Activities of Daniel FREUND related to 2022/2082(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021, Section I – European Parliament
Amendments (51)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the Multiannual Financial Framework heading 7 ‘European public administration’ accounts for EUR 10.7 billion or 5,9% of the Union budget in 2021, of which Parliament accounts for EUR 2.1 billion or 19,4%; notes that the Court examined a sample of 60 transactions of this Multiannual Financial Framework heading and found that 15 contained errors (25%), out of which the Court has quantified 5 errors and estimated on that basis that the level of error of the Union’s spending on administration in 2021 is below the materiality threshold; calls on the Court to widen its sample of transactions examined to define the origin of high share of transactions which contain errors, although below the materiality threshold;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes that the position of Parliament’s administration is that Article 175(1) and Article 163(1) of the Financial Regulation defining the use of negotiated procurement procedures for high-value contracts only apply to direct management, while political groups manage the funds allocated to them according to the principles of indirect management in analogical application of Article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation; welcomes, however, that Parliament accepted the Court’s recommendation to revise its guidelines on the application of the rules on public procurement by the political groups to better align them with the Financial Regulation; notes the commitment of Parliament’s administration to continue to support the political groups for the appropriations to be used in accordance with the applicable rules; calls on the Secretary General to report back to the Budgetary Control Committee when new guidelines on the application of the rules on public procurement by the political groups will be revised;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that, in particular, the Court further examined a payment of EUR 74.9 million related to the purchase of the Scholl building on Rue Wiertz, the purchase of which was financed from funds that were not used during the COVID-19 crisis and carried over from 2020; notes that, when seeking offers, Parliament used award criteria that weighted 50% of points for both price and quality of the proposed building; notes that Parliament received two offers and awarded the contract to the tenderer proposing the Scholl building, significantly closer to Parliament’s main site but 30% more expensive per square metre than the building proposed by the other tenderer; notes with concern that the Court considered that Parliament’s award criteria significantly reduced the importance of price as a basis for the purchase decision, making it unlikely that any other offer could have been accepted; stresses the importance in guaranteeing a level playing field to all tenderers and a potential reputational risk the Parliament could suffer in case of any procurement related irregularities;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the 2021 follow-up process resulted in the closure of 47 of the 99 open actions and for which the agreed due dates for implementation had expired; regretsstresses the fact that some of the 52 remaining actions were recommended several years ago but remain unimplemented and highlights that 23 of them address significant risk; expects the different directorates-general to ensure that the remaining actions are closed without any further delay and that the agreed actions will be implemented in accordance with the due dates set in the internal auditor’s annual report; calls on the Secretary- General to report to the discharge authority on the closuretwice per year on the status of the remaining actions;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, “the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public after validation by the internal auditor of the action taken for their implementation”; notes that in practice the reports and findings are only published once all recommendations have been implemented; regrets that this results in a de facto delay of publication for several years; also regrets that Members may only read them in the secure reading room for as long as recommended measures have not been implemented; calls on the Bureau to allow Members to have immediate and full access to the internal audit reports; 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 actions taken to implement the previous year’s recommendations; recalls that a validation of recommendations does not require all recommendations to be fully implemented; calls on the internal auditor to regularly report to the Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Is appalled by the fact that the members of the Bureau have not only ignored the demand of majority of the plenary for a reform of the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA) to make the expenditure more transparent and accountable but have amended the respective rules at their meeting of 17 October 2022 in a way that contradicts these demands;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Recommends that the Committee on Budgetary Control should be systematically informed whenever a proposal arising from a discharge resolution is going to be discussed by the Bureau and calls on the Secretary- General to always include a clear list of the Bureau discussions and votes when providing the replies to the discharge resolutions; suggests to amend the Rules of Procedures so as to require all Bureau decisions on matters previously addressed in the discharge resolutions to be subject to a final plenary vote to ensure that they adequately take into account the will of the majority of the plenary;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25c. Welcomes the proposal from the Secretary-General to enable the Bureau to debate draft decisions on important matters and decide on those at its following meeting; invites the Bureau and Quaestors to implement that practice;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls that Article 4 of the President’s decision of 1 June 2021 on security measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 provided for temperature checks on any person entering Parliament’s buildings; notes that, for that purpose, Parliament purchased different models of body temperature detectors for a total amount of EUR 595 459.,63 (382 515,63 in 2020 and EUR 212 944 in 2021); observes that of the equipment purchased in 2021, 40 temperature detection units installed in the metal detectors were not used as of the 14 March 2022 and 4 cameras are now kept in storage; recalls that no provision was introduced to prevent people who had been denied entry from simply trying again moments later; observes that there is no data on the number of persons having been denied access to Parliament’s premises during the period of validity of the measure; regrets the conclusion that it is thus not possible to assess the effectiveness of the body temperature checks or the purchase of the equipment and stresses the fact that no public money should ever be dispersed in a way that would not allow for a check on the regularity of spending nor the effectiveness of its use;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Notes that following complaints from cleaning staff, a new contractor was hired for the cleaning of Parliament’s main buildings; welcomes that the new contractor is subject to stricter obligations ensuring fair working conditions; recalls that the new contractor committed to taking over all employees who had been employed by the former contractor for at least nine months and requests Parliament to ensure this commitment is actually adhered to; emphasises that staff that is taken over should be offered the possibility to work the same amount of hours they did under the former contractor;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Regrets that the applicable rules currently prohibit APAs to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and committee missions; points out that the technical support that APAs provide during missions is of key importance to the participating Members, in particular when they are involved in the organisation or play a specific role; is concerned that this situation compelsin practice leads to Members to resort to financing APAs’ travel with the general expenditure allowance and obliges APAs to use their annual leave, thus jeopardising their insurance coverage, which represents a serious reputational risk for Parliament; regrets that neitherurges the Bureau norand the Conference of Presidents have followed up on the long-standing requto change the current rulest to allow APAs, under certain conditions yet to be determined, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions, as reiterated by several discharge resolutions; urges the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents to respond positively to this demandnd by doing so remedy a situation where existing rules are not followed, posing a risk to APAs and a serious reputational risk for Parliament;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55 a (new)
Paragraph 55 a (new)
55a. Reiterates that APAs accompanying Members to the part- sessions in Strasbourg, should be issued a mission order and be reimbursed in accordance with the applicable rules;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Welcomes the fact that the Bureau’s last revision of the rules for visitors’ groups introduced the possibility for Members to designate professionals to hold the financial responsibility, which has brought about a decrease of APAs as heads of visitors’ groups to 28%; reiterates that APAs should not be compelled to take on such financial responsibility, which can amount to substantial sums of money in some cases; insists, therefore, to the Bureau that APAs be eliminatfully excluded from the list of permitted heads of groups, leaving only a member of the sponsored group or a professional, such as paying agents or travel agencies, to take up the role;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Recalls that Members may offer APA’s position or a traineeship to nationals of third countries, provided that they ensure that traineeshey comply with visa requirements of the country of designation; notes that third- country workers coming to Belgium for a traineeship in Brussels longer than 90 days must apply for a prior authorisation with the competent regional public service, i.e. Brussels Economy and Employment; is alarmed that Parliament’s competent service agreed with the latter that the relevant Member’s office would submit the candidate’s dossier which in practice means that an APA from the member’s office is appointed responsible before the public authorities, including the provision of their personal data and being legally accountable; calls on Parliament’s administration to find a different solution that will not endanger the privacy and legal security of the APAs or be a risk to the security of Parliament;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Stresses that transparency, accountability, and integrity are essential ethics principles within the Union institutions and particularly Parliament as house of the European democracy; recallnotes that unethical behaviours must be prevented,weak ethics rules and a lack of enforcement have the potential to compromise the integrity of the institution; recalls that all must be done to prevent unethical behaviours and in case it appeared it must be persecuted and condemned for significantly damage to the credibility and legitimacy of the Union and constitute a serious threat to democracy and public trust; recalls the Court’s conclusions and recommendations in its special report 13/2019 on the ethnical frameworks of Union institutions, as well as Parliament’s resolution of 16 September 2021 on strengthening transparency and integrity in the Union institutions by setting up an independent Union ethics body; as well as Parliament’s resolution of 15 December 2022 on Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. Calls for a thorough overhaul of Parliament’s ethical framework that integrates lessons learned and strengthens the current rules to ensure that there are stronger deterrents to address effectively current and future threats and interferences, whether they affect Members or staff; stresses that illegal activities funded by paid lobbying constitutes a profound attack on democracy and shouldmust be met with zero tolerance and heightened vigilance; calls in particular for a revision of the Rules of Procedure and the Members’ Code of Conduct, as well as for an urgent upgrade of the current European Parliament’s Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, in order to ensure that Members act without any undue influence from interest representatives by means of a strict regulation of paid activities during the mandate, gifts or travel invitations, future employment expectations, and of undue use of information or contacts;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 b (new)
Paragraph 62 b (new)
62b. Welcomes that Parliament’s infrastructure to enable Members to publish scheduled meetings with interest representatives has been updated and is now linked to both the Transparency Register and the Legislative Observatory; stresses that this has allowed the Legislative Observatory to display all lobby meetings that have taken place in relation to a specific file in a user friendly way which greatly enhances lobby transparency; asks Parliamentary Services to create a separate login for Parliamentary assistants to draft entries in the system which members can subsequently review and validate; calls on Parliamentary Services to also create a user-friendly online repository to publish information on lobby meetings in open data format, with links to relevant information from the Transparency Register and the Legislative Observatory1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 c (new)
Paragraph 62 c (new)
62c. Recalls that according to Parliament’s Rules on Public Hearings adopted by the Bureau1a, interest representatives may only be invited as speakers at Parliament’s events, including Committee meetings, if they are registered in the Transparency Register; stresses that the Secretariat of the Committee or Parliament’s governing body organising a hearing is responsible to ensure compliance with this obligation; regrets that Committee hearings and other events have taken place in the past with interest representatives who were not registered in the Transparency Register; calls on the Committee Secretariats and relevant governing bodies to ensure strict compliance with this obligation in the future for all events organised in cooperation with Parliament’s administration; _________________ 1a Rules on Public Hearings, Bureau Decision of 18 June 2003;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 d (new)
Paragraph 62 d (new)
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. Notes that the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members investigated two cases of alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct in 2021, in one of which the President decided to impose a penalty in the form of a reprimand on the concerned Members in July 2021; notes that Parliament’s administration verified one case of a possible conflict of interest under the Implementing Measures for the Statute of Members due to the recruitment of a family relative identified in 2021, which in turn eventually led to the initiation in 2022 of a recovery procedure of the misused parliamentary assistance expenditure;)
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63a. Regrets that despite at least 25 breaches of the Code of Conduct by Members were recorded in the past eleven years, Parliament’s Presidents have not a single time imposed a financial sanction on a Member; calls on the President to consider imposing financial sanctions when it has been proven that Members have breached the Code of Conduct to ensure the sanctions actually have a deterrent effect;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Notes that in 2021 the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigated 18 cases and the European Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigated 3 cases involving Parliament on issues related to Members’ financial and social entitlements, the financing of political structures; notes that, out of 18 OLAF investigations, 4 led to a report with financial recommendations, 1 led to a final report with disciplinary recommendations, 5 led to a decision to dismiss the case, and 8 are still ongoing in 2022; notes also that OLAF investigated 5 cases involving Parliament’s staff, out of which 2 were closed in 2021 without any recommendation and 3 were not concluded; notes that none of the EPPO investigations were concluded in 2021; asks the administration whether the recommendations made by OLAF have been fully implemented and the amounts at risk have been recovered (particularly the EUR 1 837 000 found to be paid irregularly), as well as to provide a summary, without any sensitive data, of the typology of cases investigated in order to be able to draw conclusions and make improvements;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64 a (new)
Paragraph 64 a (new)
64a. Is deeply concerned by the fact that the EU’s anti-fraud office OLAF has currently under no circumstances access to Member’s offices, computers and email accounts, even when investigating cases linked to Members based on a substantiated suspicion; stresses that it is of utmost importance to have an adequate procedure for granting access to OLAF in place in cases of substantiated suspicions against individual Members; calls on the Bureau to set up such a procedure without delay;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65
Paragraph 65
65. Notes the ongoing project to make plenary voting records available in a dedicated space where users will have access to clear and reader-friendly documents and believes that Parliament should go further and create a coherent website combining the whole multitude of interconnected websites related to the legislative work, i.e. Legislative Observatory, Members' profiles, the plenary website, etc. for the sake of transparency and public scrutiny; calls on Parliament’s services to also make available all amendments and roll-call voting records at committee level and to include them in the new layout1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 a (new)
Paragraph 65 a (new)
65a. Considers roll call votes (RCV) to be a key instrument for transparency and accountability towards the Union’s citizens; calls for introducing automatic RCV to any final vote except for secret ballots, and for increasing the number of RCV that are possible for a political group to ask for per part-session in Rule 190-2, or exempting legislative files from that limitation;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 b (new)
Paragraph 65 b (new)
65b. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure obliges Rapporteurs, Shadows and Committee Chairs to publish their meetings with interest representatives; calls on the AFCO Committee to revise the Rules of Procedure to extend this obligation to all Members working on Reports, Opinions or Resolutions; notes with great concern that as of 26 January 2023, 261 current Members have not published a single meeting with an interest representative on Parliament’s website; recalls that information and reminder notices on the obligation to publish meetings should be sent to all Members at regular intervals1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 114 #
65c. Reiterates that Article 4 of the Code of Conduct provides, with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest, that the Members’ declarations of financial interests shall be provided in a detailed manner; regrets that according to a Transparency International EU study1a, around 15% of Members with additional incomes had included only vague or generic job descriptions in their declarations at the end of 2021; stresses that in such cases it is questionable whether the activity can be checked for any potential conflict of interest with parliamentary activity; further regrets that Parliament’s services are instructed to only carry out general plausibility checks; repeats its call on the Bureau to review the format of the declarations to require more detail, including more detail on the declaration of the Member’s assets; asks the President to instruct the services to systematically carry out thorough checks of the declarations to ensure that the information provided therein is sufficiently detailed to allow for an assessment of any potential conflict of interest; _________________ 1a https://transparency.eu/burning-candle- mep-income/
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 d (new)
Paragraph 65 d (new)
65d. Notes that out of the 459 Members of the 8th parliamentary term, who were not re-elected in 2019, only one notification of post-mandate employment was submitted to Parliament (Article 6 of the Code of Conduct); urges Parliament to introduce a "cooling-off" period for former Members equal to the time Members receive a transitional allowance; notes that in 2021, out of the 203 officials who left service, 54 requested permission for an activity after leaving the service (Article 16 of the Staff Regulations); calls on Parliament to establish stronger rules to regulate revolving doors for Members and civil servants and to strictly ensure that former Members may not use their former Member badges for covert lobbying1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
Paragraph 67
67. RegretNotes that six harassment cases against Members were opened in 2021 and that four cases were pending from 2020; notes that no harassment was found in the four cases closed in 2021; regretnotes that in 2021 there was one new harassment complaint coming from a member of staff and notes that there was one ongoing case and three cases closed; regrets that the investigation of some harassment cases extended over more than a year causing unnecessary harm to Members, staff and assistants; reminds Parliament’s administration that it has a legal responsibility to investigate cases brought before it with due rigour, speed and discretion; calls on the Bureau to prescribe time limits for the handling of harassment complaints;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68
Paragraph 68
68. Welcomes Parliament’s zero- tolerance policy on harassment and the awareness-raising campaigns carried out; is concerned, however, that on 28 October 2022 only 245 sitting Members (36,3%) had completed the training on respect and dignity in the workplace; recalls that Parliament has requested on several occasions the implementation of mandatory anti-harassment training courses for all Members; stresses the importance of early intervention, together with training and awareness-raising actions and notes the initiative taken by the administration to set up internal mediators as a step towards early conflict resolution; which should also include the provision of information to both parties on their rights;
Amendment 122 #
69. Notes that the ‘advisory committee on harassment and its prevention at the workplace’ is composed of three members designated by the Appointing Authority (including the chair), two Staff Committee members and one expert advisor from the medical service; notes that the ‘advisory committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members’ is composed of three Quaestors (including the chair), the chair of the first committee, two APA committee members, one staff committee member (only for cases concerning a member of staff), and two expert advisors, namely from the legal and the medical services respectively; is concerned by the lack of independent experts on harassment issues in both committees, as well as the absence of the legal service in the first case; recalls that the Chair of the latter Committee has the competence to convene meetings and his or her vote will be the casting vote in case of a tie; is concerned that the fact that the Chair of this Committee is a Member of Parliament leads to conflicts of interests if the Member under investigation is from the same political group as the Chair; calls for a Secretary-General decision reviewing the composition of both advisory committees and stipulating mandatory training on harassment prevention and equal opportunities for all their members;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70
Paragraph 70
70. Notes that there was one case of whistleblowing in 2021 and that the whistle-blower had contacted OLAF before addressing the contact point; calls on the Secretary General to clarify contradictory data provided on the number of whistleblower cases reported in 2021 and 2022 respectively; is deeply concerned that there seems to have been no formal referral to OLAF by Parliament in this case and reminds the Administration of their duty to immediately report alleged cases of fraud to OLAF; notes that Parliament’s administration received a number of anonymous allegations of fraud and misconduct that were all followed up either internally or by OLAF, and calls on Parliament’s administration for a summary of the nature of the eventual cases opened and the measures taken by the administration;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71
Paragraph 71
71. RIs deeply concerned by the fact that a poll among Parliament’s staff by the European Court of Auditors from 2019 found that almost 80% of respondents have little or no knowledge about ways to report unethical behaviour1a; recalls that Parliament has a whistleblower contact point within the cabinet of the Secretary-General to which irregularities can be reported and who provides advice and facilitates the application of Article 22c of the Staff Regulations and of the relevant implementing provisions; calls on the Bureau to require relevant background checks and training for whistleblower contact points; administration to urgently launch an awareness campaign on the existence of this contact point; calls on the Bureau to require relevant background checks and training for whistleblower contact points; _________________ 1a https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADoc uments/SR19_13/SR_ethical_frameworks _EN.pdf, page 35
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72
Paragraph 72
72. Reiterates that APAs are in a particularly vulnerable position in whistleblowing cases due to their particular employment situationto report fraud and request whistleblower protection due to their particular employment situation; recalls that the one case of whistleblowing in 2021 was the first case of whistleblowing since 2016 when all concerned APAs who blew a whistle subsequently lost their job; therefore calls on the Secretary-General to modify the internal rules on whistleblowing adopted on 4 December 2015 to align them to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council2 1a, as well as to provide whistleblower APAs with a similar protection toat least up to the standard of that of victims of harassment, in particular with regard to provisional measures during the administrative investigation and protection measures concerning anonymity, pay until the end of the contract, transfer of post and protection from retaliation; and assistance to take legal action for damages suffered; stresses that the reform should also include extending the mandate of the ‘advisory committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members’ to complaints from whistleblowers and altering the composition of the Committee in a way that ensures that a sufficient number of independent experts on whistleblowing will also sit on the panel; Calls on mandatory whistleblowing training for MEPs and for any superior, both within the administration and political groups, that would receive potential whistleblowing reports2a; _________________ 21a Directive (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. 17). ; 2a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80
Paragraph 80
80. NotesIs concerned by the fact that eight Members decided, on their own initiative, to observe elections in third countries, namely Kazachstan and Ecuador, where Parliament had decided not to send an election observation delegation or had not been invited; notes that in all eight cases the Members were in breach of the Implementing Provisions of the European Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group and that they could not and were not selected to participate in an official Election Observation delegation until the end of 2021;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82
Paragraph 82
82. Welcomes the fact that the Digital Signature Portal (DiSP) allows Members to digitally sign documents, which improves efficiency, traceability and transparency to the procedures, and regrets that, in contrast to DiSP, signing plenary amendments is still an outdated and burdensome procedure of signing them by hand and sending them in scanned form; calls on the Bureau to take the necessary steps for introducing the possibility for Members to sign plenary amendments digitally in the future;
Amendment 155 #
86a. Notes that Parliament’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is frequently not reachable at peak login hours in the morning; calls on the services to ensure that that the VDI has sufficient capacity to allow for a swift login even at peak hours;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89
Paragraph 89
89. Notes the purchase of the Treves II building approved by the Bureau on 18 October 2021, purchased with the intention of allowing the interconnectivity of Parliament’s central buildings in Brussels, and notes that it will be at the disposal of Parliament as from 1 January 2025; is concerned by the poor energy-performance of the building, of which the energy performance certificate indicates an annual primary energy consumption equivalent to class E, and notes that the last renovation of the building dates back to 2000; calls on Parliament’s administrBureau to approve the necessary renovations to make the necessary adaptations to the applicable energy efficiency regulations in order to improve the building’s energy- performanceimprove the energy- performance of the building in line with applicable energy efficiency regulations before the building is put to the use by the Parliament;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 95
Paragraph 95
95. Notes that the East Wing of the Adenauer building in Luxembourg was completed in 2020 and the large-scale relocation of offices from the Schuman building started in 2021; notes that works to build the West Wing started in 2021 and draws attention to theexpresses its deep concern over the fact that the Parliament’s biggest and most expensive investment in buildings in recent years today stands under-used due to a very low occupancy rate of the buildings;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)
Paragraph 97 a (new)
97a. Notes that Parliament’s canteen on the -1 floor of the SPINELLI building is frequently overcrowded at peak hours, resulting in long queues and waiting times; calls on the Bureau to reflect on imposing access restrictions to the canteens in Parliament’s main buildings for external visitors and visitor groups to ensure that Members and staff with limited time for a lunch break still have the possibility to make use of the canteen during peak hours;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 105 a (new)
Paragraph 105 a (new)
105a. Welcomes the installation of photovoltaic solar panels on the SPINELLI, Montoyer 70, BRANDT and ANTALL buildings in Brussels which was planned to be finalised by January 2023; further welcomes the decision to launch a new study on on-site electricity production in Strasbourg in order to update the data and calculations and explore new solutions, also through photovoltaic panels; expects the Bureau to decide to install as many photovoltaic panels as feasible and useful based on the results of the study; stresses that Parliament could share this energy with the city of Strasbourg when Parliament’s premises are mostly empty; calls on the Bureau to also consider renting the roofs’ surfaces to external users for the installation of solar panels and thereby use it as an additional source of income for Parliament;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
Paragraph 108
108. Understands that the core business of the service cars is the transport of Members, including the journey between Brussels and Strasbourg; points out, however, the waste of resources resulting from the fact that on average 15% of the seats available in the service fleet were been occupied for that journey in 2021; reiterates its call on Parliament’s administration to widen the user group and allowing Parliament’s staff to travel to and from Strasbourg with the service fleet without the presence of a Member, while making sure that Members’ seats are secured, i.e. establishing a reserve list and coherent deadlines to confirm the journey;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 109
Paragraph 109
109. Welcomes the fact that the Brussels site has 138 parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles, each with a charging station, plus 12 units for Parliament’s delivery vans; notes that following the latest Environmental Permit, issued by the local authorities in April 2021 for the Spinelli building, a sprinkler system is necessary for this large underground car park equipped with charging stations and it will be installed in 2022, which will allow for the installation of 20 additional charging stations; encourages Parliament to continue with an ambitious expansion of the electrical charging infrastructure for all types of vehicles;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 110 a (new)
Paragraph 110 a (new)
110a. Welcomes the possibility for staff to rent standard and electric bikes during the part-time sessions in Strasbourg; regrets that the bikes are in practice fully booked out more than a week in advance; calls on Parliament to examine the possibility for offering more rental bikes in Strasbourg to meet the demand by Members and staff and contribute to enhancing sustainable mobility;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
Paragraph 113
113. Suggests the creation of a Bureau ad-hoc Working Group toBureau carryies out a thorough overhaul of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (IMMS) while striking a balance between the freedom of the exercise of the mandate, the reputational risks to Parliament and managerial ethics; strongly recommends that a comprehensive consultation of Members is carried out before the end of the current mandate to provide this Working Groupe Bureau with first-hand information from experienced Members on the practical application of the rules governing Parliament and the ability to identify inconsistencies such as the fact that the Members’ attendance on Fridays is not registered in Brussels during plenary weeks or even if a Parliament’s committee official mission is carried out on Thursdays;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114
Paragraph 114
114. Recalls that in previous discharge resolutions Parliament requested a reform of the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA) to make the expenditure of this lump sum more transparent and accountable; notes the announcement at the Bureau meeting of 7 March 2022 of the setting up of a Bureau ad-hoc working group on the GEA, which is tasked with evaluating the operation of the Bureau decision of 2 July 2018; observes that the Bureau, at is meeting of 17 October 2022, adopted a set of amendments to the IMMS clarifying the rules applicable to the entitlement and use of the GEA and measures aimed at increasing transparency but believes that this reform does not meet the demands expressed in Parliament’s resolution of 26 March 2019 on the 2017 discharge and in subsequent resolutions; calls on the Bureau to immediately revise the its decision of 17 October 2022 and bring it in line with what the majority of the Members of the house have demanded on numerous occasions;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114 a (new)
Paragraph 114 a (new)
114a. Repeats its call for a reform of the GEA that would oblige Members to keep all receipts pertaining to the GEA, annually publish an overview of expenditure by category as well as an independent auditor’s opinion on the EP’s website, return the unspent share of the GEA at the end of the mandate and that would establish annual 5% sample checks of Members’ GEA expenditure by Parliament’s services; Calls for Members to be required to externally audit the GEA;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114 b (new)
Paragraph 114 b (new)
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116
Paragraph 116
116. Is concerned that the actuarial deficit of the Voluntary Pension Fund (VPF) on 31 December 2021 amounted to EUR 379 million (compared to EUR 371.3 million on 31 December 2020); is concerned that the complete exhaustion is expected by the end of 2024 or 2025 at the latest and that in the meantime the VPF continues to sell assets in order to meet its pension obligations, which probably means that the remaining capital is being reduced; calls on the Bureau to provide the discharge authority with a detailed cost estimate projection for the fund for the coming years; notes that in its judgment of 15 September 2021 in cases T-720/19 to T- 725/19, Ashworth and Others v Parliament3 1a, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concluded that already acquired rights were not impacted by the contested Bureau decision of 10 December 2018 and confirmed the Bureau's competence to adopt decisions aiming at improving the sustainability of the fund provided that they respect the principle of proportionality; notes that an appeal was lodged before the CJEU against its judgment of the 15 September 2021 and that Parliament’s Bureau will examine the implications for future proposals for options to improve the sustainability of the Fund while reducing Parliament`s liability; asks the administration and the Bureau to guarantee that no taxpayer money is used for any future bail-out; _________________ 31a Judgment of the General Court of 15 September 2021, Richard Ashworth and Others v European Parliament, T-720/19 to T-725/19, ECLI:EU:T:2021:580
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 a (new)
Paragraph 116 a (new)
116a. Suggests to all former Members who will be receiving a sufficient pension from another source to voluntarily give up their claims for payments out of the Voluntary Pension Fund;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 123
Paragraph 123
123. Recalls that these appropriations are intended to cover activities in connection with the Union’s political activities, and that political groups are responsible to Parliament for their use; Notes that OLAF has found irregularities in relation to the diverting of money from budget item 400 for national parties’ purposes and events; calls for a more stringent control on the use of Budget Item 400; is deeply concerned that these appropriations could be used to convey messages contrary to fundamental rights and freedoms or Union values; recalls in particular that Parliament condemns historical revisionism and calls for a common culture of remembrance that rejects the crimes of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of the past; calls on Parliament’s administration to carefully scrutinise, even retroactively, any publication funded by political groups that do not comply with those values; 1a; _________________ 1a This amendment is based on a recommendation from Transparency International.