46 Amendments of Cristian TERHEŞ related to 2023/2129(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 4 #
Proposal for a decision 3
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Acting Director of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Acting Director of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes with concern that the European Ombudsman opened a case on 16 September 2021 on the separate matter of the European Commission’s refusal to grant public access to text messages exchanged between the Commission President and the CEO of Pfizer at the time of the preliminary negotiations; recalls that the Ombudsman's report of 26 January 2022 finds that the way the Commission dealt with this request constituted maladministration;2a _________________ 2a https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/rec ommendation/en/151678
Amendment 5 #
Proposal for a decision 4
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 6 #
3 c. Notes with concern that the Special Report of the Court for 2022 on the EU COVID-19 vaccine procurement shows that, according to the Commission, the joint negotiation team was under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry to release companies from their liability for COVID-19 vaccines;3a _________________ 3a https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADoc uments/SR22_19/SR_EU_COVID_vaccin e_procurement_EN.pdf, p.28
Amendment 6 #
Proposal for a decision 5
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Emphasises that the Court noted that even though the steering board considered it important to have a diversified portfolio of vaccines based on different technologies the Commission decided to rely mostly on Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA technology-based vaccines up to the end of 2023; 4a _________________ 4a https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADoc uments/SR22_19/SR_EU_COVID_vaccin e_procurement_EN.pdf p.32
Amendment 7 #
Proposal for a decision 6
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a decision 7
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Research Executive Agency discharge in relation to the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Research Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the Discharge from 2021 on the EU General Budget - Commission and Executive Agencies 1a; _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2023-0137_EN.html
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Recalls that in 2022, the Ombudsman opened an inquiry in the European Commission’s refusal to give public access to documents related to its proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space; 9k _________________ 9k https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cas e/en/62762
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Deplores the problematic and hateful material in Palestinian school textbooks and study cards which has still not been removed; underlines that education and pupils’ access to peaceful and unbiased textbooks is essential, especially in the context of the rising implication of teenagers in terrorist attacks; stresses that financial support from the Union for the Palestinian Authority in the area of education shall be provided on the condition that textbook content is aligned with UNESCO standards, as decided upon by Union education ministers in Paris on 17 March 2015, that all anti-Semitic references are deleted, and examples that incite hatred and violence are removed, as repeatedly requested in the resolutions accompanying the discharge decisions in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial years 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020; therefore requests the Commission to closely scrutinise that the Palestinian Authority (PA) modifies the full curriculum expeditiously;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4 d. Notes that the European Commission did not assess the risk that Hamas proxies and associated individuals operating in the EU present to the safety and security of EU citizens and that the continuation of funding under these circumstances puts EU citizens in danger;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4 e. Notes that the European Commission did not use its full prerogatives, as guardian of the treaties, to make sure Romania and Bulgaria are accepted into Schengen, despite the fact that both countries are meeting since 2011 all the conditions to be fully members of the Schengen area;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Stresses the fact that the European Commission has focused all of the efforts and funding on the non-transparent procurement of COVID-19 vaccines while ignoring the medical opinions, studies and products that offered alternative medical reatments to COVID-19;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4 f. Regrets the recurrent practice of the Commission in providing an often only very limited amount of information on the implementation of EU legislation to Parliament; calls for the Commission to respect the principle of sincere cooperation and proactively publish this information; expresses regret at the Commission’s refusal to publish statistics indicating the effectiveness of EU policies, which hinders any public scrutiny of policies with a significant impact on fundamental rights; calls on the Commission to be more proactive in publishing such statistics in order to prove that policies are necessary and proportionate to achieving their objective; calls on the Commission to be transparent as regards contracts with third parties; calls on the Commission to be more proactive in publishing as much information as possible about the tender processes compared to its current practices;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Criticises the Commission for granting conditional market authorisation to vaccines for COVID-19, without existing at that time sufficient reliable scientific data proving without any doubts that the benefits of the vaccines far outweighed their potential risks that could put the citizens' lives at risk; Takes note that the way the conditional marketing authorisation was granted for the COVID-19 vaccines caused distrust and vaccine hesitancy regarding any vaccines; Reaffirms that, according to the definition, in order for a medical product to be labelled as vaccine it must produce immunity against a disease so the vaccinated person will not get infected nor transmit the disease; notes that the anti COVID-19 injections, despite being labelled as vaccines, had not met the criteria of a vaccine, since it was proven that people injected with these medical products got infected as well as transmitted the disease and even die;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4 g. Deeply regrets the fact that the Commission and Council insist on in camera meetings without proper justification; considers that requests for in camera meetings should be properly evaluated; calls for clear criteria and rules governing requests for in camera sessions in the EU institutions;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)
4 h. Reiterates the calls made in previous resolutions by the Parliament on public access to documents; regrets the fact that there has been no proper follow- up from the Commission to several proposals made by Parliament;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Notes with concern the creation of HERA, a body intended to expand EU influence over decision making in the area of health policy; Stresses that citizens of Member States never consented to the EU having powers over health policy;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 i (new)
Paragraph 4 i (new)
4 i. Recalls the request made in several resolutions by the Parlaiment, including on Public access to documents for years 2016-20185a, and urges the Commission to ensure public access to all advance purchase agreements, in their full form, between the EU and private companies in the field of health, in particular when ordering vaccines; _________________ 5a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2021-0043_EN.pdf
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Condemns the lack of transparency from the Commission and pharmaceutical companies in the development, purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes with concern that, to date, the Commission has not make available, not only to the public, but not even to the Members of the European Parliament, the non-redacted versions of the contracts signed with the producers of the COVID- 19 vaccine;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Notes that the EPPO has confirmed that there is an ongoing investigation into the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines in the Union7a; _________________ 7a https://www.eppo.europa.eu/en/news/ongo ing-eppo-investigation-acquisition-covid- 19-vaccines-eu
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Notes that, based on an inquiry, the European Ombudsman concluded that the Commission's refusal of public access to text messages exchanged between the Commission President and the CEO of a pharmaceutical company on the purchase of a COVID 19 vaccine (case 1316/2021/MIG) constituted “maladministration”8a; _________________ 8a https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/de cision/en/158295
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Recalls that the Discharge on the General Budget of the EU and the European Commission for 2021 underlines the deep concern regarding the funding of projects carried out by or involving NGOs with links to radical religious and political organisations 5c; _________________ 5c https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2023-0137_EN.html
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 – point iii
Paragraph 36 – point iii
(iii) step up efforts to improve transparency in the use of funds, including as regards information on final beneficiaries and contracts with third parties and to be more proactive in publishing as much information as possible about tendering processes compared to its current practices;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 – point v a (new)
Paragraph 36 – point v a (new)
(v a) urges the Commission to set up ex ante mechanisms clearly identifying NGOs operating on Union territory and abroad that have acknowledged ties to religious fundamentalist or terrorist networks and push forward an agenda that is undermining the security of the EU citizens;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 – point v b (new)
Paragraph 36 – point v b (new)
(v b) finally end the exemption of NGOs from Union anti-money laundering rules as non-obliged entities and to extend the definition of politically exposed persons to former politicians who take up management positions in NGOs receiving Union funding;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 a (new)
Paragraph 127 a (new)
127 a. Unequivocally denounces the antisemitic hate speech and incitement to violence in Palestinian school textbooks used by UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority which have still not been removed; underlines that education and pupils’ access to peaceful and unbiased textbooks is essential, especially in the context of the rising implication of teenagers in terrorist attacks; Strongly condemning the use of such materials, which contribute to an environment of intolerance and extremism, and noting with deep concern that these materials may have played a role in facilitating the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, in which several perpetrators were reportedly UNRWA employees and graduates of Palestinian schools; stresses that financial support from the Union to the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA in the area of education shall be provided on the condition of removing all antisemitic references and examples that incite hatred and violence from the Palestinian curriculum with full adherence to UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance in education, as already was decided upon by the EP in its 2023 recommendation on relations with the Palestinian Authority, and as repeatedly requested in the resolutions accompanying the discharge decisions in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial years 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; as well as in its latest adopted resolution on Prospects for the Two-State Solution;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 b (new)
Paragraph 127 b (new)
127 b. Highlights that according to the answers of commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement for the 2021 Discharge Report the ongoing development portfolio for the Palestinians, under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) Regulation, is EUR 681 million between 2021 and 2023, for the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA and development projects in the West Bank and Gaza; Notes that about one third of the funding benefitted projects in Gaza and two third in the West Bank; Underlines that the EU provided EUR 271 million to UNRWA for the provision of social services to the Palestinian refugees and in addition, the EU provided support to the Palestinian Authority’s recurrent expenditures, mainly the salaries and pensions of civil servants, the social allowances paid through the cash transfer programme and part of the costs of referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals through the PEGASE mechanism; Notes with concern that there is no real control over these fundings;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 c (new)
Paragraph 127 c (new)
127 c. Underlines that the ECA AR 2022 highlights an example of ineligible expenditure included in the cost claim concerning a project in Palestine on the sustainable use of natural resources to support Palestine’s transition to a green economy with an incentive component that was intended to support SMEs in the form of grants for ‘green’ projects in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and pollution abatement; Underlines that 190.500 Euros had been approved of and paid to a development agency, with the task to monitor the implementation of the project by the final beneficiary, but the project was not realized11a; _________________ 11a /https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublicati ons/AR-2022/AR-2022_EN.pdf
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 130 – point ii a (new)
Paragraph 130 – point ii a (new)
(ii a) to intensify its communication with international organizations in order to provide the ECA with complete, unlimited and timely access to documents necessary to carry out its task in accordance with the TFEU, and not just in read-only format;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 130 – point iii a (new)
Paragraph 130 – point iii a (new)
(iii a) closely scrutinise and monitor that the Palestinian Authority (PA) modifies the full curriculum expeditiously;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139 a (new)
Paragraph 139 a (new)
139 a. Recalls that the European Parliament resolution of 13 July 2023 on public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021 3a noted with great concern that, in 2021, following a request for public access to text messages between the Commission’s President and the CEO of a pharmaceutical company regarding the Commission’s purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, the Commission refused to acknowledge that such text messages fall within the definition of a ‘document’ under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001; recalls that registering a document is a consequence of the existence of a document and not a prerequisite for its existence; takes note of the Ombudsman’s finding of maladministration by the Commission in this case 4a; is concerned about the fact that the Commission has failed to follow up on the Ombudsman’s recommendation following her inquiry to conduct another search for relevant text messages; expresses deep concern about the growing distance between citizens and the EU institutions, which this situation has caused; _________________ 3a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2023-0295_EN.html 4a https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cas e/en/59777
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139 b (new)
Paragraph 139 b (new)
139 b. Recalls that the European Parliament resolution of 13 July 2023 on public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021 2a underlined that the Commission has been deleting documents, including minutes from closed meetings, reports and internal documents; expresses its concern about the fact that this practice has led to the disappearance of important correspondence relevant to policy decisions and spending of public money; _________________ 2a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2023-0295_EN.html
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139 c (new)
Paragraph 139 c (new)
139 c. Recalls that the European Parliament resolution of 13 July 2023 on public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-202115a underlined that the Commission’s internal policy is, in effect, not to register text messages, as it argues that text messages are ‘short-lived documents’ in nature and ‘are not meant to contain important information relating to policies, activities and decisions of the Commission’; points out, however, that in practice, text messages are being used for this purpose; _________________ 15a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2023-0295_EN.html
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 – point i a (new)
Paragraph 171 – point i a (new)
(i a) urgently follow up on the Ombudsman’s recommendation following her inquiry on the Commission's refusal of public access to text messages exchanged between the Commission President and the CEO of a pharmaceutical company on the purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine and to conduct a full search without delay;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 – point i b (new)
Paragraph 171 – point i b (new)
(i b) ensure the systematic registration and archiving of non-private correspondence related to key political decisions and spending;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 – point i c (new)
Paragraph 171 – point i c (new)
(i c) bring its internal guidelines on document registration in line with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and to register text messages related to its policies, activities and decisions particularly those involving the expenditure of public funds;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 – point i d (new)
Paragraph 171 – point i d (new)
(i d) immediately publish the non- redacted versions of the Purhase Agreements for the COVID-19 vaccines;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 a (new)
Paragraph 171 a (new)
171 a. be more proactive in publishing documents and statistics regarding how they handle document access requests, as such information would help with assessing the institutions’ proactive approach to document access; calls that an application for access to a document must be handled promptly;