Activities of Mikuláš PEKSA related to 2020/2146(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, Section VII – Committee of the Regions
Amendments (20)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. AcknowledgNotes that the situation in terms of gender balance in middle and senior management positions has remained relatively stablenot improved since 2018 with 35 % of these positions being filled by women; acknowledges that a new equal opportunity strategy containing concrete objectives to be reached by 2025 is being adopted and should enter in force in 2020; calls on the Committee to report back to the discharge authority on its implementation and first results on an annual basis;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Notes the attention paid to achieving a geographical balance in the Committee’s staff; notes that all Union nationalities were represented in 2019, with the exception of Luxembourg; encourages the Committee to enhance its communication efforts in the Member States that are under-represented;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Appreciates the Committee’s focus on developing and upholding high-quality health and well-being services based on prevention and early intervention through close cooperation between the HR services concerned, and awareness-raising programmes among staff and managers; welcomes the training sessions held with managers at both junior, middle and senior level on the topic of absence management and successful integration of colleagues after long-term absence; welcomes the increased flexitime and teleworking arrangements to improve the work-life balance of staff, as well as the continuation of the stress and burnout prevention programme;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Underlines that an external evaluation of the communication strategy of the Committee was carried out in accordance with the standards applied by all other Union institutions using a shared framework contract; notes that the overall quality of the Committee’s communication mostlydid not always meets audience needs andbut is overall effective as key stakeholders have a positive perception of the Committee;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Asks the Committee to continue its efforts to improve the visibility of the studies it produces; underlines that, in addition to online publication, there is a need for pro-active promotion of studies towards all stakeholders; encourages the Committee to reach out to Parliament to enhance cooperation, for instance through the organisation of joint meetings and events;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Requests the Committee to report on how it plans towill implement efficiently the recommendations of the evaluation report; notes that the biggest successes of the Committee’s communication are the citizens' dialogues with the Commission and the Committee’s own local dialogues, the flagship events ‘EuroPCom’ (European conference on public communication) and the ‘European week of the regions and cities’;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Notes that the Committee is using proprietary social media network, such as Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn; encourages the Committee to establish a presence on free and open source social media networks, such as Mastodon, to achieve further transparency and broader outreach;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is awareWelcomes that the bureau of the Committee adopted a digital strategy at the beginning of 2019, on the basis of the Tallinn Declaration on e-Government with its core principle of 'Digital by default', and that the implementation started following the adoption; notes that the main deliverables of the strategy are member-centric information systems to support the political work of the Committee, information systems to support paperless administrative processes and a digital workplace programme;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Welcomes the Committee’s active policy on open-source technology; encourages the Committee to prioritise open source technology in order to prevent vendor lock-in, retain control over its own technical systems, provide stronger safeguards for the privacy and data protection of the users, as well as increase security and transparency for the public; notes that, in 2019, 39 open source software applications were included in the inventory of software packages and that there are currently active projects taking place to implement a new digital signature portal and a management console based on open source technology;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Encourages the Committee to follow the EDPS recommendations to renegotiate the Inter-Institutional Licensing Agreement and implementation contract, signed between the Union institutions and Microsoft in 2018, with the objective of achieving digital sovereignty, avoid vendor lock-in and lack of control and ensure the protection of personal data;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the fact that a series of measures has been implemented to ensure adequate building security standards, such as the installation of new equipment for access control; notes that the related security standards have reached the same level as the standards of Parliament and the Commission and that, moreover, first steps have been taken to buy athe procurement process started for the new visitor's management system that will be implementas planned to be installed in 2020;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes that a compliance and effectiveness exercise was launched in 2019 to assess to what extent the Committee complies with the 16 internal control standards; notes that the 2019 compliance exercise has shown that the overall state of implementation and effectiveness of the requirements remained satisfactory and stable as compared to 2018; notes, however, that areas for further improvement have been identified including the alignment of the Committee’s mission and organisational structure with new priorities, further digitalisation of data storage and simplification of administrative processes as well as an in-depth revamp of the existing business continuity plan arising from the experiences acquired during the current COVID-19 situation; calls on the Committee to report on the implementation of these much needed improvements in a follow-up to the 2019 discharge;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Congratulates the Committee on the ongoing efforts in the framework of the environmental management system as regards the lowering of the carbon footprint and plastic, food and paper waste; agrees that the reduction of the carbon footprint is among the most important objectives for the coming years; calls on the Committee to pay due attention to the energy mix of its sources of electricity and encourages the procurement of electricity generated by wind, solar, bio and hydroplants; encourages the Committee to participate in related projects with the other Union bodies and to elaborate a comprehensive plan for the Committee to implement the principles and recommendations presented in the European Green Deal, with the general objective of becoming climate neutral by 2030;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43 a. Asks the Committee to start the procedure to join the inter-institutional agreement on the mandatory Transparency Register, which was recently reached between the Parliament, Commission and Council; recalls the importance of a high level of transparency with respect to lobby meetings that might influence members and staff in their advisory role to the Union institutions;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Reiterates what the Court stated in its Special Report 13/2019, the ethical frameworks of the audited EU institutions: scope for improvement, namely that ethical conduct in public affairs contributes to sounder financial management and increased public trust, and that any unethical behaviour by staff and members of the Union institutions and bodies attracts high levels of public interest and reduces trust in Union institutions;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. Welcomes that the President and the Secretary General of the Committee made a firm commitment to reach an amicable settlement and thus conclude the case; notes that on 4 December 2020 under the auspices of Parliament’s mediator, Ms Sophie in't Veld, and the then 2019 discharge rapporteur, Cristian Ghinea, Mr McCoy and the President and the Secretary General of the Committee concluded a joint statement on the principles governing the resolution of the case in line with Parliament's demands since 2004 and that the Committee, with Mr McCoy’s consent, have published the Joint Statement on its website.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 b (new)
Paragraph 46 b (new)
46 b. Acknowledges that in the Joint Statement, the Committee in particular accepts without reserve the OLAF report and its conclusions and acknowledges its past mistakes and shortcomings; recognises, like Parliament, that Mr McCoy was right to take his concerns directly to Parliament and that it should have done more to comply with Parliament’s 2004 demands, including that Mr McCoy must suffer no adverse consequences as a result of having reported wrongdoing; recognises Mr McCoy as a bona fide whistle-blower as conferred politically in 2004 by Parliament and is sorry that Mr McCoy was not protected despite having offered him the protection as a whistle-blower in 2003; sincerely regrets the considerable harm the Committee has caused Mr McCoy, the way in which it treated him and its insufficient duty of care; and accepts that the case should never have been allowed to remain unresolved for more than seventeen years;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 c (new)
Paragraph 46 c (new)
46 c. Notes with satisfaction that the President and the Secretary-General of the Committee has presented their formal apology to Mr McCoy on these accounts and for the Committee’s mishandling of his case, that the Committee and Mr McCoy have committed to settle the financial aspects of the settlement with support from Parliament's legal service and under the political guidance of Parliament's Committe on Budgetary Control, and that the Committee has reiterated its full commitment to the rules and principles of whistle-blower protection and, more particularly to the inalienable principles of equity and fairness, has drawn the necessary conclusions from Mr McCoy’s case and has taken all necessary steps in respect of its internal governance to ensure that such a situation cannot arise again; urges all parties to reach a financial agreement as soon as possible;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 d (new)
Paragraph 46 d (new)
46 d. Acknowledges the efforts of the negotiating teams to reconcile the two parties and commends them for brokering the potential basis for a fair, just and appropriately honourable resolution to this dispute;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Urges all parties to conclude an agreement on a fair financial settlement as a follow-up to the joint statement without further undue delay; recognises the sincere request by the Committee to Parliament’s Legal Service for its assistance in concluding such financial settlement; calls on the Committee in case Parliament’s Legal Service will not be able to assist to obtain an independent draft proposal for a settlement from an independent private legal office with the experience needed in this field;