Activities of Konstantinos ARVANITIS related to 2023/2171(DEC)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022
Amendments (3)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) has declared the transactions underlying the annuals accounts of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2022 to be legal and regular in all material respects; notes the Court’s observation on recurrent high rates of carry-overs related to operational activities amounting to € 6,4 million (26 %) of available 2022 commitment appropriations to 2023; highlights the Court’s comment that recurrent high rates of carry overs contradict the budgetary principle of annularity and are indicative of structural issues in the budget process and implementation cycle; notes FRA’s reply stipulating that the specific frame in which FRA works, makes it difficult to commit Operational expenditure earlier in the year and it is difficult to fully avoid carry overs, and that nevertheless FRA maintains a good budget implemenation with an outturn higher than 99% in the last ten years;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes with satisfaction FRA’s assistance in identifying trend in the fields of anti-discrimination, artificial intelligence, asylum, migation and borders; its contribution to better law making and implementation by providing legislative and policy advice on matters such as children, victims’ rights, combatting terrorism, data protection; recognizes the quick reaction of FRA to the Russian invasion of Ukraine including being one of the first EU agencies at the border, monitoring the situation, preparing a report, two bulletins, online survey; highlights FRA’s findings that for refugees other than those fleeing Ukraine, legal avenues to reach safety in the EU remain limited, and those who arrive irreguarly are subject to serious rights violations in several EU Member States; welcomes FRA’s initiative for EU Member States to set up or strengthen national mechanisms to monitor fundamental rights compliance, ensuring safeguards to guarantee the independence of the mechansim; also welcomes FRA’s impact assessment on Directive EU 2017/541 on Combatting Terrorism which confirmed that the directive negatively affects a wide range of fundmental rights and freedoms; echoes its call to the Commission to provide greater definition of “terrorism” in EU criminal law in order to prevent abuses of fundamental rights and discrimination;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the close cooperation with the European Border Coast Agency (Frontex), namely co-chairing the Frontex Consultative Forum and attending as fundamental rights expert at the Frontex Management Board meetings; welcomes its report on the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation which put forward six priority areas relating to fundamental rights, including improving Frontex’s internal fundamental rights mechanisms, and providing more legal clarity of the personal data which Frontex can process; welcomes the delivery of training sessions to CEPOL, Frontex and eu-LISA on fundamental rights and the use of IT systems in the area of borders and security; appreciates the participation in the work in the field of security with Europol;