Activities of Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ related to 2019/2061(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018, Section VII – Committee of the Regions
Amendments (16)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Underlines the importance of the cooperation with the Parliament and the adoption of a cooperation agreement in 2014; stresses, however, that this agreement must be updated to face today’s challenges such as the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the new cohesion policy rules; stresses that a deeper cooperation will be required in order to better promote the Committee’s priorities; underlines also the benefit of budgetary savings achieved through the cooperation and that the main impact on the Committee’s budget is connected to the gradual transfer of staff to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); Notes that the administrative cooperation agreement entered into between the Committee, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) (jointly the 'Committees') and Parliament in 2014 came to end on 31 December 2019; notes that until now the 2014 agreement has not been renegotiated or extended; is of the opinion that the 2014 agreement was very unbalanced for the Committees that transferred in total 60 translators to Parliament (36 from the EESC) and in exchange only got to use the services of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); notes with concern that as a consequence the Committees had to hire contract staff and outsource the translation service; notes with concern that Parliament to compensate for the reduction in translation staff provides an additional amount (EUR 1 200 000 since 2015 to 2016) to the EESC and the Committee to cover the outsourcing of the translation services which amount can be reallocated to other policy areas if they are not fully used for outsourced translation (the EESC used this reallocation possibility in the last three years); is of the opinion that these circumstances do not align with the criteria of overall prudent and sound financial management and should be reconsidered in case of extension of the present contract or negotiation of a new agreement; recognise that from a political point of view, the agreement must be updated to face today’s challenges, such as the new Multiannual Financial Framework or the new cohesion policy rules among others;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Notes that a joint EESC- Committee working group has recently been established which will prepare a further analysis in order to find adequate solutions; notes that another working group also has to reflect on new ways of working; stresses that in no case must the staff well-being, way of work and work space suffer negative consequences of the deficiencies coming from the exchange of buildings; recalls that the staff should be consulted on it and their opinion taken into account; calls on the Committees to inform Parliament’s Committees on Budgetary Control and Budgets on any results achieved;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Expresses serious concerns about the suspicion of the presence of amiante or other dangerous particules in the VMA building including the parking; deplores that the staff committee and the trade unions have note been informed about this issue; asks both Committees to carry out an inspection by an accredited external body before proceeding to the occupation of the VMA building and to inform the stakeholders and the Parliament’s Committees on Budgetary Control and Budget about the results;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18 c. Expresses serious concerns because of the confirmation of presence of asbestos in critical places of the VMA building including parking; deeply deplores that an inventory realised by an specialised external contractor was carried out in September 2019 just one month after the signature of the agreement with the Commission; deplores that the agreement was signed without informing all stakeholders in due time about the possibly presence of asbestos in the VMA building; also deplores that members and staff have not been informed about the situation and considers that it is not sufficient that the information has been published on the ESSC intranet where it is difficult to find;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
18 d. Notes that the Committees received an asbestos-safe certificate for the VMA building in September 2019 and that this certificate specifies the building contains asbestos without risk for normal use of the building; taking into account especially that the next use of the building will not be normal use, but a situation of construction, is deeply concerned about the future developments on the issue;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)
18 e. Taking into account that the effects of prolonged and unsafe asbestos exposure on human health are well documented and are always a source of concern and alarm among the population in general; asks both Committees to carry out a policy of total and proactive transparency and information about the management of the situation before and after the effective occupation of the VMA building while at the same time avoiding unnecessary alarmism;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes the administrativat the agreement between the EESC, the Committee and the Commission, on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee concerning the exchange of the Commission's VMA building with the Committees' B 68/TRE 74 buildings for the common use of the EESC and the Committee; notes that the exchange will become effective on 16 September 2022; exchange of the Commission's VMA building for the Committees BEL68/TRE 74 buildings was signed on 28 August 2019; notes that the exchange will become effective on 16 September 2022; notes with concern that the main priority identified by the Committees' buildings policy is the geographical concentration of the buildings; notes with concern that this exchange results in a loss of office space of 10 440 m2 and, thus, a need to find extra offices to accommodate around 200 staff members after the exchange, which could not be entirely offset by alternative measures in the short-term such as densifying the use of space in the other buildings and increased teleworking, but will necessitate the purchase of another adjacent building to compensate this reduction; notes also the need to renovate the VMA building in the short to medium term; fears the consequences that this agreement will have not only for the finances of the Committee but also for the wellbeing of the concerned staff; regrets that the legal service has not been consulted on a matter of such scope and importance for the Committee;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Regrets that the Committee does not yet have a legal framework to deal with harassment cases involving its members; reiterates the European Ombudsman's call on the institutions to adopt rules on harassment applicable to their members; counts onasks the Committee to urgently adopt such rules, along the lines of the Parliament's Bureau Decision of 2 July 2018 on harassment complaints; calls on the Committee to report back on the follow-up to Parliament;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Recalls its request1a for a mediation between the former internal auditor of the Committee and the Committee aiming at an amicable settlement in the ongoing dispute in the interest of both parties; acknowledges that at least one mediation meeting has been held in Parliament, together with meetings between the Committee and its former internal auditor; requests the appointed mediator to report back to Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control as soon as possible; _________________ 1aResolution (EU) 2019/1429 of the European Parliament of 26 March 2019 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section VII — Committee of the Regions (OJ L 249, 27.9.2019, p. 123).
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Recognises the efforts of the EESC and the Committee resulting in an important reorganisation under a new strategy for a more resource efficient multilingualism; noteregrets that during a limited period of timefrom 2014 to 2017 transfers of posts from the linguistic services to the services of Parliament needed to be compensated by an increased number of contractual staff; calls on the Committee to inform Parliament regularly on the related developments;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes an establishment plan of 538 staff members in 2018 (compared to 533 in 2017); welcomes the lower vacancy rate of posts in 2018 (less than 2 %) than in 2017 (approximately 2,5 %); welcomes very much that a workload assessment exercise was initiated in 2018 to have an overview of the efficient use of human resources in the Committee and to identify possible gaps; notes that the final report will be delivered in spring 2019; requests a follow- up of the situation in its next annual activity report;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Notes with interest that the Committee adopted an integrated talent management strategy covering a wide range of areas and policies for ultimately contributing to staff performance and staff commitment; notes that the level of deputy heads of unit, heads of sector and team leaders has been officially recognised as a new management level and that the Committee organised related in-house trainings;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Reiterates the need to streamline and speed upimprove the discharge procedure; proposes in this regard to set a deadline for the submission of the annual activity reports of 31 March of the year following the accounting year; welcomes the Committee’s readinessreadiness of the Committee to follow this best practise which shwould help to support the request to shorten the timeline forprovide the discharge authority with more time to go in depth and better conduct the discharge procedure;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Notes that the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the EESC, signed in 2016, established a firm legal framework for long-term, efficient and effective cooperation, and also demonstrates that the two Committees are acting in partnership while respecting each other's powers and prerogatives; notes that the agreement ended on 31 December 2019 and it has been decided to extend it for one year while a new agreement is being negotiated; asks both Committees to make the necessary efforts to conclude it as soon as possible in order to allow further synergies and savings;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35 b. Recalls that once again the Committee, together with the EESC, dedicated less than 3 % of their total budget to IT and that IT projects and equipment have suffered from structurally underfinancing for several years; notes with concern that in order to address their backlog with respect to IT projects and systems, the two Committees continue to use mopping-up exercises at the end of the year to finance IT projects; asks the two Committees to implement as soon as possible the new digital strategy and multiannual IT expenditure plan;