source office software be ensured;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 c (new)
Paragraph 71 c (new)
71 c. Reminds the need to have a more user-friendly, systematic and coordinated approach for creating and converting data of public interest under open, machine- readable format, easily accessible and re- usable for the users; reiterates the importance of having its proper open data policy; asks the relevant services to submit to the Bureau a draft for approval;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 e (new)
Paragraph 71 e (new)
71 e. Reminds the importance of developing technological tools that enable Members to interact with citizens; asks its relevant services to test and develop opensource platforms based on open standards where citizens can interact and share with Members their ideas and their draft amendments on future legislation;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 f (new)
Paragraph 71 f (new)
71 f. Considers that AI used by Parliament's administration should be released as open source software, under the public procurement procedure, with software documentation and algorithms being accessible and thus allowing competent authorities to review how the AI system arrived at a certain conclusion; emphasises that a fundamental rights audit should be part of a prior conformity assessment;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 g (new)
Paragraph 71 g (new)
71 g. Reminds that the overarching principle of the cloud strategy is to secure information and protect data, which requires a specific categorisation of data based on data protection and security assessments; asks the Bureau to approve, after consideration of the risk analysis prepared by the relevant services, what data categories and applications may go to the cloud and what should be retained in Parliament only;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 h (new)
Paragraph 71 h (new)
71 h. Reminds the need to ensure no cloud vendor lock-in effects and achieve higher security by using open source software and open standards wherever possible;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 d (new)
Paragraph 71 d (new)
71 d. Requests that a space on Parliament’s website is created, where the plenary voting record of each Member would be available and the repartition of votes per political groups and nationality of Members visible; invites the relevant services to study the feasibility and test the visualisation of the most recent signed amendments in committees and plenary of volunteering Members on their personal Parliament website page;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72 a (new)
Paragraph 72 a (new)
72 a. Notes that the Wi-fi provided at Parliament's premises in Brussels is frequently unstable and does not provide for undisturbed meetings during virtual video calls; asks Parliament to upgrade the current system to the level of performance needed for a full remote working method of Parliament;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 11 a (new)
Subheading 11 a (new)
Transparency
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72 b (new)
Paragraph 72 b (new)
72 b. Notes with grave concern that according to the Transparency Register’s Annual Reports in past years, around half of all entries in the Register are incorrect; fears that the Register cannot fulfil its purpose of providing greater transparency on the activities of interest representatives if half of its entries provide incomplete or incorrect information; urges Parliament and the Commission to address the high rate of incorrect entries by increasing, at least temporarily, the Joint Transparency Register’s Secretariat’s Staff, systematically scan all entries for correctness and completeness, and ensure that only correct entries find a way to the register;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72 c (new)
Paragraph 72 c (new)
72 c. Recalls that Members were obliged to supply greater detail in their declarations of financial interest in relation to category 5 salary band in 2017; regrets that Members are still not required to provide sufficient detail on paid or unpaid outside activities which makes it impossible to check whether such an activity can result in a conflict of interests with their parliamentary activity; calls on the Bureau to update the format of the declarations to require that Members declare their outside activities with sufficient detail; encourages consultations in this regard with relevant Member State authorities in order to exchange best practices; calls on the bureau to empower parliamentary services to request additional information from Members’ parliamentary services to improve monitoring and verification mechanisms of the declarations, that would include detailed checks of at least those declarations in which comparatively high side incomes are indicated;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 73 a (new)
Paragraph 73 a (new)
73 a. Notes that as an outcome of the 2019 elections, the proportion of new Members in the 9th Legislature reached a high of 61%; highlights that in the context of the increasing number of former Members, the Secretary-General and the Bureau should establish strong rules to regulate revolving doors, requiring former Members to inform Parliament of their post-mandate activities and employment over a period that extends at least over the time former Members receive the end of term transitional allowance; calls for an independent assessment on whether such activities create conflicts of interests;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Is convinced that the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer is a key component of its success; is deeply concerned by the difficulties encountered in recruiting some nationalities and bringing certain job profiles in-house; regretsis opposed to Parliament’s over-dependence on external expertise; notes that DG PERS is currently running the project ‘Attracting and retaining top talent’ that aims at improving Parliament’s policies to attract and retain talent and at contributing to the development of Parliament’s long-term strategic vision on the jobs of the future; calls on the Secretary-General to do his utmost in order to reach a geographical balance for Parliament’s staff, both on the total number by country and on the number of in terms of proportional representation per Member State, including in management positions and to explore all available options in order to increase the competitiveness of Parliament as an employer;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76
Paragraph 76
76. Voices great concern furthermore at the fact that it is very difficult for DG ITEC to recruit enough highly qualified experts with very specific profiles, knowledge and experience; calls on Parliament to ensure that this request is properly transmitted to the European Personnel Selection Office to better respond to such specific needs of Union institutions, in particular related to Parliament ICT expertise in the area of cybersecurity, cloud computing and artificial intelligence; deploresstrongly disagrees with Parliament’s over-reliance on external consultants and stresses the importance for DG ITEC to further develop its strategy ‘From external consultants to contract staff’ in order to minimise the security risks for Parliament;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 a (new)
Paragraph 78 a (new)
78 a. Notes that teleworking arrangements and remote voting are now part of Parliament’s working arrangements for Members; calls on Parliament’s secretariat to continue facilitating these arrangements for Members on maternity, parental, carers, sick or special leave and explore using the arrangements in the future also, so as to allow Members to both hold meetings in their constituencies as well as with their colleagues in Brussels in what could be ‘hybrid’ weeks;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79
Paragraph 79
79. Draws attention to the 6% staff reduction target, that in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan; acknowledges the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents; is concerned by the negative effects of this significant reduction on Parliament’s performance, both in the short and long term; calls for the reassessment of the staffing situation;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80
Paragraph 80
80. Is deeply worried about the number of members of staff on long-term sick leave; is concerned that as some of those cases may relate to exhaustion and disturbed work-life balance; calls on the administration and leaderships of political groups to be proactive towards the concerned staff, to carefully evaluate the staff workload and to ensure a balanced distribution of tasks; welcomes the ‘Mind Matters’ campaign launch in 2018 by DG PERS to raise awareness and combat stigma related to mental health; urges Parliament and leaderships of political groups to conduct a psychological risk assessment to detect psychological risks in the work environment and to develop targeted action plans to either eliminate them, or mitigate their negative impact; calls for reassessment of the applicable rules to enable quicker hiring of substitutes in cases of long-term sick leave;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 81
Paragraph 81
81. Welcomes the development of measures that contribute to a better balancing of professional and private life including the implementation of extended teleworking possibilities for Parliament’s staff and of measures promoting well-being at work; however, highlights the value of physical presence in Parliament; highlights the contribution of teleworking arrangements and remote voting to the further reduction of Parliament’s carbon footprint; stresses the need for Parliament's staff and Members to be provided the opportunity to continue the conduct of so-called hybrid meetings as well as remote voting; calls on the Bureau to continue providing instruments to facilitate these arrangements in future;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82 a (new)
Paragraph 82 a (new)
82 a. Deplores the fact that no system exists for Members who are on maternity leave or on long-term sick leave to temporarily continue their work remotely; is of the opinion that this impossibility is fundamentally at odds with core values of the Union because it sends the signal that a vote on a female candidate may entail temporary non-representation; therefore, building on the experience accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic, calls on the development of a hybrid working method which allows for Members on maternity leave or long-term sick leave to participate on meetings and vote online if they wish do so;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82 a (new)
Paragraph 82 a (new)
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83
Paragraph 83
83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including Members, staff and APAs; notes that following the 2019 elections, all Members were required to sign a declaration confirming their commitment to complying with the code of appropriate behaviour incorporated in Parliament's Rules of Procedure in January 2019; however, regrets that 10 new harassment cases were opened in 2019 out of which 4 cases concerned sexual harassment; deeply regrets in this context that the bureau has refused to implement the will of the plenary expressed on several occasions1a to institute anti-harassment trainings for all staff and Members on a compulsory basis; urges the bureau to implement this request without further delay; _________________ 1aEuropean Parliament resolution of 14 May 2020 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018, §115; European Parliament resolution of 26 October 2017 on combating sexual harassment and abuse in the European Union, §17.
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83
Paragraph 83
83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including Members, staff and APAs; notes that following the 2019 elections, all Members were required to sign a declaration confirming their commitment to complying with the code of appropriate behaviour incorporated in Parliament's Rules of Procedure in January 2019; however, regrets that 10 new harassment cases were opened in 2019 out of which 4 cases concerned sexual harassment; calls for mandatory trainings for Member and staff;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83 a (new)
Paragraph 83 a (new)
83 a. Is of the opinion that Parliament should provide basic accommodations for breastfeeding mothers at work, particularly including time and a private space that is not a bathroom;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 84
Paragraph 84
84. Is aware of the 38 cases involving Parliament pending with European Anti- Fraud Office in 2019 ranging from the proper use of parliamentary allowances and staff conduct to the financing of European political structures; points out the fact that 14 cases were closed in 2019; expresses its strong concern for the high number of cases; asks the parliamentary services to conduct an in-depth analysis of the existing financial, legal, ethical and integrity risks which gave rise to these cases and to propose preventive measures so as to ensure these are not repeated;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85
Paragraph 85
85. Welcomes the fact that there were no cases of whistleblowing recorded by Parliament in 2019;Notes the fact that there were no cases of whistleblowing recorded by Parliament in 2019; recalls that whistleblowing rules only apply to staff and do not extend to APAs or local assistants and current rules fail to guarantee adequate employment protection in such situations; calls on the Secretary General and the Bureau to develop comprehensive rules and safe procedures for whistleblowing, applicable to all categories of Parliament employees; reiterates its call on Parliament to fully adapt its own internal rules in the Staff Regulations to the Directive (EU) 2019/19371a, including by setting up secure channels for reporting; further requests that Parliament guarantees the same level of protection to whistleblowers as it does to victims of harassment, including the establishment of an advisory committee dealing with the protection of whistleblowers; reiterates its request for information campaigns and mandatory training for all categories of Parliament's employees, including line managers to raise awareness among parliamentary staff on their whistleblower protections and their duty under the Staff Regulations to report illegal activities or maladministration; _________________ 1aDirective (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 170).
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
Paragraph 86
86. Welcomes the introduction of a wider and more sustainable food choice, including the introduction of a greater variety of vegetarian and vegan products, in Parliament’s self-service canteen; notes the launch of an independent client satisfaction survey via the Happy or Not terminals setup in the main outlets in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg aiming at identifying the outlets where changes and improvements are necessary; observes that The Happy or Not terminal has shown a constant and solid improvement rating of the catering services in the Kohl and Martens buildings, while the satisfaction rate is lower in the Spinelli and Paul-Henri Spaak buildings; calls for the necessary changes to adapt to clients’ needs;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 a (new)
Paragraph 86 a (new)
86 a. Expresses strong concern for the working conditions of two of the external concessions contracted by Parliament, namely the cleaning and the restauration staff of Parliament, and strongly recommends that DG INLO organises an independent survey about the satisfaction with the working conditions of the staff concerned subcontracted by Parliament, in order to ensure respect and dignity at work; notes that such a survey was recommended in the previous Parliament discharge report, but that it was not followed up on; repeats this recommendation and urges the Bureau to act on this; calls for an evaluation of Parliament’s public procurement policy in light of improving transparent and predictable working conditions for all subcontracted services; calls on Parliament to report to the discharge authority on the results of such evaluation;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 15 a (new)
Subheading 15 a (new)
Plenary sessions taking place in Strasbourg
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 d (new)
Paragraph 86 d (new)
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 a (new)
Paragraph 86 a (new)
86 a. Points out that the additional expenditure involved in not having a single seat goes against the principle of sound financial management and against the principle of budgetary discipline; recalls that a vast majority of Parliament expressed in various resolutions support for a single seat to ensure efficient spending of Union’s taxpayers money; notes that the Court estimated that the end of moving from Strasbourg to Brussels could generate annual savings of EUR 114 million plus a one-off saving of EUR 616 million if the Strasbourg buildings are successfully divested, or a one-off cost of EUR 40 million if they are not; notes that a single seat can only be achieved by a unanimous Treaty change; urges the Council to take note of Parliament's position;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87
Paragraph 87
87. Recalls Article 27(1) and (2) of the Statute for Members of the Parliament which states that “the voluntary pension fund set up by Parliament shall be maintained after the entry into force of this Statute for Members or former Members who have already acquired rights or future entitlements in that fund” and that “acquired rights and future entitlements shall be maintained in full”; is however convinced of the need to further explain the legal consequences of the rules and/or to modify the rules; asks the Secretary- General to guarantee that no taxpayer money is used for the future payments
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87 a (new)
Paragraph 87 a (new)
87 a. Recalls paragraph 118 of the 2017 Parliament discharge Resolution which called to investigate the legal foundations of the Voluntary Pension Fund and in particular, whether Parliament as has a legal obligation to guarantee that future entitlements shall be maintained in full and to fill the potential deficits of the fund or put fresh money in to the fund, given that the Voluntary Pension Fund is a SICAV investment fund under Luxembourg law rather than a regular pension fund, which would imply that there is in principle no such obligation; regrets that the Secretary-General has not yet come forward with any findings in response to the investigation called for;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87 b (new)
Paragraph 87 b (new)
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87 c (new)
Paragraph 87 c (new)
87 c. Recalls that for all beneficiaries of the voluntary pension fund the benefits represent an additional rather than their only source of income; underlines that due to a low-interest-rate environment, the amount of defined benefit schemes has radically declined across the Union; objects against sheltering former members of Parliament from this dynamic; rejects any situation in which the actuarial deficit of the fund leads to any form of bail-out with taxpayer money;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 15
Subheading 15
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 92
Paragraph 92
92. Supports the use of the Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), which is a management instrument of the Union for private and public organisations to evaluate and improve their environmental performance in accordance with Regulation 1221/200910 ; acknowledges that the Parliament is the first Union institution to become carbon neutral in 2016 due to offsetting 100% of its irreducible emissions; supports measures taken to reduce Parliament’s emissions even further including to increase teleworking targets in the different directorates-general, limit and optimise travel time for missions and encouraging the use of sustainable transport modes e.g. by increasing the number of parking spots for bikes; _________________ 10Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), repealing Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 and Commission Decisions 2001/681/EC and 2006/193/EC (OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 1).
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 93
Paragraph 93
93. WelcomNotes that the percentage of renewable energy supplied to Parliament in 2019 wasremained at 67%, the majority of this figure coming from the purchase of green electricity; calls on Parliament to further increase the percentage of renewable energy supplied to Parliament with a view to achieving a 100% renewable energy supply as soon as possible, including by using Parliament’s roof to produce its own solar power;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 95
Paragraph 95
95. Congratulates the Directorate- General for Infrastructure and Logistics forWelcomes the successful internalisation of the car service and welcomes the gradual shift to zero-emission vehicles with a view to having a carbon-neutral service fleet by 2024 at the latest; acknowledges the big daily operations and commends the work of the service, which has achieved a high satisfaction rate amongst the Members;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 95 a (new)
Paragraph 95 a (new)
95 a. Is concerned by the fact that out of the 340 persons that the Parliament’s vehicle fleet has a capacity to theoretically carry on the way to Strasbourg per plenary session, only 116 Members and APAs made use of this opportunity in 2019, which corresponds to an occupation rate of less than 3percent;, urges the Secretary-General to introduce a user- friendly on-line booking system and allow this option of travel to Strasbourg to Political Groups’ and all other staff, too; further requests Parliament to lift the obligation on APAs to use the fleet to go from Brussels to Strasbourg only when accompanied by their Member;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
Paragraph 96
96. Welcomes the adoption by the Bureau, on 16 December 2019, of new ambitious key performance indicators targets for Parliament’s environmental management system, including a 40% carbon emission reduction target, with a date of 2024 for the new legislative term; calls for the efficient implementation of the necessary actions in order to achieve the target on time and regular reporting to the discharge authority on the progress made; further calls on Parliament to re-evaluate its EMAS target in light of the emissions reductions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
Paragraph 97
97. Commends Parliament’s commitment to green public procurement; notes that Parliament’s with the objective is to increase the value- weighted percentage of contracts among certain priority products classified as ‘Green’, ‘Very Green’ or ‘Green by Nature’; commendnotes the fact that 89,1% of contracts by value in priority- product categories in 2019 were classified as ‘Green’ or ‘Very Green’, or ‘Green by Nature’ in 2019; welcomes the adoption by the Bureau, on 16 December 2019, of a new ambitious key performance indicators target for green public procurement, meaning that on average 90% of contracts in priority-product categories should be classified as ‘Green’, or ‘Green by Nature’ over the 2020-2024 period; underlines the need to develop further green public procurement by setting ambitious targets for greening contracts in the medium term;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)
Paragraph 97 a (new)
97 a. Welcomes the adoption by the Bureau, on 16 December 2019, of a new ambitious key performance indicators target for green public procurement, meaning that on average 90% of contracts in priority-product categories should be classified as ‘Green’, or ‘Green by Nature’ over the 2020-2024 period; underlines the need to develop further green public procurement by setting ambitious targets for greening contracts in the medium term;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 98 a (new)
Paragraph 98 a (new)
98 a. Recalls Parliament’s goals of further reducing its emissions and underlines that the least polluting way of necessary air travel is the possibility of direct flights and flexible airline tickets; calls on Parliament's travel agency to make this their default option when choosing travel arrangements;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 106
Paragraph 106
106. CondemnDisaproves the long back-logs regarding reimbursements of travel expenses in 2019; calls for ensuring and maintaining sufficient resources for DG FINS and for those resources to be allocated in a way that avoids the accumulation of backlogs;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
Paragraph 108
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 109
Paragraph 109
109. Recalls the decision that all Members shallould have a separate bank account to receive the general expenditure allowance; welcomes Parliament’s strict implementation of this obligation which resulted in a 100% compliance rate;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 110
Paragraph 110
110. Recalls Rule 11(4) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, as adopted by the Bureau on 11 March 2019, which provides that “The Bureau shall provide the necessary infrastructure on Members’ online page on Parliament’s website for those Members who wish to publish a voluntary audit or confirmation, as provided for under the applicable rules of the Statute for Members and its implementing rules, that their use of the General Expenditure Allowance complies with the applicable rules of the Statute for Members and its implementing measures”; notes that such publications are made individually and optionally ucalls on parliamentary services to send a yearly reminder theo Members’ own resf this ponssibility and that; calls on Parliament’s administration is not responsible for compiling the information provided to regularly inform the discharge authority of how many Members follow these recommendations;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111
Paragraph 111
111. Highlights that the 2018 Bureau decision on the general expenditure allowance stipulates that the Bureau will maintain this decision until the end of 2022 and will evaluate it on the basis of the experience gained during the 9th parliamentary term; stresses that any new voluntary and/or optional measures for greater transparency and financial accountability should not create unnecessary bureaucracy for Members and their offices;regrets that the bureau continues to neglect the plenary’s will expressed on numerous occasions1a to further reform the general expenditure allowance, thereby actively preventing that Members’ expenses of Union taxpayers’ money become more transparent and accountable; urges the bureau to immediately implement the Plenary’s decisions from the 2017 and 2018 Parliament’s discharge reports introducing changes to the rules governing the general expenditure allowance; _________________ 1aDischarge 2017: General budget of the EU - European Parliament, March 26th, 2019; Discharge 2018: General budget of the EU - European Parliament, May 14th, 2020.
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111 a (new)
Paragraph 111 a (new)
111 a. Is of the opinion that the current non-exhaustive list of expenditure is not sufficiently clear and leaves therefore loopholes and room for misinterpretation, calls on the Bureau to establish an exhaustive list of expenditure or at least establish a negative list of expenditure;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115 a (new)
Paragraph 115 a (new)
115 a. Regrets that there have been 1 369 single bidder tenders among all public tenders for contracts for the purchase of goods and services by Parliament; notes that single bidder tenders carry a significant threat to the proper spending of public money; calls on Parliament to investigate the reasons for the apparent lack of competition and take necessary measures to prevent single bidder tenders in future procedures;