Activities of Mikuláš PEKSA related to 2021/2115(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020, Section X – European External Action Service
Amendments (10)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Understands that the current provisions on procurement set down in the Financial Regulation for application by Delegations in third countries have proved to be inefficient; agrees with the EEAS’ call for a revision of the relevant procurement provisions either by the integration of a separate chapter for Delegations in third countries or by adjusting the value threshold, in both cases aiming to adapt the rules in force to the capacities and the local context of the Delegations;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Notes that the EU Delegation to Syria was the only one to express a reservation (since 2017) on the management of administrative expenditure due to the current security climate; notes with appreciation that the EEAS succeeded to resolve two pending issues in 2020, regarding income tax of local agents and access to the Delegation's Syrian bank account;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Welcomes the implementation of the Multi-Annual Strategic Audit Plan developed by the IAS; calls on the EEAS to inform the discharge authority about the results and lessons learnt from this strategy;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Notes that in 2020 the EEAS recruited 41 remunerated Blue Book Trainees for a 5-month traineeship in its HQ; notes that 385 trainees were employed for 101 Delegations, for traineeships with an average length of 5 months; points outregrets that 39 traineeships were still unpaid; notes that all the trainees received a personal computer to telework; calls on the EEAS to take the appropriateurgent steps to ensure that all its trainees receive a decent remuneration; recommends to allocate more budget to pay trainees;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Notes that in 2020 the EEAS examined only 25 notifications of intention to engage in an occupational activity after leaving the service, out of which six notifications came from former senior members of staff; asks the EEAS to automatically request information on the intended occupation of senior staff members leaving their positions; underlines that the geopolitical sensitive information senior staff members have access to cannot be compromised; welcomes the retroactive publication of its decisions on occupational activities of former senior officials in compliance with Article 16(3) of the Staff Regulations; is aware of the automatic application of a lobbying and advocacy ban to every official having left the service;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Observes that EEAS has received 20 requests for information from OLAF related to possible cases of fraud, involving Union staff or external actors and in the case of five of them OLAF decided to open an investigation; observes that the Ombudsman has handled 14 cases concerning EEAS without issuing any recommendation; welcomes that cooperation with the EPPO is being explored on the advice and with the support of OLAF; calls on the EEAS to timely and diligently inform the discharge authority about the outcome of those investigations;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53 a (new)
Paragraph 53 a (new)
53 a. Encourages the EEAS 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, as well as increase security and transparency for the public;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Supports the EEAS in its efforts to increase the use of colocations in its Delegations, which has more than doubquadrupled over the past 5 years (from 20 in 2011 to 116 in 2020) and represents 7 % of the total office surface; appreciates that the management of colocations viathe Framework Agreement with each colocation partner has facilitated the recovery of EUR 12 million of costs in 2020;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
Paragraph 60 a (new)
60 a. Deeply regrets that the EEAS has given into Chinese pressure, as it toned down the language of one of its reports initially calling China a “propagator of disinformation” related to the COVID-19 pandemic; notes that the High Representative admitted that Chinese officials had “expressed their concerns” over the leak of the draft publication, which led to the changes; asks the EEAS to set up strong measures to protect the EEAS staff from foreign interference;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69 a (new)
Paragraph 69 a (new)
69 a. Is concerned by researchers accusing EU vs Disinfo of not respecting the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles because its methodology would not be transparent enough, it would violate the right to freedom of expression and of the press by labelling publishers and media outlets that report on third party opinions as “disinforming outlets”, as well as it would fail to provide objective impartiality, as it does not provide the right to be heard; asks the EEAS to provide more information to the Parliament on the compliance of its review methodology with EU law and international standards;