BETA

220 Amendments of Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ related to 2020/2140(DEC)

Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
2. Takes note of European Commission’s assessment that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) presents a low risk of error; requests however that the Commission, together with the Court and OLAF, closely monitor the EU transport projects in order to prevent fraud, as public investment in infrastructure is particularly sensitivvulnerable to fraud;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 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 2019 / 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 2019;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Notes that by the end of 2019 out of the total ESIF allocations for the current MFF (465 billion euros) only 40 % had been paid out to the Member States, compared with 46 % by the end of 2012, the corresponding year of the previous MFF. During 2019, 12 % of total allocations were paid, similar to the proportion of the allocations paid in 2012, the corresponding year of the previous MFF (13 %).
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that by the sixth year of the current programming period 2014-2020 only around 31% of the funds initially awarded had resulted in payments by January 2020, putting into question the full implementation of CEF; calls on the Commission to warn Member States to significantly speed up investments and also calls on the Commission to step up its monitoring in view of the urgent need for infrastructure investment for the speedy recovery from the Covid-19 related economic downturn and to ensure interconnectivity at the European level;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
7. Reiterates the Parliament’s request for the creation of a new budgetary line for an important sector in the EU economy, such as Tourism, to support this sector severely hit by the Covid-19 crisis; welcomes that the Court has launched an audit to assess tourism projects co-funded with EUR 6.4 billion in 2007-2013 and EUR 4 billion so far in 2014-2020 ERDF and Cohesion Fund money, which will help improving EU Tourism policies;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
A. the Union budget is a significant instrument for achieving common policy objectives, and on average represents 2,1 % of the Member States’ general government expenditure and total public spending in the Union1.0% of EU gross national income;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that the Court continued to find a high number of errors in relation to public procurement, state aid rules and grant award procedures, mainly in ‘Cohesion’ and ‘Natural resources’. These errors contributed 20 % to Court's estimated level of error for high-risk expenditure (2018: 16 %), for this reason, the Commission should identify ways to reduce errors;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Welcomes that the Commission has elaborated a Public Procurement Action Plan, updated several times since 2014;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. The overall audit evidence the Court obtained and have presented, indicates that the level of error in spending on ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’ was material. For this MFF sub-heading, Court's testing of transactions produced an estimated overall level of error of 4,4 %;
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Recommends the Commission to enhance its information campaign regarding H2020 funding rules, with particular focus on SMEs.
2020/12/15
Committee: TRAN
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights, with regard to the implementation of the Union budget, the importance of complying with the principle of sound financial management as enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU);,), as well as the importance of achieving programmes priorities and objectives which contribute to strengthening the European integration and creating an ever closer Union .
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Encourage the Commission to continue attaching the highest importance to the sound financial management of the EU budget, in particular through putting in place multiannual control strategies designed to prevent, detect and correct errors, as well as to continue carefully monitoring the implementation of the EU budget and to take immediate steps to correct the errors and to recover the funds incorrectly spent by Member States, intermediaries or final beneficiaries;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Considers, in line with the Commission's endeavour, that it is of utmost importance to strike the right balance between low level of errors, fast payments, reasonable costs of controls and added value of the EU Budget;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Stresses the crucial role of the EU policies and instruments for their realisation in the areas of cohesion, agriculture and rural development, research and innovations, home affairs and external relations for reducing disparities between Member States and regions, for promoting economic growth and employment, for combating poverty and social exclusion, for upholding and promoting EU values, security and justice for its citizens within the Union and in the wider world;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Welcomes that the Commission, as manager of the EU budget, appropriately tailors its common methodology to the specificities of the risk, control and management environments of the different spending areas, in order to effectively fulfil its reporting obligations and protect the EU Budget;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the major increase of the EPPO’s budget and staff with regard to the initial proposal; reminds the Commission the key role of the EPPO in protecting the EU recovery plan in the years to come; calls on the Commission and the budgetary authorities to secure sufficient resources for the EPPO as requested by the European Chief Prosecutor;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Acknowledges that the financial management of the EU budget has improved over time and that the error levels have decreased to ranges getting closer to the 2% materiality threshold in the recent years, except in some specific policy areas;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
7. Deeply regrets, however,Is concerned that for the first time in four years the Court had tos issued an adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of the expenditure underlying the accounts;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Observes, however, that the Court admits that the overall level of errors has remained relatively stable, at 2,7% in 2019,compared with 2,6% in 2018 and stresses the positive elements in the EU spending, outlined by the Court, such as the development in natural resources and sustained results in administration;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – introductory part
8. Notes that the reasons for the adverse opinion are: on EU expenditure is the conclusion of the Court that the level of errors mainly in reimbursement-based payments is pervasive, and that due to the way the EU budget is composed and evolves over time, high risk expenditures in 2019 represents more than half of the audited spending (53,1%),in which the material error continues to be present at an estimated rate of 4,9% (compared to 4,5 % in 2018 and 3,7 % in 2017);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point a
a. an increase in the most probable error rate for payments, issued by the Court, compared to that of the previous years, as the payments were affected in 2019 by a most probable error rate of 2,7 % (compared to 2,6 % in 2018 and 2,4 % in 2017);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point b
b. that more than half (53,1 %) of the expenditure was materially affected by error, concerning mainly reimbursement- based expenditure, in which the level of error was as high as 4,9 % (compared to 4,5 % in 2018 and 3,7 % in 2017); notes that this increase is largely due to a rise in ‘Cohesion’ spending since expenditure under this field increased to EUR 66,9 billion in 2019;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
10. Deeply regretsTakes note of the Court’s observation that the Commission’s particular role, as reflected in its methodology, and weaknesses in ex- post checks, which are a critical part of the control system, affects the Commission’s estimates of errors; notes that Commission’s risk at payment for 2019, set at 2,1% as reported in its Annual Management and Performance Report (AMPR), is within the range of the ECA’s estimated level of error for the three most significant spending areas - competitiveness, cohesion and natural resources;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the Court provided in 2019 specific error rates for four MFF headings: ‘Competitiveness’ (4.0%), ‘Cohesion’, (4,4%),‘Natural resources’(1,9 %) and ‘Administration’; points out that, in 2019, the Court found the highest estimated level of error in spending under ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion‘ (4,4 % (an estimated level of error below the materiality threshold);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Draws attention that the general estimate of the level of error in the EU budget, as presented in the Court’s Statement of Assurance, is neither a measure of fraud nor of inefficiency or waste, but it is an estimate of the money that should not have been paid out because it was not used in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations; notes that in 2019 the Court reported to OLAF 9 instances of suspected fraud found during its audits (also 9 in 2018),from which OLAF has opened 5 investigations and decided not to open an investigation in 4 cases;.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
15. RegretNotes the adoption of three amending budgets in 2019, adding EUR 0,4 billion to commitment appropriations and EUR 0,3 billion to payment appropriationswhich refer to the following;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point i (new)
(i) Amending Budget (AB) No1/2019 entered the surplus of EUR 1 802 988 329, resulting from the implementation of the budget year 2018, as revenue in the 2019 budget; this amount has reduced the annual GNI contributions for Member States;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point ii (new)
(ii) Amending Budget (AB) No 2/2019 provided an additional EUR 100 million of commitment appropriations to Horizon2020 and Erasmus+ as decided by the European Parliament and the Council in their agreement on the budget 2019
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point iii (new)
(iii) Amending Budget (AB) No 3/2019 entered the necessary commitment and payment appropriations for the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) amounting to EUR 293 551 794 which aimed to provide assistance to Romania, Italy and Austria following natural disasters that took place in these Member States in the course of 2018:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Acknowledges that given the multi-annual nature of its expenditure and of its control strategies, the Commission may apply corrections until the closure of the funding programme; notes furthermore that while errors may be detected in a given year, they are corrected in the current or in subsequent years after the payment was made – up until the moment of closure; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to continue exercising their corrective capacity, and the Commission to use the supervisory tools at its disposal, in line with its obligations under the different sectorial legal bases, in order to bring the real risk at closure ultimately well below 2% and closer to 0%;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Notes that in 2019 the corrective measures confirmed by the Commission amounted to EUR 1.5 billion (25% higher than in 2018), relating mainly to errors affecting payments made in previous years.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
16. RegretsNotes with concern the fact that outstanding commitments have continued to grow, reaching EUR 298,0 billion at the end of 2019 (compared to EUR 281,2 billion in 2018); notes that the Court has identified the reasons for the continuing rise, such as the overall increase in the size of the EU budget over time; notes that the level of payment appropriations in the annual budgets has been noticeably lower than the MFF ceiling in recent years, which might lead to higher payment needs in the future; notes the commitment of the Commission to conduct a thorough analysis of the payment appropriations needed until the end of the year during the global transfer exercise in order to make a proposal to the budgetary authority if reinforcements are needed;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
17. Points out that according to the Court, the overall absorption rate of ESIF (European Structural Investment Funds) was lower than in the corresponding year of the previous MFF, as by the end of 2019, out of the total ESIF allocations for the current MFF (EUR 465 billion), only 40 % had been paid out to Member States (compared with 46 % by the end of 2012); notes that only nine Member States had higher absorption rates under the current MFF than under the previous one, andhighlights the Commission’s explanation that the slower absorption rate is related to the late adoption of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), the time needed for authorities to set up an effective delivery programme and compliance systems, and the changes introduced in the regulations in the 2014- 2020 programming period, such as the high level of annual prefinancing and the new rule for automatic decommitments (n+3); notes that overall the speed of absorption in 2019 stayed almost exactly the same as in 2018;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Recalls that the absorption rate expresses the extent to which EU funds allocated to Member States have been spent on eligible projects, which is one of the preconditions and indications of effective future absorption; stresses, in this regards, that since the end of 2018 the project selection rate remains ahead of the same reference period in 2007-2013; emphasises, furthermore, that by end June 2020, nearly all (99,2%) the EUR 350 billion in total cost were allocated to nearly 515 000 projects;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
18. Notes furthermore that by the start of 2019, after the current MFF had been in place for five years, only approximately 17 % of the total ESI funding committed through Financial Instruments under Shared Management (FISMs) had reached its final recipient; notes, however, that by mid-September 2020 the 42% of amounts allocated to financial instruments were effectively paid and, therefore, available for investments into final recipients; welcomes, furthermore, that 59% of the available capital for FISMs had reached final recipients or was used for eligible costs;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that, as in previous years, substantial amounts of unused annual ESIF pre-financing, due mainly to delays in implementation, was returned to the Union budget (EUR 7,7 billion in 2019), due mainly to delayas assigned revenue; points out that EUR 5,0 billion of that amount was used to make payments ion implementationclaims from Member States over and above the approved budget for the year under the relevant ESIF budget lines, which has prevented them from being cancelled;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Acknowledges that shared management is instrumental for the implementation of the ESIF which in turn relays upon an efficient administrative collaboration between the Commission and the Member States; underlines the Court’s observation that the risk of error is high for expenditure subject to complex rules; welcomes the substantial improvements in this regard over the last ten years due inter alias to the Commission’s efforts and the recommendations of both the Court and the Parliament; encourages the Commission to move towards simplification and performance orientation;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to present a complete picture of the exposure of the Union budget in the annual “Report on guarantees covered by the general budget”, including the risk generated by the EFSI guarantee as well as all future related financial operations ;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Welcomes the Court's observation that the Commission has started making systemic performance assessments and analysis leading to conclusions on the achieving of the programmes’ objectives; notes with satisfaction that the Court considers this as a significant positive step towards clearer, more transparent and comprehensive annual reporting on programme performance;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
32. Underlines that according to the Financial Regulation, sound financial management implies effectiveness, efficiency and economy, and that the Commission and the Member States should ensure a focus on all three elements;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
38. Observes that, for 2019, the Commission's estimate for the overall risk at closure was at 0,7 % (compared to 0,8 % in 2018) of the relevant expenditure; notes that due to the higher risk at payment in relation to cohesion spending, the overall risk at payment estimated by the Commission was higher than in previous years, at 2,1 % for 2019 (compared to 1,7 % in 2018), but as the estimated future corrections were also higher (1,4 %, compared to 0,9 % in 2018), the Commission arrived at a stable risk at closure, and with an estimate of risk at closure of less than 2 %, the Commission considered that its multiannual control systems ensured effective protection of the Union budget; points out furthermore that in the Commission’s own estimate, the expenditure with risk at payment above the materiality threshold was very high at EUR 67 billion;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Notes that the Commission subdivides its portfolio for 2019 into lower-risk and higher-risk strata, using criteria recognised also by the Court and related to the nature of the funding, notably the difference between rather complex reimbursement-based schemes (higher risk expenditure with risk at payment above 2%) and fairly straightforward entitlement-based payments (lower risk expenditure with risk at payment below 2%); points out furthermore that the Commission estimates that the higher risk expenditure stands at EUR 67 billion(46%), thus affecting smaller part of the budget than the lower risk expenditure, which stands at EUR 80 billion (54%);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Notes the Court’s conclusion that the Commission's performance reporting is becoming more balanced and that both the AMPR and the programme statements complement their reporting on programme achievements including information on lagging behind areas and persisting challenges for programmes;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Notes with satisfaction that the Commission is improving its risk assessment for the planning of the inspections and continues to strive to close long outstanding open points rapidly, depending also on Member States’ cooperation;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
45. UnderlinNotes that two main systemic weaknesses concern thehe Commission’s TOR inspections and the Court’s work highlighted two main weaknesses in Member State’s controls to reduce the custom gap: - lack of Union- wide standards forharmonisation of the performance of customs controls for mitigating the risk of undervalued imports throughout the Customs Union,; as well the fact thatnd - inability of Member States are not able to identify the riskiest economic operators at Union level for post-release audits;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Acknowledges, however, that the Commission has made important steps to help identifying the riskiest economic operators at EU level for post-release audits, with the flagging of transactions considered to pose financial risk under the Financial Risk Criteria and the update of the Customs Audit Guide;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Welcomes that the Commission works closely with Member States to find solutions to identify importers operating in Member States other than where they are headquartered; calls on it for achieving further progress once an EU- wide database covering all imports is fully available.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
52. RegretNotes that, for the fourth year in a row, the Directorate-General for Budgets (DG BUDG) issued a reservation on the value of TOR collected by the United Kingdom, due to that country’s failure to make available to the Union budget evaded customs duties on textiles and footwear imports, while the scope of undervaluation fraud had extended further to Union Member States, which results in further potential TOR losses;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52 a (new)
52 a. Points out the measures regarding the case of TOR collected by the United Kingdom which the Commission took in 2018 (a formal infringement procedure) and 2019 (referral of the Case to the Court of Justice of the EU); notes from the written answers of the Commission for the hearing in CONT on 11 January 2021 that the oral hearing took place on 8 December 2020 and while the date of the final judgment is fully under the discretion of the Court, the Commission does not expect a ruling before summer 2021; notes with satisfaction that BREXIT has no adverse effect on recovery of the claimed amounts as they relate to imports before the end of the transition period;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58
58. Finds it worryingNotes that of the 130 transactions examined, 51 (39 %) contained errors;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
59. Is deeply concerned that based on the 28 errors the Court has quantified, ithe estimated the level of error is 4,0 %for 2019 at 4,0 %, which is an increase compared to 2018 (2%); recalls that this figure is close to the rates the Court found in 2015, 2016 and 2017;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
62. Finds it very regrettableNotes that ‘unlawful/discriminatory selection/award criteria’ accounted for 16% of errors and that ‘ineligible other direct costs (VAT, travel, equipment)’ accounted for 15% of errors;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
63. Similarly, finds it very regrettable that ‘ineligible other direct costs (VAT, travel, equipment)’ accounted for 15% of errors;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 a (new)
67 a. Notes that research expenditure reimbursements based on claims submitted for costs incurred by the beneficiaries; notes that these claims are often subject to complex rules and can lead to errors as may be observed in the cases referred to by the ECA;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 b (new)
67 b. Considers therefore that reducing the error rate depends on a continuous simplification effort; welcomes the ECA’s acknowledgement of the Commission’s efforts to simplify the administrative and financial requirements of Horizon 2020;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 c (new)
67 c. Acknowledges, to this end, that in the last stages of its implementation of Horizon 2020, the Commission is making wider use of simplified cost options such as lump sum funding strengthening its communication with beneficiaries and constantly improving its control mechanisms; Welcomes that Horizon Europe Programme will take these a step further, building on the experience acquired in Horizon 2020;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 d (new)
67 d. Notes the Commission’s introduction of a sound system of ex-ante controls, which includes detailed automated checklists, written guidance and continuous training with the objective of reducing administrative burden allowing beneficiaries to focus on achieving their goals;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 – indent 4 a (new)
- To focus on the rules of the calculation and declaration of personal costs in the communication campaign related to Horizon 2020
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)
71 a. Reiterates its concern about the very imbalanced allocation of funds to researchers across Member States via Horizon 2020;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80 a (new)
80 a. Recalls the need EIB to provide clear and accessible information on the economic, social and environmental impact and added value achieved by EFSI funded projects; stresses that the additionally assessment of all EFSI- supported projects should be duly documented;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83 a (new)
83 a. Notes that preventive measures undertaken by DG REGIO in 2019 brought positive results and there was no necessity of suspending ERDF and CF payments in 2019 since the programme authorities applied the required remedial action plans on time and interruptions for 16 payments amounting EUR 1.1 billion (out of 20amounting to EUR 1.2 billion) were waived; notes furthermore that DG REGIO was able to close 12 out of 19 warning letters for corrective measures for cases of system deficiencies due to the implementation of the necessary exit points;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83 b (new)
83 b. Welcomes the positive follow up undertaken by the Commission to implement the Court’s recommendation from 2018 Annual Report and the started drafting of Closure Guidelines aiming to ensure that proper closure arrangements for the 2014-2020 period will be available in due time and in any case well before the closure in 2025;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 84
84. Finds it worrying that on basisNotes the decrease in the estimated level of error for the Economic, social and territorial cohesion identified by the Court for 2019 (4.4%) compared to those for 2018 (5.0%) while the expenditure audited by the Court was higher in 2019 (EUR28.4 billion) than in 2018 (EUR 23.6 billion); Notes that of the 236 transactions examined, 29 errors had not been detected by audit authorities and 64 errors had previously been found by audit authorities and corrections applied by programme authorities (amounting to a total of EUR 334 million for both programming periods taken together), the Court estimates the level of error to be 4,4 %;; notes further that these errors concerned ineligible costs (39), public procurement (24) and missing supporting documentation (one error)
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85
85. Notes that audit authorities had reported 64 quantifiable errors in the assurance/closure packages for the 236 transactions the Court sampled, these errors concerned ineligible costs (39), public procurement (24) and missing supporting documentation (one error);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
86. Regrets the fact that 55 % of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible projects’; notes that there were five ERDF projects, from the 2014-2020 programming period, for which aid was granted to beneficiaries or operations that did not meet the eligibility conditions set out in the applicable regulation and OPs;Notes with concern that the majority of the errors are related to three main categories:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 – indent 1 (new)
- 55 % of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible projects’: there were five ERDF projects, from the 2014-2020 programming period, for which aid was granted to beneficiaries or operations that did not meet the eligibility conditions set out in the applicable regulation and OPs;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 – indent 2 (new)
- 24 % of errors were made up by ‘Infringements of internal market rules’ (such as infringements of state aid rules - 9% and serious on-compliance with public procurement rules - 15%);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 – indent 3 (new)
- 12% of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible expenditure’;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86 a (new)
86 a. stresses that complex rules contribute to a higher risk of error; acknowledges the Commission’s efforts to continuously working on simplifying rules and increasing the use of simpler delivery mechanisms such as simplified cost options;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87
87. Regrets that 24 % of errors were made up by ‘Infringements of internal market rules’(9% - infringements of state aid rules; 15 % - serious non-compliance with public procurement rules);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88
88. Regrets that 12% of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible expenditure’;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89
89. Is very concerned about the weaknesses found in the work of several18out of 116 audit authorities in the Member States covered by the Court’s sample, which currently limit the reliance that can be placed on that work (the recalculated rate was above the 2 % materiality threshold in nine out of 20 assurance packages for the 2014- 2020 period, the Commission adjusted the residual error rates for eight assurance packag; notes the Court observation that the Commission arrived at similar results for eight of these packages and adjusted the residual error rates to a figure above 2 %);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89 a (new)
89 a. Notes that the Commission reports, in the Annual Management and Performance Report and in the Annual Activity Reports of the concerned Directorates-General, an error range for cohesion policy, which is within the error range calculated by the ECA;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 93 a (new)
93 a. Shares the Court’s welcoming of the Commission’s and audit authorities’ joint initiative and coordinated efforts to improve the documentation of audit authorities work and the elaboration of a ‘Reflection paper on audit documentation’ in December 2019, which, although not mandatory, represents a first step in improving the way audit authorities perform and document their work;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 – indent 2 a (new)
- continue consistently and extensively cooperating with the audit authorities to ensure robust control framework, improve the quality of the assurance work when needed and ensure the necessary detection and corrective capacities;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 – indent 2 b (new)
- to require managing authorities to take action to tackle the most frequent errors and mitigate any risk for future expenditure and improve, where necessary, the detection capacities of both management verifications and audits;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 a (new)
94 a. Invites the Commission to continue providing guidance and support, as well as to identify and disseminate good practices to Member States;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96 a (new)
96 a. Is pleased to see that in its first Annual Report on performance by the end of 2019 the Court gives ERDF programme performance overview as a positive example of clearly formulated conclusions on general objective; encourages DG REGIO to continue to present clear conclusions in the performance sections both for general and specific objectives, and invites other DGs to follow this good example and to improve their conclusions by making them more informative and clearer;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
97. Points out that information from 97. output and result indicators is complemented by the results of a number of evaluations and studies analysing the results of the 2007-2013 period and the early stages of programming and implementation of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes; regretsshares the observation of the Court that the delayed timing of these evaluations as designed in the legislation means that lessons learned are too late to have an impact on either the current or subsequent programming periods (the results of the 2014-2020 ex- post evaluations, for example, are expected to be available by the end of 2025 as required by the CPR, but by then the 2021- 2027 programming period will be in its fifth year and the Commission is likely to be well -advanced in preparing its legislative proposals for the post-2027 period);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 98
98. Is deeply concerned that for the 2007-2013 period, an ex post evaluation of the ERDF/CF was designed to draw conclusions on the overall impact of the programmes and to draw qualitative overall conclusions, it did not draw conclusions on the achievement of objectives or targets; moreover, neither did it systematically analyse synergies between ERDF/CF funding and the implementation of Union sectoral policies, which would have helped to shed light on cohesion policy contributions to the achievement of Europe 2020 strategic objectives;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 99
99. Underlines that in cohesion policy, characterised by large-scale infrastructure projects, there can be a time lag between the start of the programme, its implementation and the realisation of outputs and results; finds it worrisome that progress is also likely to be affected by the relatively low levels of implementation in respect of cohesion policy, compared to the rest of Union budget; notes that these factors, together with the fact that the latest data available (in an implementation period lasting until the end of 2023) relates to the end of 2018, are outlined by the Court as making it harder at this stage for it to conclude on the achievement of the objectives;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 100
100. StressesTakes note of other factors relevant to the Court analysis of performance, which explain that Cohesion policy objectives, such as those relating to employment rates, economic development, and climate and energy, are heavily influenced by a wide range of national and external factors, in Europe and the world; underline, as well as that in many Member States, cohesion policy funding typically represents a small proportion of the funds dedicated to these issues, and so can have only a very limited impact on these Member States' progress towards meeting these objectives;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101
101. Notes furthermore the Court’s observation regarding additional factors such as that the Union has at its disposal a range of policy tools for meeting its high- level cohesion policy objectives, of which the ERDF and CF constitute one part, that other funds and legislative initiatives are also designed to address the objectives, therefore, that it iswhich make it often not possible to distinguish the effects of different policy tools on the progress towards meeting targets;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 102
102. Regrets that the Court’s analysis based on scarce available data as of the end of 2018 shows that of 72 indicators in total, only just above one third of the indicators are on track to meet their targets and that about half of the indicators are not on track and that for the remaining indicators it was not possible for the Court to conclude; regrets that of 9 indicators linked to the general objectives, only two are on track, meanwhile; notes, however, that about one third of the indicators haveing a mid- term milestone target set for 2018 the Court concludes that 70% have either been achieved or are likely to be achieved soon;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
107. Finds itself in agreement withIs concerned by the Court’s opinion that there are strong indications that the Union will not meet the 2030 climate and energy targets; notes that according to the Commission, there was only limited progress in the reduction of the negative environmental impacts stemming from the use of natural resources; highlights its agreement with the Courtthe Court observation that half of the Union Member States were at risk of not generating enough electricity from renewable energy to meet their 2020 targets; notes that in the Court’s landscape review of Union action on energy and climate change, the Court reported that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions projected by Member States falls short of the 40 % target for 2030;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
108. Points out that in a 2019 report3 , the EEA highlighted that the current rate of progress will not be enough to meet 2030 and 2050 climate and energy targets; _________________ 3 EEA, European environment — state and outlook 2020, Knowledge for transition to a sustainable Europe, 2019.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 110
110. Highlights that in this policy area all indicators are output ones: they mainly provide data about the programme’s implementation in terms of infrastructure built but there are no common indicators to measure results (Court’s report on Union co-funded roads4 indicates that the Commission does not report information such as time savings or higher average speed, even though this information is sometimes available); _________________ 4ECA, special report no 9/2020, The EU- core road network: shorter travel times but network not yet fully functional. as regards impacts of projects achieved (increase of traffic, economic impact for different actors, impact on congestions, emissions...); notes project promoters should collect and publish information and data on results and impacts of the investment; asks the Commission to collaborate with project promoters and work on common indicators to measure results of the projects;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111
111. Underlines that in the recent Court audit on TFI5 stated that it is unlikely that the Union core transport network will reach itsthe Commission acknowledged that there is a high risk for some of the TFIs not to operate at full capacity byin 2030, furthermore, in the landscape review the ECA indicated that since the scale of Union funding is limited compared to the overall needs, it is necessary to focus on priorities with the highest Union added value; _________________ 5 ECA, special report no 10/2020 EU transport flagship infrastructures: no timely completion of the transport network.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112
112. Is of the opinion that, as stated in the Court’s audit on TFIs, the traffic forecasts were usually overoptimistic, not well coordinated, not based onneeds improvement and a better coordination; points out the traffic forecasts should take into account sound economic assessments, and sometimes very simplistic, and in particulars well as cost- benefit analyses had not been properly used as a tool for policy-makingand be periodically revised to take into account possible delays;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
113. Finds it very regrettable that the Commission in its legislative proposal for the ESIF for 2021-2027 removes all the appraisal requirements specific to major projects, including the cost-benefit analysis requirement, while this is recognised as bringing a reduction in the general administrative burden, this is outweighed by the increased risk that the co-financed investments will not offer the best value for money;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115
115. Notes that ERDF funding was used together with national sources of SME support, either by complementing existing national measures or by filling gaps in the support system, however, it6 found that synergies between ERDF and ESF support were generally low, despite the importance of safeguarding employment; _________________ 6European Commission, Ex-post evaluation of 2007-2014, Support to SMEs – Increasing Research and Innovation in SMEs and SME Development, February 2016.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 18 a (new)
Performance: European Social Fund (ESF) and Youth Employment Initiative (YEI)
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 a (new)
116 a. Notes that the Court has not selected ESF and FEAD to be covered by its first annual report on performance of the EU budget at the end of 2019;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 402 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 b (new)
116 b. Welcomes the findings within the Commission Evaluation(February 2021) on of the 2014-2018 ESF support to employment and labour mobility, social inclusion and education and training; notes with satisfaction that for the period 2014-2018, approximately 23 million persons participated in ESF actions and that 52% of participants were women; notes furthermore that of those participating, nearly 3.2 million persons have already found employment and 3.9 million successfully gained a qualification;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 c (new)
116 c. Notes that by 2018 EUR 10,4 billion have been spent - from both the ESF and the YEI, that 3.8 million people under age of 30 participated in youth- employment support projects and that 1.4 million people entered employment immediately after participation;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 d (new)
116 d. Notes furthermore that by the end of 2018, EUR 33.8 billion from the ESF have been invested for social inclusion and nearly 6.2 million persons had participated in social-inclusion actions, and that out of them nearly 700,000 individuals have found employment, with nearly 400,000 achieving a qualification;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 118 a (new)
118 a. Notes the positive evolution for the policy area “natural resources”, which continues its downtrend with a further decrease of the overall level of error established by the Court to an estimated level of error of 1.9%, below the materiality threshold; welcomes the fact that the error rate established by the Court tallies very closely with the overall error rate for the CAP given in DG AGRIʼs 2019annual activity report;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 118 b (new)
118 b. Welcomes the Court's finding that EAGF direct payments, representing 70% of spending under natural resources, continues to be free of material error and the estimated level of error for all the chapter is below the materiality threshold, which demonstrates that the effectiveness of the remedial action plans that Member States have implemented in previous years;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 409 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 118 c (new)
118 c. Notes that for both CAP funds, the continuous decrease in error-rates is due to the efficient management and control systems applied, in particular the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 119
119. Finds it worryingNotes that of the 251 transactions examined7 by the Court, 44 (18 %) contained errors while 207 (82 %) were error-free; is concerned that based on the 36 errors ECA has quantified and other evidence produced by the control system ECA finds the level of error for ‘Natural resources’ to be close to the materiality threshold; _________________ 7The sample consisted of 136 payments under rural development programmes, 95 direct payments, 14 market measures and 6 payments for fisheries, the environment and climate action.notes furthermore that 70 % of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible beneficiary/activity/project/expenditure’;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 416 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120
120. Regrets that 70 % of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible beneficiary/activity/project/expenditure’;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 425 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 126
126. Is concerned byNotes the Court’s opinion that the2015 expansion of certification bodies’ role to provide an opinion on the regularity of expenditure was a positive development, as well as the Court’s recognition that it identified some areas in which there is scope for further improvement, similar in type to those identified by the Commission; calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures in order to overcome the limitations in the reliability of the results of the certification bodies’ work, due to weaknesses the Courtwhich DG AGRI identified in some certification bodies’ checks and sampling methodologies;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 429 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 a (new)
127 a. Stresses that the impact of alleged fraud on the implementation of the CAP is marginal, both in terms of number of cases reported by the Member States and cases investigated by OLAF and in financial terms; notes that in 2019, the Member States (including the UK) have reported only 236 cases of allegedly fraudulent irregularities in relation to some 7 million beneficiaries, and that the financial impact of these cases was estimated at EUR 24 623 588, which represents 0,041% of all CAP expenditure made in 2019; notes furthermore that as at November 2020, OLAF was investigating 43 alleged cases of fraud, which possible financial impact is still unknown;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – introductory part
128. Finds it worryingTakes note of the Court’s explanation in its Annual Report on Performance of the EU budget at the end of 2019 regarding some limitations of its assessment of the CAP indicators and that it considers this as only a first step in analysing CAP performance; notes that the Court has identified weaknesses in the set of CAP performance indicators:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 1 – introductory part
- The 2019 AMPR provides little quantified information about the results and impact of the CAP, and presents an overly positive narrative about policy achievements by focusing on outputs rather than resultsMore indicators relate to inputs or outputs and thus they show the level of absorption rather than the results or impacts of the policy:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 1 – point a
a. The Commission states that ‘over 85 % of the targets for climate actions in the agricultural sector have already been reached in the management of biodiversity, soil and water’. These targets are based on the areas under specific EAFRD measures, i.e. outputs. They do not show whether the payments had any effect on the condition of supported areas. The Commission claims that the EAFRD ‘is making an important contribution to development. For example, broadband access in rural areas has improved considerably (59 % of households had next-generation access in 2019)’. There is no information on the contribution of the EAFRD to this figure in the AMPR;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 465 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 2 – introductory part
- The impact indicators in the programme statements mainly provide information about outputs, which are more easily measurable and less affected by external factors than results and impacts:are based on general macroeconomic variables, on which the effects of CAP can be both unclear and difficult to measure;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 467 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 2 – point a
a. the Commission’s intervention logic connects CAP objectives, measures and output indicators, but does not identify needs or intended results and targets. The Commission’s intervention logic for direct payments does not define which level of income the CAP aims to achieve for farmers;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 469 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 2 – point b
b. the targets for CAP general objectives and most EAGF specific objectives are expressed as desired trends (e.g. “to increase” agricultural factor income or “to decrease” greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture). Multiple external factors impact the final outcome, and the Commission has not always identified a causal relationship between the CAP and the variable. Targets expressed only as directions and not as quantified values make it impossible to identify milestones;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 470 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 2 – point c
c. most CMEF indicators, which are not in the programme statements, are output indicators; they do not provide significant additional information on performance towards achieving policy objectives. Evaluation support studies frequently note that a lack of monitoring data (on measures) is a limitation when analysing impact. ECA pointed out8 the limitations of the performance information collected through the CMEF indicators; _________________ 8 See special reports No 1/2016 (performance measurement in relation to farmers’ incomes), paragraph 92; No 10/2017 (young farmers), paragraphs 70- 71; No 13/2020 (biodiversity on farmland), paragraphs 49, 59, 71, and 81; ECA opinion No 7/2018, paragraphs 68- 71.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 472 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – introductory part
- In relation to the general objective on viable food production, direct payments have reduced farmers’ income volatility. At the same time, the absence of benchmarks for a fair standard of living and of further targeting of the spending has reduced the efficiency of direct support14 indicators do not have a specific, quantified target and therefore, they only indicate trends:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – point a
a. all three indicators linked to the general objective of viable food production (increasing agricultural factor income, increasing agricultural productivity, and limiting price variability) reflect macroeconomic developments. While these indicators show a positive trend, the CAP has little or no demonstrable impact on them;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – point b
b. the EAGF specific objective ‘to sustain farmers’ income stability by providing direct income support’ has a single indicator: ‘share of direct support in agricultural entrepreneurial income’. In 2017, the value of this indicator varied from 8 % in the Netherlands to 50 % in Slovakia. The target is to keep the ratio stable. However, this is not consistent with the policy objective of increasing the individual earnings of people engaged in agriculture while limiting the need for direct support;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 478 #
c. in its 2019 AMPR, the Commission argued that farmers’ income lagged behind salaries in the economy as whole. The Commission stated that, in 2017, average income in the farming sector amounted to about 46,5 % of average wages in the Union-28 economy. The Commission uses entrepreneurial income per family work unit as a proxy for farm income. However, this figure does not take into account the different demographics of the two populations (many farmers are of retirement age) or the non-farming income of farm households. Disposable income, also taking into account non-farming income, is a key element for assessing farmers’ standard of living;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 480 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – point d
d. in 2016 about two thirds9 of farms in the Union were smaller than 5 ha. As direct payments are linked to farm area, around 80 % of the support goes to around 20 % of beneficiaries. In fact, more than 30 % of the payments goes to 2 % of the beneficiaries, who each receive more than EUR 50 000 in direct payments. Various redistributive mechanisms have had only a marginal effect; _________________ 9 according to Eurostateleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 483 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – point e
e. the CAP performance indicators do not measure the efficiency of direct payments. The Court concluded that the proportion10 of farms receiving direct payments and generating an income per unit of labour higher than average national labour productivity had decreased from 29 % in 2013 to 26 % in 2015. The study found that 9 % of small farms and more than 30 % of large farms had income per unit of labour above this benchmark; _________________ 10Evaluation study of the impact of the CAP measures towards the general objective “viable food production”, 2020, pp. 108-122.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 – point f
f. the indicator ‘percentage of agricultural holdings participating in risk- management schemes’ measures the proportion of farmers receiving CAP support for insurance premiums, and participating in mutual funds and other income stabilisation tools. Based on the programme statements, the indicator’s progress towards target did not reach its 2018 milestone. By the end of 2018, 28,3 % of the target value for 2023 had been achieved. The Court has found11 that most farmers who take out insurance policies do so without Union support, and that direct payments themselves significantly reduce income volatility; _________________ 11 Special report No 23/2019 – Farmers’ income stabilisation, paragraphs 16-22, 41.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 488 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 3 a (new)
- seven indicators do not relate to the performance of the CAP, but to assurance on regularity of spending, public awareness of the CAP and policy information support within DG AGRI;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 489 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 4
[...]deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 502 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 5
- The information reported by the Commission in the AMPR and programme statements in relation to the general objective on balanced territorial development is insufficient to assess the performance of the related Union spending: a. the only programme statements’ indicator for the general objective of ‘balanced territorial development’ is ‘rural employment rate’. This rate increased from 63,4 % in 2012 to 68,1 % in 2018. The influence of the CAP is uncertain, but limited. Over the same period the general employment rate increased from 68,4 % to 72,2 %. The external economic environment and numerous national policies directly and indirectly affect employment in rural areas. The AMPR acknowledges these external factors; b. the number of jobs recorded as directly created by LEADER by the end of 2018 was 13 337 (30 % of the 2023 target) and less than 0,05 % of total employment in rural areas. For other rural development measures, the number of jobs created was 10 784 (14 % of the target). The Commission notes in its programme statements that it does not have reliable data on jobs created under LEADER; c. evaluation support studies suggest15 that regional and sectorial context has a significant impact on employment in rural areas, and that CAP measures have little impact on rural jobs; d. young farmers can receive additional direct payments under the EAGF and one-off support from the EAFRD for setting up their first agricultural holding. The Court’s findings coincide with those of evaluation support studies16 : EAGF support for young farmers has little to no impact, while EAFRD support is more effective, mainly because it is better targeted. CAP generational renewal measures have been found to be effective in ‘cases where complementary national, regional and local governance institutions and fiscal policies also support and enhance’ those measures; e. the Commission states in its AMPR that broadband access in rural areas has improved considerably, but it holds no further information on the EAFRD’s contribution to the development of rural areas. An evaluation support study assessing the general objective of balanced territorial development in 2014- 2020 is ongoing; _________________ 15Evaluation of Article 68 measures, 2016; Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas, 2019. 16Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on generational renewal, local development and jobs in rural areas, 2019; ECA special report No 10/2017: EU support to young farmers should be better targeted to foster effective generational renewal; SURE-Farm: Impact of the Young Farmers payment on structural change, 2020.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 519 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 a (new)
128 a. Notes that in 2019 the Commission clarified the legal framework applicable for direct monitoring by imaging technologies128a; welcomes the Court’s observations128b that imagining technologies represent extraordinary advantages such as the reduction of field visits and consequently their administrative costs, an interactive monitoring approach that prevents non- compliance and the generation of useful data for smart farming; highlights in particular that imaging technologies would allow monitoring the whole population of aid recipients, which could be a game changer in terms of budgetary control; calls on the Commission to review the environmental and climate performance indicators in order to make them compatibles with checks by monitoring; urge the Commission to remove the obstacles to a wider use of the imaging technologies and to provide incentives and support to national paying agencies to use checks by monitoring; _________________ 128a Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1804 of 28 October 2019 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 809/2014 as regards amendments of aid applications or payment claims, checks in the integrated administration and control system and the control system in relation to cross compliance. 128bEuropean Court of Auditor’s Special Report 04/2020 Using new imaging technologies to monitor the Common Agricultural Policy: steady progress overall, but slower for climate and environment monitoring.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 520 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 a (new)
128 a. Notes the Court’s observation that the information in the AMPR is aligned with the underlying data in the programme statements, but the APMR gives an over optimistic view of achievements and it does not discuss the efficiency of spending; calls on the Commission to report to the discharge authority on the measures undertaken to overcome the significant challenges noted by it in achieving policy objectives for the period 2014-2020;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 521 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 b (new)
128 b. Takes note of the Court’s observation that the direct payments reduce income volatility (by around 30% as suggested by an evaluation study using data for 2010-2015), but they are largely untargeted; asks the Commission to ensure that better consistency between the targets addressed by the indicators and the policy objectives of increasing the individual earnings of people engaged in agriculture while limiting the need for direct support;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 522 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 c (new)
128 c. Notes with concern the Commission’s data for the distribution of direct payments by payments class in2019 demonstrating that the biggest share of the direct payment envelope (58%)goes to 15 % of all beneficiaries, while most beneficiaries (75%) account for even smaller share of the direct payments (15 %) than the only 0,5% of all beneficiaries obtaining 16,3% of the total direct payments; Reiterates its call on the Commission for a fairer distribution of the direct payments;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 d (new)
128 d. Welcomes the revision of the indicators and objectives in the Commission’s post-2020 CAP proposals which is based on the identified weaknesses by its Internal Audit Service and by the Court regarding CMEF indicators, as well as on the recognition of the need to develop further the indicators;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 524 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 e (new)
128 e. Notes the Court’s observation that the CAP has potential to contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources, but there is not enough data to assess effectiveness; notes further its findings that greening had had little measurable effect on farming practices and the environment and that it remained essentially an income-support scheme;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 525 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 f (new)
128 f. Takes note of the constrain, identified by the Court for successful contribution of agri-environment-climate measures to biodiversity and invites the Commission to suggest measures for increasing schemes coverage of a substantial portion of the farmed landscape and on specific risks;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 526 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 g (new)
128 g. Takes note of the modest achievement by foresty measures under EAFRD, the achievement of 60% in2018 of the target for more efficient irrigation systems established for 2023and the need for further reduction of greenhouse emissions from agriculture and calls on the Commission to report on measures undertaken to improve the results of CAP implementation in these areas;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 527 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 h (new)
128 h. Notes the Courts observation that the AMPR contains information on jobs and broadband access, but does not provide any relevant performance information for the balanced territorial development objective;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 528 #
128 i. Welcomes the increase in the rural employment rate from 63,4% in 2012 to 68,1 % in 2018;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 529 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 j (new)
128 j. Notes the figures which the Court comments for LEADER as at the end of 2018 (13 337 jobs recorder representing 30% of the 2023 target) as well as that the Commission does not have reliable data on jobs created under LEADER; asks the commission to work together with Member States for improving the availability of reliable data for LEADER implementation;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 545 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 24
Court findings: Member States’ AMIF/ISF annual accounts
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 547 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 131
131. Notes that, regarding the regularity of transactions, seven (37 %) of the 19 transactions examined by ECA were affected by errors (i.e. overstatement of salary costs)the Court have not estimated the error rate for this MFF heading but examined a sample of regarding 19 transactions designed to contribute to its overall statement of assurance rather than be representative of spending under this MFF heading; notes that the sample covered 8 transactions under shared management, 8 transactions under direct management and 1 under indirect management, and that the Court identified seven transactions (37%) were affected by errors;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 550 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132
132. Regrets thatNotes that the Court has not provided information about the financial impact which the three quantifiable errors had a financial impactidentified by it had on the amounts charged to the Union budget;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 552 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 133 a (new)
133 a. Notes that the Court audited the work done by eight authorities responsible for auditing their respective Member States’ AMIF/ISF annual accounts8 and providing the Commission with an annual control report;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 553 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134
134. NoteWelcomes the Court’s findings that the audit authorities in the Member States17[1] selected by the ECA for a check had developed and implemented detailed procedures of sufficient quality to report as required by the rules; _________________ 17Germany, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, as well as they had detailed audit programmes and tche United Kingdom for AMIF; Slovenia for the ISFcklists to support their conclusions.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 555 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135 – introductory part
135. Takes into account certain shortcomings in annual control reports issued by the Member Stataudit authorities, whose impact on the accounts were not material enough to detract from the audit authorities’ conclusions but creating potential risk of unreliability of reported data and of limited assurance, such as:
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 556 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135 – indent 1
- Sampling issues (use of a risk- based rather than a random methodology; inaccurate values used to determine sample size) in Slovenia;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 557 #
- Wrong set of accounts (submission of the draft accounts to the audit authority before completing its own on-the-spot controls by responsible authority) in Italy and Slovenia;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 558 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135 – indent 3
- Inaccurate calculation and presentation of total and/or residual error rates in Germany and Italy;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 559 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135 – indent 4
- Exclusion of the technical assistance from the audit population and lack of reporting on this fact in the annual control report in Slovenia;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 560 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135 – indent 5
- Partial exclusion of advance payments from the audit population and lack of reporting on this fact in the annual control report in Germany;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 561 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 136
136. Notes that the audit authorities in the Member States18 sdelected by the Court for a check had detailed audit programmes and checklists to support their conclusions; _________________ 18Germany, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Slovenia.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 562 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 137
137. Takes into account certain shortcomings in the work of audit authorities creating potential risks in failure to detect ineligible expenditure, unreliability of audit conclusions and of limited assurance such as: - Irregular checks of project selection and/or award criteria by the auditors in Italy and Cyprus; - Insufficient audit trail or poor documentation of audit work in Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania and UK; - Irregular check of all relevant available evidence to confirm the eligibility of target groups and declared expenditure or the reasonableness of costs in Italy and Cyprus;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 565 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 138 a (new)
138 a. Asks the Commission and Member States’ audit authorities to address the shortcomings identified by the Court and to report to the discharge authority;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 569 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139
139. Notes four general impact indicators (on actual returns compared to return decisions, percentage of voluntary returns, difference in employment rates between Union and non-Union nationals, and convergence of recognition rates for asylum applicants); notes that these are not directly related to the performance of AMIF, although spending from the fund may contribute to the corresponding target;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 573 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139 a (new)
139 a. Welcomes the Court’s observation that the Commission’s interim evaluation indicates that AMIF is relevant and that it funded interventions that corresponded to the needs of Member States;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 574 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140
140. Notes, however some limitations in AMIF performance indicators, identified by the Court such as that two thirds of the indicators are output indicators and that 5 of the 24 indicator milestones for 2020 have already been achieved in previous years, but targets have not been adjusted upwards in line with good financial management practice to reflect the potential for more efficiency gains;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 576 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140 a (new)
140 a. Notes that some AMIF indicators are not on track to meet their targets, that the Commission has not developed a performance monitoring framework for EMAS funded projects and that AMPR and programme statements provide little information on the progress achieved under important indicators;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 577 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140 b (new)
140 b. Asks the Commission to take measures to address the shortcoming identified by the Court and to improve the information included in AMPR and programme statements, which will allow for better monitoring of the progress achieved by the Fund;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 579 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 141
141. Is deeply concerned that the AMIF indicators are not on track to meet their targets in terms of integration and legal migration as well as of return policies and irregular migration;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 584 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 142
142. Is deeply concerned that only limited, aggregated performance information is available on the overall EMAS20 related spending (initial allocation of EUR 100 million was increased to EUR 2,2 billion for the period to 2020, representing 30 % of the fund, however, the Commission has not developed a performance monitoring framework for EMAS funded projects); _________________ 20deleted AMIF emergency assistance
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 586 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 143
143. Is deeply concerned that the AMPR and programme statements provide little information about economy and efficiency in implementing the fund, or about the cost effectiveness of AMIF actions;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 592 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 144
144. Is deeply concerned that the AMPR and programme statements do not report on measures aiming to attract highly-skilled workers to the Union through legal migration schemes and the indicators are not suitable for reporting on such measures;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 594 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 145
145. Is deeply concerned that the AMIF indicators are not on track to meet their targets in terms of ratio of irregular migrants returned to return decisions issued, voluntary returnees and removed returnees;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 598 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 146
146. Is deeply concerned that the return rate for individuals who no longer have the right to stay on Union territory is unsatisfactory (31,5 %);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 603 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 147
147. Is deeply concerned in relation to the weakening in the performance of return operations due to the following reasons: - length of asylum process; - missing links between asylum and return; - procedures obstructing coordination and information-sharing; - absence of robust and integrated return case management system; - no mutual recognition and no systematic recording of return decisions in the Union; - absconding and difficulty in locating returnable migrants, including the tracking of voluntary departures; - insufficient capacity of pre-removal detention centres; - difficult cooperation with migrants' third countries of origin; - limited use of development aid for facilitating cooperation with migrants’ third countries of origin; - low performance of Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 615 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 148
148. Is concerned in relation toNotes the existence of two parallel Union funded schemes supporting the same type of return activities (AMIF NPs and Frontex return support), and insufficient coordination between both for forced return operations well as that the coordination is mainly responsibility of the Member States; calls therefore on them to ensure better coordination between both schemes;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 620 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 149 – indent 4
- use the lessons learned from the emergency relocation schemes (including from the situation in the receiving Member State after relocation) and build on this experience for any possible voluntary relocation mechanism in the future;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 643 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 156 a (new)
156 a. Welcomes that transactions related to budget support and projects implemented by international organisations under the ‘notional approach’ were less prone to error and that in 2019 the Court did not detect any errors in these areas.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 649 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 157
157. Regrets that the Union is still practicing budget support to third Countries which is regulated by legal provisions of a broad scope creating a risk of loose interpretation by the Commission regarding the meeting of general conditions; that the Court ‘cannot cover what happens beyond the moment the Commission pays aid to the recipient country, since these funds then merge with that country’s own budget resources’22 ; _________________ 22deleted P.211
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 668 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – introductory part
164. Notes with deep concern, as to the DG DEVCO residual error rate studythat DG DEVCO implements most of the external aid instruments financed from both the EU general budget and the EDFs; takes note that the Court presented within its Annual Report on the activities funded by the 8th, 9that:, 10th and11th EDFs for the 2019 financial year its observations on systems, there liability of the AAR and the Director-General’s declaration for 2019 which refer to DG DEVCO’s entire area of responsibility;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 669 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 1
- The expenditure under the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDF recorded in 2019 is materially affected by error; according to the Court the estimated level of error is 3,5 %;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 670 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 2
- 43,6 % of the estimated level of error came from expenditure not incurred (i.e. commitments presented as expenditure or claimed expenditure calculated incorrectly);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 671 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 3
- 22,1 % of the estimated level of error came from serious failure to respect public procurement rules (i.e. unjustified decision by the evaluation committee);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 672 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 4
- 12,7% of the estimated level of error came from ineligible expenditure (i.e. significant raise of local staff salaries after the contract’s conclusion);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 673 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 5
- Notes the Court’s observation that the Commission and its implementing partners made more errors in transactions relating to programme estimates, grants, contribution agreements with IOs and delegation agreements with EU Member States’ cooperation agencies than they did with other forms of support (such as those covering works, supply and service contracts). Of the 65 transactions of this type 25 (38 %) contained quantifiable errors, which accounted for 71,7 % of the estimated level of error;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 674 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 6
- Takes note of the Court’s opinion that the DG DEVCO’s residual error rate study does not constitute an assurance engagement or an audit; it is based on the residual error rate methodology and manual provided by DG DEVCO;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 675 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 7
- the DG DEVCO’s control system - based on ex ante checks has weaknessesObserves that the Court outlines four major factors affecting the RER used by DG DEVCO such as limitations in checks on public procurement procedures, a very low number of on-the-spot checks in the country of project implementation, DG DEVCO’s residual error rate estimation method itself and partial or full reliance on previous control work;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 676 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 – indent 8
- Takes note of the Court’s observation that the director-general’s declaration of assurance in the 2019 AAR does not include any reservations, as the two reservations remaining in 2018 have been lifted and no new ones have been issued; before lifting these reservations in 2019, DG DEVCO had significantly reduced their scope (i.e. the share of expenditure covered by them) in 2017 and 2018, which consequently does not give a true and fair view of the risks in DG DEVCO’s overall area of responsibility;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 677 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 a (new)
164 a. Takes note from the written answers of the Commission for the hearing in CONT on 1December 2020 that uned the DG DEVCO 2019 Action Plan a task was implemented responding to the Court’s recommendation from 2018 and that the RER manual and methodology was adapted mainly as concerns the guidance on reliance on prior control work and on the procedures relating to procurement and a new way to deal with estimations; welcomes that the changes are fully applied to the 2020 RER study;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 678 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 164 b (new)
164 b. Notes, furthermore, that the Commission is currently working on implementation of additional Court’s recommendation for another adaptation of RER manual and methodology made in its 2019 Annual EDF Report and encourages the Commission to finalise the implementation of this recommendation by the end of 2021;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 693 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 170 – indent 4
- further improve by the end of 2021 the methodology and manual used for the residual error rate study to address the issues the Court has identified in its report, in order to make the error rate reported in the study more reliable;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 701 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 170 a (new)
170 a. reiterates its request to the Commission to execute fully and without any further delay the judgement of the Court of Justice (31/1/2019) regarding International Management Group (IMG); urges the Commission to consider again IMG as a suitable contractor for projects in crisis situation countries, where this organisation has proven its efficiency in managing reconstruction and assistance programs financed by European entities and Member States over more than 20 years.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 704 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171
171. Notes that payments for ‘Administration’ amounted to EUR 10,4 billion in 2019 and were disbursed through Union institutions as follows: - ‘Commission’, up to 57,9% of the heading budget or EUR 6,1 billion; - ‘European Parliament’, up to 19,6% of the heading budget or EUR 2,0 billion; - ‘EEAS’, up to 9,2% of the heading budget or EUR 1,0 billion; - ‘Council’, up to 5,4% of the heading budget or EUR 0,6 billion; - ‘Court of Justice’, up to 4,0 % of the heading budget or EUR 0,4 billion; - ‘Court’, up to 1,4% of the heading budget or EUR 0,1 billion; - ‘EESC’, up to 1,3% of the heading budget or EUR 0,1 billion; - ‘Others’, up to 1,2% of the heading budget or EUR 0,1 billion;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 713 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171 a (new)
171 a. Notes that payments for ‘Administration’ amounted to EUR 10,4 billion in 2019 (6,5% of the MFF), of which the budget of the Commission represents 57,9% or EUR 6,1 billion;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 715 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 172
172. Notes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources, accounting for about 60 % of the total, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology, which is considered as a spending ofby the Court as a low-risk spending;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 720 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 173
173. Notes the results of transaction testing: of the only 45 transactions examined representing, designed to represent the full range of spending under this MFF heading by selecting transactions from each institution and body, 3 (6,7 %) contained quantifiable errors, led to an estimated level of error below the materiality threshold;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 722 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 174
174. Notes that no specific issue was identified concerning the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman, the EDPS or the European External Action Service (EEAS);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 726 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 175
175. Notes that on European Parliament level the Court detected errors in one payment to a European political party (non-compliance with the expenditure eligibility rules: no procurement procedure, no written contractual documents and no supporting evidence for costs actually incurred);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 732 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 176
176. Notes that concerning the Commission, severalthe Court found fewer errors relating to staff costs and the PMO’s management of family allowances were foundthan in previous years; welcomes that the PMO has already corrected the errors found this year; acknowledges the Commission’s clarification that the errors only concerns the national allowances while the ones paid directly by the Commission are correct;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 733 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 176 a (new)
176 a. Notes that the Court also examines the regularity of the information in the annual activity reports of the Commission, including those of its directorates-general and offices primarily responsible for administrative expenditure; welcomes that the annual activity reports reviewed did not identify material levels of error;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 748 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 37
European Economic and Social Commitdeleteed
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 755 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 177
177. Points out that The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has not yet developed a sensitive functions policy in line with its internal control standards, specifically it has issued no definition of sensitive posts or functions, nor has it performed a risk analysis with a view to adopting mitigating controls and, ultimately, an internal mobility policy;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 758 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 178
178. Finds it worrying that the EESC has not carried out a comprehensive risk assessment since 2014, only one directorate has identified the risks to the achievement of its objectives, but without yet proposing mitigating controls that would reduce those risks to an acceptable level;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 761 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 179
179. Notes with satisfaction that the Court mentions that the quality of the Aaccounts has improved compared to previous years but is deeply; notes with concerned that also for the financial year 2019, the Court concludes they arethe Court is unable to confirm that the Schools’ financial management in 2019 was compliant with the Financial Regulation of the European Schools and the Staff Regulations due to weaknesses revealed in the internal control systems of the Central Office and of the two Schools selected; urges the European Schools to swiftly follow up on the recommendations of the Court concerning the specific weakness founded in accounting, procurement and recruitment;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 762 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 180
180. Urges the European Schools to swiftly follow up on the recommendations from the Court concerning accounting, procurement and recruitment;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 763 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 181
181. Acknowledges profound inequalities between two types of European schools such as: ‘the type I’ European Schools reserved as a priority for the children of officials of the European institutions and the ‘accredited European Schools’ open to all pupils irrespective of their parents' activity;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 764 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 182
182. Recognises as a core problem the fact that the Central Office of the European Schools and the European School System are financially dependent on DG Budget and DG Human Resources (while this is justified in relation to officials of the European Institutions who have priority access to the Type I schools, this dependence on DG Budget and DG Human Resources is not justified for all other pupils whose families have no connection with the Institutions);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 765 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 39
Recommendationsdeleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 766 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183
183. Calls on Commission to: - harmonise its support for Category I pupils, i.e. children of officials, who choose to enrol in an accredited European School (at present, some civil servant families, depending on the town or country they live in, do not receive funding to enrol their children in accredited schools which do, however, give access to the same baccalaureate); - resolve the inequality of funding between Category I pupils enrolled in the accredited Schools which results from the situation where they are sometimes substituted for the Type I European Schools and sometimes placed latter in unequal and unjustified competition depending on the school market in which they operate; - intervene to resolve the important problems currently raised by the so-called "Cost Neutrality" policy (cf. document 2018-10-D-63-en-5), which stipulates that accredited schools should not weigh financially on the traditional European School system, but should on the contrary contribute to the costs generated by the system in place26 ; _________________ 26This provision poses problems at several levels. Firstly, the Central Office as well as the entire budget devoted by the Commission to the European Schools is a public service which has already been paid for by the Member States and taxpayers through them. Secondly, as the overall functioning of the accredited Schools is self-financed and not experiencing any intervention by the Commission, the claim that they represent an additional cost for which they should be accountable seems to be counterintuitive. Allowing the opening of the European Baccalaureate system and the schooling of children of European officials at a much lower cost than the type I European Schools, their development should instead be integrated into the Commission budget and under no circumstances be subject to taxation which would hamper their development and the substantial savings they generate for the benefit of the Union.deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 767 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 39 a (new)
Human Resources
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 768 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 a (new)
183 a. Takes note that the Commission is investing in data mining of its IT medical system to overcome the absence of data on burnout cases; strongly encourages the Commission to prevent, identify and manage burnout cases in the larger context of staffing, workload and staff well-being in its Human Resources (HR) strategy; recalls, in this regard, the negative impact of the 2014 reform package on a number of crucial aspects of HR within the Union institutions and thus on their attractiveness as employer; reiterates the serious consequences that any budgetary cut in administration or staff reduction may have in the future of the European civil service and the implementation of the Union's policies;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 769 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 b (new)
183 b. Is concerned that any temporary measure has been designed by the Commission to mitigate the growing problem of the purchase power disparity suffered by the European civil servants posted to Luxembourg; points out, as a relevant example, that 16 out of 200 suitable candidates selected by the EPPO have declined the job offer on account of the salary not being high enough to live in Luxembourg; emphasises that expects concrete proposals in the report on the salary method due by 31 March 2022;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 770 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 c (new)
183 c. Supports the Commission’s intention to update the approach set out in its Communication of 2019 “The Workplace of the Future in the European Commission” in the light of the COVID- 19 crisis; expects the Commission to take into account on an equal footing the efficient use of office spaces and the health and well-being of the staff; reiterates that staff representatives shall always be involved in substantial changes of the work arrangements and spaces;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 771 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 d (new)
183 d. Welcomes that the Commission adopted an action plan for equality and diversity in 2018 and its implementation in 2019; welcomes that specific actions were added in response to the staff survey; calls on the Commission to follow the same path with more specific measures with regard to the people awarded with internships in the Commission;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 772 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 e (new)
183 e. Agrees with the Commission’s statement that “different cultural, social and professional expectations of men and women continue to exist with regard to the balance between paid work and unpaid (care) work”; notes with appreciation the Commission’s efforts to raise awareness on the measures that exist to enable a work-life balance such as courses for parents and the publication of positive examples in the Commission’s intracomm;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 773 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 f (new)
183 f. Notes with appreciation that the Commission (2014-2019) met the target of 40 % of women in management functions by the end of its mandate in 2019; reminds the Commission (2019-2024) that in 2019 its President committed to reach gender equality at all levels of management by the end of the current mandate and reiterated this commitment in her mission letter to Commissioner for Budget and Administration;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 774 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 g (new)
183 g. Takes note of the new guidelines for the implementation of aid for persons with a disability drafted in 2019 to financially assist staff and their dependant for non-medical costs linked to their independence, social integration and physical, mental, social and vocational ability; notes that the guidelines came into force in May 2020;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 775 #
183 h. Notes that in 2019 the number of cases for social-financial support increased by 28% compared to 2018; notes with appreciation that the disability funds used increased by 50% in comparison with 2018 (from approximatively EUR 2 to 3 million);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 776 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 183 i (new)
183 i. Takes due note of the Court’s observations and recommendations regarding the European Personnel Selection Office183a; welcomes that the selection process is broadly effective for large-scale competitions but expresses its concern that the selection process is not adapted to small-scale, targeted competitions, which are those most suited to the current recruitment needs of the EU institutions; calls on the Commission to timely report on the implementation of those recommendations by the EPSO; _________________ 183aEuropean Court of Auditors’ Special Report 13/2020 “The European Personnel Selection Office: Time to adapt the selection process to changing recruitment needs”.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 778 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 40
General observationsdeleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 780 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 184
184. Takes into accountAcknowledges the Court’s observation that the adoption in 2014 of the revised Staff Regulations was accompanied by a commitment by the institutions and bodies gradually to reduce the number of posts (officials and temporary staff) in their establishment plans by 5 % before 2018 compared with the situation in 2012;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 781 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 184 a (new)
184 a. Takes note that the 2014 reform of the Staff Regulations brought savings of 4,2 billions on the 2014–2020 MFF, which represents 0,4% of the overall MFF; recalls that the 2014 reform generated unquestionable negative effects on the staff, which was confirmed by the Court184a in 2019, and regrets that it is nearly impossible to know their financial cost in order to have a realistic image of the savings; notes the several policies and actions designed by the Commission to help mitigate the negative effects and expects that the lessons learned will be reflected on the Commission’s new HR Strategy to be adopted in 2021; _________________ 184aEuropean Court of Auditors’ Special report no 15/2019: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission - Big savings but not without consequences for staff.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 783 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 185
185. Points out that the institutions and bodiesNotes that over the period from 2012 to 2018 the institutions and bodies, excluding the European Ombudsman and the EDPS, had reduced their establishment plans by 1 409 posts (3 %) and at the same time gradually increased the employment of contract staff. Over the period,; notes, in this regard, that the proportion of contract staff in total workforce forecasts rose from 17 % to 22 %;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 785 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 186
186. Underlines that the increase in the headcount of contract staff at year-end differs significantly from one institution, body or executive agency to another, which reflects differences in the size of the entities, but also the impact on staffing levels of new tasks stemming from rapidly evolving priorities, such as: - additional work performed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) on behalf of other Commission departments and third parties and the replacement of grant holders previously employed under national law by a large number of scientific and technical support officers recruited in FG IV; - implementation of new programmes delegated by the Commission to the executive agencies which was neutral in budgetary terms and in terms of Commission staff transferred; - internalisation of support services at the European Parliament (security staff and drivers employed in FG I); - new responsibilities placed on the EEAS, notably in the areas of the common security and defence policy and the action plan against Disinformation (the EEAS also strengthened the physical and IT security in Union Delegations);deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 791 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 186 a (new)
186 a. Points out that the increase of contract staff reflects the impact on staffing levels of new tasks stemming from rapidly evolving priorities, such as the implementation of new programmes delegated by the Commission to the executive agencies which was neutral in budgetary terms and in terms of Commission staff transferred; notes the Court’s observation that the increase in contract staff was also a response to special or urgent situations, such as the migration crisis;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 792 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187
187. Is very critical in relation to the increase in contract staff as a result to special or urgent situations, such as the migration crisis;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 801 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 188
188. Notes with curiosity the high number of closing days in the Union- institutions, for which staff do not have to use their annual leave;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 807 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 190
190. Finds it highly problematicTakes note that at the end of 2018, the institutions, bodies and executive agencies employed 11 962 contract staff, (representing an increase of 37 % since 2012); points outnotes that most were employed by the European Commission, and mainly in FG IV, the best paid function group, similarly,; notes that a majority of contract staff at the executive agencies were in FG III and FG IV (763 and 715 respectively);
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 818 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 41
RecommendationGeneral remarks
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 819 #
191 a. Acknowledges that 2019 was a year of transition for the Commission, as it had to secure the transition from the Juncker Commission and the preparation for the arrival of the von der Leyen Commission, as well as launching its new priorities;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 824 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 191 b (new)
191 b. Welcomes the inter-institutional cyber cooperation for which the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee receive the assistance of the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies; notes that many of the digitalisation projects concern the digitalisation of human resources and financial processes, where the Committees uses the SYSPER and ABAC systems provided by the Commission; asks the Commission to examine the possibility of negotiating better conditions to enhance and make the process of application sharing financially attractive;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 831 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192
192. Calls on the European Economic and Social Committee to: - implement a policy for dealing with sensitive functions, drawing on a comprehensive risk assessment leading to the identification of mitigating controls which take into account the Committee’s size and the nature of its work;deleted
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 835 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 41 a (new)
Ethical frameworks
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 836 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192 a (new)
192 a. Echoes the Court’s conclusion that “any unethical behaviour by staff and Members of EU institutions and bodies is unacceptable and, even if it is only alleged, attracts high levels of public interest and reduces trust in the EU. Unethical behaviour is also linked to the risk of corruption and fraud”192a; _________________ 192aEuropean Court of Auditors’ Special Report 13/2019 “The ethical frameworks of the audited EU institutions: scope for improvement”.
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 837 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192 b (new)
192 b. Welcomes that, to a large extent, the audited institutions have put in place for staff and Members adequate ethical frameworks with room for improvement; strongly supports the Court’s recommendations such as harmonising the ethical frameworks and improving staff awareness;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 838 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192 c (new)
192 c. Takes note of the second review of the Commission’s internal guidelines in relation to the provisions on Whistleblowing in the Staff Regulations; takes note with satisfaction the 6 recommendations contained in the 2019 review and calls on the Commission to report on the implementation to the budgetary authority; welcomes the update of the whistleblowing page on MyIntracomm in May 2019 and the addition of a direct link to OLAF’s whistleblowing procedure;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 839 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192 d (new)
192 d. Stresses the importance of reinforcing the Transparency Register and improving the quality of its data, in particular on the occasion of the Interinstitutional Agreement reached in December 2020; takes note of the quality checks performed by the Commission and the action of the Register Secretariat upon alerts received; calls on the Commission to improve the IT solution in order to perform stricter quality checks;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT
Amendment 840 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192 e (new)
192 e. Takes notes of the European Ombudsman’s conclusions and technical suggestions for improvement in her Decision of 28 February 2019 on how the Commission manages ‘revolving doors’ situations of its staff members; calls on the Commission to follow-up on both the Ombudsman’s decision and the Court’s relevant recommendations in its special report on the ethical frameworks of the EU institutions;
2021/03/04
Committee: CONT