11 Amendments of Jens GEIER related to 2011/2217(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regard to the Joint Statement and Common Approach adopted (in June 2012) by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, resulting from the work of the Inter Institutional Working Group on decentralised agencies, and in particular the sections on governance, operations, programming, accountability and transparency,
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ...Grants the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2010;
Amendment 6 #
Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ...Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2010;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that, for five months, from 22 May 2010 to October 2010, the Agency covered its building with a green façcade which cost EUR 294 641 and that the contract was realised by the companies Ramboll, as general contractor, and Green Fortune; is surprised that there has been no public tcarried out by a consortium involving the University of Copenhagen, the company Ramboll, as gender; demands from the Agency's Director details on howal contractor, and the companies were chosen as contractorsy Green Fortune; takes note ofrom the Agency's Director, in her letter of 11 April 2012, that these costs were covered by the budget lines ‘2140 - Fitting-out of premises’ (EUR 180 872) and ‘3323 - Communications’ (EUR 113 769); underlines that the commitment appropriations under budget line 2140 increased from EUR 85 000 to EUR 271 049 against the opinion of reply of 15 June 2012 and acknowledges that the negotiated procedure to select the contractors was in compliance withe Agency's Head of Administration; notes that also in May 2010 the Head of Administration entered into sick leave and since then the position is occupied by an interim Head; notes from the Director's letter of 30 April 2012 that budget line 2140 has been reinforced by a budget transfer of EUR 180 872 from the budget line ‘2100 - Rent’; recalls that in December 2009 the Agency paid the rrticle 1261,b) of the implementing rules of the Financial Regulation; takes note of the Agency's explanation regarding the use of its budget to cover the greent for Q1 2010, thus avoiding reducing the amount to be repaid to the Commission; therefore calls on the Agency to explain the discharge authority why it has extracted EUR 180 872 from the budget line ‘Rent’, while rent is a fixed sum by contract, and to provide information and written evidence on the procedures with regards to the budgetary transfers; expects the Agency to complete all the requested actions by the end of Augustacade project; calls on the Agency to rigorously apply the principle of budget annuality following the Court of Auditors' findings in 2009 and the discharge resolutions of 2009 and 20120;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls onWelcomes the Agency to make a more explicit link between measures, resources and results's Management Plan System (MPS) which provides for a clear link between measures, resources and results; welcomes especially the fact that the Agency's MPS has been cited as best practice by the European Court of Auditors (in its Special Report No 5/2008), the Internal Audit Service and the European Ombudsman;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that, fromin June 2010 until April 2011, the Executive Director of the Agency was voted to be a trustee and a member of the International Advisory Board of Earthwatch - an international environmental charity engaging people in scientific field research and education - and was erroneously reported to be a member of the European Advisory Board of Worldwatch Europe; acknowledges that, in accordance with the Executive Director's statement, she stepped down from her positions in Earthwatch in April 2011 following advice from the President of the Court of Auditors in the context of a possible conflict of interests;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is seriously concerned that inNotes that in February 2010, whilbefore the Executive Director was directly involved with Earthwatch, training was contracted for 29 staff members of the Agency, including the Executive Director, went for up to 10 days of research on different biodiversity projects in the Caribbean or Mediterranean managed by Earthwatch and that the Agency paid a total of EUR 33 791,28, to the NGO as stated by the Agency's Executive Director, and further notes that the ECA's final report for 2010 contained no findings about conflict of interest in this connection;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recognises the benefits of this special training of staff as part of the career development and takes note of the total amount paid for that trainingas a means to advance the Agency's biodiversity work in 2010/11 in the areas of climate change, invasive species effects and critically endangered species, takes note of the total amount paid for that training using normal training budget and the fact that it obviated the need for outside consultancy fees in the specialist areas;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is surprisedNotes the Agency's assurance that the Worldwatch Institute Europe founded on 5in November 2010 indicatregistered as its address that of the Agency and used its premises as its own without any rent to the Agency, thus using premises paid by the EU budget; regrets that the Director's letter of 30 April 2012 refers only to Worldwatch Institute US based and not to the Worldwatch Institute Europe which used the Agency's premises without any rent;; without the Agency's consent, takes further note that the executive director of Worldwatch Institute Europe was an Agency's guest scientist; calls on the Agency to provide the discharge authority with concrete details and documentary evidence on this matter, including the person in the Agency who authorised this, the concrete date when Worldwatch Institute Europe ceased to use the Agency's premises, as well as whether the work performed by the respective guest scientist of the Agency was published under the Worldwatch Institute Europe name or that of the Agency by the end of August 2012ensure absolute clarity in any future guest scientist arrangements;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Agency, in an effort to promote greater transparency in terms of preventing and combating cWelcomes the fact that the Agency prepared an updated Conflict of iInterests, to adopt immediatel policy and action plan to publish on its website the declarations of interest and, when they are not available,based on the findings and recommendations in the report from the cEurriculum vitae – including at least the educational and work background – for the management staff, the members of the scientific committee, the experts and the members of the Management Board by 30 June 2012; is of the opinion that such measures would allow the discharge authoropean Ombudsman; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed about the implementation of this policy following itys and the public to observe their qualificationdoption by the Agency's Mand to prevent potential conflict of interestagement Board on 27 June 2012;