Activities of Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the share of Parliament’s budget in 2020 should be maintained under 20 % of the heading V ceiling; ~~note~~regrets that the level of estimates for 2020 corresponds to 18,38 %, which is slightly lower than that achieved in 2019 (18,51 %) ~~and the lowest part of heading V in more than 15 years~~;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that savings as compared to the proposal of the Secretary-General are firmly required and that all efforts to strive for a more efficient and transparent use of public money are strongly encouraged; regrets that the proposal of the Secretary-General would set the EP 2020 budget at EUR 2 068 530 000, representing an overall increase of 3,58 % on the 2019 budget; deplores the fact that Parliament's budget has increased steadily year on year during the current parliamentary term and calls, therefore, for Parliament to set as the main objective for its own budget that of curbing its own costs as much as possible and seeking significant savings, in order to send out a message of solidarity with EU citizens;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Expects Parliament’s 2020 budget to be realistic and accurate ~~regarding the matching of needs and their costs, to avoid~~to avoid over- budgeting; disapproves the practice of using the year-end 'mopping up transfer' (ramassage) to contribute to current building projects; considers that it exists in tension with the transparency of building projects within the Parliament's budget and incentivises over-budgeting in~~sof~~ certain ar eas ~~possible~~;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the inauguration of the Europa Experience centres, i.e. exhibition spaces, reproducing the ~~successful~~ concept of the Brussels Parlamentarium on a smaller scale; observes that for 2020 the installation of five new Europa Experience centres is planned in Liaison Offices; regrets that the larger installations in Luxembourg and Warsaw will cost EUR 2 million each and the medium ones, in Dublin, Stockholm and Prague, will cost approximately EUR 1,2 million each; calls for a spending review in this context and stresses the fact that several savings in this regard can be provided;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Asks that maximum effort be undertaken to ~~complete as many of the Europa Experience centres as needed in order to~~ increase citizens´ engagement and participation in the ~~2024~~ European elections, and to raise awareness about the Union~~; at the same time, calls for a continuous evaluation of~~, with a right balance on the related costs in order to avoid any over-budgeting in theis re~~sults achieve~~gard;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that further savings can be achieved as regards the expenditure on furniture for the offices of Members and their assistants, given the complete refurbishment of those offices at the start of the mandate in 2019; regrets indeed that the estimates for 2020 would set the amount for furniture at EUR 8 900 000, representing an increase of more than 1 million on the 2019 budget, and asks as much savings as possible in this regard;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Deplores the fact that over the last five years, from 2014 to 2018 inclusive, the overall cost to Parliament of renting its buildings was more than EUR 160 million and calls, therefore, for the leases to be renegotiated with a view to achieving the largest possible savings;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Requests an examination of the voluntary Members´ Pension Fund by the European Court of Auditors, while ensuring full transparency; notes the possible exhaustion of the fund and stresses the importance to find a solution which does not impose a further financial burden on European taxpayers; takes the view, in addition, that Decision 2005/684/EC on the Statute for Members needs to be revised, in order to amend Article 14 and bring the pension entitlements of Members of the European Parliament into line with the social security systems for ordinary citizens of individual Member States, as regards both the calculation of the amount and the age- and contribution-related requirements which entitle them to a pension; calls, further, for a recalculation of the pensions paid out from the EU budget to former Members who accrued such an entitlement prior to, and following, the entry into force of the current Statute for Members;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28 a. Calls for a reduction of at least 20% in Members' monthly salaries, daily allowances and emoluments, including the general expenditure allowance, with a view to sending out a message of solidarity with EU citizens; calls on the Bureau to review the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members in order to achieve as many savings as possible in the area of Members’ allowances;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28 b. Takes the view that Parliament's Drivers' Service should be used by Members exclusively for journeys to Parliament's premises from the airport/station or vice versa (primary journeys) and that Parliament minivans and minibuses should be used for this purpose; emphasises that in Belgium MEPs can use trains free of charge;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)

28 c. Takes note of the Bureau’s decision with regard to the General Expenditure Allowance to apply the agreed modifications after the 2019 elections; calls for Members to be fully accountable for their spending under this allowance;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Recommends the greater use of videoconferences and other technologies in order to protect the environment and save ~~resource~~citizens' financial resources, in particular in the context of the staff missions to Strasbourg for the plenary sessions;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34 a. Expresses its disapproval of the multiannual building projects aimed to enlarge the Members' offices both in Strasbourg and in Brussels and stresses the fact that the costs of the geographic dispersion of the Parliament amount between to EUR 114 million and to EUR 204 million, that is equivalent to 10% of the Parliament's budget; emphasises the annual environmental impact of the geographic dispersion is estimated to be between 11,000 to 19,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions; underlines the negative public perception caused by this dispersion and calls, therefore, for practical steps to be taken quickly to establish a single seat for Parliament, in order to prevent any further waste of public money; deplores the fact that over a single parliamentary term the costs generated by Parliament's geographic dispersion can amount to as much as EUR 1 billion;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2003(BUD)

Laura AGEA, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Marco VALLI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)

34 b. Calls for all expenditure relating to European political parties and political foundations to be discontinued and stresses the fact that they should become totally reliant on own resources, ceasing to be financially dependent on European Parliament's budget;

2019/03/14
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Considers, therefore, that the EU budget for next year should define clear political priorities and enable the Union to further invest in innovation and research capacities for future solutions, boost competitiveness and sustainable and inclusive economic growth, ensure a safe, secure and peaceful Europe, strengthen citizens’ work and living conditions, and bolster the Union in its fight against environmental challenges and climate change; recalls furthermore the importance of appropriate financial efforts to specifically tackle youth unemployment as well as poverty and social exclusion;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses the need to provide a 2020 EU Budget with a real added value for EU citizens that will not constitute an additional burden on top of Member States’ contributions; stresses the need for a mandatory spending review with a view to making savings where possible; believes that the national contributions of the Member States should be deducted from the calculation of the national deficit level;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Laura AGEA, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Marco VALLI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Requests additional financial resources to meet future demand for~~Calls for a real spending review in order to provide as many savings as possible on programmes that, to date, have not shown a real added value in order to guarantee appropriate financial resources to well-functioning programmes, such as Erasmus+, the primary programme for education, training, youth and sport in Europe~~, also taking into account its external dimension; recalls~~; takes note that Parliament requested that the financial envelope for this programme be tripled in the next MFF; calls for cooperation to be strengthened between education and research;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Stresses the importance of a strong and effective action against poverty; calls, therefore, for appropriate resources for the European Social Fund with the aim of allowing Member States to implement minimum income schemes, which play a vital role in both preventing and alleviating poverty and social exclusion;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Recalls the importance to ensure a fair sharing of responsibilities among all Member States within the framework of the revision of the Common European Asylum System, in particular with regard to the Dublin Regulation; regrets that until now there is no effective system for the redistribution of refugees, which causes an unequal load for some Member States;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Underlines that EU appropriations should not be used to finance projects characterised by controversy and without real economic, environmental and social added value, such as the new Lyon-Turin rail link, and points out that the EU budget should instead finance projects that allow to improve effectively citizens’ life, as an example in some Italian regions which need truly to improve their infrastructures’ quality and efficiency;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Laura AGEA, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Marco VALLI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Stresses the fact that all administrative expenditures related to Union institutions should be reduced as much as possible in order to provide savings and to avoid any waste of taxpayers' money;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2019/2001(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls, in particular, for a reduction of the Commissioners' salaries and benefits in order to give a political signal to the European citizens;

2019/02/15
Committee: BUDG

2018/2624(RSP)

Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Recommends that the appointment procedure of Secretary-General must be fully transparent and should always be bound to the publication of vacant posts;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Asks for the immediate resignation of the newly appointed Secretary-General, in order to restore the faith in the European Institutions and their integrity; asks therefore for a new publication of vacant post, with a procedure open to every candidate, in compliance with the Article 29 of the Staff Regulation;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2275(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the "draft package" agreed, after difficult and intense negotiations, by Parliament and Council during the trilogue of 4 December 2018 consists of two elements: the Union Budget for the year 2019 set at a level of EUR 165 795,6 million and EUR 148 198,9 million, respectively in commitment and payment appropriations, and four joint statements as well as one unilateral statement; firmly believes that the national contributions of the Member States should be deducted from the calculation of the national deficit level;

2018/12/07
Committee: BUDG

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls on the Commission to submit a plan as soon as possible to merge the common administrative functions of the agencies in order to cut spending and scale down administrative tasks that give no added value to the agencies' duties;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Notes with concern that there have been frequent reports of harassment and abuse in some agencies; believes that effective prevention policies should be implemented and efficient procedures found to resolve the problems for victims; calls on the Commission actively to monitor the rules applied by agencies to prevent any form of mistreatment in- house;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Considers the situation in EASO regarding procurement procedures to be unacceptable and calls on the Commission to bring more active oversight to bear on the procurement procedures carried out by agencies;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Points out that the role of many agencies is to provide assessments and opinions on products and services for EU citizens; maintains that every expert's report provided by the agencies has to be based on the use of public data, as it is only in that way that reports can be checked and verified by the international scientific community; notes that, when making assessments, several agencies also use information that is protected as a trade secret; believes that agencies should publish all the sources that they use for their assessments, even those covered by trade secrecy, when giving opinions on products which might adversely affect the health of EU citizens;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Notes the agreement reached at the General Affairs Council of 20 November 2017 to move the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) from London to Amsterdam and Paris respectively; believes, as regards the European Medicines Agency, that the fact that the final decision was brought about and adopted by drawing lots undermined the credibility of the selection methods used, since objective and substantive considerations were relegated to the background; believes that every decision concerning agency headquarters should factor in an accurate assessment of costs and benefits; deplores the fact that Parliament is only marginally involved in agreements of this kind; notes with concern the potential impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the Union on these agencies, in terms of future costs and loss of expertise, creating a risk to business continuity; notes moreover the possible impact on the revenue and activities of several non-London -based agencies; calls on the agencies to prepare to mitigate any potential risks that may follow and report to the discharge authority on the implementation of such preparatory measures;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2210(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Notes with concern that some agencies continue to have dual operational and administrative headquarters; considers it essential that dual headquarters not offering any operational added value should be done away with at the earliest opportunity;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2176(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcom~~Notes the efforts of the EEAS to improve procurement procedures in delegations, including the deployment of the Public Procurement Management Tool, the establishment of a procurement plan for low and middle-value contract and the development of templates for tender documents and trainings; considers that the former weaknesses identified in public procurement and the management of security services still deserve a steady attention and monitoring;

2019/02/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2176(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Asks the EEAS to keep the European Parliament informed about the results achieved through the aforementioned efforts to improve procurement procedures in delegations, in particular through the PPMT (Public Procurement Management Tool) system and eProcurement and eTendering procedures;

2019/02/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2176(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes with concern that the total budget of the EEAS for 2017 amounted to EUR 660 million with an increase of 3,75 % compared to 2016; urges that administrative expenditure by the EU institutions be streamlined and reduced as much as possible in order to send a message of fellowship with European citizens;

2019/02/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2176(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Welcomes the continued reduction in the number of delegations exceeding the maximum space of 35m² per person from 83 in 2016 to 73 in 2017 in line with the recommendation of the Court in 2016; ~~welcom~~notes the launch of the real-estate management tool IMMOGEST and the acquisition of internal and external expertise to support building management, in particular in regard to delegations; calls on the EEAS to continue implementing without delay the recommendations of the Court in its special report on the EEAS’s management of its buildings around the world7 and to keep the Parliament informed about the improvements; ~~_________________ 7 Court of Auditors: Special Report No 07/2016: The European External Action Service’s management of its buildings around the world~~

2019/02/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2173(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that in 2017 the Committee had an approved budget of EUR 93 295 000 (compared with EUR 90 500 000 in 2016), of which EUR 91,5 million (compared with EUR 89,4 million in 2016) comprised commitment appropriations with an implementation rate of 98,0 % (98,7 % in 2016) and of which EUR 83,9 million were payment appropriations with an implementation rate of 89,9 %; urges that administrative expenditure by the EU institutions be streamlined and reduced as much as possible in order to send a message of fellowship with European citizens;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2173(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Welcom~~Notes the results of the mid- term evaluation on the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee ~~which highlights that the governance and administrative structure was successfully simplified; welcomes the fact~~; notes that the cooperation between own and joint services covering areas such as IT, EMAS, or meeting room management, for instance, is functioning well; notes that savings made in those operational domains outweigh ~~by far~~ the resources spent on coordination; calls on the Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee to continue improving this interinstitutional cooperation in order to achieve further savings and thus reduce the budget of the respective institutions;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2173(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes with concern that the amount dedicated to travel expenditure for Members amounted to EUR 8 882 955 in 2017, thus registering a substantial increase compared to the previous year (EUR 8 258 075 in 2016); therefore calls on the Committee to introduce effective measures to reduce travel costs;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2173(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Welcomes the measures taken by the Committee to actively prevent harassment in the working environment, such as the regular training on the anti- harassment policy and the work of the confidential counsellors; encourages the Committee to closely monitor the efficiency of its policy in this regard, to continue raising awareness about harassment at the work place and to foster a culture of zero tolerance toward harassment; expresses concern, however, that the Committee has no internal complaint mechanism or penalties provided for harassment cases involving its Members; calls the Committee to ~~consider~~ updat~~ing~~e its code of conduct for Members and the internal rules of procedures in that regard;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2172(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that in 2017 the Committee’s budget amounted to EUR 133 807 338 (compared to EUR 130 586 475 in 2016), with an implementation rate of 96,5 % compared to 97,2 % in 2016; notes that the implementation rate of appropriations carried forward from 2016 to 2017 was higher than in 2016, 84,9 % (EUR 7,4 million) compared to 65,7 % in 2016 (EUR 6,8 million); urges that administrative expenditure by the EU institutions be streamlined and reduced as much as possible in order to send a message of fellowship with European citizens;

2019/01/30
Committee: CONT

2018/2172(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with regret that the final appropriations for travel and subsistence allowances for Members were EUR 19 819 612 in 2017 (compared to EUR 19 561 194 in 2016); ~~welcomes~~takes note of the detailed list of travels by Members presented in the annual activity report~~; welcomes measures that contribute to an efficient planning of meetings and reducing transportation cost~~ as requested in the previous discharge report and renews its call on the Committee to introduce effective measures to reduce travelling expenses and related environmental pollution by promoting the use of video-conferencing and telepresence tools;

2019/01/30
Committee: CONT

2018/2172(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the inter-institutional administrative cooperation with Parliament and the mid-term evaluation results on the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the Committee of the Regions, which highlights the successful implementation of several measures; notes that in the context of a redeployment exercise, the Committee has already moved 16 posts from the directorate for translation to its own services and that remaining moves will happen progressively; ~~welcom~~notes the ~~Committee’s~~calculation of the budgetary savings ~~resulting from~~made by the Committee and the Committee of the Regions through this inter-institutional cooperation, such as the savings inter alia in infrastructure costs amounting to EUR 12,5 million, in IT costs amounting to EUR 5 million, or in security staff costs amounting to EUR 500 000; calls on the Committee and the Committee of the Regions to continue to improve this inter- institutional cooperation in order to achieve further savings and thus reduce the budgets of the respective institutions;

2019/01/30
Committee: CONT

2018/2169(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that appropriations amounted to EUR 399 344 000 (EUR 380 002 000 in 2016) and that the implementation rate was 98,69% (98,23% in 2016) in 2017; notes the high budget implementation rate for both Title 1 (persons working with the institution) and Title 2 (buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure) amounting to 98,6% and 99,1% as compared to 98,1% and 98,6% in 2016; urges that administrative expenditure by the EU institutions be streamlined and reduced as much as possible in order to send a message of fellowship with European citizens;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2169(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that the total number of cases brought before the CJEU in 2017 (1656 cases) was higher than in 2016 (1604 cases) and that the number of cases completed in 2017 remained at a high level (1594 cases as compared to 1628 cases in 2016); notes with concern that the average duration of proceedings increased from 15 months in 2016 to 16,3 months in 2017); welcomes the efficiency improvements which led to an increase of the annual number of completed cases by 29,6 % over the period 2010-2017, while the number of new cases steadily increased;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2169(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Welcomes the increase of remunerated traineeships at the CJEU from 57 in 2016 to 82 in 2017; ~~welcomes, moreover,~~notes that the CJEU has requested an additional amount of EUR 550 000 in the 2019 budget; regrets, however, that 215 trainees assigned to Member’s cabinet in 2017 were still not remunerated; calls on the CJEU to take timely action to ensure an appropriate allowance being paid to all trainees in order to provide sufficient reimbursement for the trainees’ efforts and not to reinforce discrimination on economic grounds;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2168(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the Parliament's role in respect of the budget discharge is specified in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in the Financial Regulation;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2168(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Notes the~~Regrets the substantial increase of EUR 16,5 million (+3 %) in the budget of the European Council and Council in 2017 compared to an increase of 0,6 % in 2016 and urges that administrative expenditure by the EU institutions be streamlined and reduced as much as possible in order to send a message of fellowship with European citizens;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2168(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Regrets that the Council again failed to provide answers to the written questions sent by Parliament and that the Secretary General of the Council did not attend the hearing organised on 27 November 2018 in the context of the annual discharge; stresses that the expenditure of Council must be scrutinised in the same way as that of other institutions and points out that the fundamental elements of such scrutiny have been laid down in its discharge resolutions of the past years; points out that the European Parliament is the only institution directly elected by Union citizens and that its role in the discharge procedure is directly connected with citizens' right to be informed on how public money is spent;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2168(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Underlines that, pursuant to the Treaties, Parliament is the only discharge authority of the Union, and that, in full acknowledgement of Council’s role as an institution giving recommendations in the discharge procedure, a distinction must be maintained in respect of the different roles of Parliament and Council in order to comply with the institutional framework laid down in the Treaties and in the Financial Regulation;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. GPostpones the decision on grantsing its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2017;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Notes~~Deplores the fact that Parliament's final appropriations for 2017 totalled EUR 1 909 590 000, or 19,25 % of heading V of the Multiannual Financial Framework9 set aside for the 2017 administrative expenditure of the Union institutions as a whole, representing a ~~3,9 %~~n increase of no less than 3.9% over the 2016 budget (EUR 1 838 613 983); deplores the fact that Parliament's budget has increased steadily year on year during the current parliamentary term, reaching a total of no less than EUR 1 999 144 000 for the financial year 2019; calls, therefore, for Parliament to set as the main objective for its own budget that of curbing its own costs as much as possible and seeking significant savings, in order to send out a message of solidarity with EU citizens; _________________ 9 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020.

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for a reduction of at least 15% in Members' monthly salaries, daily allowances and emoluments, including the general expenditure allowance, with a view to sending out a message of solidarity with EU citizens; calls on the Bureau to review the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members in order to achieve as many savings as possible in the area of Members’ allowances;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Takes note of the specific findings concerning Parliament contained in the annual report of the Court for 2017; ~~notes~~deplores the fact that the Court found, of the eight Parliament transactions examined, weaknesses in no fewer than three related to procurement procedure, namely compliance with contract selection criteria, full compliance with the framework contract, and the criterion to select a travel agency, and in one related to the reimbursement of expenses of political groups;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – introductory part

30. Still strongly regrets that, according to the ~~Court~~estimates drawn up, the costs of the geographic dispersion of Parliament ~~amount to EUR 11~~vary between EUR 114 million and EUR 204 million per year; ~~takes note of~~deplores the additional costs linked to Parliament’s 12 journeys per year to Strasburg, in the form of Members' travel expenses, which can be broken down as follows for 2017:

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Stresses that, additionally, the cost of the Thalys charter train was no less than EUR 3 668 532 in 2017;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Strongly underlines that this additional expenditure goes against the principle of sound financial management and against the principle of budgetary discipline; acknowledges that a single seat can only be achieved by a unanimous Treaty change; calls upon Council and the Commission to initiate such a Treaty change without further delay;, and takes the view that this Treaty change will benefit European taxpayers, both financially and as regards the quality of the work done by MEPs; calls, therefore, for practical steps to be taken quickly to establish a single seat for Parliament, in order to prevent any further waste of public money; deplores the fact that over a single parliamentary term the costs generated by Parliament's geographic dispersion can amount to as much as EUR 1 billion, and voices opposition to the multiannual building projects intended to increase the office space available to Members in both Strasbourg and Brussels;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32a. Emphasises that the annual environmental impact of the geographic dispersion of Parliament's activities amounts to between 11 000 and 19 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions; emphasises that this dispersion is damaging Parliament's image among EU citizens, and calls for a road map of measures designed to establish a single seat for Parliament to be drawn up quickly;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)

50a. Takes the view that Parliament's Drivers' Service should be used by Members exclusively for journeys to Parliament's premises from the airport/station or vice versa (primary journeys), and that Parliament minivans and minibuses should be used for this purpose; emphasises that in Belgium MPs can use trains free of charge, and calls, therefore, for a similar arrangement to be introduced as a replacement for Parliament's Drivers' Service, with a view to achieving the maximum savings possible; deplores the fact that in 2017 57.63% of the journeys undertaken by Parliament's Drivers' Service in Brussels and 67.62% of those it undertook in Strasbourg were secondary journeys;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56 a (new)

56a. Deplores the fact that over the last five years, from 2014 to 2018 inclusive, the cost to Parliament of renting its buildings was more than EUR 160 million, and more than EUR 37 million for the financial year 2017 alone; calls, therefore, for the leases to be renegotiated with a view to achieving the largest possible savings;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59

59. ~~Notes~~Deplores the fact that in 2017, EUR 75 000 were committed to the pilot installation of innovative furnishing and office equipment models for Members; ~~notes also~~deplores, further, the fact that the refurbishment of Members’ offices and corridors in the Louise Weiss building, which was the only Parliament’s building undergoing works in 2016 and 2017, totalled ~~EUR 1 157 975 (compared to~~ no less than EUR 1 157 975, a substantial increase over the previous year (EUR 840 260 in 2016);

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68

68. Takes note of the Bureau’s decision with regard to the General Expenditure Allowance to apply the agreed modifications only after the 2019 elections; calls for Members to be fully accountable for their spending under this allowance;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71

71. ~~Points out that this raises concerns about~~Notes the possible exhaustion of the fund, and ~~that~~calls on Parliament ~~is guaranteeing the payment of~~not to pay pension rights when and if this fund is unot able to meet its obligations; emphasises the importance of finding a solution which does not impose a further financial burden on European taxpayers;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)

71a. Takes the view that Decision 2005/684/EC on the Statute for Members needs to be revised, in order to amend Article 14 and bring the pension entitlements of Members of the European Parliament into line with the social security systems for ordinary citizens of individual Member States, as regards both the calculation of the amount and the age- and contribution-related requirements which entitle them to a pension; calls, further, for a recalculation of the pensions paid out from the EU budget to former Members who accrued such an entitlement prior to, and following, the entry into force of the current Statute for Members;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 a (new)

94a. Calls for all expenditure relating to European political parties and political foundations to be discontinued, and stresses the fact that the latter should become totally reliant on own resources and cease to be financially dependent on Parliament's budget; maintains that only complete reliance on own resources would eliminate the risk to Parliament's budget in connection with the need to recover amounts erroneously or fraudulently spent;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2167(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 b (new)

94b. Deplores the fact that the cost of meetings and other activities of former Members (Article 440) and for meetings and other activities of the European Parliamentary Association (Article 442) amounted to EUR 420 000 in the financial year 2017, and emphasises that groups of this kind should be totally reliant on their own resources and no longer be financially dependent on Parliament's budget;

2019/02/12
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Grants/p~~Postpones the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes ~~with satisfaction~~ that for 2017, the Court has issued ~~for a second consecutive year~~ a qualified (rather than an adverse) opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts, which according to the Court, indicates that a significant part of the 2017 expenditure audited by it was not materially affected by error and that the level of irregularities in EU spending has continued to decrease; regrets, however, that payments continue to be affected by errors, as the audit and supervision system is only partially effective;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the Court audited transactions worth a total of EUR 100,2 billion and that the area of ‘Natural resources’ makes up the largest share of the overall population (57 %), while in contrast to previous years, the weight of the area of ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’ is relatively small (around 8 %); regrets that the Court did not examine the level of error in Heading 3, ‘Security and Citizenship’ and Heading 4, ‘Global Europe’; considers that, even if the figures for these headings are minor, they are of particular political importance, and calls on the Court to provide data on the error rate for these headings;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Observes that the figures for the error rate calculated by the Commission and those calculated by the Court of Auditors are based on different principles; notes that the concept of residual error could create a bias in the data, as corrections for earlier periods are taken into account; calls on the Commission to present the data in a manner consistent with the methodology adopted by the Court and including the estimated corrections expected;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Regrets the discrepancies in the level of customs checks between the various Member States; highlights the importance of harmonising checks at all points of entry into the Customs Union and calls on the Member States to ensure coordinated, uniform and efficient implementation of the border system, discouraging divergent practices between Member States to reduce the number of existing loopholes in customs control systems; calls on the Commission, in this respect, to examine the various customs control practices in the EU and their impact on trade diversion, focusing in particular on EU customs practices at external borders, and to develop reference analyses and information on customs operations and the procedures used in the Member States;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Points out that in 2017, 99,3 % of the amount available for commitments was implemented (EUR 158,7 billion), but that the executed payments were EUR 124,7 billion, considerably lower than budgeted, mainly due to Member States submitting fewer claims than anticipated for the multiannual programmes of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF); regrets the low absorption rate, partly due to the late adoption of the previous MFF and the sectoral programmes , which could create future risks for the implementation of the budget with an accumulation of extraordinary payments at the end of the programming period;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on the Commission to present a thorough analysis of why some regions still exhibit low fund absorption rates and to assess specific ways of remedying the structural problems underlying those imbalances; calls on the Commission to increase on-the-spot technical assistance to improve absorption capacity in Member States experiencing difficulties in this regard;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Points out that the College of the Commissioners does not produce an annual statement on governance, a practice that is commonly adopted by Member States; calls for this practice to be made compulsory from the beginning of the next College of Commissioners’ term;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Regrets that expenditure has failed to comply with the parameter requiring 20% to be allocated to climate action; notes with concern that this objective will not be respected in the 2014-2020 programming period; calls for a strong commitment by the Commission to support environmental and climate action, especially in the agricultural sector;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Expresses concern that the Court identified and quantified 36 errors in its sample of 217 transactions for 2017, which audit authorities in Member States had not detected, and that the number and the impact of these errors indicate persisting weaknesses with the regularity of the expenditure declared by managing authorities; regrets that the errors found reflect persistent shortcomings in the regularity of the expenditure declared by the managing authorities and that the Court identified weaknesses in the sampling methodologies of the audit authorities;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Deplores the numerous error rates presented by the Commission, which make it difficult to evaluate data; notes that the residual error rate identified by the Court differs significantly from the residual error rate calculated by the Commission;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32a. Calls on the Commission to take into account, in the case of large-scale infrastructure projects, all relevant risks of environmental impact and to finance only those which have demonstrated real added value for the local population and from an environmental, social and economic point of view; stresses the importance of strictly monitoring possible risks of corruption and fraud in this context and the need to carry out careful and independent ex-ante and ex-post assessments with regard to the projects to be financed;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)

39a. Calls on the Commission to arrange for a genuine simplification of the procedure, including in the documentation required in order to gain access to funding, without neglecting the principles of audit and monitoring; calls for special attention to be paid to administrative support for small-scale producers, for whom the funding is a vital prerequisite for their business survival;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)

40a. Is concerned about the situation found in Slovakia, where DG AGRI’s audit has identified a number of deficiencies and an OLAF investigation is ongoing; believes that there is a risk of infiltration by organised crime and calls on the Commission to actively monitor the situation and take the necessary measures;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)

44a. Deplores the Court’s failure to provide a specific error rate for this heading; calls on the Court to provide this figure in its forthcoming annual reports;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)

47a. Is seriously concerned about the weaknesses in EASO’s management and audits; considers it unacceptable that the Commission did not monitor them effectively and did not intervene quickly to resolve the situation; calls on the Commission to constantly monitor the agencies operating under Heading 3;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

75. Is deeply concerned by the fact that, according to the Court, 64 % of the total value of EFSI contracts that the EIB Group had signed by the end of 2017 was concentrated in ~~six~~the Member States~~: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, Poland~~ that have more structured national systems of promotional banks;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75 a (new)

75a. Regrets the fact that only 20% of EFSI financing has supported projects that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, whereas the EIB’s standard portfolio has attained the 25% threshold; regrets that EFSI has financed projects which potentially include infrastructure installations with a serious environmental impact and dubious additionality, such as biorefineries, steelworks, regasification and gas storage facilities and motorways; calls on the Commission to propose sustainable finance or funding options and an environment conducive to investment reflecting the Union’s commitments and general goals, with a view to fostering innovation and economic, social and territorial cohesion within the Union, as well as to reinforcing the social dimension of investment by bridging the investment gap in the social sector and with regard to infrastructure safety;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83 a (new)

83a. Regrets that an investigation by EIC European Investigative Collaborations has raised doubts about the use of funds from the instrument which are said to have been used to purchase military equipment for border monitoring; calls on the Commission to thoroughly investigate the matter and to report to Parliament on the results;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85 a (new)

85a. Considers the procedure used to appoint the current Secretary-General, which undermines citizens’ trust in the European institutions, to be unacceptable; calls on the current Secretary-General to resign without delay and on the Commission to organise a new appointment procedure in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Regulation;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

Laura AGEA, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115 a (new)

115a. Considers that there is a lack of a clear and exhaustive evaluation of the performance of programmes which would make it possible to identify programmes that did not possess clear added value, in order to carry out a spending review; calls on the Commission to include a detailed assessment in the annual management and performance report indicating which programmes are suffering from inadequate implementation;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2166(DEC)

131a. Expresses its concern about the conflict of interests in the use of agricultural funds in the Czech Republic, where the Prime Minister is the owner of Agrofert, which receives agricultural grants from the Union budget; notes with concern that Agrofert also owns a communication company; considers this conflict of interests to be unacceptable and calls on the Commission to conclude without delay the investigation of the case and to inform Parliament of the action taken;

2019/01/31
Committee: CONT

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the EIB’s primary purpose is to provide long-term finance and expertise for projects and to leverage additional investment to help achieve the EU’s objectives, for example lasting and sustainable economic growth, effective support for SMEs, and ambitious environmental and social policies;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the importance of the EIB in laying the foundations for long-term ~~growth, which is demonstrated by~~sustainable growth; notes the fact that, according to the EIB’s economist, EIB Group lending within the EU approved in the period 2015-2016 will support EUR 544 billion in investment, add 2.3 % to GDP and create 2.25 million jobs by 2020;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Recognises the EIB’s responsibility to intervene when there are specific market failures, such as the financial crisis and difficulties in accessing finance for SMEs and innovators; ~~applauds the succes~~takes note of the activities of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), under which 898 operations have been approved and which is expected to trigger EUR 335 billion in investment across the 28 EU Member States;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Maintains that the EIB should ensure that local communities and citizens affected by its operations are properly consulted and have access to an independent, efficient complaint procedure;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Maintains that no support in any form should be granted for projects relating to highly polluting technologies and fossil fuels;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Maintains that it is important that projects to be financed or co-financed by the EIB should be compatible with national climate targets linked to the implementation of COP 21;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Highlights the EIB’s support for safe and efficient infrastructure for energy supply, transport and urban areas, signing~~Takes note of the EIB loans worth EUR 18 billion ~~to support its~~in the infrastructure ~~policy goal and providing~~sector and of the fact that more than EUR 22 billion in urban lending was provided in 2017;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points in this context to the importance of carrying out thorough ex- ante and ex-post assessments in order to ascertain that works are sustainable and will provide real added value in economic, social, and environmental terms;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Points to the need to consult local people and stakeholders at every stage of infrastructure projects with a view to gauging the additionality of the projects and their potential impact on the areas concerned and the local communities;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) as part of the EU’s joint response to the migration and refugee crisis, with a focus on tackling the root causes of migration; insists on close coordination and complementarity with the EU External Investment Plan; notes that so far the 26 ERI projects and EUR 2.8 billion in investment are expected to benefit more than 1 500 smaller businesses and mid- caps, helping to sustain more than 100 000 jobs; points to the need to give proper effect to the initiative by supporting projects different from those financed before and in that way guaranteeing genuine added value;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recognises the achievements of the EFSI by its third anniversary and ~~welcom~~notes the EUR 335 billion in investment mobilised across the Union since the adoption of the EFSI Regulation1 by the co- legislators; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2015/1017. Regulation (EU) 2015/1017.

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Tax policy and transparency Reiterates its call for the EIB to apply more stringent tax transparency standards; points to the need to make the granting of direct and indirect loans subject to publication of tax and accounting data country by country and to the sharing of beneficial ownership data on the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in financing operations, with no possibility of exemption;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Maintains that international financial institutions have to eliminate the risk that EU funding might contribute, directly or indirectly, to tax evasion and tax fraud;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)

15c. Points to the need to guarantee a high standard of information on final beneficiaries and effectively prevent transactions involving financial intermediaries with a bad history regarding transparency, fraud, corruption, organised crime, and money laundering and with a poor social and environmental record;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2161(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)

15d. Points to the importance of greater transparency for operations carried out through financial intermediaries, first and foremost commercial banks and investment funds;

2018/10/12
Committee: ECON

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers it advisable for Member States to cooperate more closely with regard to exchanges of information, in order both to improve data collection and enhance the effectiveness of controls;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Points out that many Member States do not have specific laws against organised crime, while its involvement in cross-border activities and sectors affecting the EU’s financial interests, such as smuggling or counterfeiting of currency, is constantly growing;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Expresses concern regarding checks relating to financial instruments managed by intermediaries and weaknesses revealed in verification of beneficiaries’ registered offices; stresses the need to make the disbursement of direct and indirect loans conditional on the publication of country-by-country tax and accountancy data, and on the disclosure of information on beneficial ownership by the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in financing operations;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses, in this regard, the seriousness of the current situation concerning fraud involving the failure to pay VAT, in particular so-called carousel fraud; calls on all Member States to participate in all EUROFISC’s fields of activity so as to facilitate the exchange of information to help combat fraud;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Deplores the fact that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti-corruption report; reiterates, in this regard, its call for the Commission to publish a specific annual report on the fight against corruption, including data concerning all Member States;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Expresses concern with regard to customs inspections and the related collection of customs duties, which are an own resource for the EU budget; points out that inspections to verify that importers are complying with the rules on tariffs and imports are carried out by Member States’ own customs authorities, and calls on the Commission to ensure that inspections at the EU’s borders are appropriate and harmonised, thereby guaranteeing the Union's security, safety and economic interests, and to commit to fighting trade in illegal and counterfeit goods in particular;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Underlines the fact that detection capability is a key feature in the context of the anti-fraud cycle, which contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of the system for the protection of the EU budget; welcomes the fact, therefore, that the most active Member States in detecting and reporting potentially fraudulent irregularities were Poland, Romania, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria, between them accounting for 73 % of irregularities reported as fraudulent in the common agricultural policy in the years 2013-2017; stresses, in this regard, that a single numerical assessment of the reports made may lead to an incorrect perception of the effectiveness of the controls; calls on the Commission, therefore, to continue supporting Member States with a view to ensuring that both the quality and number of controls are improved, and to share best practice in the fight against fraud;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Points out that complete transparency in accounting for expenditure is essential, especially as regards infrastructure works financed directly through EU funds or financial instruments; calls on the Commission to provide for EU citizens to have full access to information on co-financed projects;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Emphasises that a system enabling the authorities to exchange information would facilitate the cross-checking of accounting records for transactions between two or more Member States in order to prevent cross-border fraud in respect of the structural and investment funds, hence ensuring a cross-cutting and comprehensive approach to the protection of Member States’ financial interests; reiterates its request to the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on mutual administrative assistance in those areas of expenditure of EU funds where no provision is made for this;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Calls on the Commission to provide for proper legal protection for investigative journalists along the lines of that provided for whistleblowers;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Notes that, thus far, OLAF’s judicial recommendations have seen only limited implementation in the Member States; and takes the view that such a situation is intolerable ~~and calls on~~; urges the Commission, therefore, to ensure full implementation of OLAF’s recommendations in the Member States and to lay down rules to facilitate the admissibility of the evidence found by OLAF;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2152(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Points out that the cooperation agreements between OLAF and the EPPO should ensure there is a clear separation of powers, in order to avoid any problems relating to overlapping and delays in proceedings;

2018/11/29
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Encourages the EIB to shape sustainable finance or funding options and conducive investment environment mirroring the Union’s ~~political~~ commitments and ~~policies~~general goals, with ~~the~~a view to foster ~~cohesion and innovat~~ing innovation and economic, social and territorial cohesion within the Union, as well as to reinforceing the social dimension of EIB investment by bridging the investment gap in the social sector and ~~infrastructures~~with regard to infrastructure safety; calls on the EIB to take into account, in the case of large-scale infrastructure projects, all relevant environmental impact risks and to finance only those which have demonstrated real added value for the local population and from an environmental, social and economic point of view; stresses the importance of strictly monitoring possible risks of corruption and fraud in this context and of carrying out careful ex-ante and ex-post assessments with regard to the projects to be financed;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Reiterates its concern~~Takes note of the fact that half of the Member States have received 80% of the total EIB investment inside the EU ~~while~~and that the other 14 Member States ~~only~~have received 10% of this investment; a~~s well a~~nd notes that three Member States individually have received 16%, 15% and 11% respectively; asks the Bank to include in its reporting breakdown information about its investment in low income and high income regions according to its own Investment Survey (EIBIS) and with regard to the potential effect for overcoming investment gaps and barriers in less favorable regions in the EU;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Takes note of the EIB Group’s financing both inside and outside the EU in 2017 in support of its public policy goals, amounted respectively to (i) EUR 13,8 billion for innovation and skills, (ii) EUR 18 billion for infrastructure, (iii) EUR 16,7 billion for environment related projects and (iv) EUR 29,6 billion for SMEs and midcaps; underlines the fact that because of their impact and importance to economies, both local and national, investment in SMEs, start-ups, research, innovation, the digital economy and energy efficiency is the most essential factor in driving economic recovery in the EU and promoting the creation of quality jobs;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls on the EIB to aim to become a climate action leader by abolishing lending for fossil fuel projects and increasing investment in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector; calls on the EIB to consider that goal as a priority in the revision of its energy lending criteria currently under way;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Welcomes the EIB's adoption of the exclusion policy approved in December 2017 and calls for that instrument to be used rigourously in order to exclude clients involved in corrupt practices or fraud from EIB funding;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

39. Welcomes the adoption of the Interim Approach to the EIB policy towards weakly regulated, non-transparent and uncooperative jurisdictions (NCJ), adopted by the Board of Directors in January 2017, but expects that it should lead to the revision of this policy in order to ameliorate the EIB’s tax due diligence in its external lending alongside the revised EIB group AML-CFT framework; calls on the EIB to perform adequate corporate and integrity due diligence to identifying the true beneficial owners of all of its clients and operations as well as ultimate investee companies when EIB investments into equity funds are at stake; calls on the EIB to disclose, on its own website, beneficial ownership data relating to its clients in order to increase the visibility of its operations and help prevent cases of corruption and conflict of interest;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40

40. Calls on the EIB, in line with the Council conclusions adopted on 25 May 2018 on the EU standard provision on good governance in tax matters for agreements with third countries, to reinforce the link between EIB funding and tax good governance; believes that the EIB should further contribute to the development of best practices for fair taxation by countering tax evasion and tax avoidance; calls on the EIB to adopt responsible taxation policy ensuring that the EIB does not finance clients involved in tax avoidance and tax evasion schemes or operating via tax havens; calls for the EIB to include standard provision and clauses on good governance in its contracts with all selected financial intermediaries; reiterates the need to make the disbursement of direct and indirect loans conditional on the publication of country-by-country tax and accountancy data and on the disclosure of information on beneficial ownership relating to the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in the financing operations;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2151(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 a (new)

(45a) Expects the EIB whistle-blower protection policy, currently being revised, to be ambitious and provide for high standards; urges the EIB to include in that revision both internal and external whistle-blowers and to establish clear and well-defined procedures, time frames and guidelines in order to provide whistle- blowers with the best guidance and protect them from any possible retaliation;

2018/11/27
Committee: CONT

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

~~A. whereas Europe’s economy is now entering its sixth year of uninterrupted growth;~~deleted

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas in his speech to mark the twentieth anniversary of the euro at the January part-session, the President of the European Commission forthrightly criticised what the EU itself had done during the crisis, admitting that a reckless austerity policy had been pursued and also regretting the lack of solidarity displayed by the European institutions towards countries in difficulties, particularly Greece;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas some countries still have persistent excessive current account surpluses that significantly exceed the alert threshold of 6% of GDP;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Is concerned that some Member States with budget deficits and high levels of public debt have missed the opportunity presented by favourable macroeconomic conditions to build fiscal buffers, while, in contrast, some Member States with fiscal space have consolidated further, thereby contributing to the euro area’s current account surplus of around 3.2 %, the highest in the world;deleted

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to encourage~~Deplores, on the one hand, the pressure brought to bear by the Commission to compel Member States with current account deficits or high external debt to contain the growth of unit labour costs and improve their competitiveness~~, and to encourage~~ by means of wage devaluation, and, on the other hand, the failure to take concrete and effective action to compel Member States with large current account surpluses to promote demand by increasing wage growth in line with productivity growth and to foster productivity growth by promoting investment;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Regrets that Italy has not submitted a revised draft budgetary plan for 2019 to the Commission; supports the Commission’s consideration of a debt- based excessive deficit procedure against Italy, given the country’s failure to comply with the debt criterion;deleted

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Deplores the ‘double standards’ approach adopted by the Commission towards Member States in applying the procedures of the Stability and Growth Pact, depending on the political hues of the respective governments; notes, in this regard, the Commission’s expressed readiness to accept the possibility that France may breach the deficit ceiling of 3% of GDP, as well as the failure to take appropriate action against Germany and the Netherlands, which have been in breach of current-account surplus rules for years;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Urges Member States to ~~build~~use their fiscal buffers ~~for future generations~~to boost public investment and support aggregate demand; calls, f~~or improvements to the enforcement of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), with a focus on debt reduction~~urthermore, on the Member States to launch a comprehensive review of the current EU fiscal framework, with particular focus on measures to increase the potential for growth and employment;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Recalls the importance of a resilient banking sector that safeguards financial stability and savers; welcomes calls for the step-by- step completion of the banking union, with a credible European deposit insurance scheme, and ~~a package to reduce non- performing loan~~notes the agreement that has been reached concerning a package to reduce non- performing loans; regrets that no significant progress has been made on the monitoring and reduction of exposure to illiquid securities of levels 2 and 3, including derivatives; is concerned that the problem of ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks and systemic risks has not been adequately addressed, and therefore stresses the need to re-launch the proposal for structural reform of large investment banks based on a clear separation of financial trading activities from credit and deposit business;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

~~20. Highlights that a transition to a new risk weight regime for banks’ sovereign exposures will help to weaken the ‘doom loop’ between banks and sovereigns;~~deleted

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Notes with concern that excessive current-account surpluses in some Member States are a source of deep macroeconomic imbalances which negatively affect the stability and sustainability of the whole Union, hampering the process of rebalancing between euro area economies; deplores the fact that the Commission has never applied the corrective instruments available under the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) and therefore urges the Commission to take effective measures against the accumulation of excessive surpluses; stresses the need to equip the euro area with internal adjustment mechanisms that provide for fiscal transfers from surplus countries, so as to ensure that surpluses are used to support investment and the economy in the most vulnerable parts of the euro area;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Stresses the need for a change of course by the European Union marking the permanent abandonment of austerity policies and permitting the adoption of sustainable and effective economic policies to tackle unemployment, poverty and rising socio-economic inequalities and to boost the public investment needed to support the real economy, quality employment and innovation;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2119(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Stresses the need, in order to avoid depressing public investment and to increase the potential for growth, to thoroughly revise the flexibility clause and the current rules of the Stability and Growth Pact in order to introduce a genuine golden rule for investment which excludes productive public investment and national contributions to European funds from the calculation of budget deficits;

2019/01/22
Committee: ECON

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas article 10 (3) TEU establishes that 'every citizen shall have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union' and that 'decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen';

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas Article 15 TFEU states that ‘in order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible’ and that ‘any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, shall have a right of access to documents of the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies’;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, focused on the right to good administration, states inter alia that ‘every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union’;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas Article 43 of the Charter states that ‘any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has the right to refer to the European Ombudsman cases of maladministration in the activities of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role’;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)

Be. whereas Article 298 (1) TFEU establishes that 'in carrying out their missions, the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall have the support of an open, efficient and independent European administration';

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas in March 2017 the Ombudsman opened a strategic inquiry into the openness and accountability of the Council; whereas the Ombudsman found maladministration in the Council’s failure to record the identities of Member States that take a position in a legislative procedure and in the lack of transparency by the Council on public access to its legislative documents; whereas on 17 May 2018 the Ombudsman has sent a Special Report to the European Parliament on her inquiry to improve the accountability and transparency of the Council’s legislative work;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital T a (new)

Ta. whereas the Ombudsman conducted an inquiry into how Mr Selmayr, the then Head of Cabinet of the President of the European Commission, was appointed Secretary-General of the Commission; whereas the Ombudsman highlighted that the Commission created an artificial sense of urgency to fill the post of Secretary-General in order to justify not publishing a vacancy notice and organised a Deputy Secretary- General selection procedure, not to fill that role, but rather to make Mr Selmayr Secretary-General in a rapid two-step appointment; whereas in the appointment of Mr. Selmayr the Ombudsman has found four instances of maladministration due to the fact that the Commission did not follow the relevant rules correctly either in letter or in spirit;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Believes that the Commission in the procedure adopted to appoint Mr Selmayr as its new Secretary-General failed to respect the principles of transparency, ethics and rule of law; strongly regrets the Commission’s decision to confirm Mr. Selmayr as its new Secretary-General disregarding the extensive and widespread criticism by EU citizens and the reputational damage caused to the EU as a whole; underlines that Mr Selmayr must resign as Secretary- General of the Commission and calls on the Commission to adopt a new procedure for appointing its Secretary-General ensuring the implementation of the highest standards in terms of transparency, ethics and rule of law;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2103(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

- having regard to the Report on minimum income policies as a tool for fighting poverty (A8-0292/2017),

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas poverty and social exclusion are an infringement of human dignity and the fundamental rights recognised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas poverty and social exclusion are not just matters of personal responsibility but problems that need to be addressed in common through income policies; whereas Principle 14, Minimum Income, of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that, ‘Everyone lacking sufficient resources has the right to adequate minimum income benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life, and effective access to enabling goods and services.’

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)

-Aa. whereas income poverty is only a part of the overall concept of poverty, and therefore poverty does not refer only to material resources, but also to social resources, notably education, health and access to services;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A b (new)

-Ab. whereas recent figures on income poverty show that poverty and severe material deprivation are on the rise in Europe; whereas this situation calls for measures promoting national minimum income schemes enabling all those with insufficient income to enjoy decent living conditions, while also improving social and labour market inclusion and guaranteeing equal opportunities in enjoying fundamental rights; whereas in implementing such measures it should be possible to disregard the constraints currently imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A c (new)

-Ac. whereas on 5 October 2015 the Council adopted conclusions on the adequacy of pensions, considering it essential that public pension schemes and other social protection schemes contain appropriate safeguards for people whose employment opportunities do or did not allow them to build up sufficient pension entitlements, and that such safeguards should notably include minimum pensions or other minimum income provisions for older people;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas corruption constitutes a serious threat to rule of law in the EU, as citizens are burdened and discriminated against in regard to equal enjoyment of their civic, political, economic, social and cultural fundamental rights; whereas corruption distorts the size and composition of public expenditure, seriously jeopardising the state’s capacity to make maximum use of the resources at its disposal in order to enable its citizens to enjoy to the full their rights;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)

Guaranteed basic income

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Calls on all Member States to introduce adequate minimum income schemes, accompanied by back-to-work support measures for those who can work and education and training programmes adapted to the personal and family situation of the beneficiary, in order to support households with inadequate income and enable them to have a decent standard of living; highlights in this regard that the right to social assistance is a fundamental right and that adequate minimum income schemes help people to live a life in dignity, support their full participation in society and ensure their autonomy across the life cycle; recalls to mind, in this regard, Principle 14, Minimum Income, of the European Pillar of Social Rights adopted on 17 November 2017;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Stresses that a political context dominated by austerity holds back development of an approach to social investment by Member States; reasserts the right of Member States to derogate from the budget austerity principle when income support measures are introduced to protect a right guaranteed by the Charter; points out in this regard that recent experience of reforms based on tax exemptions shows that it is preferable to finance minimum income policies using budget support rather than through tax incentives; asks in this regard that investments fostering social inclusion and income support measures be deducted when calculating the deficit under the Stability and Growth Pact;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote policies ensuring that social protection systems, including pensions, are sufficient, appropriate, effective and of good quality; calls on Member States to introduce a minimum basic pension, increasing the amount of the pension for those who are under the poverty threshold set by Eurostat at 60 % of average national income, in order to enable all citizens to live a life in dignity fully compliant with the obligations imposed by the Charter;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Reiterates that corruption is a serious threat to democracy, the rule of law and fair treatment for all citizens; stresses that, by diverting public funds from their intended public use, corruption detracts from the level and quality of public services and hence undermines our fundamental rights; calls on the Member States and European institutions to devise effective ways of combating corruption, regularly monitoring the use made of public funds;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Urges the European Commission to adopt an anti-corruption strategy backed up by effective instruments; regrets the Commission’s decision not to publish the second biannual report on corruption in the EU; calls on all Member States and the European Union to develop concrete strategies to promote transparency, empower citizens and fight corruption;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2103(INI)

Laura FERRARA, Ignazio CORRAO, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Laura AGEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Expresses concern about persistent fundamental rights challenges in the area of migration, with regard to access to territory, reception conditions, asylum procedures, immigration detention and protection of unaccompanied children; recalls that the right to asylum is expressly protected under Article 18 of the Charter; condemns those Member States that refuse to receive asylum seekers on their territory in clear breach of the solidarity requirement of the Treaties;

2018/10/05
Committee: LIBE

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that there is a need to reduce the accountability gaps within the EU and to move towards more collaborative modes of scrutiny, combining democratic oversight and auditing activities, while also providing greater transparency; calls for this to ensure full accountability and effective democratic oversight of the European Investment Bank, the European Central Bank and for future bodies to be set up ~~such as a European Monetary Fund~~;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that respect for fundamental values, ensuring the protection of the rule of law in Member States, or the introduction of ecological conditionality are necessary democratic prerequisites for the definition of any new EU financial solidarities; is concerned about recent developments in relation to the lack of respect for the rule of law in some Member States; appreciates, in this context, the Commission’s proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the Union’s budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States (COM(2018)0324); stresses that the European institutions should take action in order to ~~protect the rule of law~~ensure the sound management of the Union’s financial interests;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Demands that the current framework for the protection of Union’s financial interests be strengthened by a system of sanctions, proportional to the degree of the deficiencies or attempts to undermine ~~the rule of law~~safeguarding of the Union's financial interests based on an independent assessment, ranging from the reduction of EU funding up to the suspension of payments and commitments for recurrent deficiencies; considers that, in any such circumstances, Parliament should be part of, and on an equal footing with the Council, in the decision-making process in relation to such proceedings and the lifting of such measures;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 15

15. Considers it necessary for better tools to be designed for structural reforms across the EU by providing ~~substantial European public goods~~targeted assistance to Member States which request it, and that this be done with due regard to the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Considers it appropriate to ensure the budget provides real added value for EU citizens and does not constitute an additional burden in terms of Member State contributions; calls for a sound review of the budget aimed at pinpointing potential savings, for example by merging decentralised agencies that perform similar tasks and reviewing administrative expenditure; considers that Member States’ national contributions should be withdrawn from the calculation of the national deficit level;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 18

18. Stresses that securing sufficient financial means, coupled with the modernisation of the system of own resources, namely through securing stable, efficient and ~~genuinely~~easily-identifiable European own resources, is key to maintaining a ~~high~~n appropriate level of investment and of the Union’s ambitions and influence on the international scene;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Considers that the creation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) tocould be an ~~important milestone in the achievement of a European public space~~effective instrument for combating fraud; calls on the Commission to work towards a swift setting-up of the EPPO by providing sufficient resources;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2094(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24

24. Draws attention to the phenomenon of corruption, which has significant financial consequences and poses a serious threat to democracy, the rule of law and public investment; repeats its call on the Commission to resume publication of an annual report on corruption;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas public administration ~~and governance is not a stand-alone EU policy but a cross-cutting issue that influences EU policies i~~is a fundamental part of the Member States as regards the implementation of the EU budget and when it works effectively it can help~~ing~~ to deliver modern systems that improve prosperity and welfare in the EU;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that public administration ~~and governance is~~competences are spread across various Commission services and that this complicates the effective coordination of competent services, EU-funded programmes and initiatives; calls on the Commission to improv~~ide the recently created SRSP with suffici~~e its systems concerning exchange of good practices in order to help the Member States implement rbes~~ources and competences to perform that coordinating role~~t practice without imposing policies geared to wage devaluation and socially unsustainable reforms;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

~~2. Calls on the next Commission President to assign responsibility for issues dealing with better public administration and governance to one Commissioner;~~deleted

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that the Commission has neither ~~its own~~a standardised and shared assessment framework for public administration nor a method of systematic data collection; notes with concern that as a result of the lack of these tools, the Commission produces incomplete analyses of issues across the Member States; proposes the reintroduction of a chapter dedicated to public administration and governance in the Annual Growth Survey;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that the MFF should be used to incentivise programmes that deliver better public administration ~~and governance~~, in particular to help Member States in times of economic downturn, recognising that in such circumstances reforms in the area of public administration systems can help the Member States affected;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages the Commission to develop a dedicated assessment framework, shared with the Member States, that captures the quantitative and qualitative aspects of high-quality public administration, and to build its own analytical capacity;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Proposes setting aside time in its parliamentary calendar for a structured dialogue with national parliaments on the issues associated with improving public administration ~~and governance~~ across the EU;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2086(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Believes that high-quality public administration ~~and governance are~~is an essential pre-condition for achieving EU policy objectives under the MFF and elsewhere; stresses the importance of good communication and political awareness in building trust and stimulating positive reform actions and programmes;

2018/10/18
Committee: CONT

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas EFP schemes involving workers in consultation and decision- making have benefits for the company in terms of sustainable governance, social dialogue and other aspects such as recruitment, retention, ~~absenteeism,~~ motivation and skills development;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas EFP can help SMEs with respect to business continuity by addressing company succession ~~problem~~and generational renewal problems, especially in family businesses;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas EFP must not become a way of passing on the business risk to employees;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas EFP may not be used to reduce the social and employment rights acquired by employees and must not replace normal basic pay or other forms of contribution, such as pension schemes;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas participation in the EFP should remain voluntary for employees, while not affecting their mobility; whereas the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme should be clearly explained to the person concerned;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

La. whereas EFP might not be suitable for all companies or employees and the matter should therefore be given very careful consideration before such a scheme is adopted;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)

Qa. whereas information about the economic situation of the company concerned as well as information about the attached risks should be available to the workers concerned at all times;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on Member States to provide for EFP-based incentive schemes to reward the productivity of individual employees, including the use of tax cuts;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that, to avoid administrative and development costs associated with implementing EFP in ~~corporations and SMEs~~SMEs, above all, there are outsourcing options, but these need to be promoted;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses that greater transparency is needed in EFP schemes: information about the economic situation of the company concerned and information about the attached risks should be available to the workers concerned at all times;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Recalls that the decision to join EFP schemes should be totally voluntary and based on the informed consent of an employee, fully aware of his or her entitlements, obligations and risks, of the situation of the company and of the taxation effects when joining the scheme and the conditions which apply when he or she leaves the company or the scheme;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2053(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that EFP ~~benefits should always be complementary to the contractual remuneration and~~should not replace normal basic remuneration or any other form of contribution, but should be complementary to all social and contractual rights;

2018/06/14
Committee: EMPL

2018/2046(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Recalls the necessity to a strong fight against poverty and stresses the importance to make available sufficient resources to the EFS with the aim to allow Member States to implement minimum income schemes for an effective action against poverty;

2018/10/03
Committee: BUDG

2018/2046(BUD)