18 Amendments of Maria da Graça CARVALHO related to 2010/0395(COD)
Amendment 6 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The rules governing interest generated by pre-financing should be simplified as they generate excessive administrative burden on both recipients of Union funds and Commission services and create misunderstandings between the Commission services and operators and partners. For reasons of simplification, in particular in respect of grant beneficiaries, and in line with the principle of sound financial management, there should no longer be an obligation to generate interest on pre-financing and to recover such interest on pre-financing should be lifted immediately. However, it should be possible to include such obligation in a delegation agreement in order to allow the re-use of interests generated by prefinancing for the programmes managed by some delegates, or its recovery.
Amendment 7 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Concerning provisions on proportionality, the notion of tolerable risk of error (TRE), something that reduces both complexity and ex-post audits, ensuring a proper balance between sound financial management and appropriate controls, should be introduced as part of the risk assessment made by the Authorising Officer. The institutions should be able to move away from the general 2% materiality threshold used by the Court of Auditors to conclude on the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. Tolerable risk levels constitute more appropriate basis for the Discharge Authority to judge the quality of the management of risk by the Commission. The European Parliament and the Council should therefore determine the level of tolerable risk of error per policy area, taking into account the costs and benefits of controls. It is crucial to ensure that the legally binding rules on the TRE are interpreted and applied in a uniform manner, leading to a decrease in the TRE rate.
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 a (new)
Recital 38 a (new)
(38a) Lump sums and flat rates should be used on a voluntary basis and only applied where appropriate. The terminology in use on flat rates and lump sums should be clarified.
Amendment 9 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52 a (new)
Recital 52 a (new)
(52a) As regards the implementation of the financial rules in the field of research, the overall trend towards result-based funding (essentially justified by the principles of sound accountability) is deeply concerning and has a negative impact on the quality and nature of research, with possible constraints on scientific research, as well as a negative impact on projects with non-measurable objectives or with an objective measurable using parameters other than that of immediate utility. A further use of result- based funding may negatively influence the potential outcome in terms of further ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of project output/results and pinpoint the criteria necessary to define them.
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52 b (new)
Recital 52 b (new)
(52b) As regards the current system and the practice of research framework programmes management, they are often excessively control-oriented, thus leading to waste of resources, lower participation and less attractive research landscapes. The management system of ‘zero risk tolerance’ seems to avoid, rather than to manage, risks. Consequently, the Union Staff Regulation should be revised and/or interpreted on the issue of personal liability, as well as other necessary measures (e.g. insurance or risk-pooling system) should be taken.
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 28 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 28 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall implement the ‘single audit approach’ and switch to real-time auditing performed by a single entity, thereby allowing beneficiaries to correct any systemic errors and hand in improved cost statements the following year. Such a single audit approach should further ensure that finished projects will not be audited more than once by various auditors, so that the opinion of the first appointed independent auditor is trusted by the Commission and documents are provided only once, however many audits are carried out.
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 57 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Part 1 – Article 57 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Persons referred to in point (viii) of Article 55(1)(b) may satisfy these requirements progressively. They shall adopt their financial rules with the Commission's prior consent. Those financial rules shall comply with either European standards or national standards (standard accounting practices), where the latter have been certified by the competent national authorities. With a view to ensuring legal certainty, stricter participation rules may not be applied retroactively and recipients may not be asked to recalculate financial statements that have already been approved by the Commission.
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 77 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Part 1 – Article 77 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
The accounting officer shall recover amounts by offsetting them against equivalent claims that the Union have on any debtor who himself has a claim on the Union that is. Such claims must be certain, of a fixed amount and due.
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 110 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 110 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The monitoring and financial control carried out by the Commission and OLAF should be primarily aimed at safeguarding public funds and combating fraud, whilst distinguishing clearly between fraud and errors. It is therefore necessary to establish and implement a clearer definition of 'errors' in all binding legal documents, including the mechanisms for the establishment of errors as opposed to differing interpretations. Errors and remedial actions relating thereto should be subject for thorough analysis and communication.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 116 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 116 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. When determining the appropriate form of a grant, the potential beneficiaries’ interests and accounting methods shall be taken into account to the greatest possible extent, if they correspond to international standards.
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 117 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 – point b a (new)
Part 1 – Article 117 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) grants in the form of flat-rate and/or lump sum funding and standard scale of unit costs where the profit does not derive from the calculation of the individual unit costs;
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 117 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 – point b b (new)
Part 1 – Article 117 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 – point b b (new)
(bb) very low value grants;
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 122 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 122 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The maximum time limit for processing applications shall be six months from the submission of the application. This time-limit may exceptionally be exceeded where the specific nature and subject-matter of the grant so require. Where this is the case, the provisional time limit shall be announced in the respective call for proposals. Where the time limit cannot be met due to other reasons, the authorising officer by delegation shall include this into his annual activity report together with the reasons and proposals for remedial action. He shall report in the following annual activity report on the success of the remedial action.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 128 – paragraph 1
Part 1 – Article 128 – paragraph 1
1. For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘prizes’ shall mean financial contributions awarded following contests. Such prizes shall not take the place of properly structured funding.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 128 – paragraph 1
Part 1 – Article 128 – paragraph 1
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 129 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 129 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The use of prizes is to be encouraged but not as a substitute for properly structured funding.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 1 – Article 152 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Part 1 – Article 152 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
The Commission shall present more precise, consistent and transparent rules of procedure for audits, including rules and principles ensuring that the rights of the audited body are respected and that all parties are heard, and to report on the cost/benefit ratio of the audits.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Part 2 – Article 175 a (new)
Part 2 – Article 175 a (new)
Article 175 a Average personnel cost 1. The following cumulative criteria for the acceptance of average personnel cost methodologies shall apply: (a) the average personnel cost methodology shall be the one declared by the beneficiary as its usual cost accounting practice; This applies in particular to the use of cost-centre methodologies; (b) the methodology should be based on the actual personnel costs of the beneficiary as registered in its statutory accounts, without estimated or budgeted elements. 2. Where average personnel costs are charged in accordance with the above- mentioned criteria, calculations on individual actual personnel costs are not applicable in ex-post audits carried out by the Commission.