Activities of Ernest URTASUN related to 2021/2115(DEC)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020, Section X - European External Action Service
Amendments (4)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights the central role played by the European External Action Service (EEAS) in conducting the Union’s external policy and welcomes that it lived up to the many challenges over the 10 years of its existence; notes, however, that enhanced EEAS performance has to be underpinned by a corresponding staff increase and a stronger EU esprit de corps within the EEAS; calls for sufficient human resources to be made available in order to deliver on the Union’s external policy priorities;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the lack of diversity and remaining gender and geographical imbalances within the EEAS staff, despite slightly positive trends in previous years; reiterates the importance of ensuring greater diversity, gender equality and a balanced distribution of staff in terms of gender and geographical origin among staff within different categories and grades, particularly at middle and senior management levels; calls on the EEAS to lead by example, as set out in the Gender Action Plan III, and significantly improve the representation of women and marginalised groups across all levels, with the goal to establish gender parity in leadership and management positions, gender-responsive leadership and gender-sensitive recruitment processes as soon as possible; calls on all Member States to nominate more women and candidates from marginalised groups to seconded positions in the EEAS; points also to a remaining overrepresentation of some Member States’ diplomats among the Heads of Delegation and calls for further efforts to address those imbalances;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Urges the EEAS to follow-up without further delay on their announcement provided in their written answers to the Committee on Budgetary Control in the context of the 2019 discharge, to adopt and implement its self- standing implementation provisions on outside activities and assignments, which create a sui generis legal basis for Heads of Delegations to better protect the image and reputation of the EU as a whole;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the ECA’s Special Report on Disinformation affecting the Union and calls for implementing the ECA recommendations in the Union’s action plan against disinformation based on a published timeline; believes that improvements to the coordination and accountability of EU actions against disinformation and to the operational arrangements of the StratCom division and its task forces should be treated as a priority, including enhancing engagement with Council and Parliament and reaching recruitment targets; stresses the continuous need to fight foreign propaganda and expose disinformation and malicious foreign influence; underlines the importance of the EEAS Strategic Communication Task Force and calls for providing it with the necessary financial and personnel resources;