Activities of Iliana IVANOVA related to 2010/2142(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2009, Section III – Commission and executive agencies PDF (638 KB) DOC (458 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2009, Section III - Commission and executive agencies
Amendments (37)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and urges the Commission to analyse the effectiveness of current financing programmes for SMEs and facilitate their participation in EU research programmes through the introduction of innovative financial instruments in the EU budget;
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to Commission
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a decision on the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2009, Section III – Commission
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Approves the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. RegretNotes that the Commission uses secondary legislation as an instrument to reduce its responsibility and underlines that ‘shared management’ is not the same as ‘shared responsibilities’;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Draws attention to the factRegrets that for the policy group ‘'Cohesion’' merely 20 % of the amounts confirmed in 2009 have been implemented and a total amount of EUR 2 332 000 000 of corrections still remain to be implemented at year-end 2009 (Annual Report, point 1.44);
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Invites the Member States to improve their systems for control, detecting and reporting corrections to the Commission, and the Commission to refine the financial reporting guidelines to ensure that all relevant information about the operation of the multi-annual correction mechanisms is appropriately disclosed in the accounts;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Notes that the vast majority of the corrections by value involve financial corrections on Member States or third countries, rather than recoveries from individual beneficiaries who received Union funds incorrectly (Annual report, point 1.50);
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that under the present system, which does not include fines, the Member States seem to have limited intethe introduction of fines or other financial sanctions would provide great stimulation to Member States to further improve the curresnt in developingpartly efficient control systems that could result in a reduction of their share of Union spendingerror rates;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that financial corrections arcould be an indicator of whether a policy has been implemented according to established rules and that the regular and increasing number of financial corrections could indicate not only that the Commission is fulfilling its supervisory role in a more stringent way but also that financial corrections have only had a limited effect as a preventive and structural measure; further notes that the Member States' efforts to create efficient systems is directly proportional toare influenced by the efficiency of the Commission's supervision;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Welcomes the Commission's guidance note on reporting on recoveries; asks the Commission to carefully analyse the Member States' reports on recoveries and, if necessary, carry out further training;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Underlines that low levels of fraud and error rates could signify weaknesses in the control systems and vice versa; urges the Commission on the basis of concrete data per Member State and per policy area, to report to Parliament on the effectiveness of management and control mechanisms and to implement together with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) stricter control on spending of Union money;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)
Paragraph 50 a (new)
50a. Welcomes the concrete measures and corresponding timelines presented by the Commission as a result of the constructive discussions within the discharge procedure;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63a. Recalls that the Member States co- finance the projects under Cohesion spending; notes that effective management and control systems are of interest to the Member States, who participate with national co-financing; asks the Commission to work decisively to improve and overcome temporary flaws in the management and control systems;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Notes that the Court of Auditors estimates that the most likely error rate for the Cohesion policy area is above 5 %; notes that the frequency of errors continues to decrease for the third consecutive year;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64 a (new)
Paragraph 64 a (new)
64a. Notes the improvement that meant that only 3 % of the expenditure certified to the Commission should not have been reimbursed, compared to 11 % for 2008; calls on the Commission to keep up this trend; underlines that it is a priority to further reduce the errors;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
Paragraph 67
67. Notes that infringements of procurement procedures reveal a failure to complete the Union internal market and that the reason for these irregularities could be a conflict of interest between the Union and the Members States;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 a (new)
Paragraph 68 a (new)
68a. Asks the Commission to analyse the reasons for those infringement of public procurement rules and to cooperate decisively with the Member States to overcome the difficulties identified;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71
Paragraph 71
71. Believes that this finding seriously questions the efficiency of a system in which the Member States hold the main responsibly for the accuracy of the declared expenditure;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72
Paragraph 72
72. Recalls that management verifications are key controls to prevent irregularities, and noteregrets that for 11 of the 16 OPs audited, the verifications carried out by managing authorities of the Member States were only partially compliant with the regulatory requirements;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Recalls that the Commission'’s role includes providing guidance to the Member States and developing good practices among national bodies; believes that some DGs couldcalls on all Commission DGs to further improve their performance in this respect;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
Paragraph 75
75. Stresses that the Member States' administrations are, to a high degree, stakeholders of policies they implement in shared management; emphasises in that respect that shared management between the Commission and the Member States depends upon an atmosphere of mutual respect and recognition between the administrations concerned; underlines that such anthis atmosphere, to a large degree, can be creatfurther strengthened in day-to-day management and resulting contacts between the Commission and the Member States' administrations;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77 a (new)
Paragraph 77 a (new)
77a. Requests the Commission to identify and spread best practices amongst the Member States in order to allow an increased absorption of funds and improved beneficiary cash-flow by amending and simplifying the Structural Funds implementing regulations at national level;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77 b (new)
Paragraph 77 b (new)
77b. Is worried that according to OLAF there is growing evidence that in many cases the frauds in the Structural Funds are organised and planned and have not resulted from simple opportunity; calls on all stakeholders in the Member States and in the Union institutions to work together closely to deal with this phenomenon. (OLAF Annual report 2010, p.41);
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 a (new)
Paragraph 94 a (new)
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 b (new)
Paragraph 94 b (new)
94b. Asks the Commission to closely cooperate with candidate and potential candidate countries in order to effectively improve management and control systems, to promote best practices for fighting fraud, and to ensure that their practices are in conformity with all Union rules and standards;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 c (new)
Paragraph 94 c (new)
94c. Deplores the fact that in some potential candidate countries appointments in the public administration in breach of the civil service law continue; regrets that the judiciary in many cases functions poorly; invites the Commission to provide all potential candidate countries with the necessary know-how and institutional knowledge to efficiently fight corruption and continue the reforms needed;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 d (new)
Paragraph 94 d (new)
94d. Is concerned by the high rejection rates in countries with decentralised implementation, i.e. where Union Delegations control procurement files ex- ante; underlines that national authorities in those countries seem to have difficulties in implementing decisive improvements which are necessary for waiving the Commission’s ex-ante controls; invites the Commission and candidate countries to improve dialogue and ensure effective cooperation;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 e (new)
Paragraph 94 e (new)
94e. Notes the Court of Auditors' Special Report No 12/2009 on the effectiveness of the Commission’s projects in the area of Justice and Home Affairs for the Western Balkans;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 f (new)
Paragraph 94 f (new)
94f. Welcomes the Court of Auditors' positive assessment on the supervisory and control systems applied in the area of humanitarian aid; nevertheless, invites the Commission to give greater attention to and derive full benefit from the follow up of weaknesses revealed by its audits on implementing partners and monitoring the extent of the use of humanitarian procurement centres;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 18 a (new)
Subheading 18 a (new)
Reform of the current discharge procedure
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114 a (new)
Paragraph 114 a (new)
114a. Calls on the Commission to organise an interinstitutional discussion involving at the initial phase, at the highest level, representatives of the Council, of the Commission, of the Court of Auditors and of Parliament, and in the second phase representatives from the Member States, of national parliaments and supreme audit institutions, with a view to embarking on a comprehensive debate on the current discharge procedure system;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114 b (new)
Paragraph 114 b (new)
114b. Calls on the Commission to put forward proposals for reducing the periods involved in the discharge process, so that the vote in plenary can be held in the year following the financial year under review; encourages the Court of Auditors and all institutions to shorten and strengthen the discharge procedure, making it more transparent and understandable to Union taxpayers;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120
Paragraph 120
120. Stresses that both the Director's- General Annual Activity Report as well as the College of Commissioners' Synthesis Report are important elements to allow the Commission to give account to the discharge authority; to bridge the gap between the Director-General's individual assurance declarations and the College's institutional assurance declaration, the Director-General's Annual Activity Report should ideally be co-signed by the competent Commissioner, and the Synthesis Report, which is adopted by the College of Commissioners, should ideally be signed by the President of the Commission or the Commissioner with responsibility for budgetary control matters, only in this way would Parliament get an overall ‘institutional’ assurance statement to accompany the ‘departmental’ assurance statements which are what Parliament receives under the current accountability structure; (There is no need of this since the College discusses and adopts the Synthesis report which confirms the political responsibility of the Commissioners. Annual Activity Reports of the DGs are signed by the directors general who bear the administrative responsibility and the commissioner adopt their declarations, thus adopting the overall institutional and political responsibility. Even now if there is a problem the responsible commissioner could be held politically responsible, their signatures (of the commissioners) would just reconfirm their political responsibility.)Or. en
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121
Paragraph 121
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 122
Paragraph 122
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125
Paragraph 125
125. Invites the Commission to carefully analyse and consider introduceing a system of automatic interruption and automatic suspension of payments as soon as evidence suggests a significant deficiency in the functioning of management and control systems;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127
Paragraph 127
127. Invitessists that the Commission to improve the corrective mechanisms ensuring that the financial consequences of incorrectly made payments are borne by the beneficiaries and not the taxpayers;