Activities of Tineke STRIK related to 2020/2222(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the evaluation of preventive measures for avoiding corruption, irregular spending and misuse of EU and national funds in case of emergency funds and crisis-related spending areas
Amendments (10)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that the need to respond swiftly and effectively to a crisicrisis measures often hasve a direct impact on the balance between the different powers of the state and recognises that governments and local authorities may be forced to adopt emergency measures with less public consultation than would generally be expected; believes that emergency powers should never be used as a pretext for changing the balance of powers more permanently; believes that emergency measures should always be temporal, proportionate and necessary; calls attention to the great importance of upholding an effective system of checks and balances, respect of the rule of law, fundamental rights and democratic accountability for all actions taken in response to an emergency;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Expresses its concern that transparency, control and anti-corruption reforms have met a certain resistance in some Member States, which has been explained by the fact that they affect the personal interests of the law-makers and government officials in charge of enforcing them;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is of the opinion that the prolonged situation of emergency in response to the current COVID-19 crisis may have increased the risk and instances of corruptionhas created a favourable environment for criminal activities and, specifically, for corruption and bribery; considers that therefore, responses to this crisis from international organisations, states, and private entities should also include mechanisms for preventing, detecting, and prosecuting corruption and bribery; believes that the response to the COVID-19 crisis is also a reminder that openness, transparency, accountability and law enforcement are essential components of democratic governance;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to carefully review the policies they enacted during the COVID-19 crisis and to define new mechanisms and protocols for any future emergency spendingRecalls that whenever Member States implement the Union budget, including resources allocated through the European Union Recovery Instrument and through loans and other instruments guaranteed by the Union budget, and whatever method of implementation they use, respect for the rule of law and the effective prevention and prosecution of fraud, including tax fraud, tax evasion, corruption and conflicts of interest are essential preconditions for compliance with the principles of sound financial management enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); calls on the Member States and the Commission to carefully review the policies they enacted during the COVID-19 crisis and to define new mechanisms and protocols for any future emergency spending; underlines the necessity of ex ante verification of existing anti-corruption legislation and practices in Member States; calls on the Commission to include anti-corruption milestones in the proposals for a Council Decision on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plans in cases where a risk of misuse of funds exist; stresses the fact that the EU Public Procurement Directive already allows for quick and less administratively burdensome procedures and that Member States’ governments should not manage these procedures outside of the legal requirements;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that corruption in general undermines the functioning of the state and public authorities at all levels and is one of the key enablers of organised crime; emphasises that effective anti-corruption frameworks and transparency and integrity in the exercise of state power can strengthen legal systems and trust in public authorities and democratic processes; reiterates the need to increase the overall transparency of the economic and financial environment of the Union, as the prevention of economic and financial crimes cannot be effective unless criminals are prevented from seeking shelter for their acts through non- transparent structures;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that the incorrect management of public funds and ineffective responses to a crisis may intensify growing distrust in government; believes that the public has the right to be informed and to be provided with up-to- date, transparent and reliable information and data during crises; believes that if relevant data on public procurement were to be made publicly available for analysis, freely and easily accessible, in an open and standardised format, together with data on court convictions and on company registries, this could significantly foster the prevention and detection of potential cases of corruption; is of the opinion, therefore, that all public procurement contracts (using public money) should be publicly available, published on a dedicated website and with the minimum of redaction;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the critical role of civil society organisations in fighting corruption; emphasises that the success of any emergency response greatly depends on the active participation of all actors in society; believes that the current COVID- 19 crisis has highlighted the importance of maintaining a robust system of citizen participation in public decision-making; notes the particular importance of the protection of whistleblowers reporting suspicions of corruption; recalls in this regard that the EU Directive on Whistleblowing must be transposed into the national legal systems of all 27 Member States before 17 December 2021; states its concern about recent reports from Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and Transparency International which show that 14 Member States did not start or have made minimal progress towards implementing the Directive;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Acknowledges the current role and future potential of using artificial intelligence and big data in fighting corruption and the misuse of public funds; calls on the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the available tools, such as the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES), Arachne and the Irregularities Management System (IMS) to effectively and efficiently identify the problematic economic operators and the private individuals (or natural persons) linked to them in both direct and indirect management; encourages Member States to exchange information both among themselves and with the Commission and to cooperate more closely with a view to improving data collection and enhancing the effectiveness of controls; regrets the fact that OLAF does not have full access to the Arachne Risk Scoring Tool; points out that all information and data must be processed in a proper way to ensure data protection and the privacy of citizens;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Insists on the need for collaborative work among the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and other EU bodies such as Eurojust, Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to carry out criminal investigations and prosecutions within the respective mandate/remit;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. CNotes that in its 21st General Activity Report, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) states that governments should rigorously manage the corruption risks that have emerged due to the need to take extraordinary measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic; calls on the Member States to follow the recommendations of the Group of States againsand guidelines issued by GRECO in 2020 to prevent Ccorruption (GRECO) andrisks; welcomes the possibility of the EU joining GRECO as a full member.