Activities of Franc BOGOVIČ related to 2022/2081(DEC)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021, section III – Commission
Amendments (11)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the Court of Auditors, in its Annual report for 20211, estimated a level of error for the EU budget spending on ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ of 3.6 % in 2021, up from 3.5 % in 2020; underlines that, for subheading ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’ alone, the estimated level of error is 4.1 %; regrets that the downward trend of the previous years could not be maintained; believes that it would be appropriate, therefore, to include in the procedures the need for greater scrutiny and careful analysis of errors, with a view to making it easier to avoid or prevent errors in future; calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay careful attention to the increase in the error rate and the consequent increased level of risk, and the possibility of a subsequent loss of funding; _________________ 1 European Court of Auditors, Annual report on the implementation of the EU budget for the 2021 financial year.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that the record high level of payments under cohesion in 2021, together with the complex rules that govern spending in this area, might partly explain the increased error rate; expresses its concern, however, at the Court’s conclusion that controls in place do not offset the high inherent risk error in this area; underlines the need for improvements in the control and assurance framework for cohesion; stresses that a better and broader exchange of good practice between countries is essential for increasing efficiency and reducing the error rate; stresses that further simplification of the rules and procedures governing absorption in this area could also significantly contribute to a more efficient and, at the same time, more targeted use of funds and reduce errors in application procedures; recalls in this respect the Court’s previous position on VAT reimbursement errors and the need to simplify the rules in this area to help Member States comply with obligations to pay beneficiaries;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that the absorption rate of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds has increased in 2021; points out that this was largely due to programme amendments linked to CRII/CRII+, which allowed to quickly mobilise unspent cohesion resources towards health actions, support for businesses and workers and vulnerable groups; stresses that similar, harmonised programme amendments would make sense in the context of other programmes too, if they can lead to greater efficiency and faster and simplified absorption at the same times as a reduction in errors;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the quick roll-out of the additional funding provided under REACT-EU; highlights that, by the end of 2021, EUR 39.4 billion (99% of the overall amount available for the year) had been programmed and that the first payments to Member States were made as early as in June 2021; stresses that any increase in funding requires more attention and that if errors are made the institutions risk losing credibility; stresses, therefore, the need to closely monitor further payments and to ensure that the intensity of payments is not reduced, with appropriate transparency and safeguards to prevent misuse of funds;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Warns however that certain Member States present very low absorption rates for the ESI Funds and will be under significant pressure to absorb all the available funds before the closure of the programmes; regrets that the RRF may have led to delays in the implementation of ESI funds; stresses the need to develop integrated, cohesive, stimulative, effective and reliable mechanisms and, in particular, recommendations and technical guidance on promoting the absorption of European funds in the Member States, so that they can be increasingly effective in their use European funds; stresses the need to identify Member States which have very low absorption and to establish and analyse the reason why that lower absorption is actually happening, and that appropriate measures should then be taken to improve the absorption rate, including through the exchange of best practices between countries and administrative training; calls on the Commission, in a structured dialogue with the Member States, to analyse administrative practices and procedures for the elimination of inefficiencies, and to disseminate examples of effective administrative practices and procedures to all competent authorities;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recognises that the COVID-19 crisis posed a new and unexpected challenge, and that the consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine will similarly pose a major challenge; emphasises that the EU and its Member States need to respond decisively and provide solutions at EU and national level; stresses that cohesion policy has already proven its added value and will be even more indispensable in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine; welcomes the increasing financial flexibility in connection with the use of cohesion funds, which enables Member States to use the funds to finance crisis-related projects; stresses the need to promote continuity and deeper cooperation among all cohesion policy stakeholders, particularly SMEs, municipalities and regions, which in the coming months will be dealing with an energy crisis, rising unemployment, migration, high inflation, a food crisis and healthcare; stresses that eliminating the root causes of irregularities by streamlining and strengthening administrative capacities would help beneficiaries and authorities to focus on results and contribute to reducing the error rate; notes that the urgent flexibility measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 crisis had an immediate impact and that many of these measures, which yielded remarkable results, should be continued, especially now in the context of the war in Ukraine, and strongly believes that rule-of-law conditionality will also contribute to increasing the regularity of EU funding;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Commission to develop measures to simplify procedures that, in the circumstances set out above, would contribute to responsible and appropriate spending of funds and the ensuing recovery in the Member States, bearing in mind that Member States’ objectives for the 2021-2027 programming period must be much more ambitious in response to the current wide- ranging economic and social consequences of both the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, in order to protect citizens, preserve jobs and strengthen the investment climate; calls, in this context, also on the Commission to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders and all levels of government and local government in the development and implementation of economic recovery plans;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Takes note that, from 2021, the Commission manages the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, which provides support to the regions most affected by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU; takes note that two pre-financing payments under the BAR were made in 2021; stresses that a clear overview of the situation should be prepared and that affected countries should be helped to improve their absorption through technical assistance programmes for cooperation with administrative authorities and technical guidance and training programmes;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores the delays in the implementation of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and stresses the need to identify what exactly is the reason for the delay, and consequently to adapt procedures or simplify rules and reduce administrative burdens that potentially hinder absorption; stresses that, particularly in the case of new funds, all stakeholders need to be better connected in the procedures so as to avoid bottlenecks and payment backlogs in the absorption process;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets the delays in the launch of new programmes for the funds under the CPR; acknowledges that this delay is the result of the late adoption of cohesion legislation, the reprogramming exercise under the COVID-19 emergency measures and the work on national recovery and resilience plans; underlines that only 2% of the available amount of commitment appropriations for the CPR funds has been used; stresses the need to closely monitor absorption intensity and if the situation does not improve to urge the Member States to take action;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note that the Court reported 15 cases to OLAF in 2021, in contrast to the 6 cases it reported in 2020; notes as well that only one of these cases was in parallel reported to the EPPO; regrets the lack of transparency on the number of cases reported by the Commission to the EPPO; regrets also the controversy that has arisen concerning the competence adjudication over particular cases in certain Member States, especially regarding suspected fraud cases involving CRII and CRII+ funds; underlines the role of the EPPO in protecting the financial interests of the Union by means of criminal law; reminds that the EPPO regulation entrusts it with the competence to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union, while establishing an obligation, for all the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union to report directly to the EPPO any criminal conduct in respect of which it could exercise its competence; calls on the Commission to monitor more consistently the implementation of programmes and to consistently report any infringements to the EPPO, while ensuring transparency in reported cases, and to provide appropriate support to Member States so that they can tackle corruption more effectively, which will also increase citizens’ overall trust in the EU institutions;