Activities of Arndt KOHN related to 2017/2142(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016, Section VII – Committee of the Regions PDF (364 KB) DOC (56 KB)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2016; / Postpones its decision on granting the Secretary- General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2016;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note that on the basis of its audit work, the Court of Auditors concludedWelcomes the conclusion of the Court of Auditors on the basis of its audit work that the payments as a whole for the year ended on 31 December 2016 for administrative and other expenditure of the institutions and bodies were free from material error;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that in 2016 the Committee had an approved budget of EUR 90 500 000 (EUR 88 900 000 in 2015), of which EUR 89 400 000 were commitment appropriations with a utilisation rate of 98,7 %; notwelcomes the increase of the utilisation rate in 2016;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the Committee’s budget is, despite its political activities, considered as purely administrative, with a large amount being used on expenditure concerning persons working within the institution and the remaining amount relating to buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous running costs; underlines the importance of the Committee applying the performance based budget principles in its daily operations; asks the Committee to duly and regularly inform Parliament on the progress made in this matter;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the importance of a positive assessment ofdeepening the cooperation with the European Parliament based on the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the European Parliament and asks to be kept informed of developments; asks that the Committee’s strategy strengthen connections first of all with Parliament, but also with other Union institutions;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that a joint assessment of the budgetary savings resulting from the cooperation between the Committee and Parliament is of interest to both institutions and to Union citizens; suggests thato the Committee proposeand the Parliament to consider carrying out thatis exercise to Parliament as a complement to the ongoing political strategic dialogue;
Amendment 16 #
7. Welcomes the administrative cooperation agreement between the Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee, which entered into force in 2016 and provides for shared translation and logistics directorates; considers this a good basis for potential economic savings in both committees; trusts that this agreement will also prompt cooperation in other areas; requests a detailed plan and description of the committees’ activities in those areas; believes that this agreement will ensure also further efficiency in both committees’ performance and economic savings;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. NotesWelcomes the fact that the targets set by the Committee in 2016 to increase the involvement of Parliament and the Council in activities related to the Committee’s opinions have been achieved only modestly as far as Parliament is concerned; requests that the Committee make greater efforts in this regardand, in some cases, even surpassed; encourages the Committee and the European Parliament to reciprocally seek to improve their cooperation on common files by inviting each other’s Rapporteurs to present their opinion in the respective European Parliament Committee or in the Committee of the Regions;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the reopening of the direct access between the RMD and the REM buildings following the decision by Belgian authorities to reduce the threat level for European Institutions; believes that this will facilitate the communication and cooperation between the European Parliament and the Committee; calls on both institutions to inform Members and staff about the reopening of the passage;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Asks the Committee to ensurestrive for an overall execution rate for payments of around 90%;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes the inclusion of data on the missions undertaken by the Committee’s members in its annual activity report; asks the Committee to provide a list of the events attended by its members inwelcomes the list of events attended by its members in 2016 provided to the Committee of Budgetary Control in annex to the answers to the written questionnaire for the discharge 2016 and asks the Committee to provide such a list for 20167 in an annex to its annual activity report for 2017;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is still concerned with the continued shortage of women holding senior and middle management posts; notregrets the decrease of women in management positions from 37% in 2015 to 33% in 2016 due to the appointment of five officials, out of which only one is a woman; welcomes the adoption of a new five-year equal opportunities strategy foreseeing actions to strive for a more balanced gender representation, particularly in management positions; encourages the Committee to improve its performance in this regard;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the Committee's compliance with targets set with regards to the inter-institutional agreement to reduce staff by 5% over the period of five years; notes that as a result of the transfer of staff to the European Parliament, the Committee has reduced the number of posts in the establishment plan by almost 8%; is concerned that, as a result, the remaining resources available in each service don’t allow for absorption of the additional workload in case of unforeseen absences or in case of additional tasks limited in time; calls on the budgetary authorities to be mindful of the long-term impact of staff cuts, in particular regarding the institution's ability to improve gender and geographical imbalances as well as the need for building on capacity of experienced officials to take over management posts, when planning the future allocation of financial resources for personnel;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes thatWelcomes the slight decrease of the number of days of sick leave within the Committee staff has slightly decreased; underlines the importance of putting in place measures for improving wellbeing at work but also of duly verifying absences;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes thatWelcomes the communication strategy of the Committee which is geared towards reconnecting Europe with its citizens, with activities organised in several Member States and online surveys; supports the organisation of citizen dialogues and asks for a regular improvement of those initiatives, in order to duly involve Union citizens and expand the outreach to all Member States; invites the Committee to communicate detailed results in this regard in its annual activity report for 2017;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that the translation output objective was not achieved and that therefore further rationalisation measures are needed; asks the Committee to include detailed information in this regard in its annual activity report for 2017; notes the increasing outsourcing rate for translation and stresses the need to assess the possibility of further inter-institutional cooperation with regard to translation;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Notes that there has been a decision by the Civil Service Tribunal in the case of the Committee's former internal auditor in November 2014; acknowledges that the Civil Service Tribunal ruled that the Committee must indemnify the former internal auditor yet further dismissed the allegations made by him; underlines that the Committee has promptly complied with the Tribunal's decision and paid the indemnities; considers therefore that the Committee has done its part to bring the case to a just, honourable and equitable settlement as requested by the Committee on Budget Control in the discharge report for the year 2015; notes that the former internal auditor has lodged a new case against the Committee in November 2015; notes that a hearing has taken place in December 2017 and that the Court's ruling is expected in summer 2018; observes that the Committee has no influence either on the plaintiff having lodged a new case nor on the timetable of the Court;