6 Amendments of Dan NICA related to 2017/2184(DEC)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets to note and is concerned by the fact that payment appropriations were for the third consecutive year below 75%: in 2016 they were at 69,6 %, which is a further decrease of 3,08 % compared to 2015; urges the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking to improve its budget implementation planning in order to avoid delays in concluding grant agreements for calls under Horizon 2020 and invites it; notes, however, that the number of payments increased by 63 % (from 46 to 75) and the paid amount by 30% (from EUR 134 514000 to EUR 175 182 730) in comparison to 2015 and represent the highest number for the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking so far. Invites the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking to present updated information to the discharge authority and to improve the payment appropriations for the procedure next year;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes with concern that out of the EUR 1 638 000 000 of Horizon 2020 funds allocated to the IMI Joint Undertaking, by the end of 2016 the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking had made commitments of EUR 515 000 000 (31 %) and payments of EUR 111 000 000 (7 % of the allocated funds) for the implementation of its first wave of projects; notes with concernacknowledges the fact that the low level of payments is mainly due to delays inthe time required by project consortia to concludinge Horizon 2020 grant agreements with the industry partners which delays IMI Joint Undertaking planned pre-financing for the given year; notes moreover that projects in Ebola and antimicrobial resistance programmes have claimed less funds than foreseen in the initial project budgets, which was mainly due to the decline of the epidemic and which were mentioned in previous reports by the Court and by the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that out of the EUR 1 638 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to be made by the industry members and associated partners to the activities of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking, by the end of 2016 the industry partners had reported just EUR 83 800 000 of in- kind contributions, of which just EUR 47 2EUR 47 200 000 had been validated by the executive director and a further amount of EUR 36 600 000 had been validareported by the executive directornd of 2016; notes moreover that consequently, at the end of 2016, the total contributions of the industry members to the Horizon 2020 activities of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking amounted to EUR 83 800 000, compared to the Union’s cash contribution of EUR 135 000 000; notes that the difference was caused by advance payments made to beneficiaries to kick-start projects activities; highlights the fact that at this stage of programme implementation commitments of EUR 275 800 000 of Union funds and EUR 249 100 000 of industry in-kind contributions are allocated to 25 Horizon 2020 projects; recognising that more work on the part of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking in improving in kind and cash contributions from industry needs prioritisation;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking has an anti-fraud strategy aligned with the common anti-fraud strategy of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation; regrets to notediscover that in 2016, an one instance of suspicion was communicated to OLAF which decided not to open any investigationto dismiss the case based on the documentation provided and the result of a financial audit performed by the Joi; notes that the Joint Undertaking undertook in parallel an independent financial audit which concluded with a minor adjustment Uandertak no significant material findings; recognising the need for vigilance to fully implement the anti-fraud strategynotes with satisfaction the effectiveness of the preventive and corrective anti-fraud measures taken in accordance with the anti-fraud strategy; recognizes the need for further vigilance in this respect;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Regrets to note that at the end of 2016 – the third year of Horizon 2020 implementation – the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking had only partially completed the integration of its control systems with the Commission’s common Horizon 2020 grant management and monitoring tools ; and that prioritisation be given to complete the integration process quickly; acknowledges, however, the significant progress achieved in close cooperation with the Commission services which should enable all IMI 2 Joint Undertaking project reporting, monitoring and payment to be carried out via the common Horizon 2020 tools as of the beginning of 2018;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Regrets to acknowledge that the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking experienced some delays in payments to beneficiaries (universities, research organisations and SMEs) - the key client base of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking; not; notes that the 90 days time-to-pay target for interim payments was exceeded by 5 days in 2016; acknowledges withe concern that this indicates a significant gap in the internal control and monitoring procedures for project reports and related cost claims, adversely affecting the efficiency of project implementation; expresses its concern that the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking was unable rrective measures taken by the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking to improve the situation, notably by enhancing cooperation with project consortia, by reviewing internal procedures and by hiring more staff for the financial unit; acknowledges in this respect that the average time-to -pay for finterimal payments of costs claims within the target deadline of 90 days; and seeks assurances that this concern will be addressed as a priority action within the IMI 2 Joint Undertakinged by beneficiaries was 62 days;