21 Amendments of Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU related to 2020/2146(DEC)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the total number of staff in 2019 was 576 (compared to 538 in 2018 and 533 in 2017); notes that the number of posts in the establishment plan amounts to 491 which is considered by the Committee as insufficient; recognises the results of a workload assessment finalised in 2019 for a potential reorganisation with the objective to make further efficiency gains and create synergies; is informed that the Committee wants the Union budgetary authorities to address the issue and balance the current staff situation progressively; encourages the Committee to deepen its administrative cooperation with the EESC via JointServices to pool staff in order to develop more synergies.
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that the transfer of 24 translation posts from the Committee to the Parliament was estimated to result in the yearly savings amounting to approximately EUR 2.9 million, invites the Committee to present a report on the impact of this transfer;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Acknowledges that the situation in terms of gender balance in middle and senior management positions has remained relatively stable since 2018 with 35 % of these positions being filled by women; acknowledges that a new equal opportunity strategy containing concrete objectives to be reached by 2025 is being adopted and should enter in force in 2020; calls upon the Committee to present an outline of its adoption and its planned impact;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that the Committee uses contract staff mainly to provide appropriate support in the form of replacements for mid to long term absences and for specific projects in different directorates with the objective of providing additional support to members of the Committee; notes that in 2019, as the consequence of the cooperation between the Committee and Parliament, the number of long-term contract staff decreased in the Directorate for Translation compared to the years 2013-2017;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that the Committee needs to upgrade its security control systems and ensure a safe work place for its members and staff, which require additional specialised resources and that the ratio of resources dedicated to both physical security and IT support per member of staff is very low in comparison to other European institutions.; encourages the Committee to continue preparing new project to boost cybersecurity;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Underlines that an external evaluation of the communication strategy of the Committee was carried out in accordance with the standards applied by all other Union institutions using a shared framework contract; notes that the overall quality of the Committee’s communication mostly meets audience needs and is effective as key stakeholders have a positive perception of the Committee; invites the Committee to improve digital communication with the public and to enhance the visibility of its studies for stakeholders and for Union citizens;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is aware that the bureau of the Committee adopted a digital strategy at the beginning of 2019 and that the implementation started following the adoption; notes that the main deliverables of the strategy are member-centric information systems to support the political work of the Committee, information systems to support paperless administrative processes and a digital workplace programme; invites the Committee to enhance digitalisation also through interinstitutional cooperation;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the fact that a series of measures has been implemented to ensure adequate building security standards, such as the installation of new equipment for access control and the installation of new closed-circuit television (CCTV) system; notes that the related security standards have reached the same level as the standards of Parliament and the Commission and that, moreover, first steps have been taken to buy a new visitor's management system that will be implemented in 2020;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes that a compliance and effectiveness exercise was launched in 2019 to assess to what extent the Committee complies with the 16 internal control standards; notes that the 2019 compliance exercise has shown that the overall state of implementation and effectiveness of the requirements remained satisfactory and stable as compared to 2018; notes, however, that areas for further improvement have been identified including the alignment of the Committee’s mission and organisational structure with new priorities, administrative cooperation between the Parliament and the Committee, further digitalisation of data storage and simplification of administrative processes as well as an in-depth revamp of the existing business continuity plan arising from the experiences acquired during the current COVID-19 situation;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Welcomes the existing cooperation agreements between Parliament, the Committee and the European Economic and Social Committee, with a view to identifying other areas in which back- office functions could be shared; invites the Committee to identify further potential synergies and savings;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Supports the Committee and the EESC in the view that in the event of an extension of the current agreement or of a new agreement with Parliament all outstanding issues such as the unbalanced situation for the Committee and the EESC, which transferred a total of 60 translators to Parliament (24 from the Committee) and in exchange obtained only the use of the services of the European Parliamentary Research Service must be settled; notes with concerna guarantee for a sustainable working relationship with the Parliament, intensified cooperation with the parliamentary committees, involvement in the European Semester work, a reserved seat during parliamentary committee meetings, the use of the services of the European Parliamentary Research Service, joint projects and synergies on translation, opening of pathways between Parliament and the buildings of the Committees, a service level agreement including provisions of interpretation services and technical support by Parliament, regular use of Parliament buildings in Brussels as well as Parliament’s Liaison Offices in the Member States for events and activities, intensified cooperation in the area of informatics, mutual access to canteens, several cooperation mechanisms to ensure a coherent approach and create synergies in the field of information and communication and if required legal advice in technical and/or administrative matters of the Parliament’s Legal Service should be reviewed; notes that as a consequence the Committee and the EESC had to hire contract staff and outsourced their translation services which resulted in an effective budget reduction;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Underlines the Committee's acknowledgement in its written answers to Parliament that the cooperation with Parliament in 2019 continued to build on the achievements of the previous years and revealed satisfactory progress on several levels such as the relations between the commissions of the Committee and the committees of Parliament, new ways of cooperation including contributions to implementation reports and fact-finding missions and a successful and impactful cooperation through Parliament's Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development; stresses that the Committee has requested that the political cooperation continue to be further developed while respecting the autonomy and the specific approaches of each parliamentary committee and each commission of the Committee;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. CongratulaNotes the Committee on the ongoing´s efforts in the framework of the environmental management system as regards the lowering of the carbon footprint and plastic, food and paper waste; agrees that the reduction of the carbon footprint is among the most important objectives for the coming years; encourages the Committee to participate in related projects with the other Union bodies and to elaborate a comprehensive plan for the Committee to implement the principles and recommendations presented in the European Green Deal, with the general objective of becoming climate neutral by 2030;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Underlines that on 5 December 2019 the Committee adopted a code of conduct for its members laying down a detailed procedure in the event of alleged harassment of a member of staff by a Committee member, which is largely based on Parliament's Bureau’s Decision of 2 July 2018 on harassment complaints; notes that the code of conduct includes a number of sanctions in order to ensure its observance and that the Committee has set up an advisory board on harassment; asks the Committee to present a report on the implementation of the code of conduct;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Recalls that the invalidity committee confirmed that the invalidity of the former internal auditor,Appreciates the progress on the case concerning the former internal auditor, Mr McCoy, in response to the 2018 discharge, notes the work done by the rapporteur for the other institutions who opened the long-stalled dialogue; recalls that the invalidity committee confirmed that the invalidity of Mr McCoy, arose from an occupational disease, and that, consequently, on 26 June 2019 the Committee formally endorsed this conclusion; notes that pursuant to article 78(5) of the staff regulations Mr McCoy was reimbursed in July 2019 in respect of all his contributions to the pension scheme between the date he started receiving the invalidity allowance (1 July 2007) and the day before he started receiving retirement pension (31 July 2010);
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. aAppreciates the exchange held in the context of the 2019 discharge procedure on 10 November 2020 with the mediator, the former internal auditor and a representative of the Committee; recalls that Mr. McCoy and the Committee were invited to a meeting of Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control based on a suggestion by the EPP coordinator; underlines the importance of deescalating the situation and bringing the positions of the former internal auditor and of the Committee together; welcomes the mediator’s suggestion of a meeting between the President of the Committee and Mr McCoy as a starting point for reconciliation before any negotiations will take place;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Notes that the Committee was originally established to address important issues, as about three quarters of Union legislation is implemented at local or regional level for which reason local and regional representatives needed to have a say in the development of new Union laws; further notes that its original mission was to close the widening gap between the public and the process of European integration by involving regional representation;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Notes that the budget of the Committee has been growing over the past years (EUR 96 100 540 in 2018, EUR 98 751 065 in 2019 and projected EUR 101 508 480 for 2020); notes the concern that these resources are not used efficiently and that the original purpose is no longer being fulfilled; underlines that unlike the budget, the number of opinions issued by the Committee has gone down (71 in 2017, 78 in 2018 and only 49 opinions in 2019), which is alarming;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Paragraph 47 c (new)
47 c. Encourages the Committee to consider preparing a plan for reorganisation and streamlining as such processes could lead to closer cooperation with Parliament and that, by reforming the institution, its know-how could be applied in a more effective way;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 d (new)
Paragraph 47 d (new)
47 d. Invites the Committee to present impact assessments of its opinions; invites the Committee to also set clear and measurable key performance indicators for the following years in order to optimalise its functioning.