Activities of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2020/2144(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, Section V – Court of Auditors
Amendments (8)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Appreciates the fact that the Court will look into the suggestion of the 2018 discharge resolution that an independent annual report on the Union institutions should be presented as part of the reflections on the Court’s strategy for the 2021-2025 period, which should be adopted by the end of 2020; in this regard reiterates the need for a deeper examination by the Court of each and every institutions in order to allow Parliament to fulfil its duties as discharge authority;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Regrets that the Court’s follow-up to the 2018 discharge resolution provided only limited responses to Parliament’s remarks; stresses that the follow-up is essential to enable Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control to determine whether the Court has implemented Parliament’s recommendations; calls on the Court to include all necessary responses and more detailed explanations on the implementation of Parliament’s recommendations in their next follow-up report, making explicit reference to each paragraph of the resolution, and providing all necessary documents, including annexes;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is concerned about the decrease in the number of female directors from 30 % in 2018 to 20 % in 2019 and in the number of female heads of unit from 39 % in 2018 to 35 % in 2019; notes, however, the slight increase in female Court members from 21 % in 2018 to 26 % in 2019(six out of 28 members) to 25% in 2019 (seven out of 28 Members); underlines the commitment of Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control to support the nomination process for Court members in order to increase the share of women (seven women and 20 men were members in 2019), recalling the invitation to Member States to more actively encourage women to apply for these kinds of positions; reiterates that the Council should always present at least two candidates, one female and one male, during the appointment procedure;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Notes the Opinion of Advocate General Hogan delivered on 17 December 2020 1a, in which he clearly states that a breach of the obligations arising from the office of being a Member of the Court took place and recommends a sanction corresponding to the deprivation of two thirds of Mr Pinxten's pension rights and connected benefit as from the date of the judgment in the present case _________________ 1aCase C-130/19, European Court of Auditors v Karel Pinxten (Article 286(6) TFEU – Breach of the obligations arising from the office of a former member of the Court of Auditors of the European Union – Deprivation of the right to a pension or other benefits in its stead)
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Notes that members are authorised to use official vehicles in the performance of official duties; notes that the use of official cars for other journeys is additional to the performance of such duties and that since 1 January 2017, the costs and kilometres related to the use of official cars have decreased significantly; notes that new rules entered into force on 1 January 2020 and introduced a monthly EUR 100 contribution for the non-official use of the vehicles as well as a liability on the part of the members and the secretary-general for certain costs and charges; reiterates its opinion that the use of official vehicles for private use should not take place under any circumstance, considering that this practice may harm the reputation of the Court and, in general, of the Union institutions
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Regrets that only very limited follow up was done by the Court with respect to paragraph 18 of the 2018 discharge resolution on the need for a register of leave for members of the Court, notes that the Court will consider carrying out a comparative analysis of the rules and best practices existing in other Union institutions as regards the presence and absence of Union high-level public office holders as defined in Regulation (EU) 2016/300; reminds that Parliament has made a clear call on the Court to establish procedures for keeping a register of members’ annual leave, sick leave and absence from work for other reasons to ensure that all leave taken by members is effectively recorded; stresses that the current practice could undermine the trust of Union citizens and institutions in the Court;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Appreciates the factNotes that, in the light of the obligations of the members to attend all meetings of the Court, of the chambers and of the administrative committee to which they belong, an attendance register is kept by the Court’s secretariat; notes that it reflects the presence and absence of members and shows also which absences are considered as excused by the president; notes that the attendance register is part of the Court’s rules implementing its rules of procedure;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Calls on the Court to provide information on any decisions taken related to the process of reviewing and amending the code of conduct for its members; supports the conclusions of the peer review with respect to the need to introduce regular updates of declarations, which would increase their reliability; nevertheless reiterates its concern that the declarations of interest are of a self-declaratory nature and that, given the current legal framework, neither the Court nor its ethics committee have any investigation powers to ensure the veracity and the exhaustiveness of the declared data; calls on the Court to ensure that members submit declarations of interest instead of declarations of the absence of conflicts of interest; underlines that the current procedures, including those of the ethics committee, need to be reinforced to ensure the absence of conflict of interests; is in agreement that the ethics committee plays a crucial role to the extent that the president and the members may seek its advice on any question pertaining to ethics and on the interpretation of the code of conduct; notes, moreover, that the committee is entrusted with approving any external activity undertaken by the members, including former members who intend to carry out an activity in the year after they leave the Court, which is an efficibut this cannot be considered in itself an effective instrument tool in ensuringe the absence of conflicts of interest. as already underlined in last year's discharge resolution;