32 Amendments of Marta ANDREASEN related to 2010/2143(DEC)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that DG ITEC was the most concerned, with 22 open actions; notes with satisfaction that, according to the Internal Auditor, the Directorate for Information Technology within DG ITEC, has implemented 19 of the 22 open actions and, in the process, has made significant progress in developing its control framework; underlines, however, that it is not progress but accomplishments that should count when deciding on discharge and encourages all its Directorates general concerned to continue their efforts to improve their respective management and control procedures;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes however that carrying out checks on the actual ways in which assistants on mission travel was not among the proposed amendments, leaving the door wide open to abuse ; requests that its relevant management services carry out regular checks on parliamentary assistants' travel, in particular for missions where the assistant's own car was allegedly used;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the significant increase in the workload registered by the administration, relating to the entry into force of the new Statutes; notes with concern the more complicated procedure as regards accredited assistants' missions outside the three places of work and considers that, in spite of considerable increase in staffing, there are insufficient staff members in the Members' service and the services dealing with assistants and requests, therefore, the redeployment by the administration of additional staff in order to cope with the increased workload; requests, moreover, that an evaluation/assessment be made and forwarded to all the members of its competent committees by 30 September 2011 on the experience gained of the implementation of the two Statutes following the first full year of their implementation, as well as on their financial implications for Parliament's budget;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the recent adoption by the Bureau on 24 March 2010 of the long- awaited medium-term strategy in the IT and the buildings sectors;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes in this respect the establishment, from 1 January 2010, of a new Directorate in charge of Security and requests the newly established Directorate to conduct an in-depth review of Parliament's security policy and to work on proposals to adopt security solutions for Parliament which are more technology- oriented and cheaper , resulting in considerable savings in terms of staff and budget; also requests the Secretary- General to report to the Committee on Budgetary Control by 30 September 2011 on the concrete accomplishments in this field; shows concern that a year after the creation of the new Directorate a new hold-up took place on Parliament's premises;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point i
Paragraph 12 – point i
i) electronic signature for Members (instead of the current, archaic system of signatures on paper with data entered manually by staff), whilst making sure that the new system leaves no room for abuse;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 12 – point iv a (new)
iv)a security drills comparable to fire alarm drills;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 b (new)
Subheading 1 b (new)
Job rotation
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Requests information on any derogations of the common practice of job rotation, after seven years in the same job at the very latest, of staff, and in particular people in so-called "sensitive posts";
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Asks for an estimate of the loss incurred by the sale of the old Parliament building in Brussels to the Committee of the Regions, taking into account the price per square metre of the offices which are currently being purchased or leased;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes the two priority projects necessitating important new office surfaces to be found: a second crèche in Brussels and a second assistant's office; stresses in this context the need for Parliament's buildings to be located close to each other in order to achieve more efficiency and also for environmental reasons, but not at all costs;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Encourages its administration to negotiate an inter-institutional agreement with the Commission on the financial arrangements for the purchase of ‘Europe Houses’ (EP Information Offices), which is to include clear paragraphs on cost reductions;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Is appalled by the huge data roaming costs reimbursed to staff members who neglect spiralling costs when in Strasbourg and elsewhere outside Brussels; urges IT management to create a control tool whereby extremely high costs are prevented by the detection of sharp increases in an early stage;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5 a (new)
Subheading 5 a (new)
Statute for Members
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Wishes to be informed about the savings made under Article 24(5) of the implementing measures for the statute for Members of the European Parliament, which provides that "if the duration of the Member's stay at the place of work is less than four hours and the journeys to and from the place of work are undertaken on the same day, the subsistence allowance shall be reduced by half";
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Notes with satisfaction that for the first time in 2009 no mopping-up transfer took place at the end of the financial year, after a number of years when the possibility of mopping-up was used(mostly to purchase buildings by making advance payments against the annual lease payments) , which suggests a better budget planning and discipline which is to be praisedin fact only good housekeeping; not having done so in earlier years constituted a violation of the principles of sound financial management; encourages its administration to pursue this objective in the future as well and to avoid, as far as possible, using the technique of mopping up;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Notes that, currently, each Director- General (Authorising Officers by delegation) prepares his/her own Annual Activity Report, and that no overall Activity Report for the Institution as a whole is drafted and adopted; invites the Secretary-General to consider issuing a more readable, consolidated version (a summary) of the Annual Activity Reports, as is already the case with other institutions, whilst making sure that the annexes of the reports are not scanned but uploaded in such a way as to permit computer searches; takes the view that the report on budgetary and financial management is distinct from the suggested synthesis of annual activity reports;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Notes that the audit of the Court of Auditors found the payments as a whole to be free from material error and the Court of Auditors found no material weaknesses when assessing the compliance of supervisory and control systems with the Financial Regulation; would welcome an indication of actual working hours spent by the Court of Auditors on controlling the account books of Parliament;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Notes the finding of the Court of Auditors that, in five cases out of 20, documents providing evidence of compliance with the rules relating to the classification of staff as members of the temporary or of the contractual staff and to the fulfilment of linguistic, military and other obligations were not provided; takes note of the responses given by Parliament in the contradictory procedure with the Court of Auditors; requests information on the number of temporary staff that have been employed by Parliament for a period longer than the maximum period provided for (six years), and questions this practice in view of existing waiting lists of people who have taken and been successful in expensive EU competitions to fill these posts;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Notes with satisfaction that the Secretary-General has sent letters reminding the Directors-General to implement the critical actions agreed between the Internal Auditor and their services; notes with concern that Directors-General apparently need to be reminded of the necessity to comply with the recommendations of the Internal Auditor;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Welcomes the fact that, with effect from 1 September 2009, the Internal Audit Service has been attached, for administrative purposes, to the Secretary- General; notes with satisfaction that this important change is in line with the professional standards on the organisational independence of the Internal Audit Service and it enhances both the effectiveness of the internal audit activity and the perception of its independent and objective role by the audited departments; concludes that, although actual and perceived independence was then deemed to be of great importance , this was not the case for 2/3 of the year in respect of which the grant of the discharge was considered;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Deplores the very long delay in the opening of the Visitors' Centre (originally foreseen for the 2009 European elections) and the poor planning and insufficient support in the start phase from the administrationpoor planning; notes the opening date that is currently envisaged of October- November 2011; reiterates its request for a detailed explanation of the specific reasons for such a considerable delay and the precise increase in the cost of the project;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65
Paragraph 65
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65
Paragraph 65
65. Stresses the need to ensure an easy link (a corridor) for visitors groups between the Visitors' Centre, the Hemicycle and the future House of European History; requests the Secretary-General to provide its Committee on Budgetary Control , by 30 September 2011, with concrete plans to realise such a link with an estimated maximum of the costs involved;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66
Paragraph 66
66. Recalls its requests, expressed in its discharge resolution of 5 May 2010, that the costs of a sponsored group visit should always be reimbursed to the group leader by bank transfer and not in cash and that a study should be conducted by the Parliament to examine whether the flat rate system for the reimbursement of travel expenses borne by official visitor groups is adequate in view of their different departure points and destinations for their visits or whether the system of reimbursement of real costs, subject to a ceiling, would be more suitable for that type of group; this change towards a flat rate system should be reversed when it is proved to increase costs instead of saving them;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
Paragraph 67
67. Deplores the fact that EuroparlTV cannot be considered to be a success story in view of its very low number of direct individual users (excluding viewers through partnership agreements with regional TVs) in spite of the considerable annual appropriations that it receives, amounting to some EUR 9 000 000;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69
Paragraph 69
69. Deplores the fact that, in spite of its opinion, expressed in its resolution, that the Prize for Journalism is inappropriate, as Parliament should not award prizes to journalists whose task is critically to examine the EU institutions and their work, DG COMM has already launched the procedure for the 2011 prize; deplores this example of politicians being overruled by officials ;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70
Paragraph 70
70. Notes with concern the overall decline in turnout in the 2009 European Elections to 43,.2%, in spite if the considerable efforts made to reinforce Parliament's institutional election campaign which cost some EUR 5 676 000; notes that this percentage includes non-valid and blank votes, and that the percentage of valid non-blank votes was therefore even lower than 43.2%;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71
Paragraph 71
71. Notes that the total cost of setting-up the European Parliament Congressional Liaison Office in Washington in 2009 and 2010 is estimated to be some USD 400 000 annually as a result of an administrative arrangement with the Commission; notes that setting up the Office has not entailed the creation of any new posts, the postings being the result of redeployments, long- term missions and a system of one-year missions; is concerned about the possible future cost and requests that its competent committees be informed regularly about any future plan having significant financial implication concerning this Office; questions in particular the use of one-year missions for senior staff who are sent to faraway places because no suitable jobs can be found for them in Brussels;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 81
Paragraph 81
81. Considers that the externalisation of translation can result in important cost savings, efforts should, however, be made to increase the quality of external translations; supports the increasing use of the Euramis database, common to all EU institutions, and other technological developments in the field of translation (such as a single integrated system of DocEP and Euramis/translation memories already used by the translators of the Council's secretariat) which aim to avoid double translations and to lower the cost of translation; stresses, however, that no machine translation system can totally replace translators;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
Paragraph 86
86. Notes that Parliament has a contract with only one travel agency and sees a certain risk that such a monopolistic situation might prevent Members and Parliament obtaining the best available prices, as has been observed on many occasions through simple internet searches;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 91 a (new)
Paragraph 91 a (new)
91a. Underlines the low level of transparency the table on annual appropriations offers and asks for more precise figures;