43 Amendments of Paulo CASACA related to 2008/2186(DEC)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph -1 a (new)
Heading before paragraph -1 a (new)
MAIN CONCLUSIONS
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Welcomes further progress made by the Commission and some of the Member States towards a more efficient use of EU funds and the overall control environment, which is reflected by the improvements in the ECA's statement of assurance (DAS);
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. Welcomes the considerable progress made in the management of the 7th Framework Programme by the Commission's research family in comparison with former Framework Programmes; reiterates that Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds management has further improved, in particular thanks to the functioning of the Integrated Administrative Control System (IACS); deeply regrets that Greece is still not meeting its obligations to implement IACS;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. Is of the opinion that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria has not been treated by the Commission with the necessary seriousness and that statements of the readiness of the two candidates for enlargement were misleading; regrets that this misinformation has led to the current situation where cohesion funds were released for Member States with non- functioning administrative and legal systems; is of the opinion that the Commission disregarded the Copenhagen criteria and misled public opinion and Parliament about the readiness of these Member States to the detriment of the reputation of the Union and the steady development of the Member States in question;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 d (new)
Paragraph -1 d (new)
-1d. Notes that 2007 was the first year of closure of the 2000-2006 multiannual programmes and that many funds were recovered;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 e (new)
Paragraph -1 e (new)
-1e. Notes considerable improvements in the field of Research and Technological Development (RTD) financial management where error rates were reduced by more than 50% in the space of 3 years; invites the Commission to continue its simplification efforts in order to improve the use of programmes by the final beneficiary;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 f (new)
Paragraph -1 f (new)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 g (new)
Paragraph -1 g (new)
-1g. Continues to worry about the lack of EU capacity in crisis management; considers that the EU is losing in political guidance, visibility and accountability when using international trust funds which could have been managed by the Commission if it had respected discharge reports 2005 and 2006 and built up an own post-crisis instrument; is highly preoccupied by the lack of control of EU funds implemented by certain UN agencies and the unwillingness by UN agencies to follow up on fraud cases where EU funds are involved;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. RegretsNotes the improvements in the individual parts which comprise the DAS, regrets, however, that, for the fourteenth year in succession, the DAS issued by the ECA in its annual report for 2007 includes an qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts in which; notes that the ECA takes the view that, in a large number of expenditure areas (agriculture and natural resources, cohesion, research, energy and transport, external aid, development and enlargement, education and citizenship), payments are still materially affected by errors, albeit to differing degrees;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 (replaced with paragraph 3)
Paragraph 2 (replaced with paragraph 3)
2. Notes that the situation – in particular as regards control systems – is improving, but not to a sufficient extent or sufficiently quicklyWelcomes the fact that, according to the ECA's Annual Report, administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to economic and financial affairs, are free from material error;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 (replaced with paragraph 2)
Paragraph 3 (replaced with paragraph 2)
3. Welcomes the fact that, according to the ECA's report, administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to economic and financial affairs, are free from material errorNotes that the situation – in particular as regards control systems – is improving, but not to a sufficient extent nor sufficiently quickly;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers it abnormal for the annual accounts to show net assets of - EUR 58.6 billion and wonders whether the amounts to be called from Member States should not be entered as liabilities, given that the estimated EUR 33.5 bn in employee benefits are clearly a commitment; regrets thatasks for further specification concerning the annexed notes on the other amounts to be called from Member States, totalling EUR 27.9 bn, are not very detailed;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Fails to understand why the assets received by the European Communities in connection with the Galileo programme were not entered in the annual accounts, given that, according to the ECA's report, the agreements were signed in late 2007 between the European Space Agency, the Galileo Joint Undertaking and the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) Supervisory Authority, which was set up in 2004 and given responsibility for taking over the activities of the former Galileo Joint Undertaking on 1 January 2007; accordingly, calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal concerning the major European projects (Galileo or TENs) which require funding which goes beyond the scope of the multiannual financial framework and which it cannot therefore control;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for examination of the possibility of including provisions in the annual accounts for major maintenance and refurbishment work on the European Communities' buildings stock, given the lack of a buildings depreciation schedule broken down by specific component and setting out the main tangible fixed assets to be replaced at regular intervals; takes the view that such provisions for major maintenance or refurbishment works should be backed by multiannual upkeep programmes designed to keep buildings in a good state of repair without extending their life;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Deplores the fact, nonetheless, that in extremely important Community spending areas (agricultural spending that does not come under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), cohesion, research, energy and transport, external actions, education and culture), the ECA notes, once again, that complicated or unclear legal requirements, firstly, result in a large number of errors at final- beneficiary level and, secondly, result in only partially effective monitoring and control systems and that complexity is instrumental in preventing the ECA from issuing a positive DAS (Chapter 1, DAS, paragraphs X and XI); calls therefore on the Commission to conduct an analysis to determine the extent of, and possible solutions to, the problems;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28a (new)
Paragraph 28a (new)
28a. Insists that control systems are a reflection of the complexity of regulations and rules on the various, sometimes overlapping levels; urges therefore the Commission to accelerate the simplification exercise whilst fully involving Parliament; asks Member States and regions to undertake the same efforts;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 a (new) under heading "Transparency"
Paragraph 45 a (new) under heading "Transparency"
45a. Recalls the Commission's decision to start with a voluntary register for lobbyists and to evaluate the system after one year; is 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 that a possible common register would be de facto mandatory, since registering is, in either case, a prerequisite for gaining access to Parliament;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 b (new)
Paragraph 45 b (new)
45b. Regrets that its invitation for a new code of conduct for Members of the Commission, so as to improve and define more clearly their individual and collective political responsibility and accountability for their decisions and for the implementation of their policies by their services, has not been implemented;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 c (new)
Paragraph 45 c (new)
45c. Recalls again the Commission's responsibility for ensuring the completeness, searchability and comparability of data provided on the beneficiaries of EU funding and regrets that this objective has still not been achieved;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 d (new)
Paragraph 45 d (new)
45d. Recalls again the importance of complete transparency and publicity with regard to the cabinet staff of Members of the Commission not recruited in accordance with the Staff Regulations;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48a (new)
Paragraph 48a (new)
48a. Invites the Commission to engage at a very early stage in consultations with the other institutions subject to the Financial Regulation;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 59 a (new)
Heading before paragraph 59 a (new)
Fisheries subsidies
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)
Paragraph 59 a (new)
59a. Welcomes the disclosure by selected Member States of the names of beneficiaries, the names of the operations concerned and the amounts of public (EU and national) funding and the Commission’s web site which contains links towards Member States' sources of information;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 b (new)
Paragraph 59 b (new)
59b. Requests, however, the Commission to ensure that all Member States comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 Article 53(b) and Article 53b (2)(d) and the requirements of Article 31 second paragraph point (d) of Regulation (EC) No 498/20071;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 c (new)
Paragraph 59 c (new)
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 d (new)
Paragraph 59 d (new)
59d. Requests, however, that the Commission should also propose to exclude Member States which fail to implement adequately the rules of the CFP from benefiting from Fisheries Partnership Agreements;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 e (new)
Paragraph 59 e (new)
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 f (new)
Paragraph 59 f (new)
59f. Requests the Commission to ensure that Community aid is not used to modernise fleet segments characterised by overcapacities;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 g (new)
Paragraph 59 g (new)
59g. Reminds the Commission of its commitments within the framework of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy approved by the European Council in Göteborg in June 2001 and revised by the European Council in Vienna in June 2006, to removing environmentally damaging subsidies and by 2008 to put forward a roadmap for the reform, sector by sector, of these subsidies with a view to eliminating them;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Notes that the Commission does not seriously dispute that rate of 11%;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)
Paragraph 62 a (new)
62a. Welcomes the intensive efforts made by the Commission to bring about an improvement in the situation, in particular by way of the above-mentioned action plan to strengthen its supervisory role under shared management of structural actions and appreciates the detailed reports given to Parliament on the action plan's implementation, particularly the report of 3 February 2009 (COM(2009)0042) and the further information presented during the discharge procedure, which have provided evidence of the effectiveness of the work being undertaken to tackle the problems;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. RWhile appreciating the improvements in the overall assessment of the supervisory and control system in the ECA's Annual Report, regrets that, in spite of the Commission's unremitting efforts, management and control systems both at Member State level and at supervisory level at the Commission are not yet sufficiently effective to limit risks of error, and calls on the Commission to report to Parliament in early 2010 on the further actions carried out in 2009 and on the initial impact of the actions under the above-mentioned action plan;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Also reminds the Commission of the ECA's recommendation to make as much use of possible, without undermining the effectiveness of spending, of the scope for simplification provided for by the spending rules, and calls on it to launch a discussion exercise on new simplification measures that might be adopted, including computerisation of the system;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new) under heading "Research"
Paragraph 71 a (new) under heading "Research"
71a. Welcomes the development in the RTD area whereby the error rate has decreased considerably between the year 2005 and the year 2007; this major achievement is a success for the implementation of the discharge 2005 by the Commission's research family in close cooperation with the Parliament's competent committee and the ECA;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72
Paragraph 72
72. Notes with concern that, in 2007, the audit certificates system, despite its considerable cost, still did not provi brought down the error rate to 2,5% for projects under the anticipated guarantees, and regrets that the effectiveness of auditors' work is still being criticised by the ECA6th Framework Programme in comparison with 4,06% in projects under the 5th Framework Programme, which are not subject to the audit certificates system;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Calls upon the Commission to continue to fulfil the requirementanalyse further the appropriateness of the 7th Framework Programme rules for participation, inter alia aon flat-rate payment procedures , and to inform the parliamentary committee responsible in the context of the mid-term review, of its contribution to the simplification of the rules for beneficiaries and to the necessary improvements to the system;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
Paragraph 75
75. Notes with concern that the two-stage procedure for the 7th Framework Programme for research and development is not being applied systematically and that only 13.87% of projects submitted have been selected, as opposed to more than 25 000 projects rejected; calls on the Commission to submit a specific proposal on this question before the end of 2009 so as to reduce the considerable amount of money lost by research bodies by revising the way in which they make calls for proposals and conduct selection procedurein certain areas; calls on the Commission to consult with research organisations on the appropriateness of extending this experience to other types of project where this would result in considerable reductions in the preparation costs of initial project applications;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
Paragraph 75
76. Remarks that, in the research field, the Commission has increased the number of research bodies, cooperation models and management mechanisms; is most concerned at threcalls that this is due to the considerable increase in funds made available under the 2007- 2013 financial perspective for research and innovation; invites the ECA to assess possible problems of transparency vis-à-vis the budgetary authority and at the differing way of dealing with beneficiaries under those models; calls for the Director- General to give over a chapter of his annual activity report to each such body, model and mechanism in order to provide information on the use of funds and the outcomes sought with these public-private cooperation models;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
Paragraph 86
86. ProposesDeplores deeply that the Commission ensure that it can manage thfailed to create a truly European instrument for implementation of crisis management as it had been asked to do in the 2005 and 2006 discharges; insists that this should be done urgently and reinvites the Commission to create the possibility to manage multidonor trust funds itself, where appropriate, when it is involved in such funds;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading before paragraph 113
Subheading before paragraph 113
Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and the other Western Balkan countries
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading before paragraph 115
Subheading before paragraph 115
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115
Paragraph 115
115. Deplores the cases of fraud and mismanagement of European funds managed by the UN identified in connection with EU funding of reconstruction work in Kosovo; and the lack of follow-up by the UN of these clearly identified cases;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121
Paragraph 121
121. Voices its disappointment at the incorrectNotes the information given by the Commission in 2005 and 2006 in this area, which is extremely important from a budgetary point of view; acknowledges the efforts made in the meantime as regards transparency on the Commission web site and the annual staff screening report;