15 Amendments of Mārtiņš STAĶIS related to 2024/2019(DEC)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the Commission and the Court of Auditors have repeatedly stated that error is not synonymous with fraud; emphasises that the error rate does not necessarily indicate that the resources have been misspent, nor does it call into question the positive results and added value of cohesion policy; acknowledges that the risk of fraud is nevertheless a cause of concern and should be minimised; stresses therefore the importance of strengthening the single audit principle, reducing duplication, and clearly distinguishing between unintentional errors and frauds;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that the increase in the error rate for cohesion policy funds is rather symptomatic of the complexity of the rules applicable to this spending area and the insufficient administrative capacity of national authorities, regional and local authorities; calls for the adoption of a single set of eligibility rules for all cohesion policy funds and further expansions of SCOs (simplified cost options);
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that the Committee on Regional Development called for urgent additional advisory support from the Commission to national authorities to avoid that situationand respective municipalities to avoid that situation and to support administrative capacity building, best practice sharing, peer-to-peer reviews, technical assistance, etc.;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Underlines the need for genuine simplification and administrative improvements, ensuring that these reforms are pursued consistently by all relevant EU and national actors;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Underlines that shared management, the partnership principle and subsidiarity should remain the cornerstone of any reform and simplification of cohesion policy;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Urges the Commission to enhance a bottom-up approach in the upcoming simplification of the cohesion policy by ensuring a proper consultation and involvement of LRAs, NGOs, and SMEs;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates its previous calls for further simplification to help reduce the risk of errors; urges the Commission and Member States to simplify unnecessarily complex rules and procedures wherever possible, work on a common interpretation of certain legal requirements and avoid gold-plating; furthermore, stresses the critical role of digitalisation in the management of EU funds and utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for detecting frauds in financial transactions;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recalls the importance of a stronger gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in cohesion policy that represent a real benefit to the distribution of funds;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Calls for a commitment to partnership and evidence-based approaches, with all simplification proposals developed through open and continuous dialogue with stakeholders, civil society organisations, and audit institutions;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Recalls that, in line with Article 11.2 TEU, EU institutions must maintain an open, transparent and structured dialogue with civil society organisations and representative associations; stresses in particular in this regard that access to structural funding is a prerequisite to ensure public participation, without which it would not be possible for citizens to have their voice channelled at the EU level through their representative associations, sustain a regular dialogue with EU institutions contributing to democratic participation in policy making, establish an open and wide-ranging dialogue, ensuring that the diversity of views and concerns are taken into account with equal access for public interest as compared to commercial interest, exercise a monitoring role on the implementation of EU policies and legislation, including the use of EU funds, or act as checks and balances to the rule of law; recalls the commitment of the Commission in its political guidelines to step up its engagement with civil society organisations that have expertise and an important role to play in defending specific societal issues and upholding human rights; reminds that this entails that, while the Commission should not mandate NGOs to pursue certain activities or support specific positions or policies, it remains fundamental that civil society organisations, through EU funding, can engage in an “open, transparent and structured dialogue with EU institutions” as enshrined in article 11 TEU through activities such as advocacy activities, demonstrations, or judicial actions and that these should remain eligible in the relevant funding programs and have sufficient dedicated funding available;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights the important role of the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in protecting the financial interests of the Union; welcomes that in 2023 a working arrangement was signed with Denmark and cooperation started with Poland and Ireland;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Underlines that cohesion policy must not contribute to misuse of EU funds or further deterioration of the Rule of Law and democracy in Member States;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Stresses the fundamental role cohesion policy has played in addressing the emergency crisis over the last years and emphasizes the need to keep its long- term strategic investment rationale and objectives;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Acknowledges that through CRII(+), CARE and REACT-EU, cohesion policy played a key role in addressing the consequences of crises; reiterates, however, that the role of cohesion policy is to bring added value in regional development and contribute to fight against climate change, Green Deal, just transition and competitiveness, not to bear the consequences of those crises, and therefore crisis repair should not come at the expense of the strategic long-term cohesion objectives;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the need for the new multiannual financial framework to be better designed to allow the use of relevant instruments, outside of cohesion policy, to adapt to emerging needs in the post-2027 period; stresses that local and regional authorities should be more involved in setting the policy’s priorities and have direct access to cohesion funds; furthermore, recalls the need for minimizing administrative burden for local and regional authorities but for beneficiaries in particular.