Activities of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2023/2045(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2022
Amendments (12)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Appreciates the improved overall coherence of the anti-fraud legislation across the EU, following the actions undertaken to transpose the EU rules into national systems correctly; observeexpresses concerns that, in some respects, the situation is still sub- optimal, in particular as regards the detection and reporting of suspected fraud and irregularities and their follow-up, for which the differences between Member States are still very notable;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. INotes also awarewith concern that the overall occurrence of cases of conflicts of interest is higher than reported in the IMS, as indicated by the additional information received by the Commission’s Directorates-General for Regional and Urban Policy and for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion about conflict of interest cases and related recoveries in public procurement in the European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund and European Regional Development Fund, reported directly from the Member States via the EU’s fund management system (known as the SFC, which in 2014-2020 presented 31 additional cases related to 16 programmes in 11 Member States with an impact of EUR 3.4 million);
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Is aware that the implementation of the RRF is reaching its peak and that the regulation governing its deployment requires Member States to put in place effective and efficient control systems, with a view to protecting the Union’s financial interests and ensuring compliance with EU and national rules; realises the inherent characteristics of the RRF spending model, the difficulty of the assessment of an error rate comparable (to other EU spending areas) and the limitations posed by the Commission’s payment suspension methodology1a; points out that, in particular, the countering of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest (defined as ‘serious irregularities’) and double funding should receive appropriate resources and attention; _________________ 1a ECA, 2022 EU audit in brief, p. 57.
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Expresses concerns that the European Court of Auditors identified weaknesses in the Member States’ reporting and control systems, leading to the definition of “control milestones” and imposing them to certain MS to address the weakness identified; is also worried that the simple fact that the Commission introduced control milestones, means that the relevant MS systems were not fully functional when the plans started to be implemented, posing a risk to the regularity of RRF expenditure and the protection of the EU’s financial interests2a; _________________ 2a ECA, 2022 Annual report, par. 11.47 - 11.55.
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Notes that among the available options, Arachne was by far the most widely-used IT system (by 21 Member States), in support of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the RRF; observes with concern that many Member States used their own dedicated anti-fraud IT tools, often in conjunction with EU tools, although those toolswhich were rarely interoperable;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Calls on the Commission to engage in a constructive dialogue with the EPPO, with a view to strengthening the Office’s capacity to tackle the constantly increasing challenges in the anti-fraud landscape; and at the same time ensuring the fundamental principle and rules laid out in the EPPO Regulation, that the office shall be independent including decision making on budgetary matters, in order to act in the interest of the Union as a whole and in line with the Conditionality Regulation;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
Paragraph 67
67. Remarks that the NAFS need to be adopted or updated by as many Member States as possible, and reiterates that the need for such revisions stems from the new anti-fraud landscape, with the EPPO now fully operational, and from the opportunity to reflectdisclose new significant risks in the increasingly complex fraud landscape;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68
Paragraph 68
68. Reiterates its appreciation for the Commission’s encouragement to Member States to adopt NAFS, which has so far resulted in an increase in the number of NAFS adopted, namely, 15 Member States had adopted NAFS by the end of 2022, nine of which being cross-cutting covering the EU’s financial interests fully;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69
Paragraph 69
69. NotesIs worried that, by the end of 2022, only three Member States (Finland, Ireland and Poland) indicated that they had not adopted any strategy for protecting the EU’s financial interests and five (Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Romania) indicated that they were in the process of establishing one, while the other Member States have alternative strategies at national, regional or sectoral level or, in some cases, combine them;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77
Paragraph 77
77. Believes that funds under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) for assistance in non-EU countries and the resources allocated for Europe’s response to the war in Ukraine are not adequately monitored and controlled thus calling for more thorough checks;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75 a (new)
Paragraph 75 a (new)
75a. Reiterates that though the EU currently stands as an observer within GRECO, it is strongly advised that it became a full-operating member, thus i) participating in the monitoring of the implementation of widely-recognised international law and standards ii) horizontally communicating with other GRECO members anti-fraud policies and tools iii) sharing experience on an international level for the recognition of potential deficiencies of EU internal mechanisms to identify corruption, iv) optimally combatting fraud issues by timely activating prevention and detection measures; request the Council to provide a clear position on the EU joining GRECO, clarifying if there is any specific opposition and by which Member State;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79
Paragraph 79
79. Reaffirms its strong belief that only by strengthening the EU anti-fraud architecture can the protection of the EU’s financial interests be effectively and efficiently pursued and enhanced, overcomingby encouraging interoperability and adjustment to a unified anti-fraud strategy framework for the Member States within the EU opting for more inflows in terms of quantitative and qualitative data analysis, so as to overcome the inherent limits of the national systems which are not sufficient to counter the increasingly transnational attacks against the Union’s financial interests;