Activities of Mikuláš PEKSA related to 2021/2108(DEC)
Shadow reports (2)
REPORT 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
SECOND REPORT 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 (10)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Understands that the Council’s budget is mostly administrative with a large part of it being used for expenditure in relation to staff, buildings (including furniture and equipment) and miscellaneous running costs; reiterates its repeated calls for separate budgets for the European Council and the Council in order to improve transparency, accountability and expenditure efficiency for both institutions;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the improvements in the GSC’s internal organisation, focusing in particular on dealing with the working limitations arising from the COVID-19 pandemic situation, such as an increase of the platforms and bandwidth for teleworking activities and the installation of appropriate videoconferencing equipment in small meeting rooms to facilitate hybrid meetings; regrets, however, that there are very few access codes provided to Member States representatives to join the Council meetings remotely, hindering the efficient work of some Member States representations to the Union;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the political agreement on the Transparency Register for interest representatives, reached by Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 15 December 2020; emphasises the importance for the Council, including the Member States’ representatives, of harmonising, improving and enforcing the existing ethics rules, in particular with regard to conflicts of interest, revolving doors and lobby transparency rules; regrets, however, that the Transparency Register does not apply to the Member States representatives working through the Council, who are heavily lobbied;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Regrets the use of corporate sponsorship to cover some of the expenses incurred by Member States to finance their Council presidency; reiterates its concern with respect to the possible reputational damage that such practice might cause to the Council and to the Union; regrets that a common set of clear, concrete and binding rules has not been set out in the guidance on sponsorship included in 2021 in the Council ‘s Presidency Handbook; reiterates its call on the Council to examine budgeting the Council Presidency; reiterates that any actual or perceived conflict of interests jeopardises the reputation of the Council and the Union as a whole; asks the Council explore the possibility of providing permanent support staff to the Council presidencies in order to ensure continuity and efficiency of the working process;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Is aware of the Council’s key role in nomination and appointment procedures for the Union institutions and bodies, in particular for the European Council, the Commission, the Court and the consultative Committees (the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committees); strongly recommends considering a review of that role with a view to guaranteeing and strengthening the democratic participation of relevant stakeholders; regrets that the Council repeatedly failed to take into consideration the recommendations of the Parliament in its consultative role regarding the appointment of the members of the Court;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Is reminded of the Court's statement in its Special Report no 13/2019: The ethical frameworks of the audited EU institutions: scope for improvement that ethical conduct “contributes to sounder financial management and increased public trust, which is indispensable if public policies are to succeed” and, in particular, that “any unethical behaviour by staff and Members of the EU institutions attracts high levels of public interest and reduces trust in the EU”; calls on the Council, therefore, to avoidreject the appointment of candidates who represent a reputational risk for the Union as a whole, taking into account, in particular, existing investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), legal proceedings underway against them and negative recommendations by Parliament or the Commission;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Supports the Ombudsman’s remarks on the need to improve legislative transparency by recording and making the Member States’ positions more accessible and by making more trilogue documents available; in a machine-readable format;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Encourages the Council to prioritise open source technology in order to retain control over its own technical systems, avoid dependency and vendor lock-in, provide stronger safeguards for user’s privacy and data protection, and increase security and transparency for the public;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Notes the increased audience on several social media platforms from 2019 to 2020 with an increase of 39 % in visits to the Council’s website, approximately 443 000 followers on Facebook (an increase of 8 %), approximately 561 000 followers on Twitter (an increase of 22 %) and approximately 167 000 followers on Instagram (an increase of 37 %); observes that there were more than 16 million visits to the Council’s website in 2020; encourages the Council to establish a presence on free and open-source social media networks, such as Mastodon, to achieve further transparency and broader outreach to Union citizens;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48