Activities of Gérard DEPREZ related to 2019/2003(BUD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2020 – Section I – European Parliament (debate) FR
Amendments (29)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas the Court of Auditors issued an opinion No 5/99 on 16 June 1999 entitled “Pension Fund and Scheme for Members of the European Parliament”;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that savings of EUR 23 million as compared to the proposal of the Secretary-General are required to limit the overall increase over the 2019 budget to 2,43% and that all efforts to strive for a more efficient and transparent use of public money are strongly encouraged;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the new approach that has been takenTakes note of increased transparency in the preparation of the Secretary-General’s report during the past years, such as the provision of additional information on medium- and long-term planning, investments, statutory obligations, operational expenditure and methodology, as requested by the budgetary authority;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. ExpectDemands Parliament’s 2020 budget to be realistic and accurate regarding the matching of needs and their costs, to avoid over-budgeting insofar as possible;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that maximum care should be taken to ensure that the overall budgetary and staffing resources at Parliament's disposal are used in the most cost-efficient way possible to enable the institution and its Members to fulfil their ultimate mission on legislation successfully; reiterates that this implies careful planning and organisation of its working methods and, whenever possible, the pooling of functions and structures to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy, functional overlaps and duplication of effort and resources;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Underlines that, in the aftermath of the European elections, the measures and expenses undertaken under the banner of the pre-election communication campaign should be discontinued, including the reinforced financing of the European political parties and foundations as well as the additional staff resources recruited in this regard;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Wonders about the added value/cost ratio of the installation of the Europa Experience centers in all Member States within 10 to 15 years; asks the Secretary-General whether such analysis has been carried out and if not, considers that such analysis has to be done before proceeding with this project;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. WelcomNotes the creation of a series of mobile installations, which would tour Member States to bring the Union closer to citizens;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Is not satisfied by the way Parliament promotes its applications or websites to inform citizens on the Union’s work such as “Citizens’ App” and “What Europe does for me”; regrets that the promotional campaigns put in place seem to be little visible outside the sphere of the European institutions; calls for a more methodical and efficient approach to be put in place;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Disagrees with the on-going practice of the year-end ‘mopping up transfer’ to contribute to current building projects; highlights that this ‘mopping up transfer’ takes place systematically on the same chapters, titles and, often, exactly on the same budgetary lines and wonders whether there is a programmed over- evaluation of these, in order to generate funds for the financing of the EP building policy; considers that the building policy should be financed in a transparent manner from the budgetary lines dedicated to it;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Takes note thatQuestions the proposal for the rent and maintenance of all existing Luxembourg buildings are stillto be budgeted for the entire year 2020, considering that the removal from existing buildings can onlywill be made gradually; during the year; expects therefore that the first savings on various budget items will be achieved already in 20210;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Asks for further details on preparatory technical works including the relocation of functionalities, such as for those situated in the PHS building, to oQuestions, given that the Bureau decision on the future of the PHS building is not expected before the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020, the proposal to engage EUR 12,4 million for preparatory technical works including the relocation of functionalities to other buildings and requests to provide the Committee on Budgets with detailed estimations and cost breakdown in this regard before the Parliament’s reading of ther buildingsdget in autumn 2019;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Questions the very high costs of certain proposed developments, namely: the installation of the Atrium building visitors' seminar rooms (EUR 8,720 million), the multifunctional space in the Esplanade area (EUR 2,610 million), the creation of a self-service canteen in the SDM building in Strasbourg (EUR 1,9 million); calls on the Secretary-General to provide the Committee on Budgets with any information relating to these decisions before the Parliament's reading of the budget in autumn 2019;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Wonders about the opportunity to allocate EUR 2,420 million for the installation of interactive touch-screens at the entrances of a number of small and medium meeting rooms; asks the Secretary-General to explain the elements that led to such decision before the Parliament's reading of the budget in autumn 2019 ;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18 c. Is surprised that security cameras are only installed up to the 5th floor of the ASP building; considers that each floor must be equipped with such a camera to allow the "Security Investigations" service of the Parliament to do its work properly, especially in case of theft; considers that the idea is not to make Parliament a “police space”, but rather to guarantee the security of everyone; asks, therefore, to grant the DG safe of the necessary means for the installation of these cameras;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. BelieveConsiders that further savings canshould be achieved as regards the expenditure on furniture for the offices of Members and their assistants, given the complete refurbishment of those offices at the start of the mandate in 2019;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Is concerned by the intentions of the Parliament to expand its activity and diplomatic presence in Indonesia (Jakarta), Ethiopia(Addis Ababa) and the United States (New York); regrets that despite the absence of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and further elaboration on the underlying arguments for the choice of these specific locations, the Bureau agreed with the proposal, as well as with the appointment of the current head of the Parliament’s office in Washington D.C. as the new head of office in Jakarta; urges, therefore, the Secretary-General to identify the affected budget lines and to clarify this non- transparent state of affairs through the explanation of the decision-making process regarding these different locations and the appointment of the new head of office in Jakarta; considers, meanwhile, that this decision must be suspended;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19 b. Considers that potential savings to the Parliament’s budget can be achieved with a single seat; recalls the 2014 ECA analysis which estimated the costs of the geographic dispersion of Parliament to be EUR 114 million per year; recalls furthermore that due to this Parliament's geographic dispersion, 78 % of all missions by Parliament statutory staff arise and the environmental impact is between 11 000 and 19 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions; calls therefore for a roadmap to a single seat;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Underlines that the iPACS project will provide Parliament with modern and integrated security technology in order to remove remaining weaknesses in buildings' security, and in 2020 will be in the fifth and final year of implementation; invites the Secretary-General to summarise in detail all expenses linked to the buildings security from 2016;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Considers that the social and pension rights of Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs) should be respected; in this regard, reiterates its call to find a workable solution for those APAs who, having worked for two parliamentary terms without interruption in the end of the current term, will not be entitled to access the European pension rights scheme when they reach pension age, since they will be lacking some time out of ten years' service needed as set out in the Staff Regulations, due to early elections in 2014 and the delays in the validation of the APAs new contracts because of heavy workload during the period after the elections of 2009; calls, therefore, on the Secretary- General to submit new practical and credible proposals aimed at resolving this problem definitively;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Reiterates its concern about the additional expenditure on interpretation of the oral explanation of votes and one minute speeches during plenary sessions; urges the Secretary- General to present a detailed cost breakdown related to the oral explanation of votes and one minute speeches; recalls that alternatives, such as a written explanation of votes oras well as various public communication facilities, are available to Members wishing to explain their voting positions or raise issues pertinent to the concerns of their electorate; in that context, considers that in order to achieve significant savings, the oral explanation of votes could be moved to the end of the agenda of each day of the plenary sessionand one minute speeches should be abolished;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Requests an examination of the voluntary Members´ Pension Fund by the European Court of Auditors, while ensuring full transparencycalls the Statute for Members which states in Article 27(1) and (2) that “The voluntary pension fund set up by Parliament shall be maintained after the entry into force of this Statute for Members or former Members who have already acquired rights or future entitlements in that fund” and that “Acquired rights and future entitlements shall be maintained in full”; requests, in this regard, the Court of Auditors to investigate the ways to ensure a sustainable financing of the Voluntary Pension Fund in accordance with the provisions of the Statute for Members;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Questions the fact that there are different scales of unemployment benefits depending on whether you are a temporary agent, a contract agent or an accredited parliamentary assistant; considers that the basic allowance of unemployment benefits for former accredited parliamentary assistants and former contract staff must be aligned to the basic allowance for former temporary staff; asks the Secretary-General to put an end to this discrimination;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Reiterates its appeal for transparency regarding the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA) for Members; regrets that the Parliament’s Bureau Working Group on the GEA has failed to introduce more transparency and accountability in this regard;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Recommends the greater use of videoconferences and other technologies in order to protect the environment and save resources, in particular by reducing staff duty travel between the three places of work;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32 a. Questions the current call for tenders for canteens and is surprised by the reduction in the appropriations allocated to the line 1652 (expenditure on catering); requests, therefore, the Secretary-General to provide any relevant information relating to this call for tenders and to guarantee that the quality of the service, the working conditions of the staff and the quality of the food served at the various points of the restaurants will not be affected by this decrease in appropriations;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Reiterates its call for a detailed assessment of the value added of the several Parliament’s services engaged in research activities, such as European Parliament Research Service (EPRS), thematic policy departments and the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel, including a meaningful evaluation of potential duplication of tasks;