9 Amendments of Jens GEIER related to 2012/2087(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes however that around 75 % of the requests based on annual reports as referred to in Article 13 of Commission Regulation (EC) 438/2001 (Article 13 reports) were not followed by financial corrections; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide information on the reasons for the absence of financial corrections in this context (point 24); notes that the legal basis for the 2007-2013 period requires managing authorities to verify administratively all application for reimbursements by beneficiaries in accordance with Article 13(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned about the Commission's different requirements in the 2000-2006 programming period with regard to the implementation of first-level checks as this can potentially result in the non-detection of irregular expenses; asks the Commission to apply a coherent approach to demands for first-level checks and to provide information for the programming periods after 2000-2006 (point 28); notes that the legal basis for the 2007-2013 period requires managing authorities to verify administratively all application for reimbursements by beneficiaries in accordance with Article 13(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1828/20061; __________________ 1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006 of 8 December 2006 setting out rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund (OJ L 371, 27.12.2006, p. 1).
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is furthermore concerned about the Court of Auditor's' finding that Commission's follow-up audits aiming to scrutinise the reliability of Member States‘ statements required further corrective actions by the Member States in 78 % of cases (point 45); is therefore worried that the Commission sometimes relied on potentially unreliable information by not sufficiently questioning information submitted by Member States (for example point 57, boxes 9 and 12) and that the Commission did not adequately scrutinise the reliability of the information; points out that the lack of reliability of Member States’ statements requires further audit resources by the Commission; acknowledges also the need to balance appropriately cost and benefits of such follow-up audits (point 46);
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Reminds the Commission that the error rate in the policy area Cohesion has increased in the Court of Auditor's' Annual Report 2010, which reverses the positive trend observed in previous years; and is contrary to an accelerated reduction of error rates, as called for by Parliament in the context of the 2008 discharge1; __________________ 1 See par. 4 of the resolution of 5 May 2010 with observations forming an integral part of its Decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the EU General Budget for the financial year 2008, Section III - Commission and executive agencies (OJ L 252, 25.9.2010, p. 39).
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates the importance of the supervisory role the Commission exercises in order to be able to bear the ultimate responsibility for the implementation of the budget including the areas of shared management; recalls the action plan to strengthen the Commission's supervisory role under shared management of structural actions and the improved legal framework for the 2007-2013 programming period which aimed at reducing the level of error in structural actions and thus to protect the EU budget; notes, however, that the action plan of 2008 came only into force aftert the end of the programming period 2000- 2006 and could therefore cover the closure process of that period only; calls on the Commission therefore to fully enforce measures as stated in the action plan for the 2007-2013 programming period and beyond; expects in this context from the Commission a considerable and steady decrease in error rates, in particular of programmes that are expected to have the highest error rates;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes that improving the Commission's supervisory role is an ongoing process that can never be considered ‘implemented’; underlines in this context the Court of Auditor's' remark that although management and control systems were effective at a certain time this does not necessarily mean that they continue to be effective, as systems, personnel and entities in charge of management of structural actions may change; calls on the Commission to endorse fully the Court of Auditor's' recommendations; considers enhancements of the action plan to be necessary if the expectations with regard to the improvement of the Commission's financial management are not met;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is convinced that the Commission should continue to aim at implementing the single audit principle; emphasises that it is of utmost importance to ensure the quality of the work of audit authorities in the current and upcoming periods; notes that - provided that the audit authorities produce reliable results - the EU budget could be adequately protected even if high error rates are present as the Commission could apply financial corrections to counter those error rates; reiterates, however, the fact that in such cases the national taxpayer has to pay twice which is why preventing errors from happening is always more efficient than correcting it later on, for both the Commission and the Member States concerned; stresses in this context specifically indent 2 of the Court of Auditor's' recommendation 1 and urges the Commission to implement this recommendation;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to finalise the closure of the 2000-2006 programming period duly taking into account the Court of Auditor's' observations and to report to Parliament on how the Commission will ensure legality and regularity in the process;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission, furthermore, to take into account the lessons learned from the Court of Auditor's report and to monitor the implementation of structural actions for the 2007-2013 period and to bear in mind the Court of Auditor's' observations in the discussions on the future structural actions for the period 2014-2020;