Activities of Martin EHRENHAUSER related to 2011/2073(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Budgetary control of EU humanitarian aid (short presentation)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the budgetary control of EU humanitarian aid managed by ECHO PDF (230 KB) DOC (149 KB)
Amendments (7)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to its previous resolutions of 26 September 2011 on ‘Towards a stronger European disaster response: the role of civil protection and humanitarian assistance’4 , of 19 January 2011 on ‘the situation in Haiti one year after the earthquake: humanitarian aid and reconstruction’5 , of 10 February 2010 on ‘the recent earthquake in Haiti’6 , of 18 December 2007 on the 'European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid', of 18 January 2011 on ‘Implementation of the European consensus on humanitarian aid: the mid-term review of its Action Plan and the way forward’7 ;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the enhanced flexibility and efficiency facilitated by the FPA 2008 as compared to the FPA 2005, such as a more result-oriented approach, the introduction of the A- and P-control mechanisms, simplification and less ambiguity through developing guidelines; calls on the Commission to continue refining the measures which improve the efficiency of cooperation with the FPA partners through the upcoming FPA in 2012; stresses that improving the efficiency of cooperation and reducing the excessive administrative burden for FPA partners, meanwhile, shall ensure a high level of accountability and transparency;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to improve the methods and practice of assessing whether a potential partner qualifies for the FPA or not; recalls that the experience before signing the FPA 2008 indicates that the initial assessment in favour of the partners under P-control mechanism, based on the reliability of their internal control systems and financial solidity, was too optimistic; notes that after being granted this status on the basis of initial assessment, partners under P-control mechanism are audited less frequently on their internal control systems, are allowed to use their own procurement procedures and their actions are not subject to contractual limits on funding; recalls that as a result of the assessment under FPA 2008 many of them had to be downgraded to A-partners, i.e. under the A-control mechanism;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the weaknesses identified during regular audits of the partners' systems are addressed by them in a timely manner and that necessary measures are taken if they are not; recalls that the external auditors have to continue working on improving the quality of their recommendations to the partners, taking into account partners' specific structures to ensure acceptance and feasibility of their implementation; stresses that further improvements in the documentation of the evaluation of proposals for humanitarian aid actions are necessary in terms of streamlining and standardising them and in order to allow an overall comparison;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the positive results of the discussions with the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), according to which WFP and UNICEF changed itstheir rules to make itstheir internal audit reports available to DG ECHO; calls on DG ECHO to conduct similar negotiations with the other UN agencies without delay in order to ensure easy and unbureaucratic access to their internal audit reports; calls on the Commission to inform the competent EP committees on the progress of the negotiations on a six- monthly basis; stresses that all the internal audit reports should be made available to the Commission electronically and not only on the premises of the corresponding UN agencies;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Draws attention to the frequent budgetary reinforcements of DG ECHO either through the use of Emergency Aid Reserve or through transfers from other budget lines from the external aid heading of the EDF; considers that budget reinforcement is a structural issue; stresses the necessity to draw up a realistic budget, allocating appropriations for natural disasters or humanitarian actions on the basis of repeated experience with spending in previous years;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls on DG ECHO to focus more on the sustainability of humanitarian actions; urges DG ECHO and other relevant Commission services to put greater emphasis on the DRR and disaster- preparedness, strengthen the resilience of the population at risk through capacity building, training, public awareness and establishing efficient early warning systems in disaster- prone and crisis-hit countries, in order to enable them to react correspondingly;