Activities of Cătălin Sorin IVAN 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
Amendments (50)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that, within the ‘Education and Citizenship’ policy group, the Court of Auditors found no errors in respect of advance payments; notes however the error rate of just above 2 % for the more risk-prone payments of closures and the shift of focus towards this area in the Court of Auditors’ reportwhich account for 87 % of payments for the whole policy group; notes however that the estimated impact of quantifiable errors for the whole policy group is slightly above 2 % in 2009, whereas, in 2008, it was under 2 %, and that this is mainly due to the errors for closure payments;
Amendment 4 #
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 8 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Grants the Director of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Grants the Director of the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. .............Grants the Director of the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to the Transport Network Executive Agency
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Grants the Director of the Trans- European Transport Network Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a decision on to the European Research Council Executive Agency
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ..............Grants the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a decision on discharge to the Research Executive Agency
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. .............Grants the Director of the Research Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2009;
Amendment 19 #
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 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Barroso II Commission hadreconfirmed as a strategic objective to obtain an unqualified statement of assurance from the Court of Auditors by 2009 and whereas this objective which was not achieved has been reconfirmed for the current mandate,
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that in the present understanding of ‘shared management’ most of the management functions are carried out by national bodies not directly accountable at Union level and over which the Commission has no authoritylimited powers of enforcement;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the most likely error rate in payments estimated by the Court of Auditors for the policy groups ‘Agriculture and natural resources’ (EUR 56 318 000 000), ‘Research, energy and transport’ (EUR 7 966 000 000), ‘External Aid, development and enlargement’ (EUR 6 596 000 000) and ‘Education and Citizenship’ (EUR 2 153 000 000) is between 2 % and 5 %;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that the most likely error rate in payments estimated by the Court of Auditors for the policy group ‘Cohesion’ (EUR 23 081 000 000 reimbursed certified expenditure) is above 5 %;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Regrets 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’in respect of the shared management programmes, Member States do not yet acknowledge fully their enhanced responsibility which is enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that unspent Union funds should not befuture rules applicable to the Union budget and programmes should provide that unspent Union funds are not returned to the Member States if a Member State has not paid back to the Union amounts incorrectly received and invites the Commission to take into account any financial correction not yet paid by the Member States before returning unspent annual budget appropriations to the Member States;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Invites the Commission to publish in the Synthesis Report an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of individual Member States' management and control systems on the basis of the audit work it already performs as well as other relevant available information and to establish a ‘scoreboard’ on the quality of controls per Member State and policy area according to the following model:
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Believes that a ‘scoreboard’n assessment on the quality of controls per Member State and policy area as requested would be an important element in such an analysis and invites the Commission to follow-up on this request without delay;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Believes that control systems cannot aim at zero risk in all spending areas, not only because it would be extremely expensive, but also because it is unlikely that zero risk in all spending areas will ever be achieved; accepts that a certain risk of error will always exist when implementing Unionany spending programmes;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Regrets that the Commission uses the notion ‘tolerable risk of error’ exclusively as a basis to decide what level of irregular use of funds should be considered as acceptable ex-post; takes the view that a forward-looking approach to a possible introduction of a ‘tolerable risk of error’ would includeInvites the Commission to change its approach by transforming the notion ‘tolerable risk of error’ into a management concept to be translated in the Financial Regulation ainto a new requirement for the Commission's authorising officer by delegation to match spending proposals with an assessment of the irregularity risks and to report in their annual activity reports on the cost-effectiveness of the control measures;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Notes the IASCommission annual report to the discharge authority (COM(2010)0447) on internal audits carried out in 2009 and that the Commission's internal auditor is of the opinion that an overview at the level of the institution is necessary if common processes such as risk analysis and business continuity management are to be effective in protecting the institution as a whole and in order to ensure sound financial management of investments in information technology systems through economies of scale and by providing common solutions to common requirements;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. InviNotes the Commission to make appropriate bodies responsible for obtaining this overview and for making appropriate recommendations whilst taking care not to reduce responsibility for the implementation of each process; recommends that the Commission's governance framework be adapted to allow for enhanced institutional overview; would appreciate being informed in a timely manner about developments in this matterat the IAS is an independent service acting on the basis of the Financial Regulation, international audit standards and best practices;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Invites the IAS to allocate part of its resources toCalls for an examination of whether the spending by the main DGs is efficient, economical and effective and thereby completing the current financial and compliance audits;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. UrgesRequests that the Commission includes in its proposal for the next multiannual financial framework the introduction of a single audit model whereby audits are carried out, recorded and reported to a common standard - as proposed by the Court of Auditors in its Opinion 2/2004 and repeatedly supported by Parliament - where each level of control builds on the proceeding one, with a view to reducing the burden on the auditee and enhancing the quality of audit activities but without undermining the independence of the audit bodies concerned; believes that internal controls should provide reasonable assurance on the legality and regularity of transactions, and compliance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and underlines that controls should be coordinated to avoid unnecessary duplication; draws attention to the fact that the Court of Auditors is the external auditor of the Union and therefore not an element of internal control;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79 a (new)
Paragraph 79 a (new)
79a. Recalls the need to ensure efficient implementation of regular, tripartite meetings under the budgetary procedure provided for in Article 324 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89
Paragraph 89
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111 – indent 1
Paragraph 111 – indent 1
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112 – introductory part
Paragraph 112 – introductory part
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 a (new)
Paragraph 113 a (new)
113a. Calls on the Commission to present to Parliament's competent committee a plan presenting the actions that it intends to take regarding NMDs, the completion of the Commission's governance structure, Systematic interruption and suspension of payments as well as lifting of the measure and the improvement of the corrective mechanisms;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – introductory part
Paragraph 113 – point b – introductory part
b) the completion of the Commission's governance structure by ideally adding the signature of the responsible Commissioner to the Director-General's Annual Activity Report and ideally having the Synthesis Report - which also shall include a ‘scoreboard’ on the quality of controls per Member State and policy area - signed by the President of the European Commissupdating the Commission's 'internal instructions' with a view to disclosing explicitly that the Commissioner has been properly informed about the main issues in the draft Annual Activity Report of his/her Director- General, including the envisaged reservations,
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – introductory part
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – introductory part
b.i) by analogy with the call for establishment of NMDs at political level, in order to complete the Commission's governance structure it may have to undertake apass through a process of strengthening of procedures to allowpermit the College to adopt the Synthesis Report and to allows well as the individual Commissioners' involvement and participation in the preparation offormation about the Director-General's Annual Activity Report which includesing the following measures applicable for the financial year 2010:
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – indent 1
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – indent 1
– the transmission to Parliament's competent committee and publication of the minutes from the meeting at which the College adopts the Synthesis Report in the presence of the Commission's Internal Auditor,
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – indent 2
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.i – indent 2
– the transmission to Parliament's competent committee of the declaration from the Director-General about his meeting with the responsible Commissioner explaining clearly and completely the content of their deliberations on the Annual Activity Reports as well as anyan explicit mention in the Annual Activity Reports of the fact that the Director-General has informed the Commissioner about the main issues in the draft Annual Activity Report, including the envisaged reservations;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.ii
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.ii
b.ii) both the Director-General's 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;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.iii
Paragraph 113 – point b – subpoint b.iii
b.iii) the addition of these signatse measures should in no way dilute the direct responsibility of each Director-General or other authorising officers by delegation;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point c – introductory part
Paragraph 113 – point c – introductory part
c) the introduction of automaticsystematic activation of interruption and automatic suspension of payments as soon as evidence suggests a significant deficiency in the functioning of the Member States' management and control systems;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.i – indent 2
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.i – indent 2
– a description of clear, unequivocal criteria applicable for all Directorates- General and leaving no room for interpretation of future interruptions/suspensions of payments as well as lifting interruptions/suspensions of payments whereby an automatic mechanism without prior decision on the managerial or political level shall be created,
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.i – indent 3
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.i – indent 3
– the inclusion ofin the automatic mechanism forFinancial Regulation of the principle of systematic interruption and liftingsuspension of payments in the Financial Regulationtriggered by evidence of significant deficiencies in the functioning of the Member States' management and control systems and development of comprehensive guidelines for the Member States in order to help national authorities avoid misunderstandings and irregularities;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.ii
Paragraph 113 – point c – subpoint c.ii
c.ii) the total financial corrections confirmed in 2009 for structural actions alone amount to EUR 7 719 000 000 (Annual Accounts of the European Union, Financial Year 2009, page 112); however, only EUR 5 387 000 000 (7 719 000 000 - 2 332 000 000) (page 103) was implemented and registered in the accounts; considers that the gap between the amounts to be corrected and the amounts actually corrected makes it necessary to introduce an automatic suspension, without a decision of the Commission, of paymentsensure that the suspension of payment is systematic as soon as evidence suggests a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control systems;
Amendment 282 #
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;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121
Paragraph 121
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 122
Paragraph 122
122. Invites the Commission by analogy with the call for the establishment of NMDs at political level to complete itCalls for the completion of the Commission's governance structures by addupdating the signature of the responsible Commissioner to the Director-General's Annual Activity Report and by having the Synthesis Report - which also shall include a ‘scoreboard’ on the quality of controls per Member State and policy area - signed by the President of the European CommissCommission's 'internal instructions' with a view to disclosing explicitly that the Commissioner has been properly informed about the main issues in the draft Annual Activity Report of his/her Director-General, including the envisaged reservations;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 123 – indent 1
Paragraph 123 – indent 1
– the transmission to Parliament's competent committee and publication of the minutes from the meeting at which the College adopts the Synthesis Report in the presence of the Commission's Internal Auditor,
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 123 – indent 2
Paragraph 123 – indent 2
– the transmission to Parliament's competent committee of the declaration from the Director-General about his meeting with the responsible Commissioner explaining clearly and completely the content of their deliberations on the Annual Activity Reports as well as anyan explicit mention in the Annual Activity Report of the fact that the Director-General has informed the Commissioner about the main issues in the draft Annual Activity Report, including the envisaged reservations;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 123a (new)
Paragraph 123a (new)
123a. Underlines that these measures should in no way dilute the direct responsibility of each Director-General or other authorising officers by delegation;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 20
Subheading 20
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125
Paragraph 125
125. Invites the Commission to introduce a system of automaticatic activation of interruptions and automatic suspensions of payments as soon as evidence suggests a significant deficiency in the functioning of Member States' management and control systems;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 126 – introductory part
Paragraph 126 – introductory part
126. Believes that the process leading up to the achievement of autosystematic interruption and autosystematic suspension of payments shall include:
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 126 – indent 2
Paragraph 126 – indent 2
– a description of clear, unequivocal criteria applicable for all Directorates- General and leaving no room for interpretation of future interruptions/suspensions of payments as well as lifting interruptions/suspensions of payments whereby an automatic mechanism without prior decision on the managerial or political level shall be created,
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 126 – indent 3
Paragraph 126 – indent 3
– the inclusion ofin the automatic mechanism forFinancial Regulation of the principle of systematic interruption and liftingsuspension of payments in the Financial Regulationtriggered by evidence of significant deficiencies in the functioning of the Member States' management and control system and the development of comprehensive guidelines for the Member States in order to help national authorities avoid misunderstandings and irregularities,