7 Amendments of Roberta METSOLA related to 2020/2194(DEC)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Expresses its overall satisfaction with the work of the eight decentralised agencies (CEPOL, EASO, EMCDDA, eu- LISA, Eurojust, Europol, FRA, Frontex) falling within its remit and of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), which carry out operational, analytical or managerial tasks and thereby support the Union institutions as well as Member States in implementing policies in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and the way their budgets are implemented; reiterates the need to ensure adequate financial support for JHA agencies to deliver the tasks assigned to them in full transparency and to fulfil their mandates in full compliance with fundamental rights;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the Court found that the payments underlying the accounts were legal and regular for all agencies except for EASO, for which a qualified opinion was issued due to irregularities in regard to public procurement procedures and related payments; is disappointed that the legality and regularity of payments only slowly improved in 2019; regrets that, once again, there were irregular payments, representing 14,6 % of the value of all payments made by EASO in 2019; Anotes that corrective actions were implemented by the EASO in 2019 to address the irregularities; acknowledges that the Executive Director is taking action to improve the management of EASO;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes the inherent difficulty that the agencies face when required to submit their Single Programming Document while the relevant legal instruments are still under negotiation by the co- legislators, thereby leading to a situation where budget lines are made available before their corresponding legal instruments are adopted; calls on the Commission to improve its communication with the agencies to better streamline the expected timelines for the adoption of legislation and corresponding budget lines; notes the Court’s Recommendation that agencies should be allocated resources in a more flexible manner while stressing the importance of due reporting, transparency and auditing;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Welcomes the high level of cooperation in the area of migration that concerns the JHA agencies, particularly at the hotspots; notes with approval the regular meetings conducted amongst CEPOL, EASO, Frontex, EMCDDA, eu- LISA, Eurojust, Europol, FRA, DG HOME and DG JUST of the Commission in the framework of the JHA Agencies’ Network, also aided by the EU Policy Cycle/ EMPACT framework; highlights the Court’s observation that JHA Agencies, particularly Europol, Eurojust and Frontex, are fully integrated in the external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice and are amongst the internationally most active agencies;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the Court did not address ‘emphasis on the matter’ with regard to JHA agencies, with the exception of FRONTEX, for which the Court drew attention to the level of error related to equipment expenditure in the context of grant agreements with cooperating countries; notes the Court’s observation that the Agency has taken steps to improve ex-ante verifications, and has re- introduced ex-post verifications on reimbursements in 2019, in line with recommendations made in previous years; expresses its concern about the serious and repeated allegations of FRONTEX's involvement in the pushbacks and of migrants and allegations of violations of fundamental rights;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that public procurement continues to be the main area prone to error in relation to all Union decentralised agencies; calls therefore on the affected JHA agencies, i.e. Europol, and CEPOL to improve their public procurement procedures with a view to compliance with applicable rules and as a result, the achievement of the most economically advantageous purchases, while respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non- discrimination and eu-LISA to improve the recruitment procedure.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Takes note that the Court did not audit the 2019 accounts of the European Public Prosecutor's Office ('EPPO'), since the EU body was not yet financially autonomous; expects the Court to present an audit of the accounts of the EPPO for the accounting year 2020.