Activities of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2020/2145(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 VI – European Economic and Social Committee
Amendments (9)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Regrets, as an overall remark, that chapter 9 ‘Administration’ of the Annual Report of the Court has a rather limited scope and conclusions, even if Heading 5 'Administration' of the Multiannual Financial Framework is considered low risk; requests that the audit work for that chapter be more focused on issues of high relevance or even critical importance for the Committee
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Regrets that the bureau of the Committee in 2020 adopted a decision allowing for the reimbursement of expenses for remote participation in cases where a member was prevented from travelling to Brussels as a result of COVID-19 related issues.; expresses serious concerns that this decision is not understandable for the public and may undermine citizens' trust in the Committee;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Underlines the importance of the role of the Committee but expresses concerns in the lack of impact of its work;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Notes the importance of political dialogue between the Committee and Parliament to make sure that a valid contribution from the Committee can be incorporated into the work of Parliament and, in that light, reiterates its request to pursue the efforts to strengthen the political cooperation between the Committee and Parliament;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12 c. Notes with disappointment that the number of total opinions delivered by the Committees in 2019 dropped to 137 from 215 in 2018 and 155 in 2017; understand that the reduction in opinions delivered may be understood in relation of the electoral cycle, but is concerned about the raise of the cost per opinion (1.1million in 2019 compared to 630 thousand in 2018), and expresses concerns about the outsourcing to external companies of the reporting work;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Welcomes the fact that the Committee continues to promote respect in the workplace with the aim of ensuring that all staff are familiar with the current ethical framework; notes that a wide-ranging awareness-raising campaign started in 2019, called respect@work and which takes on board a number of proposals from the Report of the European Ombudsman on dignity at work in the EU institutions and agencies (SI/2/2018/AMF); welcomes the fact that the network of confidential counsellors was reinforced; notes that following a decision of the European Ombudsman the Committee adopted its guidelines on managing conflicts of interest of staff in the performance of their duties and provided relevant information to all staff; notes that the guidelines are intended to serve as a practical handbook for staff in cases where they need to perform overlapping duties, such as management duties in parallel with staff representation activities; invites the Committee to go further with the measures to respond to the Ombudsman’s report;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Requests the Committee to report on any achievements related to the European Ombudsman’s recommendation such as the guidelines on external activities; notes that in 2019 the European Ombudsman published her report on the publication of information in relation to former senior staff so as to enforce the one year lobbying and advocacy ban (SI/2/2017/NF) and that the Committee was examining the possibility of revising its decision on external activities; invites the Committee to take this opportunity to reinforce its system to avoid any potential case of conflict of interests;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. Reiterates its request for clear and strong protection and support measures for the victims of harassment; urges the Committee to introduce specific rules and procedures on harassment, considering that the fact that the Staff Regulation cannot be imposed on a member of the Committee is not an excuse.
Amendment 61 #
49. Acknowledges that the Committee is well aware of the political impact of the refusal of the 2018 discharge and is striving to further strengthen its capacity to tackle harassment situations; notes that a detailed action plan will be endorsed at the latest by the end of 2020; agrees that the Committee continues to raise staff and management awareness through better targeted internal communication; but expect far more than that in its actions;