Activities of Damian BOESELAGER related to 2021/2108(DEC)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020 (Section II) - European Council and Council
Amendments (13)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. Whereas democratic scrutiny of the spending of public funds is vital if citizens are to have confidence in the functioning of the institutions;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. Whereas the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union confirms the right of taxpayers and of the public to be kept informed about the use of public revenues;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
C c. Whereas, pursuant to Article 15(1) of the Treaty on the European Union, the European Council is not to exercise legislative functions;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Council to resume negotiations on the memorandum of understanding on the cooperation during the budget discharge procedure; reiterates that, if those negotiations do not succeed, they should be extended to the Commission to ensure that Parliament is provided with necessary information on how the Council is implementing its budget, either directly or via the Commission; considers that the Conference on the Future of Europe provides an opportunity to come forward with proposals to improve the transparency and readability of the Council’s budget for citizens;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the Conference on the Future of Europe provides an opportunity to discuss proposals to enhance transparency and democratic accountability with regard to the protection of the Union’s financial interests and the Union’s accountability vis-à-vis citizens;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Believes that increased transparency and a proactive approach to sharing information on the part of the Council would be conducive to a better- informed discharge procedure from the outset;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Reiterates its full endorsement of the European Ombudsman’s recommendation in Case OI/2/2017/TE on the transparency of the Council legislative process, following its strategic inquiry; urges the Council to take all necessary measures to implement that recommendation without undue delay;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that while the current situation could be improved through better interinstitutional cooperation within the Treaties framework, of the Treaties, a revision of the Treaties could be considered in orderis necessary to render the discharge procedure more clear, for example by giving the sense that the Parliament is tasked withEuropean Parliament the explicit competence to grant discharge to all institutions and bodies individually.
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Regrets that the budget of the European Council and of the Council has not been divided into two separate budgets, as recommended by Parliament in its recent discharge resolutions, in order to improve transparency and accountability of each institution.
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Regrets the use of corporate sponsorship to cover some of the expenses incurred by Member States to finance their Council Presidency; is highly concerned by the possible reputational damage that this practice might cause to the Council and to the Union; urges for the adoption of clear guidelines aimed at preventing situations of conflicts of interest and for the definition of transparent and binding rules on sponsorship;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4 d. Regrets that reporting by the Council on measures taken to improve legislative transparency remains less than satisfactory and reiterates its call on the Council to step up its transparency efforts by, inter alia, publishing Council working documents in a machine-readable format, by recording and publishing Member States’ positions and making available more trilogue documents;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4 e. Considers that the lack of cooperation from the European Council and from the Council with the discharge authority sends a negative signal to citizens of the Union;