41 Amendments of Alexander STUBB
Amendment 11 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas, according to the opinion of the Parliament's legal services, only the United States, Canada, Germany and the European Union have adopted rules which interest groups must follow when pursuing lobbying activities,
Amendment 20 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that a Memberapporteur may, as he or she sees fit (on a voluntary basis), use a "legislative footprint", i.e. an indicative list (attached to Parliament's reports) of interest representatives who were consulted and had significant input during the preparation of the report; stresses, nevertheless, that it is even more important for the Commission to attach such "legislative footprint" to its legislative initiatives;
Amendment 23 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Invites itsNotes the current rules according to which Members are required to declare their financial interests; invites its Bureau, on the basis of a proposal from the Quaestors, to draw up a plan on how to further improve the implementation and control of Parliaments' rules whereby a Member must declare any support which he or she receives, whether financial or in terms of staff or materials1;
Amendment 31 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls foNotes the current rules on Intergroups which require declarations of funding; calls for further clarity on Intergroups, i.e. a list of registered and non-registered Intergroups on Parliament's website, including relevant declarations of the financial interest of their respective chairs;
Amendment 34 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for itsthe Bureau, on the basis of a proposal from the Quaestors, to clarify the current rules which prohibit unaccompanied visitors on Parliamentary premises (for example Members' offices) and to improve the enforcement of those rules;
Amendment 41 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that all actors falling within that definitionoutside the European institutions falling within that definition and frequently influencing the institutions should be considered as lobbyists and treated in the same way: professional lobbyists, companies' in-house lobbyists, NGOs, think-tanks, trade associations, trade unions and employers' organisations, profit-making and non-profit organisations and lawyers when their purpose is to influence policy rather than case-law;
Amendment 48 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes in principle the Commission's proposal for a "one-stop shop" where lobbyists could register with both the Commission and Parliament and calls for an interinstitutional agreement on a common register to be held jointly by Parliament, the Commission and the Council; recalls, however, the essential differences between the Commission and, Parliament as institutions; therefore reserves the right to evaluate the Commission's proposal when it is finalised and only then to decide on whethnd the Council as institutions; calls for mutual recognition on the part of the Parliament, the Commission and the Council of separate registers in the event that a common register oris not to support itachieved;
Amendment 53 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Proposes that a joint working group of officials be set up as soon as possible, with representatives from both Parliament and the Commission to consider the implications of a common register, the Commission and the Council be set up as soon as possible with the aim of considering until the end of 2008 the implications of a common register and of drawing up a common code of conduct; instructs its Secretary-General to take the appropriate steps;
Amendment 55 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recommends thatUrges the Council to joins a possible common register; is of the opinion that careful consideration needs to be given to the activities of lobbyists vis-à-vis Council Secretariat in the context of codecision matters;
Amendment 60 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is aware of the arguments in favour of both voluntary and compulsory registration of lobbyists; notes the Commission's decision to start with a voluntary register and evaluate the system after one year; recallnotes that Parliament's register is already de facto mandatory, because registering is a prerequisite for gaining access tothe legal basis for a mandatory register is provided by the Treaty of Lisbon; considers that registration should be a requirement for lobbyists wanting frequent access to the institutions, as is already the case in Parliament;
Amendment 65 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes the Commission's draft Code of Conduct for Interest Representatives; reminds the Commission that Parliament has already had such a Code for over 10 years and asks the Commission to negotiate with Parliament for the establishment of a common Coderules;
Amendment 69 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. RStresses that sanctions should apply to lobbyists who have breached the code of conduct; recalls that Parliament's current Rules of Procedure already provide that any breach of the Code of Conduct may lead to the withdrawal of the nominative pass, which entails deletion from the register; emphasises that sufficient resources (staff and money) should be allocated to verifying the information in the register;
Amendment 83 #
2007/2115(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Notes the Commission’s proposed monitoring mechanism for verifying the information in the proposed register, and considers it important that sufficient resources are dedicated to that purpose;
Amendment 4 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Paragraph 1
1. .....Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2006;
Amendment 6 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Union general budget for the financial year 2006, Section III – Commission
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Sets out its observations and conditions in the resolution below;
Amendment 7 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Paragraph 1
1. .......Grants the director of the Education, Audiovisual and CultureIntelligent Energy Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Executive Agency's budget for the financial year 2006;
Amendment 8 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Paragraph 1
1. ......Grants the director of the Intelligent EnergyEducation, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Executive Agency's budget for the financial year 2006;
Amendment 9 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Paragraph 1
1. ......Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2006;
Amendment 16 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. In the field of Structural funds: This part will be filled after the hearing in 25/02/2008Reminds the Commission of the commitments given at the extraordinary committee hearing held on 25 February 2008: a) concerning the implementation of the new Action Plan to strengthen the Commission’s supervisory role for structural actions (COM(2008)0097) to improve the audits, decide and apply the necessary suspension and correction procedures and improve recoveries, and awaits the quarterly reports on its implementation; b) expects the Commission to develop in close cooperation with the ECA of Auditors a new reporting scheme on recoveries and financial corrections and expects it to present a detailed timetable for the development and application of this new reporting scheme; c) expects the Commission to present an action plan with detailed measures on how to prevent high errors from happening;
Amendment 43 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. In the field of external actions: This part will be filled after the evaluation of the information received and/or expected from the Commissiona) expects the Commission to provide the Parliament with regular information on EU financing of multi-donor trust funds, both on its own initiative and at Parliament's request; b) requests the Commission to present measures on how to improve the visibility of the EU funds when implementing external aid via other organisations; c) requests of the Commission measures to allow better access for EU auditors (ECA, EC or private audit firms) to carry out audits for projects under joint management, especially with the UN;
Amendment 99 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the first annual summaries are due by 15 February 2008 andsent by most Member States and asks the Commission to start infringement procedures against those Member States which did not fulfil their obligations; asks the Commission before the first reading of the 2009 budget to draw up a document analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each Member State's national system for the administration and control of Community funds and the results of the audits conducted, and to forward that document to Parliament and to the Council; invites also the Commission to report on the quality of the annual summaries and to promote value added to the process, such as through identification of common problems, possible solutions and best practices;
Amendment 101 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19a (new)
Paragraph 19a (new)
19a. Notes, however, the ECA's critical statement on national audit work to the effect that "the external auditor wishing to rely on, or use, the opinion or work of others must obtain direct evidence of the sound basis of that work."; finds therefore the work of the Contact Committee Working Group responsible for 'developing common auditing standards and comparable audit criteria tailored for the EU area' essential and calls for the Commission to encourage all Member States to participate in this work;
Amendment 106 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Welcomes the second half-yearly scoreboards on the implementation of the above action plan, submitted on March 20071 to the Parliament pursuant to Parliament's request in its 2004 discharge resolution; expects the Commission to present its newest report before discharge can be given; __________ 1 SEC(2007)0311 and COM(2007)0086, adopted on 7 March 2007.;
Amendment 113 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38a (new)
Paragraph 38a (new)
38a. Asks the Commission to improve the Annual Activity Reports through the establishment of common criteria for the making of reservations, stronger formalisation of the Annual Activity Reports to allow better comparability between Annual Activity Reports of different Directorate-Generals and over time; asks the Commission to take account of the observations made by the ECA on the Annual Activity Reports and to make the improvements in close consultation with the ECA;
Amendment 114 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Regrets deeply the Commission's decision not to make the register for lobbyists mandatory and repeatsIs aware of the arguments in favour of both voluntary and compulsory registration of lobbyists; notes the Commission's decision to start with a voluntary register and evaluate the system after one year; its belief that a compulsory system is necessary to bring about sufficient transparency and level the playing field among the various interests aware of the legal base for a mandatory register provided by the Treaty of Lisbon; recalls that Parliament's current register is already mandatory and a possible common register would be de facto mandatory, because registering is, in both cases, a prepresentativesquisite for gaining access to Parliament;
Amendment 115 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40 a. Recalls the need for a new code of conduct for Members of the Commission to improve and define more clearly their individual and collective political responsibility and accountability for their political decisions as well as the policy implementation by their services;
Amendment 117 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57a (new)
Paragraph 57a (new)
57a. Recalls also that the cost of financial corrections is borne by the Member States, usually by the taxpayer, rather than by the beneficiaries of the aid irregularly paid;
Amendment 118 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58a (new)
Paragraph 58a (new)
58a. Regrets that the level of irregular payments financed by the CAP is not yet known or estimated by the Commission in a way considered appropriate by the ECA; notes that the ECA found that corrections for irregular payments with an estimated maximum amount of EUR 100 million could not be made as they were discovered after the two year time limit; invites the Commission to allocate adequate resources for conformity audits in order to execute corrections for irregular payments within the time limit;
Amendment 119 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63a (new)
Paragraph 63a (new)
Amendment 120 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63b (new)
Paragraph 63b (new)
63b. Considers it unacceptable that, according to the ECA’s findings, first level control systems in Member States are generally ineffective or only moderately effective and that a number of national and regional authorities do not manage EU funds with sufficient attention; in the 2006 ECA's audit sample (19 first level control systems) none of the systems was effective, only 6 moderately effective and 13 ineffective, and thus no progress has been made in the field of Structural Funds compared to 2005; is very concerned by the inability of the Council to clearly recognise its responsibility for this situation which arises largely from inadequate controls by Member States;
Amendment 121 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63c (new)
Paragraph 63c (new)
Amendment 122 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63d (new)
Paragraph 63d (new)
63d. Insists on auditable reporting on corrections and recoveries by the Commission (withdrawals, recoveries by member states, recoveries by the Commission, net corrections, suspension of payments) for all unduly made payments for all funds with precise definitions of all these different categories of financial corrections and that underlying evidence should be fully accessible to the ECA; expects the Commission to establish a clear link of recoveries to the year where the irregularity happened; expects the Commission to develop these reporting schemes in cooperation with the ECA;
Amendment 123 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63e (new)
Paragraph 63e (new)
63e. Recalls Action 11N1, that should have been implemented by 31 December 2007; expects the Commission to act accordingly "To determine whether recovery and offsetting systems are working effectively, by identifying amounts recovered in 2005 and 2006 and their coherence with errors identified during controls the Commission will, in direct management, develop a typology of errors and the relationship with recoveries, financial corrections and adjustments to payments and for share management it will examine the reliability of national monitoring and reporting systems."; ___________ 1 Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors on the progress of the Commission Action Plan towards an Integrated Internal Control Framework (COM(2007)0086).
Amendment 124 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63f (new)
Paragraph 63f (new)
Amendment 125 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63g (new)
Paragraph 63g (new)
63g. Insists that the Commission should start suspension procedures against Member States where first level control systems are inadequate, and that it must speed up the sanctions system;
Amendment 126 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63h (new)
Paragraph 63h (new)
63h. Expects a report by the Commission on the results of the "Contract of Confidence "arrangements including the fundamental question of whether these are considered as being 'satisfactory';
Amendment 127 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63i (new)
Paragraph 63i (new)
63i. For the discharge in respect of the financial year 2007, requests the Commission to present both cash and accrual based figures, a clear indication whether the figures are annual or multiannual, a clear explanation of the nature of financial corrections: flat rate corrections (in the case of system weaknesses), recoveries at the level of final beneficiaries, respective improvements in the ABAC system and expects that the information provided for the discharge concerns exactly the same definitions of financial corrections as asked for the other reports on financial corrections published over the year;
Amendment 128 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75a (new)
Paragraph 75a (new)
75a. Notes with great concern that for the E-Learning program the average administrative costs per successful application is EUR 22 million while the average amount per grant for this program is only EUR 4 931; asks the Commission to explain the large imbalance between these two figures and to take the necessary countermeasures to decrease this large difference;
Amendment 129 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78a (new)
Paragraph 78a (new)
78a. Recalls that funds spend for External Actions in 2006 totalled EUR 5,867 billion and in payments EUR 5,186 billion; notes with concern the ECA's 2006 Annual Report according to which: - a high incidence of error is detected in the sample tested at the level of project- implementing organisations, - there continued to be weaknesses in the supervisory and control systems designed to ensure the legality and regularity at the level of project-implementing organisations, - again the highest risk areas are the contracting procedures, the eligibility of expenditure at project level and insufficient supporting documentation;
Amendment 130 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78b (new)
Paragraph 78b (new)
78b. Invites the Commission to report to Parliament on controls undertaken under the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement between the European Community and the United Nations (FAFA);
Amendment 131 #
2007/2037(DEC)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78c (new)
Paragraph 78c (new)
78c. Expects annual reporting for the Parliament on budget implementation contracts, annual list of projects and their location and lists of final beneficiaries; considers that the rapporteur for the discharge should have access to information declared confidential for security reasons; welcomes the Commission's commitment to re-negotiate relevant agreements on trust funds with the UN in order to achieve joint reporting guidelines and disclosure of final beneficiaries; welcomes also the Commission's commitment to organise annual meetings between the European Parliament and senior UN staff responsible for the management of multi- donor trust funds and considers that this would provide a framework for the UN to provide additional information on EU funds;